Post by Okwes on Feb 28, 2007 16:18:48 GMT -5
A circle of life
By Sgt. Leo A. Salinas, Headquarters Marine Corps
[WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine takes his place at the head of
the powwow procession. As a Marine, he now holds the honor of bearing
the Eagle Staff. The honor is normally reserved for his father who is
also a tribal councilman. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN,
Canada – Blaine Raine takes his place at the head of the powwow
procession. As a Marine, he now holds the honor of bearing the Eagle
Staff. The honor is normally reserved for his father who is also a
tribal councilman. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – Cason MacBride is a
fancy dancer that has been following the powwow trail for seven years.
The 24-year-old dances for respect to the Native heritage and because
when he dances, he feels the energy of the people around him, he said.
Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN, Canada – Cason MacBride
is a fancy dancer that has been following the powwow trail for seven
years. The 24-year-old dances for respect to the Native heritage and
because when he dances, he feels the energy of the people around him, he
said. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – Chaz Yellowbird just loves to dance.
At least, that is his expression during the powwow and what his mother
Melissa said. The six-year-old fancy dancer goes to Lake Dell Elementary
in Pigeon Lake Alberta, Canada. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
WETASKIWIN, Canada – Chaz Yellowbird just loves to dance. At least,
that is his expression during the powwow and what his mother Melissa
said. The six-year-old fancy dancer goes to Lake Dell Elementary in
Pigeon Lake Alberta, Canada. [WETASKIWIN, Canada - Nathan Cardinal,
27, is a traditional dancer that has invested $2,000 in his powwow
attire. Dancing in the powwow is very important to keeping his
traditions intact, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN,
Canada - Nathan Cardinal, 27, is a traditional dancer that has invested
$2,000 in his powwow attire. Dancing in the powwow is very important to
keeping his traditions intact, he said. [WETASKIWIN, Canada - Blaine
Raine, 33, started his path to success on a small wheat farm. He
eventually would be the first of his family to go to college, play at
the World Lacrosse Championships, and join the American military as a
Marine. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN, Canada - Blaine
Raine, 33, started his path to success on a small wheat farm. He
eventually would be the first of his family to go to college, play at
the World Lacrosse Championships, and join the American military as a
Marine. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blain Raine credits the small Four
Nations Arena to be a stepping off point in his career as an athlete.
His earliest memories are of his dad pushing him around on the ice when
he was four-years old, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blain Raine credits the small Four Nations
Arena to be a stepping off point in his career as an athlete. His
earliest memories are of his dad pushing him around on the ice when he
was four-years old, he said. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – The
elementary school on the reservation where Blain Raine went to through
3rd grade is now abandoned and boarded up. He later would return as a
teacher for 7th grade at a newly built school across the parking lot
from his old one. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN, Canada
– The elementary school on the reservation where Blain Raine went to
through 3rd grade is now abandoned and boarded up. He later would return
as a teacher for 7th grade at a newly built school across the parking
lot from his old one. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine held
one of the highest honors at the powwow as keeper of the Eagle Staff.
The position is held for a tribesman that has served in the military.
Each feather on the staff represents a veteran. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A.
Salinas] WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine held one of the highest
honors at the powwow as keeper of the Eagle Staff. The position is held
for a tribesman that has served in the military. Each feather on the
staff represents a veteran.
WASHINGTON (Dec. 27, 2006) -- Thunderstorms ruin picnics not powwows,
not for the tribes gathered in Alberta, Canada. Powwows celebrate life
– things like culture, heritage and tradition. Things like rain.
A mix of mud and manure give a fresh farm smell as security staff
wearing reflective orange vests police a lot next to an outdoor rodeo
arena. People congest outside an adjacent, boxy building and funnel
inside. Rusty aluminum siding and hazy windows house the indoor arena,
but only the concrete benches and outside smell tracked inside give the
impression that rodeos are held here.
There's no big rush. This will kick off whenever the tribes feel
like it.
Gang colors and Old English lettering on jackets mix in with colorful
native costumes. Some costumes have bright colors with feathers; some
have long glasslike skirts. Beads and bells adorn almost every outfit.
The music starts. High-pitched wailing accompanies a steady, smooth drum
beat played by six or seven groups. Each group huddles around its drum.
A boom operator walks to each drum and holds a microphone on a fish
pole. The sound is loud enough, and the microphone only amplifies it to
roaring levels.
The beat finds a nice place, and the rhythm stays burrowed in
everyone's chest. The drumming is a competition of sorts, and
although the music sounds the same, a few subtle differences separate
the musicians from the drummer boys.
Costumed natives slowly form a snakelike chain of colorful characters. A
nondescript elder in blue jeans and a black jacket leads the procession.
He holds something that resembles a shepherd's crook adorned with
feathers. This is the Eagle Staff, carried by the Plains Cree tribe from
a high-honored position.
Little does Sgt. Blaine Raine know, he's holding it next.
The First Right
Raine's path to the eagle staff starts on a farm in Hoboma, Alberta,
Canada, where wheat fields for miles around offer little else to view.
The family had cows and horses, and Raine had standard farm chores. This
didn't really interest him.
