foundations OF LIFE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HAIDA GWAII TOTEM TOUR
Haida Gwaii Totem Tour
AFTER HIS FIRST VISIT TO MASSET IN HAIDA GWAII, B.C. EIGHT YEARS ago, Nick Lees had a dream. In the small town that marks Mile 0 of the Yellowhead Highway, he decided to plan an epic bike trip and fundraiser for kids. And when he saw people carving traditional totem poles, it was set. It would be a “totem tour” travelling from Haida Gwaii to Edmonton by bicycle. “Initially a lot of people thought I was joking because it is 1,760 kilometres, but it just gelled in my mind that we had to do this,” says Nick, a columnist for the Edmonton Journal. For two weeks in June, Nick’s dream came true, bringing together 40 riders ages 13 to into their 70s to raise money for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and bring a totem pole to be installed at the Hospital; the Haida Gwaii Totem Tour dream was realized. Through good and bad weather the crew cycled the distance, rolling into Edmonton’s Churchill Square on Canada Day, welcomed by hundreds of people. It was probably his fellow riders that kept him going, says Nick. “I have been doing [fundraising] rides for 10 years and I have never met a group of people that came together quite as much as this group did.” Among them was Matt Decore, who joined the organizing committee in 2013, on Nick’s request. A six-time national team cyclist, Matt was handy to have on the road, and behind the ride. “Honestly, I thought ‘I don’t know if we can do this.’ It was so daunting,” says Matt. But he agreed, and after a scouting mission with Nick, Ron Pawlowski and Allan Mayer to Haida Gwaii, the plans were in motion. Haida Gwaii carver Ben Davidson not only signed on to create the half-tonne, three-metre totem pole, but he also agreed to go along for the ride. One of the highlights for Matt was getting to ride alongside Mike Webb, a neighbour growing up who was his inspiration to start cycling. For this ride Mike brought along another inspiring rider – his 13-year-old son Alex, who also happened to be the Haida Gwaii Totem Tour’s biggest fundraiser. “This young guy is going to be a leader, moving into the next 6
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generation of these bike trips, plus he raised $40,000,” says Matt of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Youth Ambassador. Also on the bike for one leg was Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation president Mike House, who admits there were some hard hours, but it was worth it for the $404,000 raised for the Stollery. The money will go toward support services for families who use the Stollery, especially those of aboriginal descent. “In the Stollery we have about 50 per cent of children who come from outside of Edmonton and I would say between 15 and 20 per cent of those have aboriginal, First Nations, Inuit, or Metis background,” Mike explains. “We know that the navigation of our health-care system can be a difficult and intimidating thing for any parent, but particularly for a parent who may not have familiarity with the Stollery, so we wanted to raise money for some navigational support and social work support.” The tour’s title totem, which made the 1,760-kilometre trek to Edmonton in a covered trailer, was created as a tribute to the families whose children never returned home from the Stollery. At the bottom, a bison’s likeness honours Prairie First Nations people, while further up a mother bear and her cub signify a family’s bond and an eagle is perched at the top. Also on the pole, which spans three metres across, are butterflies added for former Stollery children who passed away, some of whose ashes were also mixed into the paint. It will be installed in the Stollery atrium in November. S TO L L E RY C H I L D R E N ’ S H O S P I TA L F O U N DAT I O N
2014-10-27 12:14 PM