Members of a small community in Nova Scotia's Antigonish County are expressing shock after school buses, road signs and a school were tagged with racist graffiti targeting both Indigenous and African Nova Scotian students.
The RCMP believes the graffiti was spray painted near the East Antigonish Education Centre/Academy in the community of Monastery sometime between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Monday.
Residents from the Paq'tnkek First Nation, just a few kilometres away from the school, say the vandalism has caused a great deal of pain.
"Unfortunately its ignorance,” says Paq'tnkek band councilor Darlene Prosper. “I pray for the people that wrote it. Obviously something's going on with them to do such things... I guess we’re going to need some healing here.”
First Nations students who attend the school were sent home at the request of the Band Council at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
“I that made that decision, whether it was the right or wrong decision, at the time I was concerned for the safety of our kids,” Prosper says.
Students say it was a difficult day at school, but the graffiti had been removed or covered up by 12 p.m.
“I know my First Nation friends are really, really upset and confused at what the point is of why anyone would do this,” says Grade 11 student Abby Brow.
Straight Regional School Board officials were onsite at the school offering support services throughout the day, and also sent a letter home to parents.
“We take this incident very seriously and are working very hard to make sure that our schools are safe learning environments for all students,” says superintendent Ford Rice.
The RCMP says video surveillance captured at the school and nearby businesses could potentially identify those responsible for the graffiti.
“With the video evidence we were able to obtain in this particular situation it should be very handy with the investigators,” says Const. Morgan MacPherson.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald.
