Celebrating Indigenous graduates and award recipients
Indigenous graduating students and their families were honoured at a virtual celebration hosted by Ryerson Aboriginal Student Services.
On June 9, the Ryerson Aboriginal Student Services (RASS) created a special space to honour Indigenous graduating students and celebrate their achievements through a virtual gathering.
The event included inspiring speeches by Indigenous leaders and alumni along with Ryerson’s president and vice-chancellor Mohamed Lachemi, while recognizing the achievements of 61 Indigenous graduates and nine graduates who completed the Aborginal Foundations Certificate.
“I hold up my hands and lift each of you up for your hard work, the challenges you have faced and overcome to complete your certificates, undergraduate and graduate degrees,” said Monica McKay, founding director of RASS.
“Always, we look for ways to implement our commitment to widening the path and pathways to post-secondary education. Each of you contributes to ensuring that pathway is strengthened with your Indigenous values, experiences and knowledge, affirming that integral to learning is reciprocity,” McKay added, elaborating on the goal of RASS to support Indigenous community members and empower future graduates.
Each year, the event’s organizing team looks for opportunities to collaborate with the university’s ceremonials office to plan the event and recognize the achievements of Indigenous students who pursue their goals and dreams despite many challenges along their learning journey - financial, academic, personal or accessibility.
“No matter how long it may take to cross that stage and get that piece of paper, the dedication and resilience our students have shown throughout their studies is something to be celebrated. Every Indigenous graduate paves the way for future students who may never have thought of pursuing a post-secondary education, and we honour that with this celebration every year,” said Brian Norton, program coordinator at RASS, who led the organization of the event in collaboration with other team members.
A celebration of diversity and resilience
The virtual reception featured congratulatory remarks from Elder Joanne Dallaire (Ke Shay Hayo) and notable Indigenous alumni such as author and journalist Waubgeshig Rice, storyteller Jennifer Alicia Murrin, and author, hand drummer and social worker Lisa Osawamick.
The keynote speaker was Anishinaabe journalist Tanya Talaga, a 2021 Honorary Doctorate recipient and a visionary for Canada’s reconciliation. She spoke truth to power and delivered messages about hope for Indigenous students, addressing the communal and intergenerational trauma caused by residential schools and the legacy of Egerton Ryerson. Especially during this time of immeasurable grief, Talaga reminded students that it’s important to celebrate their educational milestone with pride.
McKay also acknowledged the heavy responsibility that the community of TeKumloops te Secwepemc undertook in sharing with the whole country their search and discovery of the burial site which held the remains of the 215 Indigenous infants and children - affecting every Indigenous person in Canada, who are experiencing a myriad of feelings such as pain, trauma, anger and grief.
“This is not just an isolated incident, given the requests that every residential school be searched. We will be here. We will create spaces to gather people in, and what will guide our work is our belief and confidence in our Indigenous knowledges and practises of attending to grief and trauma - it is not just about healing, but action as well,” McKay said.
Award recipients
The event also celebrated 63 students who received awards and scholarships including the Ann and Bill Mackay Entrance Award for Aboriginal Students in Recognition of Joanne Dallaire, Ann and Bill Mackay Entrance Scholarship for Aboriginal Students in Recognition of Monica McKay, Bennett Family Award, Emergency Assistance for Indigenous Student Bursary, Fiera Capital Award for Part-Time Indigenous Students, Fiera Capital Award for Indigenous Graduate Students, Frank H. Hori Award for Aboriginal Students, Indigenous Student Bursary, Métis Nation of Ontario Bursary, Rabbi Abraham Silverstein Aboriginal Student Award and Vernon Yellowhead Award.
Denise O’Neil Green, vice-president of equity and community inclusion, described the evening as a celebration of diversity – a diverse group of students, a diverse group of degrees and awards, and a diverse set of nations and backgrounds of the graduating Indigenous students and student award recipients.
“All of you not only embody the generations of resilience and perseverance of your diverse Indigenous communities and heritage, you also symbolize a bright and dynamic future full of new ways of being, knowing, thinking and leading,” Green said.
For future graduates in attendance, the ceremony provided a glimpse of what they can look forward to and the many achievements they can work towards during their time at the university.
“I felt proud attending and seeing the effort go into the event as each student felt special at that moment. I am excited to graduate and hear my name too as that is an exciting moment that lots of people are not allowed to experience, especially in my community,” shared Alexxus Leigh Newman, a current student and peer support worker at RASS who helped organize the virtual event.
