Historically, the Dog Warriors were the young men that surveyed the community, made sure the community was safe.
They were the ones that went hunting. They were the ones that supported everyone and now a Prince Albert man is taking their efforts as inspiration for a new men’s group.
“An elder from Muskoday once told me the above about Dog warriors,” said Conrad Burns, one of the group facilitators. “I know that in other communities like Winnipeg there’s the Bear clan. We are adapting with our own stories, our own history. We intend to recapture that and understand that we are traditionally warriors and how that applies to us today.”
Burns described The Dog Warriors Men’s Group is an initiative for Aboriginal men and by Aboriginal men with the main purpose of helping them regain their identity and culture. The group will collaborate with Gateway Aboriginal Training and Employment(GATE), with funding from the Community Initiative Fund.
“Our purpose is to help regain the identity and culture of the Aboriginal men,” Burns said. “When a person knows where he comes from, who he is and internalizes his traditional beliefs without fear of discrimination, he will have self confidence in who he is and can move forward in a good way.”
Burns is one of several men trying to get the group up and running. Robby Clarke, another one of the facilitators, said the group aims to restore the lost values and qualities that defined Aboriginal men.
“In our culture we have our elders, (and) we need that elders’ guidance to provide and explore Indigenous ceremonies and practices,” Clarke explained. “Basically, we feel that the use of these teachings will correct a lot of the negative paths that a lot of men in our community usually follow.”
The facilitators listed alcoholism, drugs, gambling, and violence as negative paths. Their goal is to bring men together to experience ceremonies and teachings, and ideally prevent them from following those paths to destructive ends.
“It’s to reintegrate what was taken through colonization and reintroducing it back into the community in a good way,” Clarke said.
The group intends to address the issues from at least four different perspectives: mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. The men’s group holds its meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on every Wednesday at Plaza 88.
The group will focus on activities such as exercises, ceremonies, outings, and volunteering aside from the weekly meetings.
Healing encouragements includes things like ensuring that the men abide by their medications, receive transportation to clinics, and address general life issues that affects them.
“We look forward to sharing, helping, supporting, and engaging all ages of men to address things like relationships, anger or any type of violence or addiction the men may be experiencing,” Clarke said. “(The group will) provide knowledge and support and experience and direct their energy to something positive that a lot of men out there may not have access to.”
Clarke said the group can provide a safe space for men to talk and heal in a productive way. The facilitators also aim to attract experts to address fundamental issues that affects men periodically.
Elder Harold Burns was among those in attendance for a meeting on Tuesday. Burns said many people come to larger centres like Prince Albert from their home communities, but struggle when they get there.
“They get lost,” Harold said. “You come from a community but when you are here, you are an individual. Our culture is community based so when you are separated from your community you are lost.
“Even though we are different tribes we still have the same teaching,” he added. “What we’re trying to do is allow individuals to come together to make a community.”
The facilitators gave an open invitation to all men who wish to be part of the group to join in their activities as they address the damages caused by colonization, residential groups, Sixties Scoop, and intergenerational hurts.
“We support, talk about our stories, give guidance through traditional beliefs as well as modern ones like social works and counselling or just provide alternatives and help the members of the community, support them and help them flourish,” Conrad said.
The Dog Warriors have a Facebook group and could be contacted by anyone who wants to be a part of the community.
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