Mother in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., looks for answers after disturbing photo surfaces online
WARNING: This story includes a disturbing photograph.
A mother in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., is looking for answers after her four-year-old daughter was allegedly dragged by a teacher across the parking lot of Líídlįį Kúę Elementary School.
Shannon Cazon was sent the photo last week by a person who observed the incident on March 28. She said the witness told her they saw her daughter being dragged approximately 50 feet across the parking lot.
CBC was not able to contact the photographer, but Cazon said the child in the photo was her daughter. The photo was posted on Facebook on April 3 by a friend of Cazon's and was circulated widely within the community.
"It's a very serious incident. The photo is damaging — it says a lot. It's a four-year-old child, in this day and age, being dragged by the hood of her jacket like an animal across the parking lot," said Cazon.
Cazon said she knew something was wrong when her daughter came home from school at lunch and did not want to go back to school. She said she didn't fully know the severity of the incident until the witness sent her the photo and shared what they saw.
She said her daughter no longer wants to attend the school.
"She is shaken up by it," said Cazon. "I tried to drive her to the parking lot and she immediately pushed her weight to the back of the chair and said, 'No mommy, I wanna go home.'"
Cazon said she contacted the principal of the school and the superintendent of the Dehcho Divisional Education Council about the incident. She said she was told the council is investigating the incident and the teacher has been suspended until they conclude the investigation.
In an email, the council's superintendent Philippe Brulot did not answer specific questions about the incident but did confirm there is an investigation and that the teacher in question is no longer "in the classroom."
The education council also said the safety and well-being of their students is and will remain a top priority.
CBC has reached out to the teacher in question, but has not heard back yet. CBC is not naming the teacher at this time due to the nature of the claims and the fact that charges have not been laid.
Cazon said she still has a lot of unanswered questions. She wants to know why her daughter was outside with an educator who she says was not her regular teacher. She also said the teacher should have known that their actions were wrong and she needs to be held accountable.
"It's been a very hard and emotional week," she said. "But I am reacting how any other parent or guardian would for their child. What if this was your child?"
Image was 'horrific'
Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said he saw the photo online and called it "horrific". He said parents send their children to school because they trust the teachers and they should be able to do so.
"This is the kind of stuff that you pray will never happen again in our lifetime, especially most of us coming from residential schools," he said. "It's pretty traumatic for us,"
He said the incident appears to be very serious and never should have happened. He hopes the appropriate people address this issue and deal with it so everyone can move forward.
"That's pretty serious stuff, especially in a school," he said. "It makes you wonder what else is going on,"
Fort Simpson RCMP confirmed they had been called about the incident, that they did an investigation and that no charges were laid. The RCMP said they've conveyed their findings to all parties involved.
