"But My Students All Speak English": Ethical Research Issues of Aboriginal English (Report‪)‬

Introduction The title for this article comes from a section in Heit and Blair's (1993) chapter "Language Needs and Characteristics of Saskatchewan Indian and Metis Students: Implications for Educators." Thirty years ago, I arrived for my first teaching job in a small, remote, predominantly Aboriginal community in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of British Columbia. I had decided to become a teacher when I was 7 years old, and I could hardly wait to begin my new position. On my first day in the community, a group of curious children from the nearby reserve came to welcome me at the duplex situated on the school ground, which I shared with the new principal and his wife. In conversation, the children referred to the new principal as "he" and "him." Then I heard one of the children referring to me as "him" and to the principal's wife in the same way. Surprised and confused, I wondered what was happening. They had been calling me Miss Wiltse; why were they referring to me as he? It is with shame that I recall thinking, "What is the matter with these kids? And what have I got myself in for here?"