My name is Ry Lerat. I live on the Cowessess Indian Reserve,
which is about 25 kilometers North of Broadview, Saskatchewan.
The reserve is partially in the Qu'apple Valley.Last summer Cowessess
was host of the Saskatchewan Indian Summer Games.There were roughly
4500 people participating in the games,and coordination of the
games, meals, entertainment, and security.
I was the Head Lance Runner for team Cowessess.The Lance Run is the olympic torch for the Indian Summer Games. The Lance is about four to five feet long and is adorned with beads, leather, feathers,and small brass buttons. It doesn't sound like much, but when you hold it you can feel a force or power that is unimaginable.
The Lance was originated in 1994, after the games began. I experienced the power of the Lance while transporting it from Whitecap Dakota Souix Nation. Whitecap is about twenty five miles South of Saskatoon.Their team had fifteen Runners, and our customs where slightly different. Cowessess is mostly a Cree reserve.
The Lance Run consisted of fifteen Whitecap dakota Souix Nation Runners, fouteen Cowessess First Nation Runners and four elders, six drivers, and two men who where creating a documentry on The Lance Run.
It took about seven days to travel about five hundred miles, on foot!! The experience is something else, numerous livestock would race around as we passed by. Birds would fallow us for a distance, and wildlife could be seen easily.
This summer the games are in Big River. Its about 720 kilometers from where I live. This year the Lance Runners are looking at a two week run during the daylight hours. It is harsh, getting up at day break and stopping to rest at dusk. I usually eat and lay down and not get up until the next morning.
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