Sweetgrass First Nation’s new school nears opening as graduation numbers continue to climb

Students from the current school, which serves up to Grade 9, are expected to move into the new building at that time. A grand opening is planned for September next year, when the school will expand to offer programming from daycare through Grade 12.

The interior of Sweetgrass First Nation’s new school is shown during construction. The nearly $40-million school is expected to welcome students for a soft opening after the winter break in February, with a full opening planned for September 2027. (Image Credit: Chief Lorie Whitecalf)

Whitecalf said the project comes as more young people are completing high school and pursuing further education.

“Every year it grows. I think this year we had 26 graduates,” she said.

She said the number of students from the community earning diplomas, university degrees, master’s degrees and technical certificates continues to increase each year, bringing greater demand for post-secondary funding.

“And it’s amazing to see that our youth are wanting to learn… they’re succeeding,” Whitecalf said.

“So, however, we as leaders and staff in Sweetgrass can help our kids, our youth learn and fulfill that drive, we’re there to help them.”

The growing demand has also exposed the limitations of the existing school.

Whitecalf said enrolment has increased to the point where multiple grades must share classrooms because there is not enough space.

“So we don’t have the space in our school right now to have a classroom for each pre-K right to grade 9,” she said. “So we have to combine a lot of the classes.”

The new school will provide a dedicated classroom for every grade, along with daycare, an early Head Start program and a dedicated space for Elders.

She said the additional space will also allow Sweetgrass to expand land-based learning, incorporating Indigenous knowledge throughout the curriculum while giving students more opportunities to learn outside a traditional classroom.

“So a lot of our focus in our education program is focusing towards land-based learning,” Whitecalf said.

“This is going to be more interactive. Kids are going to be hands-on learning how to harvest an animal to feed the families, right?”

The program is already underway, but because the current school lacks space, many lessons take place at the community centre after local hunters return with harvested game.

“So when our hunters go out and harvest an animal, they bring it to the community center and the kids come and they learn to dress and they learn how to process the game and they take it home,” Whitecalf said.

“So they learn about food security, and it’s just amazing.”

For Whitecalf, watching the school near completion is also the culmination of a vision shared by generations of Sweetgrass leaders.

“It took 21 years for our new school to get approved,” she said.

“There were a lot of Chiefs prior to me who saw that need and put it on the capital plan. And it took all the Chiefs before me to push for that. And I just so happened to be the Chief when we started to build.”

“It’s exciting, and it just makes me happy to see plans fulfilled from previous Chiefs, right?”

She believes the school’s lasting impact will extend beyond academics by helping young people strengthen their connection to their language, culture and community.

“To see that culture come back and be taught and it’s alive and well, it fills me with pride, pride to be Indigenous,” Whitecalf said.

“I love my reserve and seeing our children learn that identity early in life, it’s amazing.”

The school carries a price tag of $39,497,000. Most of the funding comes from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), with additional support from the federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program for daycare and early childhood spaces, and a contribution from the First Nation itself.

When finished, the school will accommodate 190 students – nearly double the current capacity of about 100. The original school, built in the late 1970s about 35 kilometres west of the Battlefords, went decades without replacement funding until 2022.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

Sweetgrass First Nation’s new school nears opening as graduation numbers continue to climb

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