Summer fun planned, work continues in community

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This month I visited the communities of Ermineskin, Alexander and Alexis, meeting people who are making positive changes in their communities while maintaining their traditional values and spirituality.

This column is really exciting to write and I hope it demonstrates to Sweetgrass readers that there are hundreds of people in Native communities who want to see a healthy future for their children and their communities. It shows that if you look deep instead of just at the wrapping something comes in, you will find that beyond a gray overcast day the sun shines and the sky is blue.

Due to the lack of space in our last issue, we had to leave out a few interviews from people in the community of Sturgeon Lake. Because of the effort that these individuals put into keeping the community healthy, we felt that we had to include these interviews in this month's issue.

STURGEON LAKE:

Amanda Gladue, health director at the health centre, filled me in on a number of programs they offer, such as workshops on diabetes held four times a year and facilitated by the nurses at the health centre. They also have a cancer support group on Tuesday evenings for people dealing with the disease or for those people who are dealing with a family member who has cancer. There is also an Elders group. She said that the community has astarted a group dealing with sexual abuse. That is held every second Monday. A postnatal group and a pre-natal group are also up and running, and a moms and tots group is held on a regular basis. They are also looking at having an eight-week course on how to parent and on the struggles of parenting.

"The things they have in communities now is phenomenal, compared to what they had when I was a teenager 20 years ago, said Gladue. "At least I know my kids will have these programs and my grandkids will be able to access them," she said.

There is a sober dance in the community once a month, and Gladue looks forward to them.

"For the last three months I've been attending them and they've been exceptionally well [attended]. When they first started putting them on there was maybe 10 to 12 people in attendance, but now there are well over a hundred people who attend the dances," she said.

David Nabew, program manager of Journey towards Empowerment, remembers thinking how great it was when people attended conferences and workshops out of the community. However, he found that community members came back with reawakened feelings they've suppressed for a number of years to a community without any support systems in place. So the community got together to plan programs.

"These people had these wounds opened up and had nowhere to go. So I kept saying that this is not right. We just can't go in there and do this to people," he said.

So through workshops running out of the Journey Towards Empowerment project, Nabew and two community counsellors, a peer support worker, and clerk, keep a number of workshops running, including those for anger management, self-development, crisis intervention, suicide prevention and stress management. There are also residential school workshops, grief and loss workshops, and both a men's and women's circle. He said that they are also thinking of having a youth circle and an Elders' circle.

He said that the community holds a cultural camp in the summer where a number of Aboriginal programs are run and taught by the Elders of the community and facilitators from surrounding communities. They also have a picnic twice a year, one in May and the other one in September. He said that meetings are held in the community on a regular basis, where people are encouraged to bring their ideas forward about programs they would like to see.

Nabew said he takes people's input and brings them into focus and finds ways to approach the problems that they have.

"We've had a really good response on that. We also conducted an appreciative inquiry in the community in August last year that focused on the thingsin the community that are positive, and how we can build on those things. We are looking at doing another one in May," he said.

The group also offers self-esteem workshops, where they encourage the people to take responsibility for themselves, and he believes that people need to empower themselves to be able to get ahead.

"A lot of people say they cannot do it, and of course they cannot do it if they do not try. These are the things that we need to stress to the people, so that they can begin to do things for themselves and not have to say that someone made me drink, because nobody can make you drink and things like that," he said.

Journey Towards Empowerment is also implementing traditional and spiritual teachings in the programs. They want to revive some of the traditional ceremonies that were part of the community many years ago.

"A lot of people address a lot of problems they have, and they want to find some sort of a spiritual sense that would help them along their journey," he said.

A talent show is still in the planning stages for June, with the proceeds going to the Red Willow Dancers, a Metis dance group from Valleyview. Nabew said that some of the dancers are from Sturgeon Lake and the money will help the dance group travel to other communities.

