Walks along rivers offer spiritual refreshment

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This article was published 19/08/2023 (1126 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Before teacher Joy Auriat heads back to the classroom in September, she plans to take steps — actually thousands of steps — to refresh her spirits.

“There are interesting places you wouldn’t see unless you are walking and looking around,” the adult education teacher at Hollow Water First Nation says of participating in the upcoming Camino Manitoba river walks scheduled for next weekend, Aug. 25 to 27.

Participants can choose to join for one day or all three in afternoon walks beginning at 1 p.m. along the Assiniboine, Red and Seine Rivers, says organizer David Berg.

“Water is significant as a spiritual symbol,” he says of why the walk are focused on Winnipeg’s rivers.

“There’s a constant flow.”

The name Camino is usually associated with the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James in English), a pilgrimage trail ending at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, which attracts about 300,000 walkers annually. For those unable to spend the time or money to walk for several weeks, Camino Manitoba organizes shorter walks with an emphasis on community, spiritual health and well-being, says Berg.

“We don’t have to go far and we don’t have to go long,” Berg says of the benefits of local pilgrimages.

Participants will walk up to 18 kilometres on Friday and Saturday and undertake a shorter nine-kilometre walk on Sunday. They will also spend the spend the night in their own beds, instead of the dormitory-style hostels many pilgrims sleep in on the European Camino.

As an ancient Christian pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago is well documented with markers and the accounts of people who travel it. The story of Winnipeg’s rivers and the impact on Indigenous peoples may not be as well known, suggests Lance Guilbault, a member of Fisher River Cree Nation who will tell stories after Friday’s walk.

“We have found tobacco seeds from the far east and corn from the far south,” he says of evidence of past generations who travelled the rivers.

“We didn’t have these land paths, but we had these river paths. But the unfortunate thing is the river will swallow everything.”

Along with the historic significance, Guilbault suggests walking beside the city’s rivers will also reveal some of the damage humans have caused.

“You can’t walk beside the water and not see the pollution and the garbage and the homelessness,” says Guilbault, who teaches at Black River First Nation.

Next weekend’s three-day pilgrimage, which includes a Saturday night showing of the The Way starring Martin Sheen, a movie set on the Spanish Camino, provides an opportunity for people to connect with each other and with their own priorities, says Berg.

“It’s about slowing down your process, unplugging and being more attentive on the spirit life,” says the Riverview resident who walks along the Red River daily.

As a former pilgrim on the Spanish Camino, Auriat appreciates the opportunity to walk with others without the expense of a trip of Europe, as well as seeing Winnipeg from another perspective.

“It’s about something bigger than myself and we’re walking in community,” she says about the benefits of pilgrimage, no matter where the location.

Potential pilgrims should also consider practical aspects of long walks on gravel and dirt paths, cautions Berg, who suggests coming with sturdy walking shoes, walking poles, and rain gear.

The daily fee of $50 includes supper and walkers will be supported with drinking water and washroom stations. Foot-weary travellers who can’t walk the entire path can catch a ride back to the starting point, says Berg.

brenda.suderman@freepress.mb.ca

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