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EMC News First Nations grandmothers have collected water from the Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
On April 10 that water began a journey from Aberdeen, Washington to Bad River, Wisconsin, June 12, with stops in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario as part of the route.
When the water came to Ottawa May 19 and 20, Tichborne’s Danka Brewer, along with her husband James, and sons James and Alex, were part of it, with Danka carrying the water, James and Alex carrying the Eagle Staff while dad James acted as shuttle driver and rear guard for the walkers.
“We (the Grandmothers and Staff Carriers) started walking at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning on St. Joseph Blvd. in Ottawa and put the water to rest in Quyan, PC at 6 p.m.,” Brewer said. “It really was a family endeavour to participate in this ceremonial walk for Mother Earth.
And, she said, it was almost as if the water had a life and message of its own.
“As I was carrying the water, it was interesting that it did not seem to weigh as much when we passed ‘clean’ water and yet seemed noticeably heavier when we passed ‘dirty’ water,” she said.
The idea of the Water Walk, this one being the Mother Earth ‘Turtle Island’ Water Walk 2011, is to get people to become aware of the significance of water and to act on that significance, Brewer said. It began in 2003, when the Water Walkers walked around Lake Superior. For seven years, they walked 11,525 miles, 18,549 kilometers, 24,113,700 steps around the Great Lakes and up to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Each step was a prayer for the water, for Mother Earth, for the animals, the birds, the insects, the trees and for us, the ‘two-leggeds.’
“The walks were inspired by one word if,” she said. “In 2000, Eddie Benton-Benai, Grand Chief of the Three Fires Midewiwin Society prophesied that 30 years from now, if we continue our negligence, an ounce of water will cost the same as an ounce of gold.
“This word, ‘if,’ inspired the Water Walkers in answer to the question, what will you do?”
If you’d like to help support the water walk, the organization can be contacted via its Facebook page (Water Walk 2011) or through email via waterwalk2011@gmail.com.
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Full article: http://www.emcfrontenac.ca/20110602/news/Local+family+participates+in+Ottawa+leg+of+Mother+Earth+Walk+2011