Giving the Gift of Lacrosse | A Canoe Journey from Six Nations to Halifax

Oct 21, 2019

So begins a new adventure, a new course, a new home. Professional Lacrosse is on a journey and its bow is pointing east toward a welcoming destination, known as the shores of Nova Scotia Peninsula – the city of Halifax. The Thunderbirds lacrosse family have planned a canoe journey to begin Thursday, July 11, 2019 at McKenzie Creek in Six Nations, Ontario, with it's ultimate home in the Halifax Harbour in September.

The route will travel on all the great waterways enroute to Halifax. From McKenzie Creek, the journey will travel through Grand River, Lake Erie, Welland Canal, Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence Seaway, with this leg of the journey ending in Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec. From Riviere-du-Loup, there will be an overland trek to Lac Temiscouata, Quebec where the canoe portion of the journey will resume to Fredericton New Brunswick travelling on the Saint-John River to the final crossing to Digby, Nova Scotia bringing the Creator’s Games while carrying the torch and moving the fire to its new home arriving in Halifax early September.

Along the journey, Thunderbirds players, staff, and coaches will each give hand in carrying the symbolic torch, as a gesture of goodwill and gift to the Mi'kmaq community. Owner, Curt Styres, will be bringing the Haudenosaunee Legacy, and the Creators Game, to our eastern brother’s, the Mi’kmaq people of Nova Scotia. The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora make up the Haudenosaunee, a confederacy of peaceful and cooperative people. The traditional Haudenosaunee teachings tell the story and the kinship for life as ancient people, shaped by spiritual wisdom generated by the understanding of Mother Earth and all living beings.

The journey will take place both in the water and on land, as this historic journey brings Professional Lacrosse to a new home on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.

For updates, photos and videos as this journey unfolds, follow @HFXthunderbirds on social media, as well as visiting our #PaddleWithUs page. For more information or media requests, please contact the Thunderbirds at Dana@HalifaxThunderbirds.com or 860-987-2344.