Water Walkers

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Book cover of Joanne Robertson's Nibi Emosaawdang: The Water Walker

For the Anishinaabe or Ojibwe people, part of honoring and protecting the sanctity of water includes voyaging on Water Walks. These Walks serve as a form of prayer and dedication to bodies of water, and often bring awareness to the pollution and desecration of them, including the Great Lakes. These walks are typically completed by Anishinaabe women, specifically, following the belief that both women and water serve as life bringers, making women the keepers and protectors of water.

One example of these Water Walks comes from Nibi Walk, an organization of Anishinaabe Grandmothers who walk along bodies of water to honor them as life givers and show faith in them. Ultimately, these walks act as prayers for the health of the water, with each journey focusing on a different lake or river. Previous walks have included a Line 3 Water Walk, Salt River Water Walk, and the Missouri River Water Walk. While they originated as a response to the pollution littering rivers and lakes across the United States, including Lake Superior, Water Walks are intimate, spiritual acts. The Nibi Walk organization states that "our only audience is the water."

Other Water Walkers include Sharon Day, the executive director of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force. With a group of other Anishinaabe women, Day walked the length of the Mississippi River, which stretches 2,320 miles from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. The walk took them from March 1st, 2013 until May 3rd, 2013. Speaking on her actions, Day said, "If I were a lawyer or a hydrologist I might be doing something different, but I'm neither of those things. I am an Ojibwe woman, and my responsibility is to take care of the water. I can walk and I can pray and I can sing. And that's what I've chosen to do." She also stated that "we must change this idea of water as a commodity. When we can see the water as something that lives, then it's hard to think of it simply as a commodity. We need to care for the water instead of merely use it."

Water Walks have taken place inside of Michigan, as well. The Mother Earth Water Walkers, started by a group of Michigan Anishinaabe women, is an organization that treks the perimeter of the Great Lakes to raise awareness that "our clean and clear water is being polluted by chemicals, vehicle emissions, motor boats, sewage disposal, agricultural pollution, leaking landfill sites, and residential usage is taking a toll on our water quality. Water is precious and sacred....It is one of the basic elements needed for all life to exist."

Their annual walks take place during spring, a time of renewal both spiritually and physically. These walks are meant to raise awareness and support in the Great Lakes region and to promote keeping the Great Lakes clean and protected. Between the years of 2003 and 2007, the Mother Earth Water Walkers traveled the entire perimeters of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior. 

Water Walks continue today as a powerful prayer and dedication to the Earth's waters. Speaking about the meaning of Water Walks, Sharon Day stated, "It's really about lovelove for ourselves because we are the water and love for rivers."

To learn more about Water Walkers, view the video below, or visit Nibi Walk or Mother Earth Water Walkers.

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal member Michael McCreery explains the importance of Water Walkers

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