Top News - July - 2003 Published July 7, 2003 Patch Adams named honorary chief at powwow Community works to raise funds for youth centre Rain or shine, Aboriginal Day celebration was on This is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the July 2003 issue of Alberta Sweetgrass. If you are not receiving your own copy of Sweetgrass, then you have missed out on a lot. Patch Adams named honorary chief at powwow Yvonne Irene Gladue, Sweetgrass Writer, Saddle Lake The sky was clear with a slight breeze in the air as hundred of dancers and guests moved to the beat of the drum while making their way into the powwow arbor at Saddle Lake powwow grounds on June 27. Wearing a traditional headdress reserved for chiefs, Dr. Hunter 'Patch' Adams kept in perfect time with the drum as he moved with the crowd. Before the people assembled, Elder Joe P. Cardinal performed a special ceremony in which Adams became an honorary chief of Saddle Lake. Cardinal said that he was really honored to perform the ceremony because Patch Adams is known all over the world as a medical doctor who spreads kindness and love. Adams' life story was told in the film Patch Adams. He was portrayed by Robin Williams. Cardinal said that Adams also received the name Ki-mah-ma-guss in a ceremony the day before. It is the Cree word for butterfly. "The butterflies are so beautiful to look at. They go to all the flowers and help them grow. I believe that the Creator made them just to bring beauty to the world and this is the way we see our guest Patch Adams. We see him bring love to the world and that is what we all need," said Cardinal. "Compassion is a powerful feeling in the world, and the greatest thing that God gave us in this world is the gift of love. That is why when you attend a powwow, you see parents dancing with their children, children dancing with their grandparents, brothers dancing with their sisters. You do not see them fighting, and that is what we call love. The Elders believe that kindness and love are the only things that can guide us in life, and from these two qualities everyone learns to get along. The man we honored this evening displays the qualities that we need in life today," he said. Cardinal said that one of the reasons he admires Adams is for the hospital he founded that gives people medical attention for free. Adams founded the Gesundheit Institute in northern Virginia in 1971. "He's been all over the world trying to heal and help people who are sick. He had compassion for people who were poor and I ask the people to try and take some of these qualities and use them. By doing this they will also contribute in the name we've given Patch," Cardinal said. "The only thing that will heal you is love. We must give love to our children, to our brothers, and sisters, to our neighbors and to our people. That is the only thing that will heal us." Adams was visibly moved as he accepted a blanket from the chief of Saddle Lake, Chief Eddie Makokis, and with it draped over his shoulders he addressed the crowd. "Great Spirit, Elder Joe Cardinal, Chief Eddie Makokis, and my new family of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and all the nations present at this gathering, I thank you for this great honor that you've given me. And when the Elder Joe P. Cardinal told me that the name I was given meant butterfly, I was so happy that this creature was chosen as my name, because this creature has no ability to fight. It has no ability to cause harm to anyone and its only job is to spread the flower's seeds. I'm very grateful tonight and thank you. I so much want to be a messenger out there for all of us, brothers and sisters, who want to say that 'Yes, there is something great in life and that greatness is love.' So I promise you, my new brothers and sisters, that I will be always be honored for this name," he said. "It is humbling to be honored. I'm honored for the cause of love and I'm thrilled that love stands up and says that it is good. The name is me. I do not know how they got it, but I'm a man with no ability to cause harm to others. I always want to be beautiful and to spread love everywhere." Top

Community works to raise funds for youth centre Yvonne Irene Gladue, Sweetgrass Writer, Saddle Lake On June 26, more than 800 people gathered at the Manitou Kihew Arena in Saddle Lake for 'Dinner with Patch Adams', a community initiative to raise money to build the youth facility in the community. Many of the people in the audience were curious to see the actual Dr. Patch Adams. In 1998, Universal Studios released a film about the life of Hunter D. 'Patch' Adams, which starred Robin Williams. The film told of the beginnings of Gesundheit, a clinic founded by Adams, that employs laughter as a form of medicine. Adams strode on stage in Saddle Lake dressed in a clown suit, and talked about love and the importance and lack of it in today's society. "It is an honor and a privilege to be here and I know, if I can take what I found in this community back with me, it would be great. Love is what I would like to offer the world, so I feel like I'm with my family here," said Adams. Today, the doctor travels the world bringing his message of humor and love to thousands. "We brought Patch Adams to our community to do a speech because he's worked with a lot of youth and he talks about love, and love is what we need when we work together as a community for our youth," said Bernie Makokis, volunteer co-ordinator for