Kesla Fry

Ambassador

Kesla Fry

Kesla, Confederated Tribes of Colville) , enjoys interacting with people through public speaking.

“One thing I am passionate about is my culture. I am a running start student at Omak Washington. I’m also the secretary for our Colville Youth Council. I love being involved in my youth, the community, my culture, anything I possibly can be involved in. I truly like being involved in what I can be to show other native people that they can make a difference. The past three years I’ve worked with kids showing them native foods, dance and music. I am also now representing Miss NWIYC.”

Hi, I have a difficulty with one of my teachers at school. She often puts down my religion by comparing it to other Abrahamic religions and talks about in in an unflattering light. In my country, my religion is the majority but in my opinion, faces a lot of bigotry, more so than the minorities. We don’t have control over our religious sites, we can’t endorse schools based on our religion, and we are often portrayed as fascist when I can guarantee that we are the furthest from that label. I want to confront my teacher and tell her how her misinformed and one sided statements are offensive, not only to me but to other students of my religion as well. However I don’t want to be seen as a bigot, or rigid in my beliefs. This is difficult since majority of my peer group are exposed to media that deliberately manipulates information to distort my religion, which is indigenous to my country and has survived both the Mughal Invasion as well as the British Empire. Can I have some advice on how to make my stance and concerns clear without being labelled as a bigot?

see answer
Menu