Why is Cindy a nominee?
Nominated Child Rights Hero
Cindy Blackstock 68–83
Cindy Blackstock has been nominated for her 30-year struggle for Indigenous children’s equal rights to good schools and health, to be with their families and feel pride in their language and culture. THE CHALLENGE Hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children in Canada are treated worse than other children due to their background. Indigenous peoples lived here for tens of thousands of years before European settlers arrived. For over 100 years, children were taken from their families to schools where they would be forced to forget their language and their culture. Many became ill, and thousands of children died. To this day, Indigenous families are split up, and the children are poorer, have worse schools and health care. THE WORK Cindy works tirelessly to combat discrimination against Indigenous children, raise awareness and pursue legal cases. Indigenous children and other Canadian children write letters to the government and demonstrate for children’s rights. Cindy faces government opposition, but she will never give up. RESULTS AND VISION Cindy has helped ensure that 165,000 First Nations children get better schools and other resources needed for a secure childhood. Other Indigenous children have also seen their rights strengthened. The government has apologised and must give Indigenous children everything they need to thrive. Together with elders, leaders and young people, Cindy and her organization continue to fight for children’s rights.
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In May 2021, 215 unmarked children’s graves are discovered outside a closed school in Canada. Later, thousands more graves are found at other schools. Many politicians say they are shocked! But Cindy Blackstock isn’t surprised. After almost 30 years of fighting for equal rights for Indigenous children, she knows that they have been subjected to injustices and violence for generations.
C
indy grew up in the huckleberry fields of northern Canada, where her father was a forest ranger. Many of her peers were sent to residential schools for Indigenous children, but she got to go to a normal school in the nearest town. Cindy was the only Indigenous child there. OUR R I GHTS!
CHANGE FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Cindy belongs to the Gitxsan First Nation, one of over 50 Nations with their own language that are part of the First Nations, one of Canada’s three recognised Indigenous peoples. When Cindy asked why there weren’t more children like her at school, she was told that ‘Indians’, as they called her people, didn’t care about
education. That they were lazy and would grow up to be drunks anyway. That’s probably how Cindy would end up too, they said, and often used ugly and racist words to make her sad.
Dug graves When Cindy was older, she found out what happened to Indigenous children in the
As a changemaker, Cindy helps ful�il children’s rights and achieve the following Global Goals: Goal 3: Good health. Goal 4: Quality education. Goal 5: Gender equality. Goal 6: Clean water. Goal 10: Reduced inequalities.