Skabewis

By Richard Wagamese
News From Indian Country

I became a long distance cross country runner when I was fifteen. Back then my life was filled with turmoil and running presented me with a sense of freedom that allowed me to breathe. My adoptive home, non-Native and ill prepared for an abused Native boy, was difficult. Running allowed me to expel the anger, hurt, confusion and doubt I struggled with and every heaved breath felt like an answer somehow.

When the notice went up on the school bulletin board I turned up for the try-outs. We ran three miles and I finished in the top five. I’d never been on a school team before and the day I was handed my singlet, shorts and spikes was a small glory. My family was a hockey family and didn’t understand the fascination with running, that it was a sport. But I felt like a winner.

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