Fifth annual recovery event rocks Thunder Bay

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY—Fort William Chief Peter Collins says the Thunder Bay Drug Strategy’s Fifth Annual Rockin’ Recovery event, held Sept. 5 at Marina Park, helped create positive outcomes for community members in recovery.

“The work that [Thunder Bay] Drug Strategy and our community has done today will help to strive and create positive outcomes for our folks,” Chief Collins says. “Our community is no different from any other community — we are all dealing with the opiate crisis and the addictions that we have in our communities. It seems that it is ramping up and getting worse, so we have to be part of working together. We have to strive for positive goals so our folks can live a healthy lifestyle.”

Fort William announced a partnership with the Drug Awareness Committee in July to support the Rockin’ Recovery event which was first held in 2014 as a festival event to highlight individuals who identify as being in recovery.

“If you look at the opiate crisis that we have in our communities today, it is a challenge not only for First Nations people, it is a challenge for non-Indigenous people,” Chief Collins says. “It is a challenge for all of our country and for all of us in this world.”

Recovery Day was first celebrated in Vancouver and Victoria in September 2012 as a public display of freedom from addiction. The movement has since spread throughout Canada, encompassing communities large and small.

“This is a great venue for our recovering people and for all of us,” Chief Collins says, noting that Fort William signed a Declaration of Commitment with Thunder Bay in 2011 to work together towards a brighter future. “We must stay on that goal, and the common goal is recovering all of our folks that are dealing with addictions in our community and the City of Thunder Bay and Canada.”

Red Rock Indian Band’s Ron Kanutski appreciated the opportunity to perform as the lead vocalist with the Psycho Therapy band during the Rockin’ Recovery event.

“It’s big for me because I’ve been working in the field of addictions for close to 30 years and I’ve been sober myself for almost three decades,” Kanutski says. “It’s about living a good life, so for me this is the right event for me to be at.”

Doreen Dunbar, a Shoal Lake #39 citizen who grew up in Thunder Bay after being adopted at two weeks old, shared her story on stage during the Rockin’ Recovery event.

“This was my first time ever speaking at an event, and I’m very happy,” Dunbar says. “It was very exciting and scary.”

Dunbar threw out a feather for people who are still struggling with addictions at the end of her presentation.

“I find little feathers everywhere that I go,” Dunbar says, noting that she believes the Creator puts the feathers there for a purpose. “That’s what came to my mind — the Creator said throw it for all the people that have lost their lives.”

Dunbar says she grew up without knowing her Anishinaabe family.

“I found out later in life that I lost my mom to suicide, and I tried to do it when I was 47 but I was lucky enough to survive,” Dunbar says. “If somebody can hear my story, then they will know there is hope and there is another open door they can open to a better future.”