the Saddle Lake youth facility. Ventriloquist Buddy Big Mountain, Carl Quinn and Edmund Bull also provided entertainment. Makokis said he was overwhelmed at the amount of support the plans for the centre had received, not just from Saddle Lake, but from surrounding communities. The facility's estimated cost is $2.8 million. The community was hoping to raise as much as $70,000 with the dinner. "What a pleasure and a wonderful crowd who came out and supported this worthwhile project," said Makokis. "I now see how concerned the people are about the youth." He said the multi-purpose building would offer several programs, have a large gymnasium, which will hold 2,000 people, an area big enough to hold an indoor powwow, as well it will have a weight room, a boys and girls club and a computer room. "All the youth activities will be held there. It will probably be utilized by surrounding communities, as well as for basketball tournaments and things like that," said Makokis. "We will be fundraising on a regular basis. We want the youth to feel at home there. For many years we did not have this in the community. We had run down shacks for the kids and there was really nowhere for them to go. We are anticipating good results will come out of this building. It will also create employment in the construction of the centre and also for the people who will run the programs," he said. Architectural plans are in place and the band has already contributed $500,000 to it. Construction will begin in the fall with an estimation of completion for the spring of 2004. "Our youth are so very important to us," said Chief Eddie Makokis. "The youth need a facility where it will keep them busy, instead of them getting into trouble. And it is going to be there, I believe, that we are one. No matter who we are, what we need to do is all get together to help our youth so that one day we will be able to walk hand-in-hand with our brothers and sisters of this world." "There is so much suicide in Aboriginal communities, and a lot of our youth are into drugs or alcohol, and getting into unhealthy situations and they need direction," said Helen Crier, a Saddle Lake council member. "They need a place to call their own. One of the visions of the chief and council was to focus on the youth and our Elders. We've got programs here on the reserve that focuses on our youth, but we are finding that there are still a lot of things that need to be looked at in this area. A lot of our youth are really motivated and they want to stay on the reserve. They do not want to go out, so we hope a facility like this will keep them home and keep them focused on the programs that will help their future." Top Rain or shine, Aboriginal Day celebration was on Yvonne Irene Gladue, Sweetgrass Writer, Elk Island Park The sky was overcast and the rain fell off and on as 150 people took part in the first ever National Aboriginal Day celebration in Elk Island National Park on June 21. The White Buffalo dance group performed and Keith Lapatac of Saddle Lake emceed. Buffalo burgers, coffee and other refreshments kept the people going as they watched the dancers perform. The event was sponsored by The Friends of Elk Island Society, a non-profit organization that works with the park. Their mandate is to promote the park with fund-raising events to support research, conservation and environmental issues. Acting superintendent of Elk Island National Park, Laurie Guyot, welcomed the visitors. "This is a very important day for us as this is our first annual Aboriginal Day celebration. We are very honored that you chose Elk Island National Park to hold the celebration. Aboriginal history is represented in many areas within the parks system, including archeological sites, old settlements, trails and places for gathering, and today we get to do that in helping to recreate history, in celebrating history, on National Aboriginal Day," she said. Liz Watts, director of special events with Friends of the Elk Island, said that she sees this celebration as an opportunity to open the park for everyone and said that next year they want to make the celebration a two-day event, with a traditional powwow and more dancers. "This is a beautiful place, but the general attendance to the park is small, so events like this are a good way to highlight the park and bring people in. We were expecting 3,000, but the weather was against us this year, but I'm looking to see more than 3,000 people attend next year's events," she said. "I have a great respect for Aboriginal people and I've learned a lot about the Aboriginal people in just hosting this event. I learned so much from the Elders about the ceremonies involved. It is wonderful," said Watts. For 97 years the park has helped in preserving endangered and threatened animals. Established in 1906, it is considered Canada's first federal wildlife sanctuary for large animals-elk, bison, moose, deer­and hundreds of bird species. In 1998, the Wood Bison Recovery Team began their goal of contributing $10,000 annually to the relocation of wood bison from the park to established self-sustaining, free roaming wild herds. The park is open May through August. Special events include a nation-wide hiking event for the whole family called 'Take a Hike' held annually in July. Located 45 km east of Edmonton, the park attracts visitors from all over the world. It has more than 1,000 metres of trails, camping facilitates and offers canoes for rent. Top