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Theo Osborne is dancing again — about a month after he was attacked at a southeast Manitoba school.
The 11-year-old suffered a concussion, lost a tooth and had some hair pulled out in what his mother, Melissa Johnson, said was racially motivated bullying and assault at Stonybrook Middle School in Steinbach.
Johnson said her son, a member of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, is using traditional dance as a way to heal.
"He used to dance every day, for like two hours a day," Johnson said Monday. "He'd make me go watch him in the living room, and he'd practise. But then, after that happened, he wasn't dancing anymore."
Johnson says Theo is proud of his Indigenous culture. (Melissa Johnson)Johnson said the students who attacked Theo made fun of his long hair. Theo told his mom he was being bullied by two boys in December and that the bullying escalated after the winter break.
Johnson contacted the school's principal and Theo's teacher to address the bullying. She said her son tried going back to Stonybrook three times after the assault, but the bullying continued.
Johnson met with school officials but said they minimized Theo's experience by refusing to call what happened an "assault." She said not using accurate language dismissed the harm done to Theo.
Theo suffered a concussion and lost a tooth during the incident at Stonybrook last month. (Submitted by Melissa Johnson)She requested that her son transfer to Clearspring Middle School, which is also in Steinbach. Johnson said staff members there have been more supportive, and lined up a social worker and an elder for Theo to work with.
He will also be allowed to learn Cree, his father's first language, at his new school.
"I think he's really excited to just start fresh and put the negative energy behind him from what happened at Stonybrook," Johnson said.
Since Theo transferred last week, Johnson said he's reconnected with students he knew in elementary school and made new friends.
Johnson said she wishes Stonybrook followed its anti-bullying policy more closely.
"Their policies say that they don't tolerate violence or bullying, but that's exactly what they're doing," she said.
In a statement, Hanover School Division declined to comment, citing student privacy.
Bambi Bertholet of Mino Odewin, a local Indigenous cultural group, said she also wants to see that anti-bullying policy upheld.
Bambi Bertholet of Mino Odewin, an Indigenous cultural group, says she wants Stonybrook to follow through on its anti-bullying policy. (Jura McIlraith/CBC)"If they just go back to what they were doing before, you're just going to have more of the same — just, Theo won't be there to experience it," Bertholet said. "It'll be other kids experiencing it."
Bertholet said she also wants to see stronger Indigenous education for non-Indigenous students.
She said the adults in the situation shouldn't downplay what happened to Theo.
Sheri-Lynn Skwarchuk, a developmental studies professor at the University of Winnipeg, said it's important to validate how victims of bullying feel.
"Any adult who is in the grasp of a child who's experiencing bullying needs to intervene, whether it is the parent or teacher involved," she said.
"If the victim is feeling bullied, then that's bullying, whether it was intended to be a joke or not."
Skwarchuk said moving schools is often a recommended strategy to put a stop to bullying if it can't be worked out.
She said it's also crucial for schools to enforce zero-tolerance bullying policies and encourage bystanders to speak up. Cultural education might have helped in this case, Skwarchuk said.
"Maybe some understanding about why that child has different views or is celebrating the culture that they're from could certainly help," she said, adding location might make that more difficult for some schools.
Theo with his sisters, Talise, 15, and Taaviah, six (Submitted by Melissa Johnson)"But it should be an all-hands-on-deck approach."
Skwarchuk said finding support in local groups or activities can be beneficial for kids who have experienced bullying.
Johnson said Theo will continue using dance as a way to heal emotionally and spiritually.
Theo has plans of dancing in Clearspring's talent show.
WATCH | Positive experience at new Steinbach school:Theo Osborne, an 11-year-old student who was assaulted at Stonybrook Middle School last month, is looking for a fresh start at Clearspring Middle School.