After 25 years, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is ending its official involvement with the Gwa'sala-Nakwaxda'xw Indian Band here.
MCC first became involved with the band in 1974, when alcohol rates were high and apathy was rampant. Although the current term is completed, MCC remains open to being involved in the community.
"A lot of people never knew hope," said Paddy Walkus, who served as chief for 23 years. In 10 years, 41 people passed away. Many of the deaths were alcohol-related, he said.
The band is an amalgamation of two Kwakiutl communities relocated to Port Hardy from the mainland in 1964.
Access to "better education facilities" was one of the main reasons for relocation, said Walkus. The community expected "good jobs" and "fully furnished houses." Instead, when they arrived, they had "no running water, no sewer."
People "desperately wanted to go back," he said.
Mennonite Disaster Service was the first Mennonite organization on the reserve. Heinz Dyck, who researched MCC volunteers in Port Hardy for his master's thesis, said Mennonite Disaster Service became involved because of the state of housing on the reserve. It was unliveable, he said.
MCC volunteers arrived with no mandate, according to Dyck. They formed two group homes to provide basic social services for "children in crisis." Later, volunteers became involved in developing a band-operated elementary school. MCC workers staffed the school for many years.
Mary Giesbrecht was the first MCC teacher at the school, and is now vice-principal. The school is a "very loving and caring environment," she said. Teachers and students celebrate birthdays, "feasts" and other events together.
Giesbrecht is also a member of Port Hardy Mennonite Fellowship. The small church was established 14 years ago as an outgrowth of MCC presence in the area. Many of its members taught at the school.
Art Janzen is one of those members. He was once told, "Mennonites are different, you come and you work and you care for us, but you don't try to make us you. We appreciate that."
"I've been really happy...with MCC," Walkus said. The volunteers have become "friends, more than just workers." MCC's philosophy of not forcing relationships has "helped us accept what God has to offer us," he said. It has "put people back on track with relation to God."
Rebuilding the community has been slow, he said, but the apathy is not so real anymore. Walkus is especially thankful for the old people who "taught love and care." Without them, he said, "we wouldn't have survived."
The tough times for the band aren't over. Walkus's son Harvey was one of several suicides in the area last year. A slump in the B.C. economy has hit the community hard.
"We're in an incredibly difficult time economically and socially," said Chris Parker, director of the Port Hardy Crisis Centre, where members of Port Hardy Mennonite Fellowship volunteer.
"At the same time," she said, "I think people are finding their own strength."
"Even with all the despair, there is still something good happening here, said Walkus. "I can say that with pride."
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