Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre celebrates 10 year anniversary

The Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre on the University of Saskatchewan campus recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

For the past decade, the Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre has provided a variety of services and supports to Indigenous students. Recently, the centre held a 10-year anniversary celebration allowing students and staff to share how they’ve been positively impacted while attending the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

“If I ever need help with an assignment, there’s someone here for me. If I ever need help with something outside of school, like maybe I’m having a hard day, the centre’s here for me,” USask student Mya Graham told CTV News.

“If I need a friend to talk to, the centre’s here for me. If you’re hungry, the centre’s here for you. I mean, really, I have everything that I need ever. The center has a program or someone here to help, and they want to help us, that’s their goal.”

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The centre opened in 2016 with the intention of helping the social, cultural, and academic success of Metis, First Nation, and Inuit students.

“You can kind of come here and you can kind of take that mask off. There’s a lot more understanding about where you come from, what your background is. You can open up a lot more to people that have similar backgrounds, and it’s a lot more comfortable,” Malcolm McKay, a lead support member of the Indigenous Students’ Union said.

The celebration also featured an unveiling of a new plaque which highlighted the building’s namesake, Gordon Oakes Red Bear.

According to Graham, the day was a time to acknowledge why spaces dedicated to the success of Indigenous people are important.

“When we create spaces like this, that aren’t just a building that the government or the school says ‘Here we go.’ It’s actually a community of people. It makes Indigenous groups want to get together, want to connect. The elders want to come here and teach the youth,” Graham said.

McKay added that while many students only know a time when the U of S as had the facility, those who were on campus prior to it’s opening have shared how significant the centre’s presence has been.

“Talking to a few of my professors, they did their undergrad, and then this just began,” McKay explained. “So hearing stories from them, of what it meant to them and for even student leadership, just having a permanent spot where you can kind dig your roots in and then build from there, was a big thing.”