Cadmus Delorme visits Black Gold high schools
Last month, Cadmus Delorme, the much-acclaimed former chief of the Cowessess First Nation and a strong voice in the national conversation on reconciliation, visited four high schools in the Black Gold School Division.
Students at New Sarepta Community High School, Leduc Composite High School, Ohpaho Secondary School, and École Secondaire Beaumont Composite High School gathered to hear Delorme’s profound message about truth and reconciliation – delivered not as a lecture, but through personal stories that invited listeners to reflect on their place in a nation striving for greater equity and inclusion.
A proud Canadian, Delorme offered a way of seeing the world that invited students to be more thoughtful, to question what they know, and to consider what it means to belong to a nation striving for true equity, inclusion, and acceptance.
Delorme began by reminding students that understanding both Canadian and Indigenous history is not just an academic pursuit, but a path to a better future. “As a young Indigenous person, I didn’t even know my own history,” he said. “Nobody taught it to me, I only learned about it in university.”
“It’s about enriching our overall understanding and appreciation of what it means to live in a shared space with a shared history.”
Cadmus Delorme
He explained to the students that the current generation is the first to be given the tools to fully learn about Canada’s history, including its painful legacy of residential schools. “You didn’t create the residential schools. Your parents didn’t create them. We inherited this tragic history together,” he said.
Encouraging serious thought and reflection, Delorme gave the students a vision of reconciliation as a shared responsibility, not a burden of guilt. He asked them to see themselves as part of a healing journey. “We’re all healing together,” he said.
What made his message so impactful was his ability to inspire. “My message to you today is that every one of you is going to succeed in this country,” he told the students. “Whether you choose to attend university, college, learn a skilled trade, or enter the workforce, you are the next generation of leaders who will write the new chapters in Canada’s evolving story.”
Delorme’s gift for storytelling shone through as he shared a few Indigenous stories, such as why dogs sniff each other’s tails, the clumsy nature of the moose, and the tale of a brave hummingbird trying to stop a wildfire – small actions leading to big results. These stories, filled with humor and wisdom, offered both entertainment and timeless oral teachings.
As he closed, Delorme urged students to adopt an Indigenous worldview alongside their Canadian perspectives, and to deepen their sense of connection and purpose. “It’s not about abandoning one worldview for the other,” he said. “It’s about enriching our overall understanding and appreciation of what it means to live in a shared space with a shared history.”
His presentation left the students with a sense of new possibility and shared responsibility, and to reflect on their own roles in helping to build a more inclusive society.