On Friday, 12 First Nations students graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada’s Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year (ALOY) after a year of learning about the military and their traditions.

"When I came to the program I knew the basics of my own heritage, I’m Ojibwa, but I really learned a lot more, and have a deeper understanding of military and the Inuit and Metis," said a newly graduated Officer Cadet Victoria Pierrot after her graduation parade. "It helps foster that respect and that relationship between military and indigenous people, which is really important."

The ALOY program focuses on military skills, leadership, academics, athletics and cultural awareness and is completed at RMC. Successful students of the preparatory program are enrolled in the Canadian Forces for one year as officer cadets and receive paid tuition and books at RMC. By the time the students finish the year, they’ve accumulated seven university credits.

"The ALOY program is designed to be challenging, both personally and collectively," Gen. Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff, said in a news release. "Each of these young people has faced and overcome those challenges, and in doing so, they have grown into leaders able to serve their communities. They should be proud of the critical accomplishment which they have achieved today."

Of the 12 graduates this year, nine intend to join the Canadian Forces as either first-year students next semester, as reservists, or as non-commissioned officers. Pierrot has applied to study either political science or business administration at RMC and hopes to become an air force logistics officer. Her classmate Michael Stranks — awarded top cadet of the program — plans to go the reserves route and to finish his degree online.

"A lot of the academics were leaning towards studying aboriginal history, so it was really good to dig into that," said Stranks, who grew up Metis in Bognor, Ont. "It was something I hadn’t studied that much before."

Warrant Officer Brian Highfield was the ALOY warrant officer for the first six months of the program before taking leave for knee surgery. A military brat with no aboriginal background, he said he learned a lot during his time with the students.

"It has been a passion of mine working with the young aboriginal men and woman across Canada," Highfield said. "A lot come in August and they aren’t sure what they want to do. By the middle of the program a lot of them have a clearer Idea of what they want to do with their lives. Some want to join the military or go back the community. Nnow they have the leadership training to build their self-confidence.

"I always tell them, be proud of who you are and where you come from because nobody can take that away from you."

During the past year the students were part of a veterans parade and ceremony in Ohsweken First Nations; Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa; an exercise with the Canadian Rangers in Yellowknife, NWT; a sweat lodge hosted by a First Nations elder; and the Governor General’s Military Tattoo.

The year culminated with a 107 km canoe down the Rideau Canal from Smiths Falls to Kingston. Pierrot said the trip was one of her favourite memories of the year.

"It’s a really good time because we’re all together," Pierrot said. "It brought in our fitness and our leadership, and our military studies for orders and how to give them.

"It was also a beautiful route, and there was a lot of fishing — so I really enjoyed it."

scrosier@postmedia.com

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