Sudbury students, school staff host 'Walk for Attawapiskat'

Students and staff from Rainbow District School Board and the Wabnode Centre for Aboriginal Services at Cambrian College have joined together to host the Attawapiskat Walk for Awareness on Saturday, May 28.

Kathy Dokis, principal of First Nation, Metis and Inuit Education with the Rainbow District School Board, says the idea of organizing a fundraising walk came from Bradley Shawanda, a First Nations student with the board.

"[Shawanda] spoke with his teachers and said he wanted to take some action to support and create awareness for what is going on in Attawapiskat," Dokis says.

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"[He] knows some of the challenges and historical situations that the community would be dealing with."

And a chance meeting with Attawapiskat residents at Cambrian College's Wabnode Centre allowed Dokis to invite them as honourary guests at a 'round dance' to close the ceremony.

• Listen to Kathy Dokis discuss the significance of 'long skirts' with Markus Schwabe

Morning North5:19Walk to raise awareness for Attawapiskat First Nation

Students in Sudbury are walking to raise awareness for Attawapiskat First Nation. We spoke with Kathy Dokis about the walk. She's a principal who is helping to organize the event.

Although drumming is a familiar sound at round dances, people will also notice another traditional element — Dokis has invited women to wear "long skirts."

"The long skirts," says Dokis, "provide another way to honour our connection to mother earth."

The walk will begin at Sudbury Secondary School at 10 a.m. and will end at Bell Park with a round dance around noon.

People wishing to support the walk can also make donations to the Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation. All proceeds will go directly to Attawapiskat First Nation.