Comic book hero a friend in need

Page 5

Peter Tapatai seems to make a practice of being in the right place at the right time.

"He has rescued people stuck on high rocks and saved kids from disastrous results in a bad sniffing session," says Norm McCallum, alcohol and drug specialist for the Keewatin region of the Northwest Territories. "And he lives a good, clean lifestyle, too."

Tapatai, a family man in his late 30s, is employed by the local communications corporation at Baker Lake, N.W.T. and is involved in many local community activities.

"As an all-round role model, it was decided to develop Peter's character into Super Shamou, our hero in the comic book we designed and had printed to celebrate National Addictions Awareness Week," says McCallum, who works out of Rankin Inlet. Super Shamou was already a well-accepted figure in the North having enjoyed a regular audience among young people who watch Inuit Broadcasting Corporation's television programming.

Baney Pattunguyak originated the character and local freelance artist Nich Burns produced the finished work," McCallum says.

The comic book has become well-known since its inception. "We had 40,000 copies printed initially in both English and Inukitut; another 40,000 are now being printed," says McCallum. "We get requests from all over." As well 5,000 will be printed in French in response to requests from northern Quebec and other communities where the language is more common.

McCallum has enjoyed his current position with the government of the Northwest Territories for over two years now. From Rankin Inlet, located north of Churchill, Manitoba on Hudson's Bay, he travels in small planes over a vast area to visit seven communities in Keewatin Region.

He heartily approves of the National Addictions Awareness Week program. "People think that up here we don't have substance abuse, but we do, and all the problems that go with it." Last year all seven communities go involved and various settlements challenged each other to see which could form the biggest circle.

We made use of our Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and had radio and TV spots as well as advertising in local newspapers." Posters were also used. "Word of mouth is always good advertising too," laughs McCallum.

Funding was obtained for the remote communities from private donations, ticket sales and the department. "All together we raised close to $2,600," says McCallum. Besides the Super Shamou comic book, the organizers handed out buttons, T-shirts, and balloons. "Literally every age group from kindergarten up was included."

Local dignitaries were pressed into service. They mayor opened the feast and RCMP officers flipped pancakes at our breakfast," explains McCallum. The breakfast fed over 500 people in the community of Rankin Inlet, which has a population of 1,500.

"We were certainly surprised and pleased at the number of people who came out to the events."

The elders got into the celebrations, too. "We had them reading the comic to the kids," says McCallum, adding that the elders, who have seen so many changes want to do their part to restore quality to their young people's lives. "It makes it a real positive experience for the kids when adults jump on board."

The ambitious community supported more than 12 activities in one week. To the accompaniment of their own theme, Celebrate Life. Say no to Drugs, they made presentations to local schools were tapes on solvent abuse, held community feasts, poster contests, open AA meetings, workshops, essay contests and discussion groups. In all 85 volunteers helped with various celebrations.

This year plans are already underway for a candlelight vigil in the school, where residents and school kids join to pass candles around, sharing the vision of hope for a better tomorrow. "We are hoping to put notes inside balloons, telling the world we are saying eno' to drugs and then release them." says McCallum.

"The people know there's hope for a better way of life and they are saddened to see the efects of drugs and alcohol."

Prizes donated by local merchants helped make contests for the oldest and youngest participants, the largest family and the best represented department a highlight of the week.

MCCallum also acknowledges the participation of contributions from the private sector. "Just take the breakfast for example," he says. "We fed 500 people. That's a lot of donated food." He also was gratified by the support from social services. "They are really strong with their help," he says.

McCallum fools National Addictions Awareness Week helps awareness year-round. "We had a walk in June and we feature snuff and sniff weeks for example, through the year," he explains. "It's an issue 365 days a year!"