Active living in Winnebago is more than an individual choice. It is also a community and family choice. Winnebago tribal values are clear in the lifestyle changes made by Deb Deragon, one of the Waksik Wago Active Living Partnership's most active and community minded individuals.

Becoming an Emergency Medical Technician seven years ago made Deb realize the extent to which we are in charge of our own health. "It was an eye opener. I do have a say in how healthy and mobile I will be as an elder. As a fire- fighter, people depend on me to be able to lift and carry people. It requires long hours, and you've got to be healthy for this work. I used to think just eating a meal was enough – McDonald's super-size was good enough. I changed my way of thinking. Increases in activity, choosing to take the stairs, parking away from the front door at the stores, playing outside with the kids, flying kites, going for walks really helped me feel better. I even feel more confident and happier. I always try to make the healthy choice now, with foods and being active. I realize I have a lot to offer my tribe, my family, my community. My health has an effect on everyone. If I'm not healthy to do my job, everyone missnership es out. It's not just me I have to worry about. I feel I'm a needed part of the community, and it's selfish of me to choose not to be active."

Sarah Berridge, a tribal member, knew what was good for her was good for her family – their health included. "My dad died at age 56. He was blind, had no feeling in his hands and legs from neuropathy, and he was on dialysis four times a week. He lost two brothers to the same thing. This should have scared the heck out of me, but it didn't. I didn't change my lifestyle, and I was diagnosed with diabetes four years ago. The thing that got me to change was a young lady I worked with on the school board. She said, 'You know, Sarah, I walk every day and I don't have to take insulin any more.' I thought if she could do it, then I could do it. It's the positive, not the negative that did it for me. I lost 62 pounds. I walk four miles some nights. Once you change that lifestyle, everything changes. In my home, my kids have a good diet. My boys are active, they are athletic, and healthy. There is fruit on the table for snacks. They drink diet sodas. My lifestyle change is in the home. It changes everything."

Both Deb and Sarah demonstrate important tribal values that the Waksik Wago Active Living Partnership is restoring among the Winnebago people: the dedication to community, the idea that a change to an individual is a change to the whole community, the belief that positive messages will influence more people to be active, and the conviction that positive examples will lead to more positive behaviors. maintain the trail after construction is completed.