Area Students Remember Others During Red Ribbon Run
Students from Nashua to Brockton participated in the annual Red Ribbon Run on the Fort Peck Reservation on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Carrie Manning of the Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center said schools involved included Nashua, Frazer, Wolf Point, Frontier, Poplar and Brockton.
Spotted Bull has organized the event for 35 years since its start in 1990.
One of the features of the run is students, from each side of the reservation, carrying half a hoop until meeting at the Thundering Buffalo Wellness Center in Poplar. Then during a program at the wellness center, the two pieces are put together for “Mending The Hoop” in an effort to create unity between all the schools.
As part of Red Ribbon Week, the athletes are also reminded to think about loved ones who struggle with drug or alcohol addiction.
“We tell the runners to pray for their lost ones to addiction,” Manning said.
The day prior to the event, Spotted Bull employees placed ribbons on the crosses along Highway 2 in memory of those who died in road crashes. Manning said the thought was to keep those families in prayer.
Awards were given to the top male and top female runners from each school. The honor was determined by distances completed.
Josh Stewart, two-time state champion basketball coach in Lodge Grass, provided inspirational words to the students after the run.
Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s largest and longest running drug use prevention campaign. Since its beginning in 1985, the Red Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.
