CHHS homemade beaded cord

By Chantal Wagner

Beaded cords and tassels for FNMI students at grad

Jun 18, 2021 | 3:14 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Crescent Heights High School Grade 12 students graduate tonight at Co-op Place.

First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) students will be recognized with a special symbol as part of the ceremony.

About one dozen grads will be wearing beaded cords around their neck and tassel on their cap.

These beaded cords and tassels were hand-made by five ladies in the community.

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FNMI students had the idea before the Kamloops 215 discovery last month.

“I think it’s more important now than ever to really show off who we really are and show support for obviously Indigenous communities everywhere,” graduate Aidan Vermette told CHAT News.

The school division’s FNMI support worker says when students register for school there is an option where they can declare if they are of aboriginal descent.

Shirley Boomer says you don’t need a status card it just means it’s part of your family history.

Boomer says before this, grads were given an eagle feather to be recognized.

“But with different laws that have been passed, it makes it impossible to do that because you need to have a treaty card and all kinds of things. And it’s not really an Inuit thing or Metis thing so it wasn’t really inclusive. But the beading is absolutely inclusive, it’s an art form and all indigenous people have art forms,” Boomer added.

A special land acknowledgment by a graduate will also be included in tonight’s Crescent Heights ceremony.

Hat High will also wear white and green cords during their grad next week. That takes place at Co-op Place on Thursday, June 24 at 7 p.m.

Meantime, Monday, June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day.

The Medicine Hat Public School Division will have activities for each grade and an informational video for all schools.

Boomer says there are things people can be looking into.

“There’s a lot of different issues that we could be working towards helping First Nation people bring forward. Some of that is of course the clean drinking water, money for children for health, it would be the same amount of money that every Canadian child gets. And education money as well, on reserves children get less money than every other Canadian school child,” she said.