Wellness Walk

The reason why I did the Wellness Walk was because I wanted to show how it is like in the bush fromwhere I was raised.

There seems to be people who just talk about Cree culture and don’t actually show it. There also seemsto be things that are kept hidden. There seem to be people who don’t want to show how difficult it wasfor their parents to raise them.

It was difficult for the older people to raise their children.

There was nothing in their lives to help them raise their children.

Many times I thought that I should show how I was raised. When someone needs help, I took my snowshoes.I wanted to show my help when someone is going through hard times. When I was raised, my parent toldme how it was like when trying to give me life.

When my friend was having bad times, I wanted to help him. Because that was what I was taught by myparent to help when someone was in need of help. During the walk, I thought about many things we go through in life.

For the elders, they are given the places that are already run down to stay in. That was what I thoughtabout. I thought I should show from where I was raised from so there can be a place for the elders tohave some peace of mind. That was why I did the Wellness Walk. I wanted to thank the elders for raisingme. I wanted to help them. I looked at my life and thought that it was time for me help them because they should be the ones resting after going through what they’ve gone through. For the elders, we should thank them. We should show it through our Cree culture. That was why I did the Wellness Walk. We are truthful when we show the things we want to do by our actions.

I used nothing at all to help me during the time I was gone. I only used the thing that would help me walk on top of the snow. That was the only thing I wore. There was a difference in my life. I felt different. I discovered something when I went there. I found out that

I helped someone. That was the reason why I walked. I am very happy that I finished what I wanted to do. I saw how it helped the people and that was what affected me. It touched me a lot in my life. I did what my parent taught me. I was told to help when someone has difficulty. I was told to at least try to help that person in need.

I thank the elders because they taught me a bit of their knowledge from the bush. They virtually gave their lives in the activities they did to raise us. I thank them. I am also thankful that I was able to do what I wanted to do. I know that it has positively affected at least one person when I came back.