Paddlers from across the country are paying homage to an historic Algonquin Grand Chief.
Seventeen of them embarked in two canoes in Oka, west of Montreal, and took to the Ottawa River for a voyage they describe as bringing another chapter of Indigenous history in Canada to light.
“Well, this trip is actually going against the current from Oka to Ottawa,” explained Wendy Jocko, president of Kichi Sibi Trails. “It’s roughly 154 kilometres.”
They plan do it in six days, covering roughly 30 kilometres daily if all goes well, arriving in Ottawa for Canada Day, the end of National Indigenous History Month. The reason is to retrace the annual route of former Algonquin Grand Chief Constant Pinesi from Oka to his hunting grounds in Ottawa.
Pinesi is a significant historic figure for the Algonquin people. He fought with the British in The War of 1812 and was chief of the Algonquins in the early 1830s.
“For the past two years we’ve actually celebrated Chief Pinesi Day,” Jocko told Global News. “This is the first year we’ve decided to actually make this voyage.”
On the trip, his descendants, including Jocko who is his great granddaughter times six.
“I can trace my ancestry back to 1783, so I have a direct lineage to Grand Chief Pinesi,” she pointed out.
Rebecca Hay recently found out that she too is related to Pinesi and traveled all the way from Regina for the trip. She said she’s looking forward to the adventure, in spite of the challenges.
“Spend some time on the land, spend some time on the water, meet some relatives and learn. Lots of learning,” she smiled.
The trip is also meaningful for non-descendants like Jordan Two-Axe Kohoko from Pikwakanagan First Nation, who is doing it to honour his ancestors, both Mohawk and Algonquin.
“My ancestors used to make this route for fishing, trapping and hunting and I’m honoured to be part of it,” he pointed out. “I want to do what they did.”
For others, it’s a healing journey to come to terms with what happened to relatives. Non-Indigenous paddlers say it’s a way to learn about an aspect of history that isn’t told enough. That’s the whole point of the trip, according to Jocko.
“We know about the colonial history but very little about the Indigenous history,” she noted.
To help change that, her group, Kichi Sibi Trails, is trying to revitalize ancient indigenous trails and waterways, like the Oka-Ottawa route. They hope to make the Pinesi Paddle event, an annual one.