Celebrating powwows, perfect attendance and graduations

Here's what's on the Unreserved menu for this week:

Bannock originated in Scotland but the Indigenous community embraced this food after contact and it has become a staple of households across the country. It usually comes baked or fried. But Anthony Faraci saw another form for bannock. Faraci is the creator of Bannock In A Box. That's right — in a box!

What do you get in when you mix modern kitchen skills with ancient traditional foods? Indigenous students at Algonquin College in Ottawa are learning chef skills with an Indigenous twist.

An elementary school in Gatineau, Que., hosted its first powwow this weekend. It's part of an effort to embed First Nations culture into an urban school environment. Students at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School shared their culture with non-Indigenous students. Principal David McFall said the powwow is about more than just education, it's a celebration.

Few of us will ever achieve perfection. But Robin Louis already has. At least in one part of his life. The grade 12 student from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band in Saskatchewan is just days short of achieving a perfect attendance record. He has not missed one day of school since kindergarten!

Isabelle Wallace is an Indigenous nurse from Madawaska Maliseet First Nation in New Brunswick. She just graduated with the help of a scholarship from the Canadian Nurses Foundation. That organization is currently running the One Million in One Year campaign to raise $1 million for Indigenous nursing education and research. The goal is to provide more scholarship opportunities for Indigenous students in nursing. 

Recovering from drug or alcohol addiction can be a long and tough road. But a B.C. program hopes that connecting people to culture can help them break the cycle. And it's celebrating a milestone this week. The first annual Wellbriety Celebration brought together people in Kamloops. It was hosted by the Tk'emlups Indian Band with the support of other communities and organizations from across the region.

This week's playlist:

Willie Thrasher - We Got to Take You Higher

Mob Bounce - New Sage

Boogey the Beat - Hoka

Inez Jasper - Breathe