‘A real honour’: Elder Dr. Francis Whiskeyjack on being the namesake for an Edmonton school

Elder Dr. Francis Whiskeyjack was in attendance as the school named after him held its grand opening Wednesday.

Elder Dr. Francis Whiskeyjack School celebrated its grand opening on Wednesday night with its namesake in attendance.

Whiskeyjack is a residential school survivor from Saddle Lake First Nations.

In 2010 he was named an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Education, and in 2019 he received an honourary doctorate of law from the University of Alberta.

He also spent many years working with the students at amiskwaciy Academy in Edmonton.

“It’s such a wonderful thing, a real honour, and something that I’m going to remember forever, because I never, ever expected my journey to be honoured as such,” Whiskeyjack said at the school’s opening on Wednesday.

“It’s really significant, not only for my own community, but for my family and for all the youth that I’ve worked with during the years.”

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Tammy Tchir, the school’s principal, says there’s no better person than Whiskeyjack to be honoured by the public school board.

“I can’t think of a better namesake for a school than somebody that’s so generous and so resilient and so kind. He’s an amazing, amazing person.”

The school, which opened in September for Grades 10 and 11, is located in southeast Edmonton.

Grade 12 will be added in September 2025.

Tchir says the school has space for 2,400 students.