In the winters, Raine and his brother and two sisters would build snow
tunnels throughout the farm, skate on ice ponds and ride snowmobiles.
This didn't really interest him. Neither did riding horses in the
local rodeo and participating in powwows.
"We lived it, but I never embraced it as kid," he said.
Raine was interested sports, primarily hockey.
"Everybody here in America plays baseball; in Canada it's
hockey," he said.
Sport was Raine's way to excel beyond the ills of reservation life
where alcoholism and gangs spread like cancer. Since as early as 4 years
old, Raine remembers his father's encouragement. He remembers his
father pushing him around the local ice rink, the Four Nations Arena.
Floyd Henry Raine also encouraged his children to excel in education.
"He wanted us to experience the world and to have something to fall
back on," Raine said. "He wanted us to go to school – not
just to show up, but to go to school and learn."
Floyd Henry served in the Canadian military and was a tribal policeman,
so his children naturally received a well-disciplined upbringing.
"He wasn't doing it where we had morning inspections, but he
instilled discipline," Raine said. "There was a hand to the
backside, but he didn't put out a pipe, wrench or belt and say
choose."
Floyd Henry got involved in tribal politics, running for tribal council
leader. This inspired Raine to take interest in his community –
maybe, possibly, being a council leader himself one day.
"I wanted to be like my dad, follow in his footsteps," he said.
"How does the saying go? `The father in the eyes of a kid is a
hero?'"
In 1984, Raine's parents enrolled him and his two sisters in St.
Augustine Secondary School in Ponoka, Alberta, off the reservation. This
opened Raine to more opportunities, and introduced him to another role
model.
"My fourth-grade teacher was pretty cool," he said. "She
believed in everybody there; she cared."
The new Catholic school was predominately white, and relations between
whites and natives were not on the best terms, said Raine. This was a
dramatic change from school on the reservation, but his teacher taught
an invaluable life lesson: Never give up.
"In a way, she challenged," he said. "She encouraged
potential to come out of students."
Raine's education of life and the world continued. With exceptional
hockey skills, in 1990 he was sent to Athol Murray College of Notre
Dame.
The boarding school was "in the middle of nowhere" and an
eight-hour drive from the reservation, said Raine. However, this gave
the 16-year-old the chance to focus on hockey and homework.
Raine was relatively young in his hockey life, but he liked playing and
came from a family of rabid Edmonton Oilers fans. When he played on the
reservation, he played with kids two-years his elder. He was good, and
his play on the ice was opening doors.
Suddenly, the hockey blood coursing his veins encountered a strange
transfusion: lacrosse.
The second right
"As one would say, `Something happened on the way to
heaven,' I picked up lacrosse," said Raine.
High school was pretty normal for Raine. His hobbies were homework and
exercise. He still faced racial demons as a native in a predominantly
white school, but sport was the great equalizer.
Passing by a field one day, Raine saw lacrosse players practicing. He
began to mimic the actions of the players and soon thought to himself,
"Hey, I can do this," he said.
"Lacrosse was the one thing that was me," said Raine. "I
pursued it on my own. My parents did not push me to it; they encouraged
hockey."
After attending one of the team's open tryouts, the team coach told
Raine he saw potential and wanted to keep him around.
"After that, I told myself I will bust bum for this guy,"
said Raine.
The coach introduced Raine to another good player with whom Raine shared
a common bond: He was a native. Adam Thompson, a Mohawk native, gave
Raine valuable knowledge that would not only make him a good lacrosse
player for the team, but good enough to make the Under 19 Canadian
Lacrosse team only eight months after first trying out for the high
school team.
During games, players from opposing teams said racist comments, making
the pressure to play a heavy burden on Raine.
"I called my mom and dad and told them that I wanted to quit,"
he said. He then hung up the phone, thought about what he said and
called back. "I called them again 10 minutes later and told them
I'm going to stick it out."
Never again would Raine let something get in the way of his goals.
"I think that was one of the smartest things I ever done," he
said.
As Raine excelled in lacrosse, his parents told him how lacrosse was
originally a native sport. He learned that natives made lacrosse sticks
out of tree branches. As he got more experienced, he was told stories
about his great grandfather who played the sport the "old way."
After high school, Raine wanted to play lacrosse in college. However,
finding the right school wasn't a smooth process. In 1993, he
applied to the University of Denver. Everything seemed to be in order,
but suddenly the phone stopped ringing. The university's lacrosse
team coach had just been fired and left Raine's paperwork open to
fate.
Raine waited until he felt his opportunity wasn't coming. He moved
on.
Raine moved to Ontario to play for the Six Nations Arrows, a lacrosse
team sponsored by the Assembly of First Nations. Room and board were
free and it offered Raine a chance to keep playing.
One of the players on the Arrows also played for Carnisius College in
Buffalo, N.Y. The coach from the college came to see one of the
Arrow's games, saw Raine and asked if he would like to play college
lacrosse.
Raine took this opportunity to not only play, but to also prove that he
could play Division I lacrosse. He would also be the first person in his
family to go to college. He did this to honor his father, and chose
elementary education as a major to honor his fourth-grade teacher.
"The reason why I'm here is because of my teachers," said
Raine. "I want to be that person that gives the knowledge; I want to
be that person that helps the kid that everybody has written off."
