Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA GRADUATION POWWOW
Investors Group Athletic Centre
Saturday, May 4, 2024
(please check delivery)
Elders, educators, graduates and family members – thank you for the opportunity to join in this celebration of a learning and community.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I am pleased to return to my own alma mater here in the heart of Treaty One land and the heartland of the Red River Metis.
In a province that is the ancestral and present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Inuit and Metis peoples, this graduation powwow celebrates the importance of education to Indigenous communities and to our province as a whole.
For 35 years, the University of Manitoba’s graduation powwow has turned the achievements of graduating Indigenous students into a community celebration.
In doing so, this powwow has underscored the relationship between the knowledge and society, between the individual student burning the midnight oil over a textbook and the world into which that student’s insights will fit.
Knowledge is not a treasure to be hidden away by the learner. It’s a gift to be shared. It’s a bridge to connect other people, communities and imaginations. It’s a ladder to be left in place for others.
In my own past career as a school board trustee and in adult education, I had the good fortune to see how families and communities celebrate the educational achievements of those they care about.
And I saw how learning changes lives, opens doors and inspires others to believe in new possibilities.
To all of the graduates being celebrated today, I congratulate you on your achievement and on your hard work. May your accomplishments create new opportunities for you and for your loved ones.
And to all of those who have made this possible – whether as University of Manitoba faculty or staff or as part of a student’s support network and cheer squad – thank you for being an essential part of a learning community.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
