History enthusiasts to trek the NWMP trail
- EFN Staff
Dr. Matthew Anderson and Hugh Henry share an interest and will join together to walk 310 km in 21 days in Southwest Saskatchewan. The focus is the NWMP Trail between Wood Mountain and Fort Walsh.
Anderson is not a stranger to making a pilgrimage. As an instructor at Concordia University, he has planned and walked several pilgrimages, often in conjunction with Aboriginal people and themes. Hugh Henry is the Trails Convener with the Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society. In the 1960s the Society’s first president Everett Baker, placed markers along the NWMP Trail with the help of local communities and volunteers. As a Swift Current local and former museum curator, Henry’s special interest in history with his responsibility for the maintenance of the trail markers makes him our expert on the NWMP Trail and Everett Baker.
The public are invited to join Anderson and Henry on each day of their walk. They are encouraged to walk, cycle or ride horse-back in their own pilgrimages. An overall itinerary and a route map for each day of the walk are posted on the Society’s website.
There will also be events in the communities of McCord, Mankota, Val Marie and Eastend which are open to public participation. July 19th there will be a potluck supper in the McCord Community Hall at 6:00 p.m. followed by presentations by Anderson and Henry. On July 20th there will be presentations starting at 7:30 p.m. at the New Horizons Centre in Mankota. At Val Marie on July 24th Trevor Herriot will read from his new book The Road is How: a Prairie Pilgrimage through Nature, Desire and Soul in addition to presentations about the trek. Events in Val Marie start at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at the Prairie Wind & Silver Sage. There are no admission charges to attend any event.
The largest public event will be in Eastend on August 1st. People are encouraged to register after 9:00 a.m. at the United Church for guided tours of archaeology, geology, paleontology sites and points of interest in and around Eastend. Tours and presentations are free. A pay-as-your-own buffet supper is planned at the historic Jack’s Café in Eastend with Candace Savage (author of A Geography of Blood). Seating is limited at the Café, make your reservation by calling Jack’s at 306-295-3313.
As Anderson and Henry walk through the Wood Mountain (Lakota) First Nation, they will receive the traditional blessing with a smudging. Anderson and Henry will also be commissioned as Special Constables and will deliver a ‘dispatch’ to the NWMP staff when they arrive at Fort Walsh.