Organizers pleased by success of Aboriginal Careers '99

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There was something for everyone at the Aboriginal Careers '99 show that took place at the Regina Agribition Building on April 28 and 29.

Aboriginal Careers '99, Planning Tomorrow's Success Today, was presented in partnership by Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council, the Aboriginal Workforce Initiative, and the File Hills Qu'appelle Tribal Council. Carol-Lynne Quentin, the career awareness co-ordinator for STEC, was the co-chair of the event.

She said the two main purposes of the event were to, first, show Aboriginal youth in Saskatchewan the career opportunities available to them in the areas of science, technology, trade and tourism, and second, to have youth of all cultures interact with each other in order to promote respect and harmony between different ethnic groups.

The other co-chair, Milton Tootoosis, from the Aboriginal Workforce Participation Initiative, said the two-day event, geared for students in Grades 7 through 12, was an enormous success during this, its second year of operation. He said it attracted young people from all across the province with more than 2,000 pre-registrations and between 200 and 500 walk-ups.

The event was opened with a prayer by Elder Bigknife, while the ribbon-cutting duties were performed by Trevor Kennedy, president of the Metis Youth Council.

The school buses that transported the students to Regina from across the province were each met by an Elder and representatives of the different tribal councils across the province, providing positive Aboriginal role models for the students from the moment they arrived.

The event attracted more than 65 exhibitors. Many of the exhibits were inter-active, giving the students a hands-on experience and a sense of participation in areas of interest to them.

When asked what was the most popular exhibit, the students could not reach consensus, stating that all the exhibits provided interesting insights into possible future career opportunities.

However, there was great interest in exhibits such as the Regina fire department and the RCMP, along with Cable Regina where students could surf the net and make an actual video of themselves.

Their were many other exhibitors representing a variety of specialized fields such as the Regina Health District, Saskatchewan Labor, Weyerhaeuser Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, Tourism/Government of Canada, Cameco Corporation and Regina Police.

There was also representation from all the province's major post secondary educational institutions, such as the University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina, Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology , and the Gabriel Dumont Institute of Metis Studies and Applied Research.

The event provided the students with a complete picture of what's available to them after high school, leaving them ewith an abundance of options to choose from.

The cost to put on this event was expected to run somewhere around $170,000. Both Quentin and Tootoosis acknowledged the fact that without the support of their sponsors the event would not be viable.

"We would like to thank all our sponsors " said Quintin. "Especially our platinum sponsors. Without their support and dedication to the Aboriginal youth of Saskatchewan, this event would not have taken place."

Reaction from the students was positive.

"The event was well worth attending," stated a young girl from a Regina high school. "It gives us something to work towards and allows us to start planning for our futures."