LAC LA BICHE – On May 23, a large group of people gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Aboriginal Head Start program in Lac La Biche and Kikino Métis Settlement.
Led by an escort of Lac La Biche County community peace officer and fire services vehicles, the event got underway with a walking parade in the afternoon that began at Squirrely's gas station in Lac La Biche and ended at McArthur Place, where people could enjoy entertainment and a barbeque supper.
For Tilda Hayward, the coordinator of Lac La Biche Aboriginal Head Start, it was fantastic to celebrate the milestone.
“We just want the community to know that we’ve been here for 30 years . . . We want everyone to celebrate,” she said. “We’ve had children who have come through our program from 1995 to now, so we just want to honour them, and honour the community, and the future children.”
Aboriginal Head Start offers a preschool program and runs programs for families in the evenings, which are designed to provide supports based on the needs of those families.
Speaking about how Head Start was established in the mid-1990s, Hayward explained there was a joint partnership between Kikino, Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement, and Lac La Biche at the time, with the objective of bringing the federally-funded program to the Lac La Biche region.
“Community members came together, filled out the proposal, and they submitted it to the government,” she said.
Vanessa Roesler, coordinator for the Kikino Aboriginal Head Start program, was at the event and assisted in carrying a banner during the parade.
“For our community, we serve a lot of the young children, and we help them with development,” said Roesler.
The program has six components, which include nutrition, social supports, education, as well as culture and language.
Several former students of Aboriginal Head Start participated in the parade, including Riley Gladue.
Gladue, who was in the program in 2009, recalls learning the Cree language, taking part in a sharing circle, and getting to know other kids who have become lifelong friends.
“I’m still like close friends with everyone that I went to Head Start with,” she stated.
