Kahnawake will host its first-ever kidney walk next June, an effort led by Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Arnold Boyer, who began organizing the event only a few months ago.
Boyer said the walk is meant to raise awareness, support families, and spark long-term change for dialysis services close to home.
Boyer explained that his involvement began after attending the Chateauguay Kidney Walk.
“We went to the kidney walk, and that experience pushed me to get more involved,” he said. After bringing brochures to the local hospital and meeting with the Kidney Foundation, he was encouraged to push forward. “I’ve only been working on this for a few months, not even a year, but in my meeting with the hospital and kidney foundation, I asked about starting a walk here, and they told me, ‘If you want it, you got it.’”
For Boyer, organizing the kidney walk is about community involvement and is deeply personal. “My mother had chronic kidney disease, so this cause is personal for me, and my own mother wasn’t eligible for certain treatments, and that opened my eyes to what people don’t know,” he said.
“A lot of people in the community don’t know much about kidney disease, and that’s why this awareness is needed,” he said.
While the exact date and location await confirmation, Boyer said the goals remain focused on awareness and unity.
“The main goals are fundraising, awareness, and getting the community involved,” he said, emphasizing the need for support systems for those travelling outside the territory for treatment. “Every community member should know about this.”
For Kahnawa’kehró:non Angus “Nias” Bordeau, who has been on dialysis for 25 years, the walk represents the ongoing struggle to bring essential medical services here to Kahnawake.
“Even though I can’t walk far because of sore hips, being part of the walk helps raise money and bring the community together,” said Bordeau, who served as ambassador at this year’s Chateauguay walk. “This past June, the kidney walk helped raise almost $38,000, which was a huge improvement from previous years.”
Without local services, he explained, many community members must travel long distances multiple times a week. “I’ve been involved in dialysis advocacy for over 25 years, and it’s personal seeing how hard it is for people to travel for treatment,” he added. “We need a dialysis centre here in town. Travelling in winter, getting people in wheelchairs to appointments, it’s very hard.”
Bordeau and his wife Betty have become advocates for dialysis awareness after witnessing how deeply it affects their personal lives and close friends and families in the community. “People often call me to ask about dialysis because they don’t know what to expect. It feels good to guide them through it.”
Betty Bordeau has supported her husband with his dialysis treatments. She said opening a clinic in Kahnawake would significantly ease the strain on patients who must travel long distances several times a week.
Their firsthand experience underscores the need for a local dialysis unit. Betty said the burden on patients is tremendous, especially during winter. “It’s hard when it’s cold, you got to bring them out in the snow, then you put them in the van,” she said. A local facility, she added, could spare people that hardship. “It would be so nice having a local dialysis facility to make treatment more accessible,” she said.
Angus agreed. “We need a place here, it’d be a good thing to raise money to start it,” he said.”
raven@easterndoor.com
Raven Katsit’siio Edwards Brown, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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