Chippewa Cree runners holding wellness run

A group of Chippewa Cree will hold a run Saturday, Nov. 14, to promote holistic wellness along with drug- and alcohol-free lifestyles.

The planned route will start at Rocky Boy’s Veterans Park at 8 a.m. and proceed 26 miles through Beaver Creek Park and farther along Montana Secondary Highway 234, ending at the HRDC Building on 5th Avenue in Havre. Three vans will follow close behind, offering transport to those to those who become weary along the way.

Safe and Healthy Choices, a program run through Stone Child College, champions sobriety and spiritual wellness, is organizing the run.

Mike Geboe, project director for Safe and Healthy Choices, said historically the Chippewa Cree used runners to deliver messages backto people when populations were more widely dispersed and the means of communication far more basic. He said he hopes the run can help build a sense of camaraderie among participants, especially those Chippewa Cree struggling with addiction, by becoming reaquainted with their roots.

“We want people to reconnect with their tribal identity, remind ourselves of our sacredness and reclaim who we are as a strong Chippewa Cree Nation,” said Geboe.

To mark the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation’s centennial next year, Geboe said he hopes to organize a run from Rocky Boy up to the Cypress Hills Provincial Park in Canada, an area in Alberta with historical significance for the Chippewa Cree Tribe.

Those interested in joining do not need to be a member of the tribe and can sign up for it by showing up at the Rocky Boy Veterans Park at 7:45 a.m.