Scarlett M.

Rebels for Rights

Scarlett M.
Anglophone West School District Regional Heritage Fair – Fredericton
Fredericton, NB

My story focuses on three main uprisings in Canadian history. I cover topics of racism interwoven in our society, how the government contributed in bad and good ways, and who were the people behind the headlines. My first subject was on the Oka Crisis. I start off by introducing the situation itself, it was a 78-day standoff between the Canadian Armed Forces and the Kahnawake peoples. During this time, the media coverage of this often was biased to the Armed Forces - as the only people who could cover the story had to be let in by the Forces. I show each right violation that took place during this time, with an in-detail explanation behind it. Next, I cover the Congress of Black Writers and Artists, though this wasn't all Canadian, its most influential conference was held in Canada, and progressed the Black rights movement in Canada (and other places) significantly. Lastly, I chose to hit one close to home: Take Back the Night Fredericton, this event if very close to my heart and I was honored to write and teach about it, in this section I showed why it started and why it matters we do this every year to pay our respects to people who were wronged. The response to my inquiry was no, no we are not doing enough to change a broken system, this is shown by the countless times history seems to repeat itself. 

What sources and evidence did you consult for your project? What different perspectives did they provide on your topic?

I had a range of resources that went into the background of my project. I'm so glad I had opportunities to do research outside of just Google, though I wasn't able to contact all of the organizations behind these movements I was able to get amazing knowledge from the Fredericton library, mostly for Take Back the Night but it was truly a trove of different perspectives. I believe it helped me form factual conclusions and opinions. 

What is the historical significance of your topic?

My topic is extremely relevant to today's times because there are aspects of the past we can look back on and see a pattern, we're repeating mistakes, but we mustn't let that continue, we need to learn from the past to move forward, my project displays some of the areas that need attention.

Why did you choose this topic?

I'm very passionate about justice and the people that were harmed.