Driftpile Cree Nation in Alberta celebrates 1st high school students to graduate locally in over 20 years – CBC

Oct 27, 2021

Return of high school classes in the community means students can learn more about the culture, says chief

For the first time in two decades, residents of Driftpile Cree Nation in northwestern Alberta are celebrating the graduation of high school students who earned their diplomas in the community.

Kyra Giroux, 17, says it’s both exciting and “a lot of pressure” to be one of the two graduates along with lassmate Kali Cunningham to make up Mihtatakaw Sipiy School’s first graduating class since the First Nation stopped offering senior grades in the community because of declining enrolment in the 1990s.

“It’s something that the people wanted and we wanted,” said Chief Dwayne Laboucan about Driftpile’s high school program. “We said, ‘We need to start teaching our own kids our own culture.'”

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/driftpile-first-nation-graduation-1.6224891