IQALUIT - Mary Akpalialuk slips her amauti over her head to make sure it fits properly. She proudly adjusts it so it sits just right. The next time she will put on her amauti will be when she gets her high school diploma on June 5.

Students and staff at Inuksuk High School will be wearing handmade amautis and silapaaqs made by volunteers from the community at their graduation ceremony on June 5. From left are students Mannasie Kendall and Mary Akpalialuk, teacher Diane Estabrooks, vice-principal Romeyn Stevenson and teacher Malaya Audlakiak. - Emily Ridlington/NNSL photo

Akpalialuk and her fellow graduates at Inuksuk High School will all be sporting amautis and silapaaqs sewn by elders and community volunteers.

"It is part of our culture and I like to show people that this is something we use to show who we are," said the Grade 12 student of her white amauti with pink, purple and blue trim.

Three or four volunteers including several elders have been spending their days, evenings and weekends since mid-April in the sewing room at the school cutting the patterns and then sewing the pieces of the amauti or silapaaq together using the sewing machines.

While sewing machines hum in the background students have been dropping by the sewing room during the school day to try and find an amauti or silapaaq in their size. Ties are made by hand.

"We make sure they fit them and we help them out," said Inuktitut teacher Malaya Audlakiak who is helping with the sewing.

If a student cannot find an amauti or silapaaq that fits, then a custom one is made for them.

One amauti or silapaaq requires three metres (approximately 3.3 yards) of fabric and roughly three hours to make from start to finish. Volunteers have been making amautis and silapaaqs for the graduation ceremony at the school for the last eight years. Amautis and silapaaqs for teachers and staff are made out of black fabric while those for the 30 graduating students will be made in white.

Fellow Inuktitut teacher Mary Alikatuk, who also teaches sewing and career and life management said the first year they made the amautis and silapaaqs for the graduation, students didn't like them.

"Now they are very proud and it is part of their culture," she said.

Both Alikatuk and Audlakiak said making all the amautis and silapaaqs is a lot of work but said it is worth it to see the faces of the students on graduation day.

Akpalialuk said she and her classmates appreciate all the hard work that went into making the amautis and silapaaqs. She said you can see the volunteers took their time.

When she puts on her amauti again it will be at graduation. It is a day she and her fellow students have been waiting for.

"I will feel like I succeeded and fulfilled what I wanted to in high school."