St. John Reflects on First Four Months Sober Squad Brings Message
NOVEMBER 2018 | V O LU M E 20 | N U M B E R 11 St. John Reflects on First Four Months Brett Larson Inaajimowin Staff Writer Wally St. John has been preparing for a life in lead- ership for a long time, and that preparation has paid off during his first months as Dis- trict III Representative. “Thirty years ago I decid- ed I wanted to do something Founding members of Sober Squad — Colin Cash, Bradley Harrington, Gary Benjamin, Lynelle Northbird, and for the people, so I started Wally St. John Billie Jo Boyd — participated in a sobriety walk in Brainerd on October 21. shaping and molding my life, meaning I had to shed the old skin, so to speak, and put on a new way of caring and loving,“ said Wally. “It takes time for Sober Squad Brings Message of Healing, that to happen. It doesn't happen overnight.“ For Wally, that meant learning his traditions, with an em- Hope, and Sobriety to Brainerd phasis on obedience to spiritual teachings. That focus on the Brett Larson Inaajimowin Staff Writer spiritual life is what made the Anishinaabe ancestors happy The Sober Squad movement that started in Mille Lacs is send- walkers — and a smudge walk the following day on the Mille and gave them long lives, Wally said. ing ripples throughout Minnesota, and not just on reservations. Lacs Reservation, where friends and family of those affected Wally's spirituality is intertwined with his duties as a lead- The city of Brainerd was the latest to catch the wave with a by addiction and violence walked to remember their loved er and his method of addressing problems.
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