The third right
After college, he went back to the reservation, equipped with a
bachelor's degree, a successful amateur lacrosse career, and proof
that his fellow natives on the reservation can make a difference and be
successful.
"I figured if I can go out and do something, they can," he said.
"I'm no special case."
In 1998, He got a job teaching seventh grade in the local middle school.
He chose seventh grade because, "they're not that young enough
to lose attention, but not old enough where they're set in their
ways," said Raine. "That's where they need the most
guidance."
Raine used some unconventional methods to reach out to his students.
First, they were allowed to call him Blaine. Second, he didn't
adhere to the shirt and tie dress code like the other faculty. Third, he
wasn't going to give up on students, no matter what their past
grades showed.
Raine stopped teaching seventh grade and began assisting in a
high-school diploma program for adults.
"I saw these individuals come back and want to achieve their
goals," he said. "I looked at it as `It's never too
late.'"
Raine, then 29, wanted to join the military. His grandfather and father
were both Canadian military. And being a veteran is highly respected in
the tribe. But Raine didn't want to join just any service.
"I looked at the Marine Corps prestige," he said. "The title
`Earned but never given' – that was something I wanted."
In 2003, Raine traveled to America and sat in the Marine recruiter's
chair. At first, the Marines did not want to waive Raine's age. The
recruiting office had been let down by two other age waivers who could
not finish boot camp. The commanding officer of the recruiting station
would not sign Raine's paperwork. The recruiter had to tell Raine
no.
"I don't like being told no," he said.
Raine drove to Casper, Wyo., where he met Sgt. Jeffrey Harrington.
"Sgt. Harrington was all moto," said Raine. The recruiter and
his officers believed in Raine, and he soon found himself on the yellow
footsteps at Marine Corps Recruiting Depot San Diego getting yelled at
by people much younger than him.
"I asked myself, `What the hell did I get myself into?,'"
he said. "I'm too old for this s---."
For someone who had played sports his whole life, boot camp was
physically easy. Mentally it was tough. He was away from his family for
the holidays.
"Although I traveled from school to school, I always made it back
home," said Raine. "Now, someone's telling me no, and there
is nothing I can do about it."
A family prayer that his mother sent him in the mail in their native
language would get Raine through the toughest day. And upon graduation,
there was probably no one prouder than Raine's father.
"He swelled with pride. It's the one thing that he says no one
can take away from us," Raine said. "We are three generations
serving."
The fourth right
Raine serves at the promotions branch for Headquarters Marine Corps in
Quantico, Va. Most Marines who have climbed the ranks of officers or
staff noncommissioned officers have had their paperwork somewhere on
Raine's desk.
Some at his command wish for him to become an officer. He has a
four-year college degree, and his fraction-from-perfect evaluation
scores earned him a recent promotion to sergeant.
"Sergeant Major Raine has a good ring to it, but so does Major
Raine," he said. "If I have to say where my heart is, it's
with enlisted."
As he ponders his next career, his personal life is being filled with
new adventures. He was married back home on the reservation. It was a
traditional wedding, but not in a traditional sense. He wore his dress
blues; his wife wore a white dress. However, they were married in a
tepee instead of a church with a steeple.
In 2005, he was invited to play for the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team
in the World Lacrosse Championships in Canada, one of Raine's
lifetime goals. His dad was especially proud of his son and his tribe.
"It's a big honor to see a Cree playing for a dominant Six
Nations team," said Floyd.
His father, who watches all of Raine's games, is careful not to
brag. He believes in the old ways where jealousy could lead to cursing
the family name.
"People can call you down and curse you like black magic," he
said.
Son, athlete, Marine, husband – Raine has taken several titles. His
most sacred title, however, came after a recent rite of passage within
his tribe.
The title is translated as "Brave Warrior." In the old days,
Plains Cree warriors would send a scouting party to observe their
enemies. One brave soul would ride out to the army, taunting and
intimidating the enemy. This was the Naberkasohweno.
The ceremony is sacred – so sacred that Raine won't and
can't tell what he went through. When the director of his office
asked what the equivalency is, Raine compared it to Marine
reconnaissance indoctrination.
Back home on the reservation, Raine's title makes him not only a
leader among his peers, but a leader for the community.
Full circle
"The military means a lot to this community," said Cecil Crier.
"We always honor the vets. They're always in the front of the
powwow because they are the warriors and protectors."
Night has fallen over the powwow. The men's traditional dancers,
dressed in full attire, some even sporting war paint, are out now
performing for the judges. Crier is an advisor to the powwow but also
serves as a culture advisor for the tribe.
Crier watches the dancing with a heavy heart because he also sees the
passing of the tribe's old ways.
"The youth are lost. Most of them have given up," he said.
The tribe offers several avenues to its heritage: Powwows are social
fairs with competitive dancing and sweat lodges are ceremonial saunas.
However, there are many problems plaguing the community. Gangs run
rampant and drugs have their grip.
"The young parents have lost their kids," he said. "They let
the TV baby-sit them."
