Historic Trail Walk 2017:

Swift Current to Fort Battleford (August 3–20)

"Getting to know the landscape by walking through it was a powerfully intimate experience. This might be hard to explain to someone who hasn’t participated in a walk of this kind, but when you walk through a place, you engage with it using all of your senses."

The SHFS sponsored a trek along the route of the historic trail, Aug. 3 to 20, 2017. Nine people walked most or all of the 310 km (200 miles) across 18 days, and an additional eleven walked between a half day and three days.

Public presentations on the trail history were held at Kyle, Fiske, Biggar and Cando. Local folks were invited to share their knowledge and stories as well. About 130 people attended these programs.

 

THE SWIFT CURRENT–BATTLEFORD TRAIL

The Swift-Current to Battleford Trail was first used by Metis freighter, Goodwin Marchand, in 1883. It became vital for merchants, NWMP, military and government services. An official survey and mapping was undertaken by R.C. Laurie in 1886. Use of the trail declined after 1890 when rail service reached Saskatoon.

read More about the history of the trail

 

Please consider supporting the work of SHFS by sponsoring a Swift Current – Battleford Trail marker! For a donation of $50 or more, you can have your name placed on one of the 17 markers along the route. Your name and town will be printed on a business card-sized label and attached to the marker of your choice.

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF POSSIBLE MARKER LOCATIONS

 

Walking the Trail

"You don’t just see the landscape, the way you might through the windshield of your car; you hear the birds and the wind, you smell the sage, you feel the dust and the heat of the sun. Moreover, you experience place with your body as you walk. A hill isn’t just a hill; it’s something you feel in your legs and back as you ascend or descend."

 

“The walk gave me a chance to think about the events of 1885. That history is still hot, still controversial, especially around Battleford. And thinking about the different users of the Trail—the soldiers marching to Fort Battleford, for instance, or the Métis freighters who brought the Trail into being—helped me realize that the stark divisions between the ways that different groups view that history have their roots in the events of that history, in the events of the 1870s and 1880s, and that those events continue to shape our ways of seeing each other.”

Right: Dallas Roan, Traditional Dancer, at the closing event for the walk

 

"I’ve lived in Saskatchewan for almost 20 years, but my life in Regina has given me few opportunities to make connections with people in rural areas of the province...Hearing the stories of ranchers and farmers was an important part of the walk for me."

Left: Community engagement event at Kyle

 

Trail Haikus

One of the ways that participants of the Swift Current–Fort Battleford walk maintained a light spirit and kept their minds off of aching feet and joints, was to compose and share haikus.

Blisters are loyal
they come again and again
like blue grama grass

 

MEDIA COVERAGE

Blogs

TV

Radio

  • The walk was featured on CBC Radio's Morning Edition (August 3)

  • Golden West Radio (August 29)

Newspapers