Legs that run

On Mother’s Day back in May, Brad Firth — a marathon runner from the Gwinch’in First Nation, who goes by the name Caribou Legs — left Vancouver by foot. In full war paint, with no entourage and only a single small knapsack to carry supplies, he set out on a 7,800 km run across Canada to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women.

“It’s never been done before — no Aboriginal man has ever run across Canada in full war paint,” he said during a stop at Dalhousie late last month. “We’re seeing a lot of old behaviours around it: a lot of people are angry at it, or afraid of it. But a lot of people are curious too, and a lot are really excited about it because they want to learn.”

The campus visit, organized by the Dalhousie Indigenous Student Collective, was one of many events and talks that Caribou Legs gave during his time in Nova Scotia. As of this article’s publication, he is currently nearing the end of his five-plus month journey, approaching St. John’s, Nfld.

The inspiration for the run came from his sister, Irene, who was killed last year by her partner. During his talk in the Student Union Building, he explained some of the war paint he wears, pointing to the claw marks on his face.

“This is a woman’s scream, her falling down in that act of desperation, clinging to life,” he said. “That’s what Canada looks like right now. There’s a lot of that in many homes — not just in the Aboriginal communities.”

An ultra-marathon runner who first began running three years ago, he’s averaged about 75 km each day of his trip. “I like to describe time and distance with shoes,” he said, “so it’s taken me 14 pairs of shoes.”

While early in his journey he was stopped by police and even received fines, his welcomes have grown warmer across the country as more and more people learn about his story and his desire to educate about the disproportionally high number of Indigenous women who are missing or murdered in Canada. And he’s already planning his next run, which will feature a rickshaw containing a teepee and fire symbolizing the children whose lives were “snuffed out” in Canada’s residential schools.

“We’re going to try and light campfires all across Canada with that flame,” he said.

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