Crier has begun a fight to save the tribe from turmoil. He serves as a
coordinator for schools. One program filters teens through a boot-camp
environment instills discipline and character strength. The tribe has
youth councils, culture camps, and a Cree language program that targets
young parents.
Most youths are a long ways from the old rites administered by elders,
who would observe from a great distance as the tribesman would hunt his
own food, build his own shelter, and make his own fire.
The Plains Cree tribe are beautiful people and proud we are plagued with
social issues such as drugs, alcoholism, and gangs just lie any other
place and the gap between the youth and plains Cree traditions is
getting wider .
The reservation needs people like Raine, but leaving the reservation is
OK with some.
"I agree with what Blaine did," he said. "Go out and learn,
and then bring the teachings back to the community."
Crier knows very little about the Marine Corps, but he perceives it to
be elite among America's armed forces. And he's proud that Raine
has made the choice of being one of the few and the proud, he said.
"I pray when I do my sweats that my son-in-law is safe," he
said.
As Raine holds the Eagle Staff, he thinks of the men that have held it
before him.
"Where they put me is meant for men of importance. I never
considered myself important in anything," he said. "It's my
dad's position; it's where he's supposed to stand."
Raine's family has a long history of serving in the military. His
grandfather enlisted in World War II. His father tried to enlist in the
Marines but had to hitchhike to America to enlist, only getting as far
as Calgary before he stopped and joined the Canadian Armed Forces.
In a way, Raine has fulfilled his father's dream of becoming a
Marine.
The Marine Corps wants to send Raine to Europe. Maybe even overseas to
the Middle East. The Marines will no doubt lead him out of the country
sooner or later. But he has some goals that he still hopes to
accomplish. Raine soars through his journey of life with the hopes of
his people on his shoulder. A journey that may never be completed.
-30- [ WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine takes his place at the
head of the powwow procession. As a Marine, he now holds the honor of
bearing the Eagle Staff. The honor is normally reserved for his father
who is also a tribal councilman. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/20061227101051?opendoc\
ument> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine takes his place at the head
of the powwow procession. As a Marine, he now holds the honor of bearing
the Eagle Staff. The honor is normally reserved for his father who is
also a tribal councilman. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas [ WETASKIWIN,
Canada – Cason MacBride is a fancy dancer that has been following
the powwow trail for seven years. The 24-year-old dances for respect to
the Native heritage and because when he dances, he feels the energy of
the people around him, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/20061227101630?opendoc\
ument> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Cason MacBride is a fancy dancer that
has been following the powwow trail for seven years. The 24-year-old
dances for respect to the Native heritage and because when he dances, he
feels the energy of the people around him, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo
A. Salinas [ WETASKIWIN, Canada – Chaz Yellowbird just loves to
dance. At least, that is his expression during the powwow and what his
mother Melissa said. The six-year-old fancy dancer goes to Lake Dell
Elementary in Pigeon Lake Alberta, Canada. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A.
Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122710193?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Chaz Yellowbird just loves to dance. At
least, that is his expression during the powwow and what his mother
Melissa said. The six-year-old fancy dancer goes to Lake Dell Elementary
in Pigeon Lake Alberta, Canada. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas [
WETASKIWIN, Canada - Nathan Cardinal, 27, is a traditional dancer that
has
invested $2,000 in his powwow attire. Dancing in the powwow is very
important to keeping his traditions intact, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo
A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/20061227102326?opendoc\
ument> WETASKIWIN, Canada - Nathan Cardinal, 27, is a traditional dancer
that has invested $2,000 in his powwow attire. Dancing in the powwow is
very important to keeping his traditions intact, he said. Photo by: Sgt.
Leo A. Salinas [ WETASKIWIN, Canada - Blaine Raine, 33, started his
path to success on a small wheat farm. He eventually would be the first
of his family to go to college, play at the World Lacrosse
Championships, and join the American military as a Marine. Photo by:
Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122793113?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada - Blaine Raine, 33, started his path to success
on a small wheat farm. He eventually would be the first of his family to
go to college, play at the World Lacrosse Championships, and join the
American military as a Marine. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas [
WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blain Raine credits the small Four Nations
Arena to be a stepping off point in his career as an athlete. His
earliest memories are of his dad pushing him around on the ice when he
was four-years old, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122793623?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blain Raine credits the small Four
Nations Arena to be a stepping off point in his career as an athlete.
His earliest memories are of his dad pushing him around on the ice when
he was four-years old, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas [
WETASKIWIN, Canada – The elementary school on the reservation where
Blain Raine went to through 3rd grade is now abandoned and boarded up.
He later would return as a teacher for 7th grade at a newly built school
across the parking lot from his old one. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122794229?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada – The elementary school on the reservation
where Blain Raine went to through 3rd grade is now abandoned and boarded
up. He later would return as a teacher for 7th grade at a newly built
school across the parking lot from his old one. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A.
