Community celebrates opening of new school

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Oct. 2 was a day of celebration on Thunderchild First Nation, as more than 300 band members joined together for the official ribbon-cutting for a spectacular new $14 million school that will serve the needs of students from kindergarten to Grade 12.

Many officials attended the opening of Piyesiw Awasis school, including Roy Bird, regional director general for Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC), and Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations vice chiefs Greg Ahenakew and Lindsay Cyr. Thunderchild Chief Winston Weekusk and band councillors Albert Angus, Bernadine Walking Bear, Norman Moyah, Violet Weekusk, Ira Horse and Charlie Paddy were also on hand for the celebrations, along with director of education Marvin Jimmy and Elders Joseph Jimmy Sr., Gladys Wapass Greyeyes and Jim Milo.

Eldon Okanee, the principal of the new school, opened the program by introducing the guests of honour, dignitaries and Elders. He called on Joseph Jimmy Sr. to share a prayer and blessing and to play the opening and the honour songs on Thunderchild's own Big Bear Drum.

Angus spoke at length during the gift giving ceremony, commenting on the significance of the two milestones Thunderchild was celebrating that day. Earlier, chief and council had taken part in a ceremony to officially ratify a land claim settlement worth more than $53 million to the First Nation.

"I am very grateful that we are celebrating two big events on the same day, the final settlement with the Minister Robert Nault's signature of our specific land claims settlement and the ribbon cutting ceremony of a beautiful new school building. I thank the Creator for the goodwill that has come upon our community and I want to thank the many people, too numerous to mention, who have made this possible. I want to thank the late Chief Thunderchild himself, who was very big on education, probably the first chief who was given a school on a reserve in 1879, according to Treaty 6 and our research. Chief Thunderchild wrote letters to the Canadian prime minister saying 'Where is my school house? I signed treaty and it says 'a school house on the reserve.'

"Many of you that are older than me will remember that old log building that became a band hall years later. Because of that, the first school house, many people in my late dad's generation were able to read and write. We were the first reserve in Saskatchewan to have Indian control of Indian education and the fifth in Canada. We have a very high level of education on our reserve and one of the highlights of the specific claims settlement is that both our current and previous band council wanted to put ten per cent of that money in education. You can expect that with the opening of the new school today, Thunderchild will be, perhaps, the best-educated First Nation community in Canada. That is where we are headed today," Angus said.

After inviting everyone to the school's official grand opening celebrations on Nov. 12, Okanee shared some facts about the new state of the art facility.

"The new Thunderchild school, designed by architect Barry Prokop, is 4,359 square meters and cost $14 million, to which Thunderchild contributed $7,490,000. Construction created about 18,000 hours of employment for our First Nation," Okanee said.

"In addition, Piyesiw Awasis school has special features that reflect our Cree culture and traditions-a smudge area and sweat lodge for ceremonial purposes and a walk-in cooler freezer in our home economics lab that reflects a focus on traditional hunting and cooking. Other prominent features of our school are 300 inlaid ceramic tiles depicting the portraits of 60 Elders from Thunderchild First Nation. The school is built to accommodate nursery to Grade 12 and has been designed to hold 400 students.

"Classrooms include two kindergartens, 13 standard classrooms with tutorial spaces, two special education rooms, a state- of-the-art science and computer lab, industrial arts, a stage, library learning resouce centre, a huge gymnasium, weight room, cultural room, student common room, a large track and field facility and an outdoor amphitheatre. We are very proud of our new school and are looking forward to moving in," Okanee said.

The most prominent feature of the new school is the cultural room, shaped like a traditional Plains Cree lodge. It features a circle of lights in a translucent dome that will cast a glow that can be seen at night from as far away as the Maidstone highway, and that will never be extinguished. The room will provide a home base for the Elders-in-Residence program.

The colours of the four directions have been embedded in the extensive stonework walks and surrounding circular terraces and in the four wings of the new building.

"The new school has been constructed with the concept of 'function first and design second' and will employ upwards of 35 people," explained Marvin Jimmy.

"It is a proud day not only for Thunderchild, but for us as a region," Bird said during the celebrations.

"There is no other region in Canada in any federal department that has treaty people running the programs, including regional director and associate regional directors. It is only in Saskatchewan, and Indian Affairs is the only department. That shows you the faith that we have been given us to be able to work with you, with leadership, to bring schools like this to the reserve level. So we congratulate you, the community, the leaders and Elders for the hard work throughout the years since we started the process."

Weekusk ended the program by talking about how very emotional and positive the day had been for his people.

"We can look for a brighter future. You know, for all the negative press we get as Native people, this is a bright spot today, I am very proud today for all of you, particularity our students. You are going to be the ambassadors of our First Nation."