The above title is a paraphrase from an article by Jody Patterson on July 24, 1997:
If you get a chance, check out the series of articles written by Jody Patterson, a Times Colonist columnist (wow, that's a bit of a tongue twister, LOL), back in the summer of 1997. I came across the site while I was doing research and development work for my novel, Murder On Pink Mountain. I was looking up the official account of the murder of RCMP Const. Michael Joseph Buday in Teslin, Yukon in 1985. Certain elements of the incident, that ended with the death of Const. Buday, are very similar to the storyline of my novel.
However, back to Vision Quest -- in 1995 RCMP Staff Sgt. Ed Hill and his friend, Roy Henry Vickers, painted the Teslin Lake scene that was the last thing Const. Buday saw as he lay dying on the shore of the lake; shot in the back by the murderous draft-dodger, Michael Oros. He had been descending into a crazed state for thirteen years, culminating in that tragic shooting.
Sales from the painting raised over $100,000 and was the beginning of the official fundraising efforts for the vision Roy Vickers had held in his heart from the time he was 28; to build a treatment centre for others, like himself, who were sick of battling the grip of addiction. In 1997, Vickers was 51 and addiction-free.
The RCMP became an official sponsor of the vision and the idea of Vision Quest: A Journey of Healing became a major facet of the fundraising efforts. A team of 50 Vision Quest pullers (that's what paddlers are called) gathered to paddle canoes 1,600 kilometers down BC's coast, from Hazelton to Victoria. They left Hazelton July 3, 1997. Along the route they linked up with the annual, First Nations Tribal Journey paddlers, in Port Hardy on July 20, 1997. Their arrival at Victoria's Inner Harbour on August 3, 1997, coincided with the official opening of the 1997 North American Indigenous Games.
The Vision Quest paddling team was comprised of RCMP members, First Nations people, and an assortment of other supporters. Jody Patterson accompanied the group for the entire journey. Her account of this epic water trek is a remarkable story that delivers a great insight into the various reasons, those who participated in the journey, did so. In reading the account you will learn about:
- the native "songkeeper" William Wasden, of Alert Bay, who studied four years under the native elder, Tom Willie, from Kingcome Inlet, who taught him over 200 traditional native songs -- some in languages over 1,000 years old
- Frank Camp, Easy Rider of the Oceans, and author of Roots in the Rockies (1993) --another remarkable person who has amazing tales to tell
- the native "Keeper of the Sacred Bundle", Ray Tootoosis, from Hobbema, Alberta who has been transporting the "sacred spirit bundle" to various ceremonies and events -- including International Indigenous Games around the world -- since being summoned by four elders, who assigned him the task of safeguarding this most revered symbol of native tradition
- RCMP Insp. John Grant's reasons for being involved in organizing the RCMP contingent of paddlers. During a speech at the native big-house in Comox he said, "The RCMP did things in the past that may have been legal at the time, but not moral..."
The route traveled by the Vision Quest paddlers was a traditional route for both First Nations elders and the RCMP. In native tradition it is called "The Grandfather's Journey".
Jody Patterson's account details the conditions endured by the paddlers and the deep emotions that were unleashed by the healing nature of the journey. Some of the elders in the isolated coastal villages had not seen a canoe pull up to their shores since they were little children..." Their tears spoke volumes about the detrimental changes that have ravaged their communities since those earlier times -- residential schools, alcohol, suicide, despair.
The Vision Quest: Journey for Healing must have met with a great measure of success; when checking out the official Vision Quest website I found the RCMP logo is on their home page and they proudly proclaim themselves as continuing in the sponsorship. Kudos to the RCMP for that. Vision Quest operates several treatment facilities now. One, called Hope House, is located in Langley. They also operate Reality 101 House, Harte House, Satori House and Faith House.
For those of you moved to do so, donations can be sent to:
Vision Quest Recovery Centre
657 West 37th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1K6
They are a registered charity
Registration No. BN884133042 RR 0001
I must say, the Diary Excerpts of Staff Sgt. Ed Hill are also a very interesting read.
The print by Ed Hill and Roy Henry Vickers called Sheep Standing By Himself
A depiction of the last thing Const. Michael Joseph Buday saw before he died on the shore of Teslin Lake, in the Yukon
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