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New Brunswick·Ann's Eye

Seeing the highway walkers through an Indigenous lens

Meeting Charity and Cameron West, a couple walking across Canada to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP), was supposed to be a one-time thing for Ann Paul, who was covering their time in New Brunswick as an assignment for CBC News.

CBC's Ann Paul makes a special connection with couple walking across Canada

CBC News ·
A truck covered in handprints with the words WALKER AHEAD printed across the back sits parked on the side of a highway. Two flags stick up out of the truck bed.
This truck belongs to Charity and Cameron West, a newlywed couple who spent the past several months walking across Canada. The Wests live along the Highway of Tears, a 720-km stretch of Highway 16 in northern British Columbia, where girls and women have gone missing or been murdered for decades. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.

Ann Paul, flying down the highway on her Harley-Davidson, was about to meet Charity and Cameron West for the fourth time.

Meeting the Wests, a couple from northern British Columbia walking across Canada to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP), was supposed to be a one-time thing, covering their time in New Brunswick as an assignment for CBC News.

But everything happens for a reason, Ann Paul says. She felt connected to the Wests immediately, and by the end of the week, they'd done a sweat together, spent time talking around a table, and Ann had helped them find somewhere to sleep. 

WATCH | CBC's Ann Paul says goodbye to walking couple with travelling song: 

Indigenous couple walking across Canada made a stop in N.B.

1 year ago
Duration 1:56
Charity and Cameron West walked across Canada to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous people. During their time in the province, they met with CBC contributor Ann Paul four times and developed a friendship.

When Ann drove past Gagetown on her motorcycle, she was taking Charity the vitamins she'd forgotten. 

"This is going to be the last time!" she called out to Charity, who was walking away down the highway.

"Is it?" Charity asked. 

"Nah," Ann said, singing them a travelling song before hopping back on her motorcycle and heading home.

Scroll through the photos and watch the video to see a glimpse of Ann's time with the Wests, who just finished their cross-country journey this week. 

A smiling man wearing a white t-shirt and yellow safety vest stands outside in front of a red car.
Cameron and Charity West were married in October 2022, beginning their walking journey in early May. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A smiling woman wearing a baseball cap and orange earrings and a safety vest stands outside.
Charity West has experienced personal loss, but she also had a dream that inspired the entire journey. In the dream, people were trying to push through a veil. Charity’s grandmother told her those were her ancestors and the people she was going to meet on her trip. That included Ann Paul. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Two women walk side-by-side down the side of a highway, a pick-up truck in the distance. The woman on the left wears an orange safety vest and holds up a flag. The woman on the right wears a red t-shirt and baseball cap.
Listening to Charity and Cameron West tell stories of the people they’d lost brought Ann to tears, and before she left she offered them tobacco and thanked them. ‘I don’t think Charity and Cameron realized how much of an impact that their journey, their walk across Canada, was going to have on so many people.’ (Ann Paul/CBC)
A man holding a staff and wearing a yellow safety vest walks down a highway.
Ann Paul was overwhelmed by the fact that just two people could tell countless stories of Indigenous people murdered or missing. ‘The resiliency of our people, that we’ve been through so many hardships,’ Ann said. ‘You’ve gotta think about it that way, that our babies are going to be looking for us.’ (Ann Paul/CBC)
A grey and white French bulldog sits in the passenger seat of a truck, its head looking out an open window.
The journey was made by three, not two. Gretchen the dog can proudly woof that she's travelled across all of Canada. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A person wearing an orange safety vest stands in front of a truck covered in painted handprints. Two flags stick up out of the truck, which is parked on the side of the road.
The Wests put a MMIP flag and a warrior flag on their truck, carrying an eagle staff they received from a fire keeper in Batchewana First Nation, a reserve in Ontario. ‘We have to do things to the extreme in order to be heard,’ Ann Paul said. ‘Why is that?’ (Ann Paul/CBC)

If you or someone you know needs immediate emotional assistance, call 1-844-413-6649. This is a national, toll-free 24/7 crisis call line providing support for anyone who requires emotional assistance related to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Ann's Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

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