Southern graduates prepare for future

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Years of hard work and noses buried in books have finally paid off for 83 First Nation students who graduated from high schools and post-secondary institutions in southern Alberta this past month.

The students were honored at the Fourth Aboriginal Student Graduation and powwow on May 29 at the University of Calgary's Grant MacEwan Hall.

The graduates were from Calgary's Catholic and public schools, the Siksika Nation High School and Redcrow Community College on the Blood Reserve.

This year, 34 junior and 14 senior high school First Nation and Metis graduates were presented with plaques and eagle feathers.

"It's really exciting because the first year we had this graduation celebration we had one graduate from the Calgary Catholic and 10 from the public schools," said Doreen L'Hirondelle, the Aboriginal specialist from the Calgary Board of Education.

She attributes the increased number of graduates to parental and community support and the hard work of school board's Aboriginal education teams.

Pat Loyer, a consultant for the Catholic School Board, also attributes the high number of graduates this year to support from the school boards and government funding for Aboriginal programs. He said that without the programs the students wouldn't receive the incentive they need to graduate.

"They need to see that being Aboriginal and going to school can go hand-in-hand and that they can be just as successful as any other kid if they just put their mind to it," Loyer said. "What we want to try and do with some of the kids we deal with is let them understand that they can have a moccasin in two worlds.

"Warriors of the past used to fight with weapons, now the warriors of today are these kids and they're fighting with education. Those are the tools they need to succeed in the White man's world."

Tim Bastien, 15, is a Grade 9 grad and plans to continue on through high school and university. He has no doubts about his future.

"Basically I want do something when I'm older like get a wicked job or something - probably a technician or some other high-paying job" said the Peigan Nation student.

Tina Isadore, 18, and Debin Bellerose, 22, both from the Driftpile Cree Nation, are two of nine graduates from the Plains Indian Survival School's Grade 12 class of 1998.

Isadore said she has been working towards her high school graduation since she was a little girl.

"My parents had a lot to do with it as well," she said. "There was a lot of encouragement and they were there for me."

Isadore plans to take a well-earned one-year sabbatical before enrolling in a dental therapy course at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College.

Bellerose made his mistake by dropping out of school and trying for a job without the proper education.

"I found out it just didn't work," he said. "What it comes down to is you need your Grade 12 education if you really want to progress." Bellerose now plans to enrol in a university-level communications program.

Not only did high school enhance the future career prospects of Isadore and Bellerose but it also enhanced their personal life. Now a couple, they say it was school that brought them together.