Memorial walk seeks to put youth on right path
Chuck Haga, Star Tribune
May 31, 2005 WALK0531



ROY LAKE, MINN. -- They walked Monday to remember parents and grandparents, friends lost in war, the young dead of neighboring Red Lake and -- once again -- so many of their own young people killed in traffic accidents.

They walked keenly aware that four more died just a week ago, in a fiery one-car crash on a dirt road less than a mile off the memorial route.

Many carried signs or wore T-shirts bearing the names of people they've lost as they walked the 6 miles from Roy Lake to the new powwow grounds near Rice Lake, where others waited with drums, campfires and food.

They walked alone, with friends and as families: about 200 residents of the White Earth Indian Reservation and visitors home from the Twin Cities and beyond. Some biked or pushed toddlers in strollers. One man made the trek in a wheelchair.

Lacy Auginaush ran from Roy Lake to Rice Lake.Richard Tsong -taatariiStar Tribune"Some of the young ones run the whole way," said Ray Auginaush, who helped organize the walk. "They get up there in no time."

Some walkers stopped at certain points along the way, places where loved ones died, and burned tobacco. The smoke would rise to eagles circling overhead, according to Ojibwe tradition, and those messenger eagles would carry the prayers and sentiments in the smoke to the spirits of loved ones.

"As we walk, we talk about the good times we had with them," said Rita Swenson, 27, of Lengby.

Seven years ago, after five young people from the reservation died in traffic accidents, most if not all involving drugs or alcohol, White Earth elders led a Memorial Day walk to draw attention to the problem.

"We only had about 15 people that first year," Auginaush said.

But young people continued to die on reservation roads.

"We had about 120 people turn out to walk in the rain last year," he said. "We dedicated the walk this year to the people who were killed in the school shooting at Red Lake, and we invited the people there to come and walk with us.

"Then the four kids died in that accident here just the other day."

They weren't kids, but they were young -- ages 20 to 29. Last Tuesday, they had attended an aunt's funeral. That night, they were out driving in the woods about a mile north of Roy Lake when the driver lost control, the vehicle rolled onto its top and caught fire.

Alcohol was at least partly to blame, friends and relatives said.

"It's a very serious problem," Auginaush said.

"Our tribal council is putting a lot more into working with our kids, and our chemical dependency programs are starting to make a difference," he said. "But now meth is an epidemic in our area. That's caused problems besides the highway accidents. In the past six months, we've had a number of drive-by shootings that were connected to drugs. There are gangs on the reservation, and kids as young as 10 or 12 have been offered drugs.

"Our reservation is big. Our tribal police department is small. But this is our future we're talking about -- our future tribal chairmen, our tribal secretaries, our other leaders."

The Memorial Day walk is one response, he said, "one way to open the eyes of our young people and show them there is a better way. And I think we're making progress. We have many young people walking with us now. Before, it was only adults."

Henry Fox, a chemical dependency counselor on the reservation, said he also believes young people are responding to programs and activities built around native traditions, including drums, song and dance.

"I went through the whole works that they're going through," said Fox, who has been sober for more than five years. "I tell them, 'Things will come to you if you sober up.' "

Norman Auginaush, 51, of Rice Lake, was at the cemetery next to the powwow grounds early Monday for the traditional Memorial Day rifle salute to veterans. His father, who served in the South Pacific during World War II, died two years ago.

He had come out Sunday night as the two-day powwow began.

"The drummers kept going into the night," he said. "They took a little break after the ceremony, but then some of the younger ones started up again, and they kept going until about 1 a.m.

"It was such a nice night. It cleared off some, and you could see a lot of stars. It's so quiet around here, you could hear the drums from quite a ways off. You feel them beating like it's your heart. It was relaxing.

"Things like this set a good example for the young ones. They've got youth groups, too, that take them camping, take them on trips to other states. It lets them know there's other things than drinking and drugs."

Chuck Haga is atcrhaga@startribune.com.

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