Emotional day for Indigenous students at Concordia
Resource centre honours graduates from First Nations across country
Tears came streaming down Kaya Bellaar Spruyt’s face when she rose to accept her graduation stole on Thursday.
For Bellaar Spruyt, the journey to this moment wasn’t just about all-night study sessions and making friends in a new place.
To earn her degree, she had to leave her remote Inuit village and battle the culture shock of being one of the only Inuk students at Concordia University. But along the way, she had the help of Concordia’s Aboriginal Student Resource Centre to keep her grounded.
“The (resource centre) has been a home away from home,” said Bellaar Spruyt, who comes from Kuujjuaq. “It’s a big step to graduate. It’s bittersweet, but I’ll always know that you guys have my back.”
Bellaar Spruyt, who earned a bachelor’s degree in First Nations studies, was one of 31 Indigenous students graduating from Concordia this year. On Thursday, the resource centre held a ceremony to honour these students, who hail from 10 distinct nations across the country.
“A lot of these students will go back to their communities and bring their knowledge and help build a better future,” said Orenda Boucher-Curotte, co-ordinator of the Aboriginal Student Resource Centre.
“But a lot of these students will stay in urban centres and become part of the fabric of Montreal. They’ll contribute and work through this process of decolonizing just by being there, just by existing.”
Boucher-Curotte, who comes from Kahnawake, is familiar with the culture shock many Indigenous students face when they first set foot in university.
“My home was right across the river, so it wasn’t as hard as when students come from Cree or Inuit territories, but it was jarring,” Boucher-Curotte said. “I was a single mom, had a three- and a six-year-old, and I felt really alone. Most of my classes, I was the only Indigenous student. I felt lost.”
During her second year, she found help at the Aboriginal Resource Centre.
“These were people who understood what I was going through. They were able to help me get support, help with my children,” she said. “I never forgot that. And now, to be able to give back is such a joy.”
Systemic underfunding of education on reserves is just one of the many systemic factors that contributes to higher dropout rates among Indigenous peoples. For those who do make it to university, they’re fighting culture shock, peers who may harbour racist views and a system that has historically excluded First Nations.
But many are fighting from the inside to change that reality.
“I’m here today ... because I want to be included in the spaces, conversations and decision-making processes that Indigenous people have been excluded from,” said Brooke Wahsontiiostha Deer, from Kahnawake.
Deer graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commerce and she’s staying at Concordia to get her master’s degree.
“We do belong here, and I am tremendously grateful for the people who make university a safer and more welcoming place for Indigenous people.”
Most of my classes, I was the only Indigenous student. I felt lost.