It may have been dreary and grey outside the Civic Centre last Thursday evening, but inside, the mood was jubilant.
It was a family affair as 40 graduates from around School District 58 celebrated their achievement at the annual SD58 Aboriginal Graduation.
First Nations, Métis and aboriginal graduates from Merritt Secondary School, Princeton Secondary School, N’Kwala School and Kengard Learning Centre were welcomed to the dinner and celebration by a group of drummers and dancers before being brushed with cedar branches and then wrapped in a blanket to honour their accomplishment.
Nooaitch elder and former chief Ko’waintco Michel told the packed auditorium the brushing represents letting go of the heaviness of the past to make room for the future, while the blanket represents the community’s love and support surrounding the grads.
SD58 principal of aboriginal education Shelley Oppenheim-Lacerte said district administration and school staff are proud of this year’s grads and of the programs they’ve developed with input from First Nations communities.
“We’re really proud of the culture teaching we’re providing with our traditional dances. We’re teaching that to our students in the school system and that’s why we’re showcasing at different events,” Oppenheim-Lacerte said.
Students from MSS’s Aboriginal Academy also drummed during the evening.
“We want to build on the number of students that are participating throughout the school district,” she said. “We’re really proud of that.”
She said building relationships and engaging aboriginal communities is important to the success of the school district’s aboriginal programming and its students.
Community support was evident at the celebration, which included representation from all over Canada, Oppenheim-Lacerte said.
“The aboriginal people have a great community network that supports one another,” SD58 superintendent Bob Peacock said in his speech.
Representatives of the school district were joined by members of the SD58 school board, the City of Merritt and the RCMP at the event.
School trustee Richie Gage told the graduates their success depended equally on their individual efforts and their support networks, which include family members, friends, teachers and First Nations support workers.
“Secondary school graduation is the first of many celebrations that you will experience as you move through life, but it is one that will open many doors that may have been closed to you if you hadn’t made that level of achievement,” he said.
District First Nations support worker Keith Jager’s advice to grads was to stay true to themselves.
“Don’t become a copy. Stay original, be yourself. You can be successful if you choose to,” he said.
UBC-Okanagan student Nathan Chenoweth had some words of wisdom for students after graduating from MSS last year.
“Always see a sunny side, a silver lining,” the Upper Nicola Band member told the grads. “Always be thankful for your family and friends. Your family will always support you, no matter what happens.”
Upper Nicola Band Coun. George Saddleman said the importance of that support remained for him in the 46 years since his high school graduation.
“Forty-six years ago, when I graduated, it was a long struggle to get to Grade 12. But once you get to Grade 12, life really travels fast,” he said.
“You’ve written chapter 12, now you have many more chapters to write,” Saddleman said to end his speech.
