Walkers unfazed by May's winter weather

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First Nations across Alberta held community walks on May 3 to draw attention to a condition suffered by an alarming number of Aboriginal people-diabetes.

In Alexander First Nation, located a 30-minute drive north of Edmonton, school children, health workers, Elders and guests from the surrounding countryside, converged on the community health centre to take part in a brisk walk on a blustery Friday morning. Cloaked in green T-shirts over winter coats, and armed with spinning pinwheels and bottled water, the walkers braved high winds and unusually cold May weather to show support to the 60 diabetics living in the community.

"If the weather was nice it would have been better, but diabetics live through any kind of weather conditions so we're going ahead with the cold weather today," said Bernard Paul, a community health representative, one of five organizers for this year's fifth annual diabetes walk.

The group made its way to the community centre where a number of activities, including a dinner and a round dance, capped off the day.

"The first [walk] must have been about 200 people, school kids, everybody got involved. Last year we had about 450," Paul said.

The walk helps raise awareness about diabetes and the many things a person can do to help ward it off.

He explained the Aboriginal community has a rate of diabetes five times greater than the non-Aboriginal community. And many people don't yet know they are suffering from it.

In 1995, said Paul, there were 11 people in Alexander diagnosed with having diabetes.

"A lot of people, until the last stages, don't know they're diabetic." Increased awareness and testing in the community can account for the jump in diagnosed cases, he said.

"That's why we get the school kids involved, to kind of give them the awareness, so we tell them what to eat, how to exercise, daily exercise."

School programs incorporate activities to get the students' bodies moving-they even have a skipping team. Many Alexander youth take part in after-school activities, such as hockey, baseball and soccer, he said.

The big threat to health is the snacking choices young people make, and the sedentary lifestyle brought on by indulging in too much TV time and computer games, Paul said.

The majority of the diabetics at Alexander are elderly, though national statistics show an increase in the number of children developing diabetes.

The elderly at Alexander have a particularly tough time, because they can't safely eat the traditional foods found on the land any more, Paul said.

"With all the environmental scares all the time, you're kind of worried about eating the traditional food."