Salinas [ WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine held one of the highest
honors at the powwow as keeper of the Eagle Staff. The position is held
for a tribesman that has served in the military. Each feather on the
staff represents a veteran. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122795136?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine held one of the highest
honors at the powwow as keeper of the Eagle Staff. The position is held
for a tribesman that has served in the military. Each feather on the
staff represents a veteran. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas
By Sgt. Leo A. Salinas, Headquarters Marine Corps
[WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine takes his place at the head of
the powwow procession. As a Marine, he now holds the honor of bearing
the Eagle Staff. The honor is normally reserved for his father who is
also a tribal councilman. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN,
Canada – Blaine Raine takes his place at the head of the powwow
procession. As a Marine, he now holds the honor of bearing the Eagle
Staff. The honor is normally reserved for his father who is also a
tribal councilman. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – Cason MacBride is a
fancy dancer that has been following the powwow trail for seven years.
The 24-year-old dances for respect to the Native heritage and because
when he dances, he feels the energy of the people around him, he said.
Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN, Canada – Cason MacBride
is a fancy dancer that has been following the powwow trail for seven
years. The 24-year-old dances for respect to the Native heritage and
because when he dances, he feels the energy of the people around him, he
said. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – Chaz Yellowbird just loves to dance.
At least, that is his expression during the powwow and what his mother
Melissa said. The six-year-old fancy dancer goes to Lake Dell Elementary
in Pigeon Lake Alberta, Canada. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
WETASKIWIN, Canada – Chaz Yellowbird just loves to dance. At least,
that is his expression during the powwow and what his mother Melissa
said. The six-year-old fancy dancer goes to Lake Dell Elementary in
Pigeon Lake Alberta, Canada. [WETASKIWIN, Canada - Nathan Cardinal,
27, is a traditional dancer that has invested $2,000 in his powwow
attire. Dancing in the powwow is very important to keeping his
traditions intact, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN,
Canada - Nathan Cardinal, 27, is a traditional dancer that has invested
$2,000 in his powwow attire. Dancing in the powwow is very important to
keeping his traditions intact, he said. [WETASKIWIN, Canada - Blaine
Raine, 33, started his path to success on a small wheat farm. He
eventually would be the first of his family to go to college, play at
the World Lacrosse Championships, and join the American military as a
Marine. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN, Canada - Blaine
Raine, 33, started his path to success on a small wheat farm. He
eventually would be the first of his family to go to college, play at
the World Lacrosse Championships, and join the American military as a
Marine. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blain Raine credits the small Four
Nations Arena to be a stepping off point in his career as an athlete.
His earliest memories are of his dad pushing him around on the ice when
he was four-years old, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blain Raine credits the small Four Nations
Arena to be a stepping off point in his career as an athlete. His
earliest memories are of his dad pushing him around on the ice when he
was four-years old, he said. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – The
elementary school on the reservation where Blain Raine went to through
3rd grade is now abandoned and boarded up. He later would return as a
teacher for 7th grade at a newly built school across the parking lot
from his old one. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas] WETASKIWIN, Canada
– The elementary school on the reservation where Blain Raine went to
through 3rd grade is now abandoned and boarded up. He later would return
as a teacher for 7th grade at a newly built school across the parking
lot from his old one. [WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine held
one of the highest honors at the powwow as keeper of the Eagle Staff.
The position is held for a tribesman that has served in the military.
Each feather on the staff represents a veteran. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A.
Salinas] WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine held one of the highest
honors at the powwow as keeper of the Eagle Staff. The position is held
for a tribesman that has served in the military. Each feather on the
staff represents a veteran.
WASHINGTON (Dec. 27, 2006) -- Thunderstorms ruin picnics not powwows,
not for the tribes gathered in Alberta, Canada. Powwows celebrate life
– things like culture, heritage and tradition. Things like rain.
A mix of mud and manure give a fresh farm smell as security staff
wearing reflective orange vests police a lot next to an outdoor rodeo
arena. People congest outside an adjacent, boxy building and funnel
inside. Rusty aluminum siding and hazy windows house the indoor arena,
but only the concrete benches and outside smell tracked inside give the
impression that rodeos are held here.
There's no big rush. This will kick off whenever the tribes feel
like it.
Gang colors and Old English lettering on jackets mix in with colorful
native costumes. Some costumes have bright colors with feathers; some
have long glasslike skirts. Beads and bells adorn almost every outfit.
The music starts. High-pitched wailing accompanies a steady, smooth drum
beat played by six or seven groups. Each group huddles around its drum.
A boom operator walks to each drum and holds a microphone on a fish
pole. The sound is loud enough, and the microphone only amplifies it to
roaring levels.
The beat finds a nice place, and the rhythm stays burrowed in
everyone's chest. The drumming is a competition of sorts, and
although the music sounds the same, a few subtle differences separate
the musicians from the drummer boys.
Costumed natives slowly form a snakelike chain of colorful characters. A
nondescript elder in blue jeans and a black jacket leads the procession.
He holds something that resembles a shepherd's crook adorned with
feathers. This is the Eagle Staff, carried by the Plains Cree tribe from
a high-honored position.
Little does Sgt. Blaine Raine know, he's holding it next.
The First Right
Raine's path to the eagle staff starts on a farm in Hoboma, Alberta,
Canada, where wheat fields for miles around offer little else to view.
The family had cows and horses, and Raine had standard farm chores. This
didn't really interest him.
In the winters, Raine and his brother and two sisters would build snow
tunnels throughout the farm, skate on ice ponds and ride snowmobiles.
