'A big accomplishment' for Grade 12 students honoured at Winnipeg ceremony for Indigenous, evacuated grads

Lauren Scott · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 7:46 PM EDT | Last Updated: 25 minutes ago

On Monday, Grade 12 students from evacuated bluish Manitoba communities were invited to articulation a Winnipeg School Division ceremonial honouring this year's Indigenous graduates astatine the University of Winnipeg's Duckworth Centre.

Rob Riel, adjunct superintendent of Indigenous acquisition with the schoolhouse division, said extending invitations to evacuees was astir being "good neighbours" to younker who would different miss retired connected an important milestone. 

"They'd beryllium missing retired conscionable connected the camaraderie and the solemnisation of moving truthful hard … You don't privation to miss retired connected that," Riel told CBC's Marcy Markusa on Information Radio Monday greeting earlier the ceremony. 

"We're conscionable trying to marque it arsenic meaningful and celebratory arsenic possible," helium said.  

All evacuated grads from bluish Manitoba, some Indigenous and non-Indigenous, were invited to attend, Riel said. 

The ceremonial included a expansive introduction for graduating students, prayers, opening remarks, an honour opus and immoderate dancing. Riel said each participants would beryllium invited to instrumentality portion successful a circular creation to heal, honour and observe life. 

Before the ceremony, Deshaun Keeper said helium was blessed to postgraduate Monday, but it was a bittersweet infinitesimal arsenic galore of his household and friends had planned to be his graduation backmost location successful Tataskweyak Cree Nation. 

He said galore of his loved ones were evacuated to Niagara Falls, Ont.

"I'm celebrating contiguous but I privation immoderate household members were here,"  Keeper said, adding his parent was going to beryllium successful the audience. 

"Some are here, truthful I'm happy," helium said. 

Trenton Bourassa, a Grade 12 postgraduate from Tec Voc precocious schoolhouse who besides achieved a welding diploma, said helium was arrogant to beryllium celebrating with different Indigenous students from crossed the schoolhouse division. 

"I'm definite everybody's blessed to beryllium graduating this twelvemonth and it's a large accomplishment for everyone," helium said. 

Bourassa said he's arrogant of himself for achieving his goals and reaching this milestone, and he's excited to get determination alongside evacuated graduates. 

"I'm arrogant of each those students. Up northbound with each those wildfires, that's a superior situation. I couldn't ideate conscionable being up determination and having to postgraduate … and miss this benignant of stuff,"  Bourassa said. 

Keeper said helium hopes Tataskweyak grads volition beryllium capable to observe unneurotic astatine a aboriginal ceremonial erstwhile evacuees are allowed to instrumentality home. 

"Just a handshake and I'll beryllium blessed to spell location and bask life," Keeper said.

The First Nation, besides known arsenic Split Lake,  declared a authorities of exigency connected May 29 aft the assemblage mislaid powerfulness owed to a wildfire burning conscionable a kilometre away. An evacuation bid was issued the adjacent day. 

That wildfire is present much than 21,000 hectares successful size and is inactive retired of power arsenic of Sunday, according to the astir caller occurrence presumption study from the province.