Rolling River First Nation celebrates graduates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2023 (851 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Graduates from Rolling River First Nation were celebrated for their accomplishments and reminded of the importance of upholding their cultural traditions at a convocation ceremony and luncheon at the Victoria Inn in Brandon on June 30.

Ten Rolling River First Nation (RRFN) students graduated from Erickson Collegiate Institute this year, and five graduated from other off-reserve high schools. The community celebrated seven of their members who received their mature student high school diplomas this year, and four post-secondary graduates as well.

Derek McKay is the band councillor who holds the education portfolio with the First Nation, located 76 kilometres north of Brandon. He’s been working with youth on the reserve for nearly 10 years, and says it’s important to encourage young people to graduate from high school and post-secondary institutions because of the opportunities an education will afford them later in life.

“Being Indigenous people, we really strive for them to get their education, because it gives them a sense of guidance in their life coming up, as well as being able to get a job,” McKay said.

The entire community feels a sense of pride in the graduates of 2023 and their accomplishments, he added.

“We have some graduates that are 40-plus years old that have made that commitment and have graduated. We’re pretty proud of our people here today,” McKay said.

Elders and married couple Dennis and Elaine McKay say it’s important that entire communities rally around people who are trying to achieve their education goals so that they feel loved and supported and can go on to follow their paths confident that their community will always be there for them.

“You’re always there for them. You make that commitment,” Dennis said.

When young people are raised with the love and guidance of their communities, after they go on to achieve their education, they often want to come back to their community to share their gifts and work for their own people, Elaine said.

“I’m extremely proud of our graduates. I know how hard they worked to get on the journey here, and now I’m encouraging them to start another journey for their future profession, and to come back and work with us back home, because we need our nurses to come home, our electricians, carpenters and so on.”

The sense of happiness that filled the banquet hall at the Victoria Inn was palpable, Elaine said, and due in large part to seeing not only the success of the young people that were being celebrated but the promise that lies ahead of the community’s children that have yet to embark on their own educational journeys.

“I highly respect all the children, because they are our future leaders. They don’t realize it now, but they’re already leaders,” she said.

One of the keynote speakers for the event was Aaron McKay, the Indigenous Relations Officer with Riding Mountain National Park, and owner and photographer of Giiwe Media, a multi-media company. Addressing the assembled graduates, their families and friends, McKay told the graduates to keep moving forward while keeping their community in their hearts.

“You have so many people who love you, who care for you and want to see you succeed,”he said.

McKay also encouraged the graduates and all the community members to connect to their culture, traditions, and the Anishinaabemowin language.

“Do your best to find that language,” he said. “Keep that language alive and strong.”

>> mleybourne@brandonsun.com

>> Twitter: @miraleybourne