Walkers head to the water, mountains

The Oskapewis walkers chose to walk west to Hinton from Ontario and Manitoba “to honour what treaty says, the land, the water, where the water comes from,” said Edmond Etherington.
The east and Ottawa, he says, are about politics.

“But in reality, are (our Chiefs) doing the right thing? Is it okay to give up to what the government wants us to do? That’s why I choose to walk away from Ottawa. Because I know what Ottawa is all about,” said Etherington, a Cree from Moose Factory First Nation.

Etherington was on Victoria Island with fellow Oskapewis walker Baptiste Robinson, when Robinson’s father, Raymond Robinson, an Elder with Cross Lake First Nation, in Manitoba, joined Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence on her hunger strike earlier this year. Etherington was a helper for Spence, as were his father Patrick Sr. and brother Patrick Jr. Etherington’s father and brother were also part of the Oskapewis walkers.

The group left Cochrane, Ont., on May 13. The trek across country, which was met with mixed support, was approximately 3,200 km with walkers covering 35 to 50 km each day.

 “It was a little bit tough in Ontario. Support wasn’t enough. From Manitoba on, it’s been good,” said Patrick Sr.

 “It’s been tough but it makes the bond between a father and son stronger, what we’ve been through,” said Edmond.

The end destination of Hinton and the mountains is symbolic, says Patrick Sr.

“It’s also where all the treaty lines end but at the same time there are symbols up there that tell us something about the relationship of the treaty process and what it is that we do, so it’s connected in a ceremonial, traditional value process,” he said.
The progress of the walkers has been tracked on Facebook, noting warm receptions along the way that have included along-the-highway feasts, potlucks in friendship centres, donations of supplies including 12 pairs of running shoes acquired by a woman in Saddle Lake, and accommodations.

Said one Facebook entry, “Who can argue with you… you are walking your walk and you have been clear in your messaging … you have more than earned the right to speak you truth.”

“We have created this walk for the treaties in regards to creating awareness , what it’s about, that we have a direct role and responsibilities in regards to what those treaties were for,” said Patrick, Sr., of Fort Albeny First Nation. “We have to educate ourselves more to it and protect it and at the same time create more awareness to the other side about the relationship we created when those treaties were happening.”

For many of the walkers, it is not their first time pounding the pavement.

Edmond Etherington was part of the recent Journey of Nishiyuu, walking to Ottawa with the Cree and Algonquin people of Quebec. He also walked across Canada for the youth in 2006.
In 2010, Patrick Sr. and Patrick Jr. walked to the first national event hosted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held in Winnipeg. A year later, Etherington Jr., James Kioke and Samuel Kooses, both members of the Attawapiskat First Nation, and Frances R. Whiskeychan, of the Waskaganish First Nation, walked to the TRC national event in Halifax.

Caption: Leading the journey from Cochrane, Ont., to Hinton were Edmond Etherington (standing second from left) and father Patrick (sitting on bench), joined here by some of the other Oskapewis walkers, Sammy Koosees, James Kioke, Frances Whiskeychen, Baptiste Robinson and Pat Etherington, on a stop in Edmonton.