Sept. 23, 2025
Over 10 days in July, students from Wilfrid Laurier University joined members of the local paddling community for a remarkable canoe and kayak journey along the Grand River from Cambridge to Port Maitland, where the river meets Lake Erie. Called Deyohahage Gihę' gowahneh, or Two Row on the Grand, the annual trip symbolically enacts the Two Row Wampum treaty, with participants paddling the river in parallel paths to demonstrate equity and mutual respect.
Each day, the group of 75 paddled for approximately four hours before setting up camp and gathering for music, teaching, and programming.
Stephanie Absalom, Indigenous student support coordinator at Laurier’s Waterloo campus, participated in the trip for the first time this summer. “Your arms are burning so much. You don't know how much longer you can go,” says Absalom. “Then someone starts singing. Songs kept us going. It was really uplifting for the spirit.”
Stephanie Absalom
Absalom made the trip with Arrianna Carello, a third-year Psychology student at Laurier. They joined the paddle on day five, setting off from Chiefswood Park in Six Nations with other Laurier and Martin Luther University College students.
Carello, who grew up in Timmins, is Ojibwe/Anishinaabe from the Henvey Inlet First Nation. She built a strong support system on Laurier’s Waterloo campus with new friends and spaces, such as Adjiwan Kaandossiwin Gamik, the Indigenous Student Centre. But she still struggled with the culture shock associated with leaving home. When Absalom suggested they participate in the Two Row on the Grand trip, Carello jumped at the chance. “This is the thing that I’ve been missing,” says Carello. “I was craving this connection to the land.”
A connection to the Grand River inspired Absalom’s longstanding dream to join the trip.
At 280 kilometres in length, the Grand River – the largest river entirely in southern Ontario – flows from Dundalk in the north past Laurier’s Waterloo and Brantford campuses and through Six Nations of the Grand River. The “river of life” holds great significance for Indigenous peoples in the region, as it is identified in the Haldimand Proclamation of Oct. 25, 1784, signed by the British with their allies, the Six Nations, after the American Revolutionary War.
Absalom, whose father was Mohawk, lives by the Grand River in Kitchener. “My dad has passed now, but when I’m thinking about him, or if he comes to me in a dream, I’ll go to the river and put tobacco down for him.”
The students’ paddle fees and equipment were supported through a grant secured by Reverend Anne Anderson of Martin Luther University College, who also helped coordinate logistics and planning with Absalom. “Reconciliation needs to have action; it can’t just be words,” says Anderson. “We talk a lot about reconciliation work. This was a way for us to 'walk the talk.'”
Jay Bailey, co-founder of the volunteer-led Two Row on the Grand, welcomes students to participate alongside the local paddling community. “The students add youthful energy, focus, and enthusiasm to our paddle family as we travel, unlearn, and learn together,” says Bailey. “We are grateful for their engagement in the spirit of the Two Row teaching.”
Daily programming at Two Row on the Grand included teachings from Rick Monture, professor of English and cultural studies at McMaster University and author of ‘We Share Our Matters’ and Elder “Grandmother” Renee Thomas-Hill, Elder-in-residence at McMaster University and co-founder of Grandmother’s Voice.
“There were times when people would be sharing heavy things,” says Carello. “So, I opened up and spoke about my grief.” Carello had been dealing with the loss of her grandmother and chose to share her story during the evening teachings. She was met with love and support by the group, including Thomas-Hill, who referred to Carello as her granddaughter.
“As you paddle, those little water swirls are a release. You're releasing that grief – that emotion that you're feeling – into the river.”
Arrianna Carello
As the trip drew to a close, Carello felt conflicted. She was proud of everything she’d accomplished and ready to go home, but she also felt a sense of heaviness at having to say goodbye to her Two Row family.
“If it wasn't for my grandma, I don't know if I would have done this. But I did because I know that she would have absolutely loved it.”
Carello clutched at something hanging around her neck. A silver locket, containing the ashes of her grandmother, who had been with her the whole time.
Interested in joining next year’s paddle? Connect with Indigenous student services or Martin Luther University College.
Learn about Laurier’s commitment to Indigeneity. Read the university’s Indigenous Strategic Plan.
