Drumming, Native songs and cheering family and friends welcomed eight Sechelt youth and five adult leaders at the end of a week-long kayak trip up the Sechelt Inlet. Undertaken as an opportunity for at-risk young people to connect with their roots, the trip began at the legendary Skookumchuck Rapids.
For one of the leaders, Candace Campo, navigating the rapids had special meaning. Although the group didn't anticipate the waves coming up when they were going through the Skookumchuck, Mother Nature had another plan. The crossing ended up being challenging.
"Once the youth crossed that line [made it through the Skookumchuck], I looked at it as symbolic to making the commitment to the trip," Campo said.
Although Campo owns a kayaking business and is frequently seen on the Inlet, this is the first time she's travelled the entire Inlet by kayak. Always in the past she made the journey in a motorized boat. The peace and quiet of travelling by kayak touched her.
"It was something extremely special. I value it," Campo said.
The trip had its hairy moments. "It wasn't all peaches and roses. People's insecurities arise when they're out of their comfort zone. It's how you cope with those fears that tells the story," Campo said.
And while she sees most of the young people frequently, being with them five days straight was an "eye-opening experience."
Although some of the behaviours were, in Campo's words, challenging, it was a valuable experience for her.
"The interaction with some of these young people is something I'm going to carry for the rest of my life," she said.
One of the concerns Campo has is the effect of their peers on the youth -- a fact another of the leaders can relate to. For Natalie Joe, 30, the problems some of the youth are experiencing read like a chapter out of her life.
Once a troubled youngster with addiction problems of her own, Joe credits a stay at an alcohol and drug treatment centre on the Lower Mainland with helping her turn her life around.
She understands the pull drugs and alcohol have for some young people. "It makes them feel like they fit in society," she said.
She's proud of the steps these young people are taking with their lives.
As part of the trip, the youth attended a military-style boot camp. Designed to add discipline, the young people marched and did drills according to Howard Paull, the drug and alcohol counsellor for the Sechelt Indian Band.
Another of the group's accomplishments in the six-week program was the building of a playground, by hand, for the preschool.
Joe said that while the trip was meant to help the youth rediscover their past, it also gave them valuable opportunities to learn leadership skills. It allowed the participants to give and take instruction.
"Youth Service Canada helped me turn my life around," Joe said. She sees the work the Band is doing with these young people as an opportunity for them to do the same.
For the only girl among the young people, the trip proved an interesting challenge on many levels.
Llewellyn Yelton, 17, said the trip was good. "I never thought I could go without showering for five days -- or go to the bathroom in the bush or be with boys the whole time," she laughed.
She found kayaking against the current on the trip tested her physically. And while she wasn't in great shape to begin with, the tiny young woman is now showing off muscles in her arms.
Aside from the food, which "didn't measure up to my mom's cooking", the voyage wasn't as hard as Llewellyn thought it would be. "I learned a lot about my background," she said.
Later Friday afternoon, the youth were honoured in a ceremony at the Sechelt Longhouse. Councillor Garry Feschuk spoke of the need to get rid of negative things. He said the focus is on how to help the young people get through the next phase of their lives into adulthood.
"The next goal is to get them back into school and help them be successful," Feschuk said.
"People will be watching you now," he told the youth participants. "Some day you'll be standing here saying the same things to your kids."
Chief Stan Dixon and Feschuk both thanked youth worker Richard Till for his role in creating the successful program. Till was given a carving from the Band for his efforts.
The special guest speaker of the day, wheelchair basketball athlete Richard Peters, inspired the youth with his life story.
The young man was run over by a school bus at age four. He credits his mom with providing the motivation it took to get him involved with wheelchair sports. "She told me your arms, mind and heart still work Ñ get out there and do it," Peters said.
While Peters joked that he wasn't very good at soccer, his prowess at basketball cumulated with a gold medal in Athens at the 2004 Paralympics Games.
Peters, who had his own issues to deal with, told the youth he was proud to be the only First Nations player on the national team. "I was honoured to represent our people, as well as Canada," he noted.
At the end of a long day, participant Clarence Joe, speaking for the youth, said he was "thankful for the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of our forefathers" Ñ an opportunity more troubled young people may have through the planning and determination of the Sechelt people.
