A graduation award for Indigenous students has been created to honour and celebrate the legacy of Harriet Jacobs, the first Native studies teacher at Wallaceburg District secondary school.

Lambton Kent District school board announced the scholarship after the Walpole Island First Nation woman died at 88 on Nov. 16.

“Harriet Jacobs was a trailblazer whose vision and determination transformed education for Indigenous students within our schools,” board officials said in a release.

Jacobs became the school’s first Native studies teacher in 1975, “when Indigenous voices were often marginalized and their needs over looked,” trhey said. “Harriet stood firm in her belief that Indigenous students deserved dedicated support and cultural connection within the school system.”

Jacobs’ courage and

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