Alix McNaught
Northern News Services
Published Friday, June 13, 2008

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The fourth annual Aboriginal Honour Graduation Ceremony takes place this Saturday.

Parents, teachers, elders, aboriginal leaders and community members will gather at the Yellowknife River to honour Dene, Métis and Inuit graduates.

This year's organizers are Jane Arychuk, Doreen Cleary, Brenda Dragon and Roberta Kennedy, along with Johnnie Bowden and Al McDonald.

"It started out as the vision of one person, Roberta Kennedy," said Arychuk, campus director for Aurora College in Yellowknife.

"The vision was to honour aboriginal graduates on aboriginal grounds in an aboriginal way," said Arychuk.

The idea for the ceremony came from the desire to focus on the approximately 50 aboriginal students who graduate from the two high schools each year, rather than on those who drop out.

Kennedy brought her idea to the Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (Yk1) Parents' Advisory Committee, of which Arychuk was a member.

The committee contacted their counterparts at Yellowknife Catholic Schools, as they wanted the ceremony to be for all aboriginal graduates in the city.

Between 25 and 30 students have participated in the ceremony each year. Invitations are extended to the aboriginal graduates of Sir John Franklin and St. Patrick high schools; and Aurora College graduate.

According to Arychuk, the reaction from aboriginal parents has been positive.

"They appreciate (it). It just gives them another way to have their children honoured in an aboriginal way," she said.

Staff from all of the participating schools are part of organizing the event.

Saturday's ceremony will begin with a feed the fire ceremony led by Judy Charlo, an elder from Dettah, and will be followed by the lighting of a qulliq, a traditional Inuit lamp.

All of the graduates will be recognized and honoured with stoles of stroud, moosehide and beads, made by Karen Wright-Fraser.

The stoles will be presented to the graduates by someone important in their lives. According to Arychuk, each student chose someone who they believe has made a significant contribution to their academic successes.

Messages to the graduates from the Yellowknives Dene chief and the minister of education will be followed by guest speaker Joe Dragon. Dragon is a Northern graduate from Fort Smith, a former NHL hockey player and now a doctor.

"The rest is celebration," said Arychuk. "We'll have fiddlers, jiggers, Inuit drumming, and throat singing. Following the performers, there's a feast."

The ceremony is a community event, sponsored by community organizations and government departments, and is open to anyone who wishes to attend.