'It was really cool': Labrador Innu students tour MUN campus

High school graduation rates are on the rise in Innu communities in Labrador, and it's hoped a tour of the St. John's campus of Memorial University by a group of 26 students from Sheshatshiu and Natuashish will help continue that pattern at the post-secondary level. 

It was the first such visit to MUN for a graduating class from these communities, and it turned into quite an adventure that was highlighted by a visit to the Ocean Sciences Centre.

"It was really cool. It was things I hadn't seen in my life, I didn't think they exist," said Zachary Michel, a student at the Sheshatshiu Innu School.

Future leaders

The 2014-15 school year is a notable one for these communities. 

Some 17 young people from Sheshatshiu and eight from Natuashish are graduating from high school this year.

That's about double what the numbers were only a few years ago, and many are talking about pursuing professional careers.

Eugene Hart, vice-principal at the Sheshatshiu Innu School, said these students are the future leaders.

"The best part of the tour is having all of them here and for them to see what it's really like, [that] this is the actual future," he said. 

Making great strides

The education system in these Innu communities appears to have taken a major leap forward in recent years, and this is good news for people like Hart.

Not long ago, an alarmingly high number of Innu children in Labrador did not even attend schools, and the communities were plagued by social problems.

But that trend appears to be reversing, and the tour of MUN is another example of the strides being made.

The students have the usual worries about being away from home, but others also want a chance to give back to their communities.

The gymnasium in Natuashish, for example, has been closed for several years, severely restricting options for youth activities.

"I'd like to do something about it and come here to go to school and come back and start lots of programs and activities for the youth because they're so capable," said Charlene Andrew, a student at the Mushuau Innu Natuashish School.