Honouring Our Future: Yukon First Nations Graduation Regalia

Honouring Our Future: Yukon First Nations Graduation Regalia celebrates the creativity of Yukon First Nations students as they step forward into new chapters of their lives. This exhibition, on loan from the Yukon Arts Centre, brings together a collection of handmade graduation regalia which connects students to their communities and affirms their cultural and academic achievements.

The annual Yukon First Nations high school graduation ceremony, which began in 1975, celebrates graduates who come in handmade regalia featuring local materials, intricate beadwork, and creative designs reflecting their heritage. These regalia pieces, handcrafted by mothers, aunties, clan members, community matriarchs, and patriarchs, tell stories that resonate deeply with their communities. The effort and artistry that each graduate and their family have poured into each piece is a testament to the pride, support, and love that binds their communities together.

Led by Indigenous curator Lisa Dewhurst (Nlaka'pamux First Nation), the exhibition focuses on the artistry and the stories behind each piece. Entire communities came together to plan many of the dresses, vests, moccasins, and more. Some pieces began creation years in advance of a student’s graduation.

The collection was previously on display at the Canada House in London and, most recently, at the Nordamerika Native Museum in Zurich.

The exhibition is also a lens through which to consider Canada’s evolving northern presence, shaped by culture, geography, and history. The lives being celebrated in Honouring Our Future unfold in a region defined not only by community and tradition, but by vast landscapes, vital ecosystems, and important corridors of movement, exchange, and cooperation across the North. In this context, the regalia speak quietly to continuity and resilience in a place where environmental stewardship, sustainable livelihoods, and collective security are inseparable from the presence, knowledge, and leadership of Indigenous peoples.

Honouring Our Future: Yukon First Nations Graduation Regalia opens January 12 and runs through May 29, 2026. The Embassy’s art gallery is located at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW and is open to the public Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, free of charge.