New school at Stoney

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The Bearspaw Nation, one of the three Stoney Nations located southwest of Calgary, opened their new $4.5 million school on Aug. 20.

The Chief Bearspaw Memorial School is the result of years of persistent effort by the community and its leaders

In 1988, former councillors John Lefthand Jr. and Rex Daniels struggled to convince Indian Affairs of the need for a new school in the community to replace the existing facility.

Daniels said that when he was elected, he inspected the old school, which was made up of several portable trailers, and found it to be in poor condition. Attendance at the school was also dismal, with only 15 regular students making it to classes.

"I knew that something had to change," Daniels said.

That something included firing ineffective teachers. Within a year, student attendance was up more than 50 per cent.

When Indian Affairs representatives made an unannounced school visit, they found over-crowded classrooms.

"We had kids sitting on the floor because there were no chairs or desks," he said.

The department finally approved the design and construction of the new school.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held late in 1997 on a field that Daniel's father used to gather hay.

"When my dad passed away I thought that it might be appropriate because he was a well-educated man," Daniels said.

A committee of community members oversaw the planning and design of the school, insuring it would meet educational and cultural needs.

The new school has seven classrooms, a gymnasium and a tipi-shaped cultural room.

Principal Linda Makeechak will head the the integration of modern and traditional teachings.

"We have kindergarten four-year-olds up to Grade 9, plus we're offering some core subjects for Grade 10," Makeechak said. "We believed really strongly that the school needed a cultural area where we could start to increase the focus around the culture."

The events at the opening included a grand entry led by drummers and Elders, speeches by students, community members, band councilors and government officials and a feast.

Daniels said he was overwhelmed with emotion to see the Bearspaw Nation finally realize their dream of a new school.

"I'm so proud. When we came in with the grand entry I couldn't even swallow because it was very touching," Daniels said.