This didn't really interest him. Neither did riding horses in the
local rodeo and participating in powwows.
"We lived it, but I never embraced it as kid," he said.
Raine was interested sports, primarily hockey.
"Everybody here in America plays baseball; in Canada it's
hockey," he said.
Sport was Raine's way to excel beyond the ills of reservation life
where alcoholism and gangs spread like cancer. Since as early as 4 years
old, Raine remembers his father's encouragement. He remembers his
father pushing him around the local ice rink, the Four Nations Arena.
Floyd Henry Raine also encouraged his children to excel in education.
"He wanted us to experience the world and to have something to fall
back on," Raine said. "He wanted us to go to school – not
just to show up, but to go to school and learn."
Floyd Henry served in the Canadian military and was a tribal policeman,
so his children naturally received a well-disciplined upbringing.
"He wasn't doing it where we had morning inspections, but he
instilled discipline," Raine said. "There was a hand to the
backside, but he didn't put out a pipe, wrench or belt and say
choose."
Floyd Henry got involved in tribal politics, running for tribal council
leader. This inspired Raine to take interest in his community –
maybe, possibly, being a council leader himself one day.
"I wanted to be like my dad, follow in his footsteps," he said.
"How does the saying go? `The father in the eyes of a kid is a
hero?'"
In 1984, Raine's parents enrolled him and his two sisters in St.
Augustine Secondary School in Ponoka, Alberta, off the reservation. This
opened Raine to more opportunities, and introduced him to another role
model.
"My fourth-grade teacher was pretty cool," he said. "She
believed in everybody there; she cared."
The new Catholic school was predominately white, and relations between
whites and natives were not on the best terms, said Raine. This was a
dramatic change from school on the reservation, but his teacher taught
an invaluable life lesson: Never give up.
"In a way, she challenged," he said. "She encouraged
potential to come out of students."
Raine's education of life and the world continued. With exceptional
hockey skills, in 1990 he was sent to Athol Murray College of Notre
Dame.
The boarding school was "in the middle of nowhere" and an
eight-hour drive from the reservation, said Raine. However, this gave
the 16-year-old the chance to focus on hockey and homework.
Raine was relatively young in his hockey life, but he liked playing and
came from a family of rabid Edmonton Oilers fans. When he played on the
reservation, he played with kids two-years his elder. He was good, and
his play on the ice was opening doors.
Suddenly, the hockey blood coursing his veins encountered a strange
transfusion: lacrosse.
The second right
"As one would say, `Something happened on the way to
heaven,' I picked up lacrosse," said Raine.
High school was pretty normal for Raine. His hobbies were homework and
exercise. He still faced racial demons as a native in a predominantly
white school, but sport was the great equalizer.
Passing by a field one day, Raine saw lacrosse players practicing. He
began to mimic the actions of the players and soon thought to himself,
"Hey, I can do this," he said.
"Lacrosse was the one thing that was me," said Raine. "I
pursued it on my own. My parents did not push me to it; they encouraged
hockey."
After attending one of the team's open tryouts, the team coach told
Raine he saw potential and wanted to keep him around.
"After that, I told myself I will bust bum for this guy,"
said Raine.
The coach introduced Raine to another good player with whom Raine shared
a common bond: He was a native. Adam Thompson, a Mohawk native, gave
Raine valuable knowledge that would not only make him a good lacrosse
player for the team, but good enough to make the Under 19 Canadian
Lacrosse team only eight months after first trying out for the high
school team.
During games, players from opposing teams said racist comments, making
the pressure to play a heavy burden on Raine.
"I called my mom and dad and told them that I wanted to quit,"
he said. He then hung up the phone, thought about what he said and
called back. "I called them again 10 minutes later and told them
I'm going to stick it out."
Never again would Raine let something get in the way of his goals.
"I think that was one of the smartest things I ever done," he
said.
As Raine excelled in lacrosse, his parents told him how lacrosse was
originally a native sport. He learned that natives made lacrosse sticks
out of tree branches. As he got more experienced, he was told stories
about his great grandfather who played the sport the "old way."
After high school, Raine wanted to play lacrosse in college. However,
finding the right school wasn't a smooth process. In 1993, he
applied to the University of Denver. Everything seemed to be in order,
but suddenly the phone stopped ringing. The university's lacrosse
team coach had just been fired and left Raine's paperwork open to
fate.
Raine waited until he felt his opportunity wasn't coming. He moved
on.
Raine moved to Ontario to play for the Six Nations Arrows, a lacrosse
team sponsored by the Assembly of First Nations. Room and board were
free and it offered Raine a chance to keep playing.
One of the players on the Arrows also played for Carnisius College in
Buffalo, N.Y. The coach from the college came to see one of the
Arrow's games, saw Raine and asked if he would like to play college
lacrosse.
Raine took this opportunity to not only play, but to also prove that he
could play Division I lacrosse. He would also be the first person in his
family to go to college. He did this to honor his father, and chose
elementary education as a major to honor his fourth-grade teacher.
"The reason why I'm here is because of my teachers," said
Raine. "I want to be that person that gives the knowledge; I want to
be that person that helps the kid that everybody has written off."
