Does crime pay?

Nearly 80 per cent of the inmate population in Saskatchewan is Native.
The term captive audience takes on a whole new meaning

By: Ann Hanson

If there was only one example of hatred I could eliminate, it would be the term, "stupid Indian."

Growing up on the prairies of western Canada and being half Native, I was expected to drop out of school, go to jail and have a tribe of kids before the age of 18. I was lucky, I didn't live up to those expectations.

I escaped.

For many others who remained in the harsh environment of the prairies it's a different story. They are not stupid, they just haven't had the chance to focus on school without distractions or with support.

Ironically, that chance, for some urban Natives, comes in jail. Doing time is the only chance they get to further their education.

And they learn that the silence of a cell can be broken by turning a page.

According to the Corrections Canada website, 86 per cent of offenders in federal institutions have less than a grade 10 education.

A Corrections Canada report entitled, Can Educating Adult Offenders Counteract Recidivism? concludes, "Specific intellectual skills gained through Adult Basic Education (improving reading, writing and math) may equip offenders to deal more effectively with daily problems encountered in the community."

This is the aim of the staff of the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge in Maple Creek, Sask. Clare McNab, Kikawinaw (a Cree word which means Our Mother), or director of the institution hopes that its education program will help heal women who enter.

Mc Nab says, "What I find is that most of the women come in with less than their grade 12. It's not that they are stupid, it's not their lack of ability. It's they just haven't had the opportunity."

According to recent Statistics Canada figures, in Saskatchewan where the lodge is located, over 4,000 offenders are serving federal sentences. And 3,000 of them are Aboriginal.

Copyright Ann Hanson
Bushadabunny Toons

Norma Taypayosatum is one of the women serving a sentence at the Healing Lodge who has chosen to return to her education while in prison.

Taypayosatum's day begins with a prayer circle, then for the remainder of the morning she works in the kitchen training to be a cook. Her afternoons are spent working on grade 12 math. It is the final module she needs to complete high school.

Taypayosatum dropped out at the age of 14 after being abused while in school. Her healing work at the lodge helped her discover and deal with this. "I'm finding out (this) is why I didn't like school…that was the reason I couldn't go back at an earlier age."

"My self esteem was pretty low when I got in here…my education level was really low too."

Prayer center at the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.

Taypayosatum adds, " I really wanted to work on that so I got past that not feeling worthy. The teachers have really helped me out a lot and have encouraged me…I started at maybe a grade five level and worked my way up."

When she's released Taypayosatum plans to take post-secondary courses and become a chef.

When asked how her children view education Taypayosatum's tone becomes quiet and her voice wavers.

"My kids are aware of everything I am doing in here…They know they need (education) … It's getting harder and harder. You have to have an education. My youngest realizes that, but my oldest boys, they dropped out and they regret it."

Native youth, like Norma Taypayosatum's boys, are dropping out of school. It is a big problem on the prairies, and the lack of something to do when you're not in school allows boredom and trouble to follow. According to Stats Can, more than 76 per cent of the young offenders in custody in Saskatchewan are Aboriginal.

The Paul Dojack Youth Centre in Regina is one of many young offender holding facilities in the province that help youth in their care to finish high school.

Skye, a 17-year-old young offender at the Dojack Youth Centre is studying math, science, English and social studies in order to get his grade 12.

He went to school at Scott Collegiate before he dropped out. Then he found himself doing a 10-month sentence. "It's easy to learn stuff in here and get stuff done fast…(At Scott) I got too caught up, hanging with my friends…drugs and alcohol, all that."

Skye's dream when he graduates is "to go to school at Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology or the University of Regina." Eventually he says he wants to open up a nightclub.

Skye says he gets support at Dojack that he doesn't get at home to finish his school and develop his education.

"If I was out I'd probably be trying to go to school, but I'd probably not finish."

David Leslie, Dojack's teacher and therapist, says, "We challenge the students to aim high. They're just a victim of their environment. In here they have to go to school. They get the one-on-one attention."

He adds, "I'm here with the kids eight hours a day. If they have trouble in class, they can ask me. That might be something that's lacking in a normal school for them." Leslie has been at Dojack for more than12 years.

He says, "I guess our long-term goal is to get these kids back on track so they can actually go back into a community school."

"This is the best school they are going to get, a) They have to be here. b) The student teacher ratio is incredible here. It's 12-1…" says Leslie.

"But you can't make someone want to learn. If they want to pick up the ball and run with it, great. It's like any other thing. I've had kids in and out of here two or three times and sometimes it might not be 'til the second or third time that they come in when they finally realize, 'Hey, I got to buckle down and do some work.'"