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On their way to Capitol, Monroe part of walkers' journey |
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monroenews.com |
by Michelle Swartz , last modified July 08. 2008 11:32AM
The smell of burning sage during a smudging ceremony kicked off part of the Longest Walk 2.
Brian Halfday of Windsor, Ontario, wafted the smoke around St. Mary's Park this morning as part of a Native-American religious ceremony, in which it is believed smoke carries prayers to the Creator.
A large group of people from Michigan and Ontario gathered at the park to continue the Longest Walk 2, a national grassroots effort to raise awareness to protect the environment and sacred sites, and to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original walk.
About 60 people met in Monroe, where they began their walk to Toledo. A brief ceremony at the park, which included the burning of sage and distributing sweet grass, was held about 9:30 this morning. Led by a person carrying an Eagle staff, which serves as the flag for Native Americans, the group walked in a line to the Gen. George Custer statue, then headed south toward Toledo.
"Since it is also an environmental walk, we are taking 400 trash bags with us along the walk," said Helen Wolfe of Windsor. "We'll be picking up trash all the way to Toledo."
Cian Wright of Ann Arbor and her family are headed south to Ohio. However, they are unable to make the final destination to Washington, D.C.
Ms. Wright, however, felt it was important to have her family participate in today's portion of the walk. She brought her children, Chyan Brooks, 11, and Mari Brooks, 8, and her mother, Jackie Wright of Ypsilanti.
"We wanted to be a part of history and be a part of change," she said.
As a Native American, Ms. Wright takes part in many ceremonies like this one.
"I wanted my kids to be included in this because they have grown up in Native-American ways," she said. "They told me they wanted to be in the walk today."
After the daylong trip down Dixie Hwy., the group will then caravan to Washington, D.C., to meet up with the rest of the participants located on northern and southern routes. The event began in San Francisco and ends at Washington, D.C.
About 2,000 people are expected to end their journey on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
"We're a peaceful group who are asking everyone to be more respectful of the environment and sacred sites," said Brita Brookes of Ferndale. "We also will be presenting Congress with a manifesto outlining current issues. In Michigan, the issue is protecting the Great Lakes from pollution and from being sold."
The event also marks the 30th anniversary of the original Longest Walk, in which 10,000 Native Americans and supporters gathered in D.C. in response to proposed legislation that would have abolished treaties protecting Native American sovereignty.
All of the proposed bills were defeated. The following month, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 was passed.
"I don't think people realize that Native Americans only have had the right to religion for 30 years. That was not a long time ago," said walker Jackie Allison of Eastpointe. "A lot of people take their religious freedom for granted. We've only had ours since 1978."
For more information, visit www.longestwalk.org.
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