WIIKWEMKOONG—An enthusiastic audience of more than 300 parents, guardians, family and friends attended the 2017 Wiikwemkoong Post-Secondary Graduates Celebration held at the Wiikwemkoong Thunderdome earlier this month.
Master of ceremonies Wiikwemkoong High School Principal Harold Fox kept the proceedings running smoothly, no small feat when there are 91 graduates to congratulate.
“We are very pleased,” said Wiikwemkoong Post Secondary Counselling Unit manager Patrick Trudeau. “It is a gratifying success rate.” This year’s event follows close on last year’s record 96 post-secondary graduates.
Wikwemikong Board of Education valedictorian Joshua Manitowabi met his share of challenges in life, but through perseverance and determination he has completed his masters and is going on to tackle his PhD in Humanities at Brock University with a focus on Great Lakes Anishinaabek History.
“Boozhoo, boozhoo, boozhoo, boozhoo. Ishpeming Bemashaat Migizi dishnaakaaz, M’Kwa Doodem (Bear Clan). Good afternoon everyone. Most of you already know me, but for those of you who don’t, my name is Josh Manitowabi and I was born and raised here in Wiikwemkoong, on Luigi Manitowabi’s farm in Slabville. I now reside in Haudenosaunee Territory, among the Seneca, with my wife and newborn son on the Allegany River in Western New York State.
“I want to start off by saying that I am truly honored to be up here today. There are many other Wiikwemkoong graduates who are equally deserving of this recognition. Preparing for this graduation has filled me with a mix of emotions, but the strongest, is pride. I am proud to just be in this group of Wiikwemkoong post secondary graduates who are being honoured here today. We finally did it! All those long evenings, nights, and weekends of researching, reading and writing all take sacrifice. Sacrifice of being away from family, missing out on social events, financial sacrifice and sleep sacrifice. Speaking of which, I am especially proud of the all the parents who have completed their education while raising a family, especially single mothers. There were many times I said to myself, ‘wow, there are many parents who are doing the same thing I am doing right now, while raising a family, how do they do it?’ Well, with a newborn son at home, I’m starting to understand just how challenging that really would be, so I want to offer special acknowledgement to those individuals and their accomplishments.
“I am proud to be from Wiikwemkoong and I am also proud of our chief and council and all the progress that our community has accomplished, especially within the recent years. I am proud of all the educated students from Wiikwemkoong who have graduated and continued to College and University since the High school first opened in 1997. As Anishinaabek, we are very fortunate to have our own high school in our community. I am proud of all the wisdom that the elders carry in our community and the stories which originate from our homes, which have been passed down through the generations. Our Dibaajimowin, our oral tradition, is what binds our community together and makes our community unique. I am proud of all the youth who keep our culture alive and strong through language revitalization, conferences, and attending powwows and ceremonies. I am happy to see so many youths today enjoy hunting, fishing, and being out on the land. This gives us hope for our future, as our community continues to heal itself from the intergenerational trauma of settler colonialism.
“I am proud of all the community workshops which are put on by the various organizations in Wiikwemkoong. I always tried to attend as many workshops as I could while growing up and I always enjoyed visiting with elders in the community, by listening to as many stories as I could. When I moved away, I realized that Wiikwemkoong is one of the best places to live in the world. It is the safest, as we do not have any major natural disasters which occur here. It is not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. We have fresh air, access to fresh clean spring water and we are surrounded by natural medicines, plants, trees and wildly grown foods in the bush. People continue to hunt, fish, and plant fresh foods from their gardens. It took me moving from home to realize and truly appreciate how awesome our community really is. I learned what it means to leave a place, which results into a genuine appreciation of that certain place, by reflecting on what I left behind.
“I worked in forestry for many years, until a personal injury forced me to make a career change. I then worked in the tourism industry for a few years at various resorts and casinos in Canada and the US, but I realized that this type of work was not for me. I needed to find my true passion in life. This happened one night while I was going through some old hockey photos and medals at home. I came across a hockey profile from the Manitoulin Panthers when I was 13-years-old. It stated: ‘What is your occupational goal when you grow up?’ I wanted to be a history teacher. I felt an overwhelming amount of emotions, including sadness and regret. I remembered being teased in high school because I was into history and it was considered nerdy and not cool. I was told that history was so boring and useless. Ironically, it is the reason why I am standing up here today.
