Success leads to growth for Community Cadet Corps

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Growing up on James Smith First Nation, Rick Sanderson didn't like the sight of the RCMP cruisers he saw driving through his community. Now, he drives one of them.

Speaking at a Feb. 18 awards banquet held during the Lac La Ronge Indian band's 10th annual Northern Youth Conference, Cpl. Sanderson shared his early impressions of law enforcement.

"It seemed like they'd always come onto the reserve in their car and leave with one little head showing in the back seat," he said. "But Aboriginal policing is changing all that."

Sanderson joined the RCMP in 1984, but at the beginning of his career he was often frustrated when he found himself constantly arresting the same people. Then, while stationed at Carry the Kettle First Nation, east of Regina, he met a retired teacher named Wilma Kennedy and the two of them began discussing ways to combat the drug and alcohol abuse, violence and crime that plagued the community.

Further conversations between the young officer and other Elders, including war veteran Andrew Ryder, gave rise to the idea of a First Nations cadet corps. Members of the corps would take part in marching to instill structure and self-discipline, and organized sports and field trips to keep them interested and motivated. The young people would also take part in drug and alcohol education to teach them of the potential dangers of substance abuse, and cultural and language awareness programs to promote self-pride.

The first cadet corps began on Carry the Kettle in 1996 with six members. Today the program is known as the Community Cadet Corps (CCC) and has corps across the country, including 32 in Saskatchewan, nine in Nunavut, five in British Columbia, one in Manitoba and one in Labrador.

The Lac La Ronge Indian band's cadet corps played an important role at the youth conference, marching in dignitaries for the opening and closing ceremonies. During Sanderson's speech, they stood tall and proud at the front of the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre. Dressed in well-polished boots and dark pants, shirts and caps, they faced the 200 or so delegates from Hall Lake, Grandmother's Bay, Prince Albert, Stanley Mission, Sucker River, Air Ronge and La Ronge.

Several of the cadets also received new uniform pins during the conference, signifying their advancement in the ranks. Cadets can move up in the corps through program attendance, involvement in school and community activities, and by improving academically.

Joan Beatty, minister of Culture, Youth and Recreation and Cumberland MLA, was on hand for the youth conference and helped inspect the troops. She expressed her enthusiasm for the CCC and urged more youth to join the program.

"This is a really incredible program," Beatty said. "Through it, I've seen lives change and leaders emerge."

One of those leaders is Maurice Ratt. After two-and-a-half years in the cadet program, Ratt was promoted to the rank of master sergeant, and has taken on the task of planning and leading a new junior cadet corps for 10- and 11-year-olds.

Doris Carlson is the principal of Senator Myles Venne school, the conference site and the place where the Lac La Ronge cadets meet under the direction of Const. Ron Umpherville. Carlson has watched students in the program develop not only leadership skills, but also the self-confidence to navigate difficult situations, including peer pressure and bullying. Carlson was at the award banquet and later described the reaction of the cadets to the experience.

"It was breathtaking to see how proud they were," Carlson said. "Some of them had tears streaming down their cheeks."

The RCMP have recognized the merits of the cadet program and have created a position for Sanderson that will allow him to concentrate his efforts on futher developing the program and assisting those interested in starting a cadet corps in their communities.

Although the CCC was originally created to meet the needs of First Nations childen, the program is open to anyone between the ages of 12 and 18 (or 10 to 12 for the junior corps) who is attending school on a full-time basis.

For more information about the Community Cadet Corps, visit the CCC Web site at www.communitycadetcorps.ca