Fighting diabetes on foot

DENISE RIDEOUT

Roda Grey slipped into a pair of moccasins, stretched her legs and headed out from Kuujjuarapik for a grueling 240-kilometre trek.

The 52-year-old Inuk woman hiked through rain, wind and cold, camping out in tents and fishing cabins along the route. Six days later, on March 23, Grey walked into Chisasibi, her destination.

She made the trek to raise awareness about the need for Inuit to keep fit and eat healthy — keys to preventing the onset of diabetes.

“I wanted to give a message that even though diabetes is not in a crisis situation now, it’s coming,” Grey said a week after completing the journey. “There is really, really going to be a crisis in the North.”

Grey, who has worked on Inuit health issues for close to a decade, joined the walk to get Inuit thinking about diabetes. She is currently working on an Inuit health policy with Health Canada and is a member of the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association.

The Diabetes Walk was called Miyupimaatisiitaau, a Cree word meaning “let’s live in wellness.” The trek has traditionally been directed at preventing diabetes among Quebec’s Cree population, where the rate of diabetes is escalating at an alarming rate.

Grey doesn’t want to see diabetes strike Inuit in the same way.

But, she worries the disease will surface more as Inuit move away from traditional activities, such as hunting and eating country foods, that kept Inuit healthy for years. Grey herself was raised traditionally in a camp outside of Aupaluk.

“The lifestyle is changing. The diet is changing,” Grey said. “Everywhere you go now there is poutine, fried chicken and other things. Processed food is bad. Traditional food doesn’t cause diabetes.”

She said the walk was all about being active and eating healthy.

Grey, the only Inuk on the trek, joined a group of Cree walkers in Kuujjuarapik and made the 240-kilometre journey with them to Chisasibi. The Crees actually began their journey on Jan. 17, making their way through the James Bay region, from Waswanipi to Ouje-Bougoumou, Mistissini, Nemaska, Waskaganish, Eastmain, Wemindji, Radisson, Whapmagoostui and Chisasibi.

For Grey, the trek was physically and mentally challenging.

She walked for six days and camped out at night in tents and fishing cabins along her route. Snowmobiles followed behind her, carrying the heavy camping gear and food supply. Along the way, she ran into snow, cold winds and nights where the temperature dropped to -30C.

“I felt that I should do it. I’m not sure why, but I just did,” Grey said.

The trek was more of a mental than physical challenge, though. Often, she spent close to 10 hours a day walking by herself on the land.

“When you’re on a walk like that you have to be positive,” Grey said, pausing for a moment to reflect on her adventure. “It was scary though. Even the thought of it was really scary,” she added.

When she came to a camp about 18 kilometres outside of Chisasibi, some Inuit presented Grey with traditional clothing. She changed out of her Cree moccasins and entered her destination wearing Inuit kamiik.

“I looked like a princess,” she said.