EASTEND, JULY 11, 2009
Presented by the Eastend Historical Museum in partnership with the Rural History and Culture Association, the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society and Burning Sun Productions with major financial support provided by the Building Pride Program of the Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport. Additional support provided by the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation and SaskEnergy.
Cast of Spirits of the Trail (l-r) Geordie Grassick, Ken Mitchell, Bob Smoker, Errol Kinstino and Melissa Wurme
On Saturday, July 11, the Eastend Historical Museum hosted the third of six Celebrate the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) Trail festivals at the Eastend Community Hall. Unlike the other festivals, everything in Eastend was held in-doors due to concern that a motorcycle rally also taking place in the town would interfere with the horses that were customarily part of the program for Spirits of the Trail, a theatric remembering of the relationship between NWMP officer James Walsh and Sioux Chieftain Sitting Bull. Over 30 pictures from all six of the festivals can be viewed on the RHCA’s Flicker site.
The Eastend Museum provided a delicious beef and bun supper along with some nice snacks and the program started with a brief Opening Ceremony that recognized the festival hosts and partners. 
This included remarks from the Mayor of Eastend, a representative of the RCMP and the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society (SHFS) as well as a few words of greetings from First Nations representative Errol Kinstino. Following the ceremony, The Spirits of the Trail was performed. Geordie Grassick as James Walsh, Errol Kinstino as Sitting Bull, Ken Mitchell as Metis scout Louis Leveille and Bob Smoker as a Sioux Elder were joined for the first time by Melissa Wurme, a traditional First Nations singer and dancer. Spirits of the Trail incorporated First Nations cultural performances into the program including drumming from Bob and traditional First Nations singing by Melissa.
Following “Spirits of the Trail,” historian and award-winning author Garrett Wilson provided a fascinating look at the early days of the NWMP Trail and background to the events portrayed in “Spirits of the Trail.” The first video to the right features parts of Garrett’s presentation. After Garrett, Ron Volden of the SHFS presented a slide show telling the story of Everett Baker’s efforts to mark the NWMP Trail in the 1950s and 60s.
The program concluded with two dynamic Saskatchewan singer/songwriters. Megan Nash from Mortlach energized the audience with her charisma and exciting performance of both country classics and her own witty compositions. The second video to the right features Megan performing her own song, Sober. Saskatoon’s Carrie Catherine finished off the evening with her several of her own songs including “Wilderness,” which spoke about the experience of living on the wild prairie. Before everyone left, Ken Mitchell treated the audience to some cowboy poetry.