About

Muscle and Bone will be a record of my walk through the Haldimand Tract in June 2016. As my first post suggests, I’m making this walk, this performance, because I want to know with my body, with my muscle and bone, the extent of the territory that has been stolen from the Haudenosaunee (or Six Nations) since the tract was reserved for them in 1784. I’m also asking people who use this blog to follow my journey through the Haldimand Tract to consider making a donation to the Woodland Cultural Centre’s “Save the Evidence” fundraising campaign. They’re raising money to restore the former Mohawk Institute in Brantford and to turn it into a museum about the residential-school experience. Your support of this important cause will be a gesture towards reconciliation between Canada and the Haudenosaunee. Nya: węh–thank you–for giving generously.

If you’re in southwestern Ontario and you’d like to join me during this walk, e-mail me and we can make arrangements to meet somewhere on the way. Leaving a comment will reach my inbox, too.

I’m really interested in the possibility of walking with other people. My route will look like this:

June 12, I’ll be walking from Dundalk–actually, it turned out to be closer to Corbetton–to a B&B near Grand Valley.

June 13, I’ll be walking through Grand Valley to a B&B near Belwood.

June 14 I’ll be walking along the Grand Valley Trail (GVT) from Belwood to Elora. 

June 15 I’ll be back on the GVT, walking from Elora to Conestogo.

June 16 I’ll be on the GVT again, walking from Conestogo to Kitchener. The GVT is also known as the Walter Bean Trail in Kitchener-Waterloo.

June 17 I’ll be taking city streets to RARE on Blair Road, and then walking up to the motel strip on Highway 24 in Cambridge.

June 18 I’ll be walking down the rail trail from Cambridge to Paris.

June 19 I’ll be walking down the same rail trail from Paris to Brantford. That’s a short day (except for the slog from the rail trail to my mother’s place in Brantford, where I’ll be staying).

June 20 is a day off in Brantford.

June 21 I’ll be walking the GVT from Brantford to Six Nations.

June 22 is a day off at Six Nations.

June 23 I’ll be walking the GVT from Six Nations to Caledonia.

June 24 I’ll be walking the GVT again from Caledonia to Cayuga.

June 25 I’ll be walking from Cayuga to Dunnville along the GVT.

June 26 I’ll be walking from Dunnville to Port Maitland on the GVT. That’s another short day.

Any day I’m walking on the Grand Valley Trail or the rail trail will be a lot more pleasant than days when I’m trudging down the side of the road, so if you’re thinking about joining me, you might enjoy the trails more.