LRB piece on the Walkers

Thank you to Rachel Kawapit, Matthew and Chief Stan all of whom helped me with my research to write this piece about the Walkers — the Journey of the Nishiyuu for the London Review of Books blog.This photograph was taken on 16 January by Rachel Kawapit, a member of the Whapmagoostui First Nation, who live in Northern Quebec on the shores of Hudson Bay. It shows David Kawapit, Stanley George Jr, Geordie Rupert, Travis George, Johnny Abraham and Raymond Kawapit, aged between 16 and 19, with their guide Isaac Kawapit (47), setting off to walk 1000 miles from Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuaraapik to Parliament Hill in Ottawa, through temperatures lower than -30ºC, as part of the Idle No More movement, protesting against the violation of Aboriginal Treaty Rights.

To read the entire piece please click here

please share this LRB blog post. The Walkers deserve much more international attention for their extraordinary undertaking. They are walking in temperatures that have been between -30 and -50. They now number 43 young women and men in total, with more youth joining them along the way. I send them my deep respect and admiration.

There is also a Facebook group to follow the Walkers here