National Aboriginal Diabetes Association celebrates National Aboriginal Day
June 29th, 2009
Winnipeg, – In commemoration of National Aboriginal Day at the Forks this year, APTN and other corporate sponsor have organized a fun-filled family weekend on June 20 and 21st at the historic Forks. The Forks was used for thousands of years as a meeting place by Aboriginal peoples.Indeed, this year the sheer diversity of Aboriginal celebrities was astounding including guests Buffy Sainte-Marie, Joey Styles, George Leach and the Flummies performing live in front of big audience.
NADA staff would not miss this opportunity to raise awareness about diabetes in a place where many Aboriginal people were expected in high numbers. As we all know, diabetes is reaching pandemic proportions in Aboriginal communities. Raising awareness about the disease and educating about healthy lifestyles should be part of any diabetes awareness & prevention program.
Theresa and I set up a booth at the Forks Market to reach out to the Aboriginal community who were in attendance for this special occasion.
NADA’s display booth included the “Pathway to Wellness Books” for people living with diabetes, water bottles, bookmarks, newsletters, frisbees, bags and many other resources bearing the NADA logo. By the time we were ready to give the resources, there were a number of curious bystanders who were interested in our material and resources.
By about 15:30, the flow of the crowd began to dwindle as the time for the concert drew nearer. However, we still continued on as we wanted to give away as many resources as possible. By 14:00, we had already run out of water bottles, bags and frisbees. We wrapped up at 5:30 when most people decided to get closer to the stage outside in anticipation of the beginning of the concert.
We are glad that many people are interested in NADA resources although some don’t know anything about our organization. Many questions have been asked and answered about diabetes. Information about NADA has been passed on to those who knew nothing about it.
Some people who came up to our table were already having diabetes-related complications. When I asked one person if he was going to change his lifestyle, he said “I always lived my own lifestyle and I don’t care to change”. He mentioned to me that he continues to eat what he wants, smokes cigarettes and drinks alcohol. This is a kind of attitude we need to change within Aboriginal communities. The “I don’t care” statement is simply affirming the ineptitude when it comes to dealing with diabetes.
It is sad to see those people who have not been managing their diabetes well with such serious complications. If we are to promote healthy lifestyles and convince some that it will be good for their health, there are good odds that we can decrease diabetes rates in Aboriginal communities.
We were happy to see that a great number of kids were interested in “What Does Diabetes Mean to Me” as these books have drawings of children that capture that attention of other children. Prevention is a key, especially when it is directed at teaching our kids that healthy living and physical exercise may prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
Our latest project “the Eagle Book Series” is a new resource produced for that exact purpose. It teaches Aboriginal kids about the importance of traditional native diet and physical exercise with respect to preventing Type 2 diabetes. We have “the Eagle Book Series” available for purchase through our website
We were also glad that many frisbees and water bottles have been taken away by the crowd at the Forks. Hopefully, this will encourage people with diabetes to engage in outdoor sports. We are specifically glad that four boxes of “Pathway to Wellness Books” have been given away as well to those who are interested in managing their diabetes.
This year our initiative to represent ourselves at National Aboriginal Day was a spontaneous one. Although we had a successful presentation, next year we will do it better.
See our Resources Page for diabetes material.
By Alisher Kabildjanov
