Walkers work to battle alcohol and drug abuse

Although it's only two years old, the KAMADA Walk, which stands for Kokums and Moshums Against Drugs and Alcohol, has attracted interest and involvement from various Saskatchewan and Alberta First Nations interested in bringing an end to alcohol and drug abuse in their communities.

The KAMADA Walk commemorates the loss of loved ones due to drugs and alcohol.
The idea originated with Mary Naytowhow of Sturgeon Lake First Nation and Roy Peekeekoot of Ahtahkakoop First Nation.

Frog Lake First Nation was approached with the idea of participating this year and Connie Quinney, the co-ordinator of the walk in her community, immediately jumped at the chance.

The walk, which began this year in Onion Lake on Aug. 29, lasts four days. The host community walks to another community, like Frog Lake, where the walkers meet up with others and take part in a shorter walk through the community. The host continues on and does the same thing through the next participating community, then the next.

Onion Lake First Nation led through communities to Kehewin, ending in Flying Dust First Nation in Saskatchewan on the first day of their powwow where they participated in the grand entry.

Quinney said Frog Lake wanted to do something different with the walk, something that would stand out from other communities. The walk was designed to have the moshums and kokums start from one side of the reserve and then have all of the youth and young parents start from the other end of town and walk to meet in the middle. Quinney said this was done to present a powerful and memorable statement. As the old and young came together at the powwow grounds, it conveyed a message of standing together in a fight against alcohol and drugs.

"The point was that we are coming together," said Quinney. "We're coming together young and old to make the statement in our community that we are all standing as one."

Quinney admits that it's sometimes hard for the youth and parents to connect because "the connection in our homes are kind of distant due to drugs, alcohol, gambling and neglect on the parents, which causes our youth to act out in our community," said Quinney.

Another thing that made this walk different from other community walks is that Quinney organized to have powwow dancers walk in their regalia to demonstrate a strong tradition and strong community.

"We wanted to show that are tradition is strong in our community regardless of the battle that we are fighting with drugs and alcohol," said Quinney.

Although the National Native Alcohol Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP) is committed to breaking the pattern of alcoholism and drug abuse through many programs and initiatives, they, along with community Elders, decided to take it a step further and coordinate this walk after a tragic event that took place early this year. Quinney pointed out that drugs and alcohol were a factor in a death.

"An older male was brutally murdered by youth ranging in age from 12 to 18," said Quinney. "It really impacted our whole entire community. We knew that we had to do something. That was our biggest cry for help in our community."

NNADAP is a joint effort of the Morning Sky Health and Wellness Centre. They offer a number of services.