INUVIK
Sarah Jerome knows what it means to choose education.

Gwich'in elder Sarah Jerome was inducted into the NWT Education Hall of Fame June 23. - NNSL file photo

"I just felt so humbled," she said of her induction into the NWT's Education Hall of Fame June 23.

"Just that someone thought to nominate me for that . it's an honour."

Having been a student, a teacher, language commissioner, and de facto guest lecturer at Harvard University at a time when those things were not particularly accessible to aboriginal women, she knows all about giving up personal comfort and stability for the chance to better herself, her family, and her community.

"It's been so emotional for me," she said of the time she left Inuvik to head to school in the south, with four children under 12 in tow. "My husband stayed here, and I remember my youngest son just crying and asking me 'When are we going home to see dad?' "

At the end of her program, when it was time to head back North, Jerome said that same son asked if they could stay a bit longer.

"That really showed me that what I was doing was right," she said.

Jerome worked as a teacher, focusing mainly on culture and language, and even served for a time as the language commissioner of the NWT. She has always advocated for young people and sought to help connect them with opportunities to further their education. Still, she said she couldn't have done any of it without the support of her husband.

"He kept the home fires burning," she said, laughing about how she had a very modern marriage long before they became mainstream. "When we had kids, he took care of them, and now we have grandchildren, and he does the same."

Jerome's husband is not the only one she credits with this most recent honour. She said that while the induction itself doesn't change much in her day-to-day life, it has made her more aware of all those who contributed to her own success.

"My father went to three years of school in Hay River, and he became the first Dene appointed to the legislative assembly," she said. "He believed in education and he instilled that in us."

Education Minister Alfred Moses presided over the induction ceremony in Yellowknife last week and said that anytime he can meet and recognize educators in the territory, it's an honour.

"She's done a lot," he said of Jerome. "As humble as she is, she's contributed so much to education, especially language and culture, not just in Inuvik, but in the whole territory."

Having retired in 2006, Jerome said she's now busier than ever. Between sharing her own experiences in residential school with audiences as far away as Cambridge, Mass., mentoring young people in the region, and contributing to the Gwich'in Curriculum Project, there isn't too much time left over to dwell on awards.

"You never retire," Jerome said, laughing. "There's always things to do."

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