The Longest Walk 2

Dear Tanya,
I met you at the Taos Inn. You were filming a documentary about poets. I was performing with Four Way Free. You were very kind and took photos of the band. And, you expressed interest in both the band and also the longest walk. You can check out the web site for Four Way Free at www.fourwayfree.com. The band is criss crossing the U.S. You can find their performance schedule on the web site. I thought that you might be interested in Genji's poetry. The lyrics are also available on the web site. Genji was recently called, "A lyrical god" on an online blog. The strength of his lyrics and music may land us a performance at the Democratic National Convention. We're waiting with our fingers crossed.
The Longest Walk is a Native American Spiritual Walk, which began in San Francisco on February 11, 2008 and will end in Washington D.C. on July 11, 2008. The group will actually arrive in D.C. on July 7th and there will be much ceremony between the 7th and the 11th of July. The Longest Walk 2 is a spiritual walk/prayer for Mother Earth. The walk is to bring awareness to the issues that are close to Native Americans, the protection of mother earth from pollution and environmental waste, the protection of Native American Sacred Sites, the repatriation of Native American bones, which were either stolen from sacred burial sites and collected for study (or worse), and the expression of grievance for America's refusal to honor the longstanding treaties between the U.S. and the sovereign Native American Indian Nations. You can learn more about the Longest Walk 2 at www.thelongestwalk2.com. People from across the globe have done more than to show their support for these issues. They have made a commitment with their hearts and with their feet to the cause of peace.
There are many stories among those who have joined the longest walk. There is much written about Dennis Banks, who leads the Native American Walk. His history as a leader of the Native American Movement is rich but relatively little know to the majority of Americans. Jun-san is the 58-year old Nun of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist order, who walked with this group 30 years ago on the first Longest Walk in 1978. Jun-san has led walks for peace on every continent and has earned the Lakota name, "Walks Far Woman." There is a strong connection between the Native American walkers and the Japanese people who have come to make this historic walk. Dennis Banks speaks more Japanese than I do and I am Sansei (third generation Japanese American). The leader of Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist sect was a friend and contemporary of Mahatma Ghandi. Ghandi's image is found in everyone of the Peace Pagodas built by the sect worldwide.
I began this walk with the group in San Francisco and walked for 10 days. And, I returned to catch up with the group in New Mexico because my friend, Gordon Hirsch, took it upon himself to do all of the advance work for the walkers. He planned the course and found places for the group of nearly 100 to sleep or to camp each night. In the few days that I walked with the group in New Mexico, I met many interesting people with stories to tell. I met a Navajo Couple, whose home had burned down in March. Stanley Perez and his wife read about the longest walk and joined. The Navajo people believe that such tragedies occur when there is imbalance in the universe. He and his wife joined to restore balance, with faith that once balance is restored that their lives will be full once again. On the first day of their walk, I witnessed balance being restored to them. Stanley was walking with his Grandfather's staff and he received an eagle feather from another native walker to adorn the staff and to protect he and his wife along the journey. Stanley is himself a writer, who has written about uranium and plutonium mining, and dumping, in the region in New Mexico.
In fact, last year, while on a Peace Walk in Japan, led by Jun-san, I learned that America had agreed to dump some 30 tons of low grade Uranium ore for Japan in the Four Corners area of New Mexico.
This may be more information than you every wanted to know. But, I appreciate your interest and I hope that our paths might cross again someday soon.

Steven Nakano