Belt comes with responsibility

Page 17

For close to a year, the dreams and visions lingered, but the faith-keeper had no idea what they meant or what he was to do.

Finally, the meaning came. Through his visions, Joe Jacobs, 51, of Kahnawake, Que. was told that he had a message to bring to his people - a process now well underway although only the surface of the task has been scratched.

The message is aimed at raising awareness about diabetes, and it has inspired hundreds and hundreds of people.

At Curve Lake First Nation, nervousness turned to excitement as the day approached when the wampum belt of diabetes awareness would be passed into their hands. The belt, which was made by Jacobs, reads "Our blood runs too sweet," in his Mohawk language and tells its holders that they are responsible for raising awareness about diabetes and responsible for the health of the children. He says the responsibility for diet and fitness is in the hands of parents.

"I think a lot of Native people have forgotten what they were told by our ancestors - to always look to the seven generations. Take care of them, plus the faces that are coming that are not here yet," said the father of three.

After making the beaded belt, Jacobs approached the diabetes organization on his home territory telling them he had a message to bring to a sister Mohawk territory, Akwesasne. They suggested that the message be put before the community, telling them what had to be done.

Although he planned on walking the belt to Akwesasne himself, some 30 people joined him. To date, about 500 people have been involved in carrying the belt through five communities, a distance of about 1,000 km. Jacobs says it has to be carried physically - walked, cycled, canoed and so on - as a reminder of the value of exercise in diabetes prevention.

"We walked about 12 hours the first day, then the second day we continued from that half-way point where we stopped," he said. The response along the way has been a pleasant surprise.

"It feels good, and what I think the different territories should do is put the focus on the young people because that's our future and that's where we must plant our seeds. We must show them the good eating habits and maybe go back to some of our traditional foods."

He said fast-food advertising is focused at the young, making it vital for people to do the same for the sake of their health.

"When we pass the belt, I always carry the message on to the chief so, if I'm not there when it's passed, they in turn carry the message on to the next territory," he said, adding he intends to be there every time it is passed.

At a recent diabetes conference in the United States, Jacobs was asked if the belt would be carried across the border so those to the south could also benefit from the message; he hopes this will be the case as it has already been an inspiration to many. A young man who was born with only five per cent vision did one walk, happily telling other walkers that it was the first time in his life he had ever completed anything.

Jacobs says the communities must keep working on raising diabetes awareness and remain responsible for the health of the children, even when the wampum belt leaves their hands. Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario focused on their young, exactly as Jacobs had hoped.

"We focused on the children when [the belt] was here," said Angela Gillies, the manager of Curve Lake Community Health and Social Services. "They were interested in the belt and its meaning and were quite open to learning more about diabetes.

"We have a traditional healer who comes to the community and he had said to us that if we are to take this belt, then we have to make a commitment to this belt to promote what it's for. The staff has to make a concerted effort to promote awareness of diabetes and prevention of diabetes," she said. The belt welcoming feast was held in conjunction with an evening for their seniors.

"With diabetes being such a major problem in Aboriginal communities, we thought tis would be the perfect opportunity to honor our Elders and bring forth the issues of diabetes awareness."

Gillies was among the people who paddled the belt to Rama First Nation, Ont. in mid-August, a 37-hour voyage that included the crossing of Sturgeon Lake and Lake Simcoe, both of which can be quite formidable. The 12-paddler team was supported by another 12 people who paddled in relief, but there were those who did the entire voyage.

"When we accepted it, we agreed to promote diabetes awareness and to continue after it's gone," said Laurie Carr, the community health worker at Hiawatha First Nation who held the belt prior to Curve Lake. Their focus has been on children, encouraging healthy eating habits along with a proper fitness regime. She and her husband set a community example by walking four miles on a daily basis, but Carr has another reason to walk. She was told that because both her parents are diabetic, she has a 75 per cent chance of becoming diabetic.

She says that as well as being highly susceptible to diabetes, Aboriginal people seem to have higher than normal tolerance to the symptoms, which means they may suffer the illness without treatment longer than non-Native people.