ERMINESKIN:

My next trip was out to the community of Ermineskin Cree Nation, which is one of the four communities that make up Hobbema. While there I met Deanna Cut Knife who spoke about the Wetaskiwin Pioneer Days Powwow coming up from Aug. 15 to 17. She said that the four communities-Samson, Montana, Louis Bull, and Ermineskin-are looking forward to the event. She said that it's always been a dream of the community to have a powwow during Wetaskiwin's Pioneer Days, and she said that they are expecting a lot of people at the traditional powwow.

Deanna Cut Knife also mentioned that Tourism Canada gets a lot of calls from tourists who are looking for Aboriginal cultural events, so they are expecting peopl from other countries as well. "Hopefully this event will bring a positive light to our communities in Hobbema, because Hobbema is not a bad place. There are a lot of good things going on in our communities. There are a lot of wonderful people in our communities. We are hoping this will help bridge the communities of Hobbema and Wetaskiwin in a positive way," she said.

The powwow event will also include a commemoration of a treaty of peace, which was made between the Blackfoot and the Cree in 1867. She said that plans are already underway for a powwow arbor to be built at Peace Hills Park in Wetaskiwin.

T.L. Muskwa gave us a call to tell us that the community is looking forward to the Bull Riding School, which will be held on June 17 and 18 at the Panee Sportsplex in Ermineskin. Muskwa said that the two-day course will include techniques in riding bulls, steers, and bucking horse. He said that in the 1970s and 1980s bull riding competitions were held frequently throughout Canada, but he says that the sport is dying and he would like to see a resurgence of what he calls an extreme sport. He said that if the youth and adults are looking for an extreme sport to get into, this is definitely one they should try. If you want more information you can call T.L Muskwa at 1-877-252-3941 ext. 288 or (780) 585-3088 in Hobbema.

ALEXANDER:

I arrived bright and early in the community of Alexander located a few kilometres from Morinville. I was there to do an article on their annual diabetes walk, when I had a chance to meet Maxine Lafleche, who is the supervisor at the Elders' lodge, and Sandra Auigbelle, who is the Cree cultural teacher at the Kipohtakaw School in the community.

"It is very, very busy for me," said Lafleche. "The Elders' lodge is a place where we have the elderly, the handicapped, and the disabled people stay. Actually, we are in the process of maybe getting a new Elders' lodge. When that is going to happen I do not really know."

Auigbelle, who has her mster's degree in education, teaches the Cree classes at the school and other junior high subjects as well. She said that she likes her job and that she also enjoys the cultural program she teaches, which has four modules on beading, drum-making, making star blankets and dreamcatchers. This course gives the high school students credits towards their diploma.

She said the community is looking forward to the school's four-day cultural week May 27 to 30, which includes a feast with the Elders, storytelling, snare-setting, baking bannock and meat drying. She said that students from kindergarten to Grade 12 enjoy the events. She also mentioned the community is in the process of planning a cultural camp to take place in the first week of July.

ALEXIS:

I arrived in the community of Alexis First Nation where a Fire safety and home maintenance workshop was underway. I had a chance to speak to Daniel Kootenay, who is the Fire Safety Advisor with the Yellowhead Tribal Council. He said that the workshop offers tips on how to keep the furnace clean and how to keep fire safety in mind throughout the year.

I also had a chance to speak to Velma Alexis, who is the National Native Alcohol Drug Addiction Program counselor in Alexis. While in the community hall I saw a number of certificates along a wall, so I asked Velma about them. She said that it was called the sobriety wall of fame.

Certificates hang on the wall naming people who've quit drinking,. She said that a fellow worker at the centre was responsible for the idea while planning events for National Drug and Alcohol week. They thought it was a great idea to use something like this as a way of motivating people to quit alcohol and drugs.

Velma Alexis believes that it is helping the community. Although some of the people have taken their certificates home, others have left theirs on the wall. Alexis, who said that the NNADAP group is there to encourage the community and the young people to sober up, said she has a perso