Indigenous grads at Red Deer Polytechnic surprised with gifts by student services staff

Indigenous graduates of Red Deer Polytechnic in Alberta this year were surprised when they were given gifts — including a blanket featuring a white buffalo — from the school's Indigenous Students Services office. 

Lloyd Desjarlais, dean of Indigenous initiatives, said it was recognition from the institution "that they are Indigenous; they are unique." 

"And I think it did catch a few of them off guard but, you know, all pleasantly surprised and very happy."

Desjarlais, who is from Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan, said Justice Soosay and Kimberly Potts, who work at the Indigenous Student Services office, were the driving force behind the idea. 

All three are former students of the school who understand the challenges that Indigenous students face — and they wanted to celebrate their accomplishments, he added. 

"[None] of us received anything like this as graduates so we just kind of want to be the people that we needed when we were students," he said. 

"There are different needs and different ways that they need support, whether it's from our department or from the institution."

The school has put work into its reconciliation plan and Desjarlais said services for Indigenous students today are far more robust than when he was studying. 

The school has 63 self-identified Indigenous students graduating this year, which Desjarlais said is the largest cohort he has seen since he began his work eight years ago. 

"The number keeps growing every year," he said.

Creating the design

Lisa Big Snake, co-owner of Snake Stitch, created the blankets for the grads. She said the design of the white buffalo and handprints was something she thought about a lot. 

Big Snake, who is a member of the Siksika Nation in Treaty 7, said she was inspired by the saying that education is the new buffalo. 

She said adding handprints was a signal to the Every Child Matters campaign and encircling the buffalo with them represents unity. 

Receiving a blanket is an honour in many First Nations, she added.

"Every graduate that convocated is going to receive something that they're going to hold with pride, and that white buffalo will give them the strength to carry out that," Big Snake said. 

The idea for the blankets came late so Big Snake only had a couple weeks to make them but said it wasn't a problem for the family-run operation. 

"We got a good crew," she said, adding that her children all work with her.

Knowing that her work is being given to graduates on this important occasion is exciting, she said. 

"We never know where those graduates are going to end up working in this world."

Two students in particular stood out as "super grateful" for the gifts, according to Desjarlais. Those students did their entire four-year degrees at the school and saw the improvements the school has made in terms of the services for Indigenous students, he said. 

The school's work on reconciliation has helped students deal with common obstacles like finances, family issues or even reconnecting with their cultures, according to Desjarlais. 

"They were really grateful to receive the gifts and they were thankful for [Soosay and Potts] for making the effort to think about them," Desjarlais said.