Thursday night was a significant one for the staff and students at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, as they held their annual Indigenous Students Honour Ceremony.

Chief Cadmus Delorme(L) was the guest speaker at this year's annual Indigenous Students Honour Ceremony held by the Moose Jaw Saskatchewan Polytechnic Campus.

For the last few years organizers have been implementing the celebration at their schools across the province to cement the bond between a student and their schooling when they're on the horizon of finals the end of the school year. 

"We do this at all four of our Saskatchewan Polytechnic Campuses - it's become an annual thing now over the three years," explained Jason Seright, Director of Indigenous Strategy at all the campuses. "We do it at this time of the year to give them that extra push and that encouragement and motivation to continue with their studies, and to continue working hard towards their goals and dreams."

Seright added that they created the initiative with the hopes of having more and more students completing their school year, instead of getting distracted at the end.

"We look at what our graduation rate is here, it was a 52%, but we've moved to a 57% and to close that gap so that our students are graduating at the exact same rate or maybe even higher than non-indigenous students. That's why it's important, because our indigenous people can be successful, they're smart and maybe with the right supports in place we can see that and make a difference."

The guest speaker in attendance was Chief Cadmus Delorme, from Cowessess First Nation. He spoke to the crowd with power and inspiration behind his voice, bringing a new light to students and reigniting their fire to keep chasing their aspirations. He also addressed the history of the land on which the event was held, his role, and how he became a leader in his community, as well as how the students can be enlightened by their educators. 

"It was about a celebration of education and higher learning and bringing in an indigenous component to it. It still is about higher learning; it just has a different view on it. It's not just about books, it's about feelings, knowledge, humor, legendary stories and succeeding together while moving forward," said Chief Delorme. 

The ceremony also featured speeches from present students and graduates, as well as those who have continued their education since receiving their distinction from Moose Jaw's Saskatchewan Polytechnic.