New Siksika Nation school 'really something exciting'

Elementary school students on the Siksika Nation are finallygetting settled in at a new school this week after years of fighting for it and it's a major upgrade over the old one.

Geraldine Red Gun got her first look at her grandchildren's new school on Wednesday.

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"It is really something exciting," she said.

"We finally get a school that we've been fighting for, for so many years."

Red Gun taught at the old school for 40 years.

She says itwas overcrowded, outdated and badly flood-damaged.It also had to be closed for more than a month last winter because the boiler brokedown and there was no heat.

"It was tough... it was very tough," Red Gun said.

Siksika Chief Vincent Yellow Old Woman says he doesn't want to see the kids go through a year like that again.

"It's a glorious moment," the chief said.

"I think those days are gone. Nobody needs to go there, it was a nightmare. And we're just happy today."

The new school has 14 classrooms, a computer lab, library and a gym and room for 300 students.

Siksika Nation is about 85 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

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