Welcoming Ceremony: Honoring the Past Present and Future

At the beginning of each year Native Education College hosts a “Welcoming Ceremony” to welcome the new students to the school. It is a fun event where new friendships are made, traditional songs are sung, students and faculty participate in traditional dancing, and everyone learns about the history of the college.

This year the traditional speaker/singer Robert Williams of the Squamish Nation explained the protocols of the longhouse and how we leave the negative energy outside and bring in the positive energy as we enter though the totem pole. Robert Williams explained that everybody that enters though the ceremonial entrance also represents the countless doors, opportunities, and promising careers for students pursuing and completing higher academic education.