Water Walkers Finish Trek In Bad River
After 60 days of walking from four salt water coasts, the Mother Earth Water Walk finished on Sunday on the Bad River Reservation.
Walkers left Olympia, Wash. on April 10, then from Gulfport, Miss., Machias, Maine and Churchill, Man., finishing on Waverly Beach. Each group carried a copper pail of water. Elder Josephine Mandamin told a circle of 100 people that mixing these salt waters into the fresh water of Lake Superior unites the waters of the world.
“So this is a big cycle of water that we’re uniting and we are all raising consciousness about how important the water is to us as peoples of all colors, of all races that we are united again with water,” Mandamin said.
Three boats left for nearby Madigan beach, where the waters would be poured into Lake Superior. First Nation Water Walker Sylvia Plain of Ontario says clean water can no longer be taken for granted.
“We consume it unconsciously and this isn’t an aboriginal cause. Mother Earth belongs to all people here. So we want people to think about that and to take responsibility in how they treat their water,” Plain said.
Sharon Day of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe walked 47 days from Gulfport. She says she feels 10 years younger than her age of 59.
“There’s something about having a spiritual intention to something, that no matter how physically rigorous it is, you get stronger. So I feel good,” Day said.
http://ashlandcurrent.com/article/11/06/13/water-walkers-finish-trek-bad-river
