On Friday a special graduation ceremony will be held in honor of Portland State’s Native American and Alaskan Native graduates.
Ten students will graduate at the 2010 Honor Day Graduation Ceremony and 200 people are expected to attend. According to Dean Azule, coordinator of the Native American Student and Community Center, this has been a tradition since 1994.
The ceremony will begin with a meal at 5:30 p.m. and will include honor drums and songs. Dr. Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet, president of Antioch University in Seattle, will deliver the keynote speech.
Robert Tom, an elder of the Grand Ronde tribe, will also be present, and Kona Calama, the uncle of a graduate, will give a flute performance in honor of the graduates’ accomplishments.
Many Native American tribes and communities have contributed to the event, Azule said. Grand Ronde, Warm Springs, Siletz, Klamath, Coos and other tribes have provided donations or sponsored the Pendleton Indian blankets that will be presented to each graduating student at the ceremony.
“[The presentation of a blanket] is a high status achievement,” Azule said. “It demonstrates the community rallying to support the recognition and support of Native American youth and Alaskan Native youth.”
The ceremony was created to honor the accomplishments of Native American youth. According to Azule, the current high school graduation rate among Native American students is only at 50 percent.
“The numbers are increasing,” he said. “But for a while…we weren’t getting a lot of enrollment in higher education.”
Lack of financial and family support can lead to fewer Native youths going to college, Azule said.
“Some of it too is an apprehension that Indian kids have in leaving home,” he said. “And if you’re coming to a place like Portland State you’re coming into a big city. So it’s a whole relocation, readjustment process.”
Participation in this year’s ceremony is down compared to last year, when roughly 15 students went through the ceremony.
“Part of the problem this year is that we’re holding it a week before PSU’s commencement,” Azule said.
However, the university has seen an overall increase in applications for graduation among Native students.
“We have seen an increase in the last 10 years of people graduating and finishing masters [degrees],” Azule said.
Despite the increase in graduation rates, Native students sometimes do not want to participate in the ceremony because no one from their tribe or family can make the journey, according to Azule.
“As long as there are Indian people around, you always have family,” he said. “And it’s in our tradition that, no matter what you do, the family needs to step forth and honor you and recognize you for the accomplishments you’ve made.”
He stresses the importance of Native American students participating in the ceremony, which provides an opportunity for students to see the support from their tribal communities.
“This is just one tool placed in your hand, and you can be one step better than the generation before you, and take it one step further,” Azule said. “Whether you coach, mentor, teach or take someone under your wing, let this continue so that we may one day eradicate the statistic of a 50 percent [high school] graduation rate,” Azule said.
The Honor Day Celebration will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Native American Student and Community Center. A summer ceremony will be held as well. For more information on this and other events call NASCC at 503-725-5348.