Outdoor running is a spiritual experience for me. When I run, I strengthen my relationship with Ni’hima Ni’hoosdzaan, Mother Earth. On trails scattered with settler footprints, I make sure to leave my own, for she longs to feel the aboriginal presence of this land. While my ancestors maintained a loving and reverent relationship with land, much of today’s settler society has degraded it. I encourage Indigenous runners to stamp their footprints as far and wide as possible – a gesture of love. Ni’hima Ni’hoosdzaan longs to feel us, the aboriginal caretakers of this land, our strides in sync with her heartbeat. Every now and then, I unplug my earphones to hear my mother in the wind and environment. I communicate back in meditative prayer, promising I will do my best to set her free.