“I remembered while I was growing up, my heroes were great chiefs like Pontiac, Tecumseh, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, Chief Joseph and Geronimo. These were the types of books and movies I watched when I was a young boy. I realized that this was my gift, my Miimgwenziwin. I needed to nourish my learning spirit and revitalize my passion, which I found by researching and studying the disciplines of Indigenous studies and history. I also learned to fuse cultural anthropology with history, which then becomes ethnohistory.
“One of the most important aspects of studying history, especially for Indigenous students, is that we learn both the positive and negative things that have occurred during our history. We must not allow the negative things in history to be repeated, but allow ourselves to heal from the pain of previous history. This then allows us to concentrate on our future. We can use our oral stories and language as documented lived experiences to enhance our present situation. This helps us to connect our past, present, and future as interwoven together through our oral stories.
“When I first got to university, I felt so old and out of place. Why did I start so late? Why I did waste all those years of my life? But then I realized we all walk a unique path in life and we all heal at a different pace. I had to utilize my previous knowledge I gained by visiting with elders, attending ceremonies and pow wows as a young boy. I had to utilize the Anishinaabe Kendaasiwin which already exists within our community. I just had to reflect and dig deep into my childhood memories and realize that I was already grounded as a Anishinaabe. This is what brought my confidence back.
“My educational journey also became my healing journey. Before I was to become successful in university, I needed to heal from the intergenerational trauma and various forms of abuse I endured during my childhood. I masked this pain by living the party lifestyle and inflicting myself for years with alcoholism and drug abuse. But then, I left my life in the hands of the Creator, and I learned to forgive, forget, and allowed a spiritual transformation to take place in my life. During these past five years of university, I learned so much about myself, my community of Wiikwemkoong and what it truly means to be Anishinaabe. I learned about healing from an individual, and family perspective. I also gained new insights on what it takes to heal Indigenous communities and nations. I now have a wonderful and supportive wife, a healthy son who are both here today and I am ready to start the next chapter in my life—parenthood and my PhD.
“In closing, I want to share a teaching I received. ‘Before we are born, our spiritual being is already given a gift and purpose before we are brought into this world. At a very young age, between the ages of zero and seven-years-old, our children will teach us what those gifts are and it is up to us as parents to learn from our children and help them nourish those gifts. Let us raise our Anishinaabe children in a good way, so they can reach their full potential and purpose.’ Miigwetch for listening. Lets all give ourselves a round of applause.”
Brittany Aiabens finished her first year of business at Cambrian College and was the post-secondary Counselling Unit valedictorian.
“Aanii Students of the Graduating Class of 2017,” she said. “I am extremely happy and honoured to be standing here today with you and I would like to say chi-miigwetch-kina-gwaya-bii-zhaa-yik-gwonda-egii-zhii-taa-jig-gaa-k’chi-kinoo-maa-gi-zii-jig. Thank you everyone for coming here today to celebrate our graduate’s education success.
“The days have passed by much too quickly, seems like yesterday, we just began our career journey and now we’ve completed our program studies. Before we know, the following academic year will be upon some of us once again.
“Before I begin, I’d like to thank all our education supporters; parents, guardians, grandparents, spouses and our great community, as well our sponsors. Without the support of you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We can thank-you a million times over to express our gratitude and another million times over for your never ending support. So, for the third time and counting—chi-miigwetch, thank you.
“I am sure most of us were nervous and excited to be entering into a new college or university. We gone out of our comfort zones, eliminated the boundaries and put ourselves into a completely new environment, with new direction, new faculty members, new peers and mentors. We progressed as individuals to form a unified community and today we are here to graduate as a united whole.
“So, out of comfort zones and no boundaries, gives success in anything we do.
“Fellow graduates, what a great gift it is to be raised to who we are today and who we are to become in the future. We have a high degree of academic excellence and whether or not you intend to continue your education, you will benefit from what you learnt in your education journey. I know I have. When you leave here today, celebrate what you have accomplished, stay true to your values and stand proud for the goals you have set for yourself. I wish you all the best—miigwetch.”
Receiving certificates from the Post-secondary Counselling Unit commemorating their achievements were Katelynn Abel, Brandon Aguonia, Valedictorian Brittany Aiabens, Morgan Andrews, Kristen Assiniwe, Tiffany Assiniwe, Kalyne Beaudry, Karlina Belbeck, Jonas Bondy, Tahshiina Brisard, Edward Burke, Scott Burke, Mary Ann Caibaiosai, Dehmin Cleland, Nicole Corbiere, Abigail Daniel, Emily Daniel, Carrie Davis, Deanna Delamorandiere, Henry Earle, Elizabeth Eshkibok-Trudeau and Crystal Flamand.
