Saskatoon program helping Indigenous students thrive in high school and beyond

Anna-May Zeviar · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

As Rylan Iron gets acceptable to graduate from Holy Cross High School successful Saskatoon, the 18-year-old is already readying for a engaged future, including 3 years of post-secondary schoolhouse astatine the University of Saskatchewan successful Indigenous studies.

After that, helium hopes to spell "somewhere nice" to survey Indigenous-centred law.

Getting present has taken a batch of hard work. Originally from Canoe Lake Cree First Nation, helium says helium whitethorn not person made it without the Pathways to Education Program, an after-school tutoring programme that offers world help and overmuch more.

"It truly conscionable felt similar I was going location to my family," Iron said. "It's a fantastic experience."

Pathways to Education is simply a national charitable enactment that operates successful 31 communities. It helps interruption the rhythm of poorness done education, by providing after-school tutoring and different assemblage circumstantial supports to students.

According to Statistics Canada, Indigenous students are little apt to implicit precocious schoolhouse (63 per cent) than non-Indigenous students (91 per cent).

In Saskatchewan, the programme works with the Saskatoon Tribal Council and the Gabriel Dumont Institute, which allows students to entree wraparound resources including food, autobus passes, schoolhouse supplies and culturally applicable activities.

The students and their families besides person sports mentorship, lodging help, entree to intelligence wellness services and occupation readiness programs.

Students tin motion up for the programme successful Grade 9, and erstwhile they graduate they person a $2,000.

In Saskatoon, 350 Métis and First Nations students from 9 public and 5 Catholic schools crossed the metropolis are presently enrolled.

Darlene Lanceley, the tribal council's Pathways to Education manager, said the Saskatoon programme is stands retired for including First Nations and Métis civilization some wrong and extracurricular of the classroom.

"So successful the summertime, for example, we'll instrumentality them to powwows," Lanceley said. "We instrumentality them to the circular creation with the equine dance. We instrumentality them medicine picking, truthful they really larn however to prime the sage and however to bash things with the sage and sweetgrass."

Lanceley said the programme is making a important difference, not lone to graduation rates, but besides to the students' assurance and potential.

"I motivate them due to the fact that I archer them that they're smart," Lanceley said. "I archer them that they're courageous. I archer them that they're resilient. I archer them things that a batch of radical don't accidental to Indigenous youth."

It was Lanceley who inspired Iron to articulation the programme successful Grade 9, erstwhile she offered him immoderate pizza during a recruiting league astatine his school.

The escaped pizza whitethorn person brought him done the door, but having a welcoming spot to bent out, marque caller friends and get assistance with his homework kept him coming backmost for 4 years.

"As overmuch arsenic acquisition is truly important, you besides indispensable not hide that taste consciousness of being Indigenous," Iron said. "Even with the medicine wheel, they accidental you person to find balance, right? So successful bid to support that balance, you indispensable support a bully mental, physical, spiritual and affectional level."

Pathways operates from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The kids get fed supper and also person a play voucher for luncheon astatine their ain school.

In Saskatoon, the programme operates retired of the White Buffalo Youth Lodge, with entree to a ample gymnasium, a value room, a machine lab, a trade room and a country for ceremonies, smudging and prayers.

"You could decidedly beryllium feeling stressed, past each of a abrupt … erstwhile you smudge oregon erstwhile you devour oregon erstwhile you erstwhile you speech with your friends there, it truly benignant of brings your accent down," Iron said.

Winona McLean is besides astir to postgraduate from Saskatoon's Bedford Road Collegiate and from the Pathways Program. 

The 17-year-old is from James Smith Cree Nation and besides has household connected Piapot. McLean said being successful Pathways has helped her summation assurance and beingness skills.

"It's decidedly made similar a immense difference," McLean said. "Without them, I don't deliberation I'd adjacent beryllium graduating this twelvemonth due to the fact that I truly struggled successful mathematics and science."

McLean's mother encouraged her to articulation Pathways successful Grade 9. Now, astatine the upcoming ceremonial for this year's 60 graduates, she volition beryllium the valedictorian.

"She's precise proud, I think," McLean said. "She's precise blessed that I'm graduating due to the fact that she didn't person a truly bully acquisition successful precocious school."

From a taste perspective, McLean besides appreciates being successful a spot wherever her Indigenous roots are respected.

All of these elements marque a large impact, according to Lanceley, who grew up successful Prince Albert. She said it's helping constrictive the precocious schoolhouse graduation spread betwixt Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

"These are Indigenous students and they're graduating connected time, which is important," Lanceley said. "When I was successful precocious school, cipher cared. I retrieve the main saying, 'Why are you trying to graduate? Don't you cognize Indians don't graduate?'"

Iron is grateful for the opportunities the programme has fixed him. He said he hopes helium tin usage his experiences to animate others.

"Especially erstwhile you person a batch of household backmost location connected the reserve who don't person the aforesaid accidental arsenic you, it's like, you're truly speaking for them," Iron said. "I anticipation I tin support giving backmost and hopefully 1 day, go similar an influential person."