7 days ago
Cree rider travels coast to coast, visiting Indigenous communities along the way
Cree motorcyclist Paul John Murdoch mapped his route through First Nations
What started as a personal adventure during goose break — a spring holiday in many Cree communities — turned into something more revealing for Cree motorcyclist Paul John Murdoch.
Murdoch recently finished making his way across Canada on his motorcycle.
He started in Newfoundland, heading west, stopping in Indigenous communities along the way.
"Meeting people along that way, people don't look at our communities as destinations," said Murdoch, who grew up in Wemindji and Waskaganish.
As Murdoch cruised across provinces, often alone on the highway, fellow travellers would pull up beside him or strike up conversations at gas stations and rest stops.
"I'd stopped and other motorcycle people and tourists would ask, 'Where are you going?' And I would tell them, 'Newfoundland to B.C.,'" Murdoch said.
These conversations usually came with suggestions for must-see landmarks.
"They say, 'You have to visit this national park,' or 'You have to go see the big spoon or the big axe or whatever,'" he said — but seeing roadside attractions or parks wasn't his reason for the trip.
"I'd tell them that I'm only going to Indigenous communities."
That answer often caught people off guard.
"There'd always be this pregnant pause, like, 'why?'" Murdoch said.
Charting his course
The reasons, for him, are rooted in both his personal history and a broader cultural reconnection.
"I was born and raised in Quebec, but it's the first time I went to Kanesatake or Kahnawake. I said, 'My God, this is beautiful — why didn't I come visit earlier?'" he said.
To chart his course, Murdoch began by downloading government maps that showed reserve lands and Indigenous territories.
The reality on the road didn't quite match up.
"Even with those maps, I'd be riding along and all of a sudden a sign would pop up that there's a First Nation community there that's not even on anybody's map," said Murdoch.
This invisibility extended to travel planning, too. Few Indigenous communities had obvious accommodations for visitors.
"The plan was a little bit hard because we don't look at ourselves as destinations and people don't treat us like destinations," he said.
Murdoch's thinking echoes the work of Dr. Margaret Wickens Pearce, a cartographer who reimagined Canada's geography through a decolonial lens. Pearce created a map of Canada with no borders — with only highways and Indigenous place names.
Murdoch came across her map while preparing for the trip and found it moving.
"I don't think she meant it to be used as a roadmap. The more I looked at it, I felt it was a piece of art … it looked like a painting," said Murdoch.
A long, fulfilling ride
For Murdoch, the idea of moving across land in this way felt deeply cultural, even ancestral.
"I think our people and our culture are just naturally predisposed to this kind of travel."
Still, the physical toll of the ride was real.
"I was trying to average between 5 to 600 kilometres a day, but it's funny how the weather, the landscape — you know, 500 kilometres in one day can take four to five hours," said Murdoch.
Other times, 300 kilometres could take seven hours.
Murdoch estimates that he has visited at least 50 Indigenous communities over 19 days. The only change he would make is allowing his body to recover — and allow more time to connect with locals.
Image | PJ Murdoch and family
Caption: Murdoch, alongside his family before his day of departure. His wife followed him by car in the final 3 hours of his journey to Tla-O-Qui-Aht First Nation, BC. (submitted by Paul John Murdoch)
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"In an ideal world, I would have maybe tripled the time so that when I arrived in each community, I would spend one whole day just hanging out with the community before leaving," he said.
"I think my ass would be a lot more thankful for having done it that way."
He has ideas to plan a longer trip with friends next goose break: instead of going from east to west, he wants to travel north to south.
"Why not north? Like from Alaska to Arizona, staying only in Indigenous communities," said Murdoch.
Murdoch encourages people to obtain their licence to explore their sense of freedom.
"It's the closest thing to flying the plane that I've experienced so far," said Murdoch.
Upon arriving in British Columbia, the final leg of his cross-country road trip, Murdoch expressed that he felt more emotional than he had expected.
"If you can dream it up and do it, it's not going to be exactly like your dream probably, but man, it's gonna be wonderful. You'll never regret it," said Murdoch.
