An event called Walking for Wellness is taking place July 25 at Poundmaker Cree Nation. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff) 

By Angela Brown

Promoting wellness

Walking for Wellness at Poundmaker Cree Nation a connection to ‘old ways’

Jul 25, 2019 | 9:01 AM

Those who want to show their support and take in some healthy exercise at the same time can join in the Walking for Wellness event at Poundmaker Cree Nation on Thursday.

Participants will walk an 11 km route from the Poundmaker store to the Poundmaker Lake camp site. The walk takes place from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

Ed Standinghorn, with the Keyanow Child and Family Centre, is one of the organizing committee members, and said the event is to raise awareness and encourage a healthy lifestyle. The walk is open to everyone.

There will be refreshments along the walk and at the end. Booths will be set up at Poundmaker Lake as well to provide information about what services are available in area communities.

A number of community-based organizations are invited that are affiliated with the First Nation bands that Keyanow Child and Family Centre serves; Poundmaker, Lucky Man and Little Pine.

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Other groups in the community attending include representatives from Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre.

At the end of the walk, there will be door prizes and a steak dinner “as a way to engage the community, and let them know about the services there for them … [through] community-based organizations,” Standinghorn said.

He said the organizing committee hopes the event helps harken back to simpler times, and encourages people to come back to where they started.

“One of the ideas behind this was that walk-a-thons were really big for all the neighbouring First Nations in the 70s and 80s,” Standinghorn said. “What we saw and what we remember was that the whole community came out to participate. It was always a little fundraising effort, taking pledges, and a little wiener roast at the end.”

Standinghorn said often entire schools would take part and all the parents would come as well.

“A part of us just wants to re-ignite that fire, to get the community back involved,” he said.

Standinghorn said perhaps the older people will remember the walks and maybe they will encourage their kids and grandkids to come to this event.

“That’s the message we’re spreading out. We want to get back to old ways,” he said. “Our goal and our target is to re-introduce our people to things that worked for us.”

Standinghorn said the main aim is to reunite communities.

“People are often intrigued and triggered by memories, good memories,” he said. “[Taking part in the walk-a-thons] was all a good memory for the organizing committee of this walk. So it triggered discussion. And this is what we rolled out.

“But, our deeper vision is to re-introduce our younger people, our families who are in transition, to a healthier way of a lifestyle, by re-introducing them to what is easily accessible to us: our natural environment, our land, our water, our elders, and our medicines.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow