U of S powwow honours Aboriginal grads
- Fraser Needham | June 01, 2015
Thousands of people gathered in the University of Saskatchewan bowl at the end of May for the annual graduation powwow.
The event is held to honour both university and high school Aboriginal graduates.
Festivities throughout the day feature traditional drumming and powwow dancing competitions.
Other activities include Métis storytelling, First Nations and Métis hand games and First Nations storytelling.
Master of ceremonies duties were performed by Donny Speidel and Howie Thomson.
Jack Saddleback is the third successive Aboriginal president of the U of S Students’ Union.
He says the annual powwow has become one of the university’s integral events.
“The significance of the University of Saskatchewan’s powwow is huge. It’s vital in regards to showcasing to Aboriginal people, more specifically Aboriginal students, that they can see themselves in postsecondary education. And we want to break down those barriers that may be internal, or external, so they can succeed in these types of institutions.”
Saddleback adds the graduation powwow allows the U of S to showcase its diversity.
“Having a powwow here within the University of Saskatchewan graduation is huge,” he says. “Having that celebration of Aboriginal culture, it just showcases that we are a diverse university and we love to be able to showcase the whole student and not just the scholarly part of the student but their cultural background, their community background, and to celebrate them and show them they matter in our community.”
The newly elected USSU president also has a few words of serious advice for the new grads.
“I realize that a lot of these folks are going to go out into the workforce and I just playfully googled a few things and number one being clean up your social media. Number two being make your online presence job oriented and number three being don’t just look for a job, look for a meaningful career because at the end of the day you’re the person who’s investing in your future. And when you invest in something meaningful to you, it’s not going to feel like a job, it’s going to feel like a career.”
A total of 363 Aboriginal students have applied to graduate from the U of S this spring and 120 participated in the powwow.
Close to 2,000 other students from across the province attended the powwow including 304 Grade 12 graduates who were honoured.
A total of $25,000 in prize money was awarded to competing dancers and drummers.
U of S spring convocation ceremonies take place in the first week of June.
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