Run brings suicide awareness, links Okanagan Nation youth to the land – BC Hydro

Youth ‘put their footprints on our land’ along Lake Revelstoke to Mica Dam

Everyone seems to have a slightly different reason for embracing the Spirit of Syilx Youth Unity Run, an annual relay-style run for youth that raises awareness around suicide and violence in the Okanagan Nation. For four days in May 2017, it covered a 274 km stretch of Okanagan territory through Revelstoke to BC Hydro’s Mica Dam and back along Lake Revelstoke.

For Ali Butler, who works with the Okanagan Nation’s Critical Response Team, the run is about “getting youth away from the stresses that they might have at home,” while creating life-long friends and meeting their elders.

For Tessa Terbasket, who works with the Okanagan Nation Alliance’s Natural Resources Team, it’s about the land along the Columbia River connecting youth with ancestors “who came out here multiple times a year to hunt, berry pick and to trade with other indigenous groups.”

Read More: http://www.bchydro.com/news/conservation/2017/spirit-of-syilx-youth-unity-run.html

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