Parents have reported that a contingent of Toronto school kids were taken by their teachers to a downtown political protest on the grounds that they were going on an Indigenous-themed field trip.

A smartphone video posted on social media showed several dozen students aged 12 to 14 being ushered through a crowd chanting “from Turtle Island to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”

“At a (Toronto District School Board) sanctioned field trip,” read a caption by Maya Fitzpatrick.

A parent, identified as Melissa, called into AM640 to describe accompanying the field trip. Melissa said teachers dismissed letters from parents saying the excursion was “not a good idea,” and emphasized that children were being taken to a “gathering.”

“I’ve been to many protests in my life, and if this was not a protest I will eat my hat,” Melissa said in an interview with Toronto Today host Greg Brady.