Age no barrier for student

Page R8

Yvonne L'Hirondelle knows it is never too late to go back to school, or to learn about your roots.

The 50-year-old Metis, mother of 10 and grandmother or 25, graduated from Alberta Vocation College Grouard June 11. L'Hirondelle received her diploma in Native Clothing Design dressing in a traditional white buckskin Woodland Cree dress she had created.

L'Hirondelle graduated with honors and was the recipient of the Native Traditional Arts Achievement Award given each year to a student in the program who shows outstanding achievement and contribution to the program.

It was quite an accomplishment for L'Hirondelle, who says she didn't do much sewing beside the odd baby quilt before entering the course. She also discovered her Metis heritage during the program.

"I tell everyone when they ask, I was raised just 'like a people,'" laughed the quiet spoken L'Hirondelle, responding to questions about her childhood.

L'Hirondelle's father was a railroad worker for most of his working life, and her mother stayed home to raise three children. Native culture or history was never discussed in the family.

"Nobody went into (native culture)" said L'Hirondelle. "It was really something to find out there were powwows."

It wasn't until entering the design course that L'Hirondelle discovered, on researching an outfit, that flowers are a traditional Metis pattern in beadwork. And her outfit is extensively beaded with wild roses, a pattern chosen because it represents Alberta as well as being a Metis design.

Going back to school at 50 wasn't easy, said L'Hirondelle, who took upgrading for nearly two years, before entering the clothing design program. She had quit school at 14 because "I thought I knew enough," and married four years later.

The years passed, and along the way L'Hirondelle picked up a book and taught herself how to sew a baby quilt for a grandson. One quilt led to another, and although there was a lot of ripping and tearing out of stitches, she persisted.

"I just made up my mind to do it, and just did it," she chuckled. "Now I have three quilts on the go."

Margaret Cardinal, program instructor, said L'Hirondelle's presence in the class showed she hasn't given up on education.

"I really like her...she encourages the students here. They really look up to her."

L'Hirondelle also does volunteer work, less now since entering the program 10 months ago. In spite of her commitments with the program, she was named Volunteer of the Year for the High Prairie Native Friendship Centre last year.

L'Hirondelle says returning to school wasn't easy but "if you want to do something bad enough, where there's a will, there's a way."

Her advice to young people who have dropped out of school and are thinking about returning is:

"Don't wait as long as I did before you come back. I knew there were a lot of different professions out there, but when I came back I saw so much I could have done. Now I'm too old."