Thunder BayEvery fall, dozens of teenagers from remote First Nations in northern Ontario move hundreds of kilometres from home to complete their education in Thunder Bay, Ont., at the city’s all-Indigenous high school. As orientation kicks off at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School (DFC), here’s how community members are coming together to help ease the transition.Orientation activities, school supplies campaign aim to set students up for successSarah Law · CBC News · Posted: Sep 02, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 hours agoVolunteers with United Way Thunder Bay’s GenNext program are seeing stuffing a school bus with supplies for students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. (Sarah Law/CBC)Every fall, dozens of teenagers from remote First Nations in northern Ontario move hundreds of kilometres from home to complete their education in Thunder Bay, Ont., at the city’s all-Indigenous high school. As orientation kicks off at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School (DFC), community members are coming together to help ease the transition.Participants of United Way Thunder Bay’s GenNext program collected school supplies for DFC students on Saturday as part of their stuff-a-bus campaign, gathering everything from pens and pencils to essential hygiene items.”It’s for them to feel like they belong to our community, that they’re welcomed into our community and that we can set them up for every success,” said local GenNext cabinet chair, Noah Siren. “School supplies can add up.”Noah Siren, chair of the GenNext cabinet at United Way Thunder Bay, is seen at Saturday’s stuff-a-bus campaign for Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. (Sarah Law/CBC)Just under two-thirds of First Nations youth across Canada have completed high school, compared to 91 per cent of their non-Indigenous counterparts, according to a 2023 Statistics Canada report.Sean Spenrath, DFC’s First Nations student success program co-ordinator, said the sacrifices his students make should not be taken lightly.”It’s just such a challenge that these kids are doing to get an education, extreme barriers to find success for them, right?” Spenrath said.”Leaving your family — I couldn’t imagine doing that at 13 years old and going to a strange place you’ve never really been.”While filling up backpacks is one way to support students, DFC has a week of activities planned to help them adjust to life in the city in what Spenrath says is Canada’s largest orientation for First Nations youth.’Foster a sense of community around them’Among the events planned at DFC this week is what’s called the Amazing Race, where the 160 students are introduced to city transit and tasked with finding various landmarks in town.There’s also the DFC Experience, which invites prospective students “to experience Thunder Bay before they actually have to come here for school,” Spenrath said.Jingle dress dancers perform at the Wake the Giant Music Festival in Thunder Bay, Ont., in 2024. This year’s festival takes place on Saturday at the waterfront. (Marc Doucette/CBC)”They’re overcoming these tremendous barriers to get this education, so anything we can do to put them on a level playing field, that’s what we’re doing here today,” he said.The week culminates with the sixth annual Wake the Giant Music Festival on Saturday, a homecoming event “where the kids get to feel like rock stars.”This year’s festival, hosted by Ojibway and Cree musician Sara Kae, will feature a number of Indigenous artists, community resource booths and a headliner performance by the Black Eyed Peas at the waterfront.School supplies can be dropped off anytime at the United Way Thunder Bay office for students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. (Sarah Law/CBC)Despite the excitement ahead, it’s important to keep in mind the mental health effects of going through such a significant transition at an early age, said Melissa Blackwell, one of the GenNext volunteers.”If you remember going to high school, you’re also kind of forming your sense of identity and stuff, so I can’t even imagine coming to a whole new place, again without the support that you would normally have,” Blackwell said.After moving to Thunder Bay from southern Ontario five years ago, she encourages DFC students to look for opportunities to get involved in the community and find people with common interests.”It’s really important to foster a sense of community around them because they’re leaving their communities to come here,” she said.While donations for DFC are accepted year-round at the United Way Thunder Bay office, Spenrath said the most important thing people can do for the school’s newcomers is be kind.”Saying hello and smiling and waving goes a long way to making these kids feel welcome in the community,” he said. “We always accept donations and stuff like that but making them feel welcome in the community is the biggest part.”ABOUT THE AUTHORSarah Law is a CBC News reporter based in Thunder Bay, Ont., and has also worked for newspapers and online publications elsewhere in the province. Have a story tip? You can reach her at sarah.law@cbc.ca
All-Indigenous high school in Thunder Bay, Ont., welcomes students for new school year
