Bears player speaks to Passamaquoddy kids

Chicago Bears player shares stories with Passamaquoddy children

By Sharon KileyDozens of Passamaquoddy Tribe families gathered in the reservation’s community building to hear Levi Horn, a 6-foot, 7-inch, 315-pound guard with the Chicago Bears talk about drug and alcohol abuse and perseverance.

Horn’s appearance was part of an effort by Passamaquoddy Gov. Chief Joseph Socabasin and his council to provide positive role models for the reservation’s 200-plus children under age 18.

“One hundred percent of our children here have been affected in some fashion by drug and alcohol abuse,” Socabasin said Friday night. Socabasin’s own father, who died when the chief was just 8 years old, was an alcoholic, he said. “You can go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting here on the reservation and find at least 60 people—and those are the ones that are recovering.”

Horn, who is of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, is from Spokane, Wash. Horn signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Bears just before players were locked out by NFL owners this year. He was raised by his mother and said his father was an alcoholic.Comment:  For more on football players and Native kids, see Native Vision Sports Camp in Shiprock and San Carlos Apache ASU Football Camp.