École St Patrick High School students gathered on Thursday to celebrate Unity Day – an event intended to recognize both Black History Month and Indigenous Languages Month.
Tatenda Njava, president of the Yellowknife school’s Soul Society, said the day was all about celebrating culture.
The Black-led group was formed in late 2024 to allow students an opportunity to engage with and embrace diverse cultural backgrounds.
Being president has been both a responsibility and a growth experience for Njava. She wants to continue creating a space where everyone feels included.
“It’s a really big responsibility but at the same time, it’s fun. I feel like I get to experience other people and they get to experience me as well,” she told Cabin Radio.
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“I feel like us as Black people, we’re made set apart from everyone, and I feel like … we should always learn to be able to accommodate each other. No matter if you’re white, Black, we should able to celebrate each other’s culture.”
Tanatswa Garepi, a student at St Pat’s, said this is the second year the school has hosted Unity Day.
“It usually is just a vibe, really, and that’s always fun to get the whole school community engaged,” she said. “It’s so amazing seeing all the smiles on their faces.”
The 2026 celebration included morning drum circles and speeches in the gym, followed by activities such as a cooking class where students prepared dishes like smoked fish and plantains, a workshop on fish cutting, hair braiding, dance, live music, African story-telling and hand games.
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For Black History Month, Garepi said the school’s other events have included an art exhibit featuring local artist Inemesit Graham. A week later, they hosted a trivia night to test students’ knowledge of Black history, with Arielle Adjei emerging as the winner.
One highlight was a cultural food day featuring Afro-Caribbean dishes, which Garepi said “really uplifted Black culture, and I really felt that people started to actually understand more about Black history.”
Adjei said that last year, one of the performing artists was her uncle, Jonel Louis-Jean from LJJ Barber Shop. “It was just so much fun. Everybody was dancing, everybody was laughing. It was very cool,” she said.
Kenshi Goulie-Buddoo, a teacher at the school, described Unity Day as more than an event. She called it a celebration of “voices and roots.”
“We’re equipping our students to be productive citizens, so we’re well rounded. We don’t just celebrate who we are in February, but it’s good to bring us all together in February and just have this big event,” she said.
“I’m just so happy to be bold and bringing our Blackness forward and the Indigenous languages forward together.
“It’s really good to be the face of that and knowing that we’re making history here. The students are amazing. We are complete because of them. Everybody brings their own identity, their cultures … just hearing the stories together, that is unity.”
