Cree rider travels coast to coast, visiting Indigenous communities along the way [Video]

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.