The third right
After college, he went back to the reservation, equipped with a
bachelor's degree, a successful amateur lacrosse career, and proof
that his fellow natives on the reservation can make a difference and be
successful.
"I figured if I can go out and do something, they can," he said.
"I'm no special case."
In 1998, He got a job teaching seventh grade in the local middle school.
He chose seventh grade because, "they're not that young enough
to lose attention, but not old enough where they're set in their
ways," said Raine. "That's where they need the most
guidance."
Raine used some unconventional methods to reach out to his students.
First, they were allowed to call him Blaine. Second, he didn't
adhere to the shirt and tie dress code like the other faculty. Third, he
wasn't going to give up on students, no matter what their past
grades showed.
Raine stopped teaching seventh grade and began assisting in a
high-school diploma program for adults.
"I saw these individuals come back and want to achieve their
goals," he said. "I looked at it as `It's never too
late.'"
Raine, then 29, wanted to join the military. His grandfather and father
were both Canadian military. And being a veteran is highly respected in
the tribe. But Raine didn't want to join just any service.
"I looked at the Marine Corps prestige," he said. "The title
`Earned but never given' – that was something I wanted."
In 2003, Raine traveled to America and sat in the Marine recruiter's
chair. At first, the Marines did not want to waive Raine's age. The
recruiting office had been let down by two other age waivers who could
not finish boot camp. The commanding officer of the recruiting station
would not sign Raine's paperwork. The recruiter had to tell Raine
no.
"I don't like being told no," he said.
Raine drove to Casper, Wyo., where he met Sgt. Jeffrey Harrington.
"Sgt. Harrington was all moto," said Raine. The recruiter and
his officers believed in Raine, and he soon found himself on the yellow
footsteps at Marine Corps Recruiting Depot San Diego getting yelled at
by people much younger than him.
"I asked myself, `What the hell did I get myself into?,'"
he said. "I'm too old for this s---."
For someone who had played sports his whole life, boot camp was
physically easy. Mentally it was tough. He was away from his family for
the holidays.
"Although I traveled from school to school, I always made it back
home," said Raine. "Now, someone's telling me no, and there
is nothing I can do about it."
A family prayer that his mother sent him in the mail in their native
language would get Raine through the toughest day. And upon graduation,
there was probably no one prouder than Raine's father.
"He swelled with pride. It's the one thing that he says no one
can take away from us," Raine said. "We are three generations
serving."
The fourth right
Raine serves at the promotions branch for Headquarters Marine Corps in
Quantico, Va. Most Marines who have climbed the ranks of officers or
staff noncommissioned officers have had their paperwork somewhere on
Raine's desk.
Some at his command wish for him to become an officer. He has a
four-year college degree, and his fraction-from-perfect evaluation
scores earned him a recent promotion to sergeant.
"Sergeant Major Raine has a good ring to it, but so does Major
Raine," he said. "If I have to say where my heart is, it's
with enlisted."
As he ponders his next career, his personal life is being filled with
new adventures. He was married back home on the reservation. It was a
traditional wedding, but not in a traditional sense. He wore his dress
blues; his wife wore a white dress. However, they were married in a
tepee instead of a church with a steeple.
In 2005, he was invited to play for the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team
in the World Lacrosse Championships in Canada, one of Raine's
lifetime goals. His dad was especially proud of his son and his tribe.
"It's a big honor to see a Cree playing for a dominant Six
Nations team," said Floyd.
His father, who watches all of Raine's games, is careful not to
brag. He believes in the old ways where jealousy could lead to cursing
the family name.
"People can call you down and curse you like black magic," he
said.
Son, athlete, Marine, husband – Raine has taken several titles. His
most sacred title, however, came after a recent rite of passage within
his tribe.
The title is translated as "Brave Warrior." In the old days,
Plains Cree warriors would send a scouting party to observe their
enemies. One brave soul would ride out to the army, taunting and
intimidating the enemy. This was the Naberkasohweno.
The ceremony is sacred – so sacred that Raine won't and
can't tell what he went through. When the director of his office
asked what the equivalency is, Raine compared it to Marine
reconnaissance indoctrination.
Back home on the reservation, Raine's title makes him not only a
leader among his peers, but a leader for the community.
Full circle
"The military means a lot to this community," said Cecil Crier.
"We always honor the vets. They're always in the front of the
powwow because they are the warriors and protectors."
Night has fallen over the powwow. The men's traditional dancers,
dressed in full attire, some even sporting war paint, are out now
performing for the judges. Crier is an advisor to the powwow but also
serves as a culture advisor for the tribe.
Crier watches the dancing with a heavy heart because he also sees the
passing of the tribe's old ways.
"The youth are lost. Most of them have given up," he said.
The tribe offers several avenues to its heritage: Powwows are social
fairs with competitive dancing and sweat lodges are ceremonial saunas.
However, there are many problems plaguing the community. Gangs run
rampant and drugs have their grip.
"The young parents have lost their kids," he said. "They let
the TV baby-sit them."
Crier has begun a fight to save the tribe from turmoil. He serves as a
coordinator for schools. One program filters teens through a boot-camp
environment instills discipline and character strength. The tribe has
youth councils, culture camps, and a Cree language program that targets
young parents.
