Sixth grader Kendra Levi-Paul is stepping up and speaking out in support of equal access for First Nations children in care

Eleven-year-old Kendra Levi-Paul is demanding that First Nation youth no longer be forgotten – and on Feb. 13 she’s taking her message to the Legislative Assembly.

The Alaqsite’w Gitpu School sixth grader is traveling to Fredericton from Listiguj First Nation, which is located on the New Brunswick/Quebec border near Campbellton, to speak at a rally as part of national Have a Heart Day activities. Have a Heart Day is a youth-led reconciliation event that brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians to raise awareness of the inequities in the education, health and child welfare services for First Nations children living on reserves.

“It’s a chance for the government to not just apologize but for them to know that we’re here,” says Levi-Paul. “Sometimes they treat us like we’re invisible.”

Read the full story, first published, by Wicked Ideas. 

Oscar Baker is an award-winning multimedia reporter from Elsipogtog First Nation and St. Augustine, Fla. Baker is the winner of the David Adams Richards award for non-fiction writing for The Violent Ones. Follow him on Twitter @oggycane4lyfe