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Justice Douglas Thompson said Servatius did not prove there was an infringement of religious freedoms.

“The petitioner has failed to establish that the Nuu-chah-nulth smudging in her children’s classrooms or the prayer said by the hoop dancer at the school assembly interfered with her or her children’s ability to act in accordance with their religious beliefs,” he wrote.

Servatius, who is an evangelical Christian, argued the school district should be prohibited from holding similar events in the future.

The court heard the Indigenous events took place in the 2015-16 school year at John Howitt Elementary School in Port Alberni where the children, who were nine and seven years old, were students.

Cameron said the children were required to participate in ceremonies against their religious beliefs.

“You can show a cleansing demonstration of a smudge on a video screen, on a TV,” he said. “You can read about it in books. But to actually have the ceremony done to cleanse the energy of the classroom that you’re in, we say that steps over the line of what’s permissible in the use of state authority.”

Sayers said smudge and hoop dance ceremonies are considered cultural traditions and she rejected the argument trying to categorize them as Nuu-chah-nulth religious practices.

She said the court decision helps bring more understanding and focus on the Port Alberni area’s long-standing Indigenous presence.

“It allows Nuu-chah-nulth to continue to teach in the school district about our culture to all children, not just Nuu-chah-nulth children,” said Sayers. “But it also helps to make Nuu-chah-nulth children feel comfortable in their schools.”