Growing up, Lani Zastre was proud to call herself Canadian.

In school, she learned about a multicultural country with a society founded on equality and acceptance. Canada Day was a time for earnest celebration.

Zastre’s perspective changed when she started pursuing a degree in social work.

“Learning that, at the time, 86 per cent of kids in care were Indigenous and… recognizing that there’s a disproportionate amount of Indigenous people that experience poverty,” she says. “You really start to realize that the odds are against people, the systems were designed not to take care of Indigenous people.”

To read more of this story first reported by the Winnipeg Free Press, click here.

This content is made available to Canada's National Observer readers as part of an agreement with the Winnipeg Free Press that sees our two trusted news brands collaborate to better cover Canada. Questions about Winnipeg Free Press content can be directed to [email protected].

Keep reading