Brad Firth, AKA Caribou Legs, has been making his way through Qalipu territory since arriving in Newfoundland on November 5th. A large crowd came out to meet him in St. George’s at the Bay St. George Cultural Circle, and after his stop at the Qalipu Community Room in Corner Brook today, he will go on to meet groups in Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander before moving on to his final destination, St. John’s. More than 50 individuals gathered for today’s meet and greet hosted by Qalipu First Nation in partnership with the Corner Brook Aboriginal Women’s Association.
Brad is an ultra-marathon runner who has become a message carrier in the style of the traditional Gwich’in message runners. He’s currently in the midst of a cross-country run promoting three main points: to increase support for the issue of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG); end violent measures & reactions (Warriors Against Violence); and to promote health in body, mind and spirit.
He began his journey in Vancouver, B.C. on May 8th, 2016 (Mother’s Day). He intends to reach St. John’s by November 20th for a total distance travelled of 7,420 km. His daily average is 60-75 km but, he has been known to run up to 100 km in one day. Brad is running alone, without any on-road support. It’s just him, a backpack and his hand drum. He receives support from his “quarterback”, Robyn Lawson, in B.C. who helps work out details on speaking engagements and gatherings along the way.
Brad was personally motivated to do this run to raise awareness about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls after the loss of his sister to domestic violence. He wanted to honour her in the best way he knows how; talking about his experiences and sharing his story of overcoming adversities.
Further Details:
All funding for Brad’s running, surviving and educating needs are provided for via donations, speaking honoraria and a crowd-funding page:
http://www.plumfund.com/fundraising/cariboulegs
We are marking the Newfoundland leg of Brad’s journey on our events calendar.
Find out where he will be next: https://qalipu.ca/events/
If you want to host Brad in your community before his journey ends, please contact Robyn Lawson by email at lawsonrobyn@hotmail.com
Caribou Legs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carboulegs1/