.

Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Judy Poitras is the type of woman who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Talking about the Bloody Falls Massacre 200 years ago on the Coppermine River causes tears to run freely down her cheeks. That's just the kind of person she is.

Judy Poitras substituted her regular shoes for family-made moccasins during her peace walks. Poitras did five walks last week, each centering on bringing awareness to different ways violence can affect people's lives. - Lauren McKeon/NNSL photo

Last week, Poitras, 42, completed five peace walks, one each from Tuesday to Saturday, all aimed to bring awareness to the many issues Poitras holds dear to her heart.

"I do a different walk every day," said Poitras, who is a drug and alcohol counsellor.

She said the first walk was driven by the desire to do something after she learned a child she knows had been hit on the head while in foster care.

It is not the policy of Health and Social Services to comment on whether such a case has been reported or whether any such cases are currently under investigation, said Damien Healy, manager of communications with the department.

But for Poitras, "It all started with a baby that hasn't even been in the world for 365 days yet."

After being stopped by many people during her first walk and hearing their concerns, Poitras quickly learned one walk and one issue was not enough.

In Poitras' mind many of the world's problems centre around one thing: violence, whether it be violence against another person, violence against yourself, or violence against the Earth.

"The violence has to end. It's not acceptable anymore. It's killing everything." she said.

Poitras' second walk was in honour of protecting the Earth; her third to get people thinking about all the people who don't have their basic needs covered; her fourth to stress the importance of elders; her fifth an all-encompassing walk for the people and for their families.

Poitras started each walk at 3 p.m. at the downtown post office and ended it at the legislative assembly building.

Every day, she inevitably leaves late from the post office, spending time talking to people who would gather around her, hearing their concerns and sharing her own.

Then Poitras, wearing a red blazer, as bright as a stop light, and carrying a white dry-erase board with the words "violence is unacceptable" written in thick black marker and a large birch branch, walked at her own pace to the legislative assembly.

Poitras said the birch bark branch represents the "tree of life" and gives her people - she is half-aboriginal, half-European - strength. The red piece of fabric wrapped around the branch is to tell "the people to go back to traditions" and the white piece wrapped tight to is to remind people of "the purity in everybody's heart."

On the first day, Poitras met three MLAs: Yellowknife MLA Robert Hawkins, Inuvik MLA Robert McLeod and Tu Nedhe MLA Tom Beaulieu.

She ended up sitting down with Hawkins to discuss, among many things, the issue of foster care and potential violence.

"I met with her and had a really great discussion on how we can deal with these issues," said Hawkins, adding he "always has time for folks" who are worried about issues such as Poitras'.

Hawkins called the peace walks a "tremendous statement" and said it's great when people take time out of their day to make a stand.

Ultimately, Poitras said she would like to see her people turn away from violence and go back to the traditions of the land because it "gives us all strength and (it) teaches us so much."

"Every day I witness violence. I shake my head and sigh."