Most youths are a long ways from the old rites administered by elders,
who would observe from a great distance as the tribesman would hunt his
own food, build his own shelter, and make his own fire.
The Plains Cree tribe are beautiful people and proud we are plagued with
social issues such as drugs, alcoholism, and gangs just lie any other
place and the gap between the youth and plains Cree traditions is
getting wider .
The reservation needs people like Raine, but leaving the reservation is
OK with some.
"I agree with what Blaine did," he said. "Go out and learn,
and then bring the teachings back to the community."
Crier knows very little about the Marine Corps, but he perceives it to
be elite among America's armed forces. And he's proud that Raine
has made the choice of being one of the few and the proud, he said.
"I pray when I do my sweats that my son-in-law is safe," he
said.
As Raine holds the Eagle Staff, he thinks of the men that have held it
before him.
"Where they put me is meant for men of importance. I never
considered myself important in anything," he said. "It's my
dad's position; it's where he's supposed to stand."
Raine's family has a long history of serving in the military. His
grandfather enlisted in World War II. His father tried to enlist in the
Marines but had to hitchhike to America to enlist, only getting as far
as Calgary before he stopped and joined the Canadian Armed Forces.
In a way, Raine has fulfilled his father's dream of becoming a
Marine.
The Marine Corps wants to send Raine to Europe. Maybe even overseas to
the Middle East. The Marines will no doubt lead him out of the country
sooner or later. But he has some goals that he still hopes to
accomplish. Raine soars through his journey of life with the hopes of
his people on his shoulder. A journey that may never be completed.
-30- [ WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine takes his place at the
head of the powwow procession. As a Marine, he now holds the honor of
bearing the Eagle Staff. The honor is normally reserved for his father
who is also a tribal councilman. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/20061227101051?opendoc\
ument> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine takes his place at the head
of the powwow procession. As a Marine, he now holds the honor of bearing
the Eagle Staff. The honor is normally reserved for his father who is
also a tribal councilman. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas [ WETASKIWIN,
Canada – Cason MacBride is a fancy dancer that has been following
the powwow trail for seven years. The 24-year-old dances for respect to
the Native heritage and because when he dances, he feels the energy of
the people around him, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/20061227101630?opendoc\
ument> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Cason MacBride is a fancy dancer that
has been following the powwow trail for seven years. The 24-year-old
dances for respect to the Native heritage and because when he dances, he
feels the energy of the people around him, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo
A. Salinas [ WETASKIWIN, Canada – Chaz Yellowbird just loves to
dance. At least, that is his expression during the powwow and what his
mother Melissa said. The six-year-old fancy dancer goes to Lake Dell
Elementary in Pigeon Lake Alberta, Canada. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A.
Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122710193?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Chaz Yellowbird just loves to dance. At
least, that is his expression during the powwow and what his mother
Melissa said. The six-year-old fancy dancer goes to Lake Dell Elementary
in Pigeon Lake Alberta, Canada. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas [
WETASKIWIN, Canada - Nathan Cardinal, 27, is a traditional dancer that
has
invested $2,000 in his powwow attire. Dancing in the powwow is very
important to keeping his traditions intact, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo
A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/20061227102326?opendoc\
ument> WETASKIWIN, Canada - Nathan Cardinal, 27, is a traditional dancer
that has invested $2,000 in his powwow attire. Dancing in the powwow is
very important to keeping his traditions intact, he said. Photo by: Sgt.
Leo A. Salinas [ WETASKIWIN, Canada - Blaine Raine, 33, started his
path to success on a small wheat farm. He eventually would be the first
of his family to go to college, play at the World Lacrosse
Championships, and join the American military as a Marine. Photo by:
Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122793113?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada - Blaine Raine, 33, started his path to success
on a small wheat farm. He eventually would be the first of his family to
go to college, play at the World Lacrosse Championships, and join the
American military as a Marine. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas [
WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blain Raine credits the small Four Nations
Arena to be a stepping off point in his career as an athlete. His
earliest memories are of his dad pushing him around on the ice when he
was four-years old, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122793623?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blain Raine credits the small Four
Nations Arena to be a stepping off point in his career as an athlete.
His earliest memories are of his dad pushing him around on the ice when
he was four-years old, he said. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas [
WETASKIWIN, Canada – The elementary school on the reservation where
Blain Raine went to through 3rd grade is now abandoned and boarded up.
He later would return as a teacher for 7th grade at a newly built school
across the parking lot from his old one. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122794229?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada – The elementary school on the reservation
where Blain Raine went to through 3rd grade is now abandoned and boarded
up. He later would return as a teacher for 7th grade at a newly built
school across the parking lot from his old one. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A.
Salinas [ WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine held one of the highest
honors at the powwow as keeper of the Eagle Staff. The position is held
for a tribesman that has served in the military. Each feather on the
staff represents a veteran. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas]
<http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2006122795136?opendocu\
ment> WETASKIWIN, Canada – Blaine Raine held one of the highest
honors at the powwow as keeper of the Eagle Staff. The position is held
for a tribesman that has served in the military. Each feather on the
staff represents a veteran. Photo by: Sgt. Leo A. Salinas