Latest news with #PaulJohnMurdoch
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Paul John Murdoch elected new grand chief of Eeyou Istchee
Paul John Murdoch has been elected grand chief of Eeyou Istchee, securing more than half the vote in a decisive win over two other candidates on Thursday. A Cree lawyer from Wemindji and Waskaganish, Que., Murdoch is stepping away from private practice to take on the Grand Council's top leadership role. Official results from the election show Murdoch with 2,291 votes (52 per cent), defeating Norman A. Wapachee, the interim grand chief who earned 1,746 votes (39 per cent), and John Kitchen who received 410 votes (9 per cent). Central to Murdoch's platform are housing reform, investments in justice and prevention programs, and a commitment to uniting the Cree Nation's leadership. He replaces Mandy Gull-Masty, who resigned in May to become Canada's minister of Indigenous Services. "My priority from day one is going to be empowering the council, making sure everybody feels a part of leadership, and unite with all of the chiefs of the communities," said Murdoch. Murdoch says regular in-person meetings have already been set up with the grand council of the Crees. "Anything great the Cree Nation has ever achieved, it was always during the state of unity," said Murdoch. Murdoch called it a "friendly" election campaign and said he has a lot of respect for fellow candidates Wapachee and Kitchen. Housing has been a major issue discussed at general assemblies, according to Murdoch, and it has been a persistent struggle in every community for years. He says it will be another major priority for him, and that they have the tools to address the issue. "The Cree Nation government can do more to support a private housing sector which would take pressure off of social housing," said Murdoch, adding that they can also develop more social housing. Another priority for Murdoch is to better support the justice system, policing, and prevention programs. "We gave the bands the power to adopt laws, to ensure peace and order in their communities, but we didn't give them the ability to enforce those laws," said Murdoch Murdoch refers to the federal Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act, passed in 1984, which establishes local self-government for the Cree and Naskapi First Nations in northern Quebec. "There are relatively simple things that we can do to empower communities so that they can adopt laws and policies to implement them, make sure that it is a reflection of what they want," said Murdoch. Murdoch hopes to build relationships with fellow members of the Cree Nation Government before tackling important files with the federal government, like Bill C-5. For Murdoch, this election is only the beginning. he says that he's not afraid to have hard conversations in the sprit of connecting and understanding one another. "I find it rare these days that people are encouraged to get a little uncomfortable having a conversation you might not normally have with somebody else," he said. As a former lawyer, Murdoch traveled over 100,000 kilometres to visit Cree communities. Although he struggled to find time for discussions during his trips, he found it especially meaningful to engage with people during the election campaign. "That's the only way we're going to build bridges between communities or people who are so different from one another," said Murdoch. The race for deputy grand chief is still ongoing, featuring Linden Spencer from Eastmain and John Henry Wapachee from Waswanipi. In the first round, Spencer received 2,126 votes, accounting for 47 per cent of the total, while Wapachee followed with 1,432 votes, representing 32 per cent. Voting for the run-off will begin on July 26, with the election scheduled for Aug. 1.
CBC
02-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Cree rider travels coast to coast, visiting Indigenous communities along the way
Cree motorcyclist Paul John Murdoch mapped his route through First Nations 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. "They say, 'You have to visit this national park,' or 'You have to go see the big spoon or the big axe or whatever,'" he said — but seeing roadside attractions or parks wasn't his reason for the trip. "I'd tell them that I'm only going to Indigenous communities." That answer often caught people off guard. "There'd always be this pregnant pause, like, 'why?'" Murdoch said. Charting his course The reasons, for him, are rooted in both his personal history and a broader cultural reconnection. "I was born and raised in Quebec, but it's the first time I went to Kanesatake or Kahnawake. I said, 'My God, this is beautiful — why didn't I come visit earlier?'" he said. To chart his course, Murdoch began by downloading government maps that showed reserve lands and Indigenous territories. The reality on the road didn't quite match up. "Even with those maps, I'd be riding along and all of a sudden a sign would pop up that there's a First Nation community there that's not even on anybody's map," said Murdoch. This invisibility extended to travel planning, too. Few Indigenous communities had obvious accommodations for visitors. "The plan was a little bit hard because we don't look at ourselves as destinations and people don't treat us like destinations," he said. Murdoch's thinking echoes the work of Dr. Margaret Wickens Pearce, a cartographer who reimagined Canada's geography through a decolonial lens. Pearce created a map of Canada with no borders — with only highways and Indigenous place names. Murdoch came across her map while preparing for the trip and found it moving. "I don't think she meant it to be used as a roadmap. The more I looked at it, I felt it was a piece of art … it looked like a painting," said Murdoch. A long, fulfilling ride For Murdoch, the idea of moving across land in this way felt deeply cultural, even ancestral. "I think our people and our culture are just naturally predisposed to this kind of travel." Still, the physical toll of the ride was real. "I was trying to average between 5 to 600 kilometres a day, but it's funny how the weather, the landscape — you know, 500 kilometres in one day can take four to five hours," said Murdoch. Other times, 300 kilometres could take seven hours. Murdoch estimates that he has visited at least 50 Indigenous communities over 19 days. The only change he would make is allowing his body to recover — and allow more time to connect with locals. Image | PJ Murdoch and family Caption: Murdoch, alongside his family before his day of departure. His wife followed him by car in the final 3 hours of his journey to Tla-O-Qui-Aht First Nation, BC. (submitted by Paul John Murdoch) Open Image in New Tab "In an ideal world, I would have maybe tripled the time so that when I arrived in each community, I would spend one whole day just hanging out with the community before leaving," he said. "I think my ass would be a lot more thankful for having done it that way." He has ideas to plan a longer trip with friends next goose break: instead of going from east to west, he wants to travel north to south. "Why not north? Like from Alaska to Arizona, staying only in Indigenous communities," said Murdoch. Murdoch encourages people to obtain their licence to explore their sense of freedom. "It's the closest thing to flying the plane that I've experienced so far," said Murdoch. Upon arriving in British Columbia, the final leg of his cross-country road trip, Murdoch expressed that he felt more emotional than he had expected. "If you can dream it up and do it, it's not going to be exactly like your dream probably, but man, it's gonna be wonderful. You'll never regret it," said Murdoch.
