Reznet

Dennis Banks, right, said of Longest Walk 2: "There are many determined to stay on the course." Reznet Photo by Candace Begody

Walk On

By Candace Begody

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.—It's been a grueling 1,000 miles of passage through Arizona's sizzling desert and the San Francisco Peak's freezing cold, but the 157 men, women and children of the Longest Walk 2 northern route reached the Navajo Nation's capital last week in high spirits.

"It's been absolutely awesome," Dennis J. Banks, American Indian Movement co-founder and Leech Lake Ojibwe, said of the walk. "We ought to change the name from the Longest Walk to the Longest Buffet — the Navajos have been feeding us tons of food."

The Longest Walk 2 is a nearly 3,000-mile, coast-to-coast trek to promote harmony with the Earth and social justice for indigenous people. It began Feb. 11 at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco.

The walk has two routes. Those on the southern route, led by Banks, are scheduled to travel through New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.

Those on the northern route, led by Jimbo Simmons, a Choctaw, are scheduled to journey through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Both routes will converge in Washington, D.C., where the group will voice their concerns on sacred sites issues, pollution of the earth and social justice, and commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first Longest Walk.

The 1978 walk started with 17 people and ended with nearly 60,000 people in Washington to urge Congress not to pass 11 pieces of legislation that would have abolished treaties protecting sovereignty rights for Native people.

Further, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 was passed, which pledges to preserve and protect the traditional religious rights for Native people.

Banks said the new walk hopes to have the same, if not more, impact as the participants gather once again at the Lincoln Memorial. "We're going to visit congressmen and senators and present them with a two-inch-thick manifesto because the issues of '78 are still the same," he said. "Nothing has changed."

The group is also collecting messages from people along the way and plan to present those as well, said Banks.

"There are many determined to stay on the course," said Banks adding jokingly that his "$30 Wal-Mart Special" shoes are carrying him through just fine. "They stand up and go forth even with great odds against them."

The walk has attracted international attention. Among the participants are 18 Japanese, two Germans and one representing Poland, Russia, Mexico, Argentina and Australia who have pledged to walk the entire way.

Takuya Sasa, 28, from Tokyo, said he became interested in Native Americans after studying in South Dakota last year.

"Different people are coming together for one purpose," he said at the group's campsite. "We have different souls, different backgrounds, but we have to and are doing something for our Mother (Earth)."

For Jutta Marwede, 27, of Germany, the walk gives her hope for a better future.

"Any region you look at," she said, "things aren't right. We are all dealing with the same issues. We need to pull together and share our successes and sorrows. Everyone has to work together on this land, united, to make it a better place.

"This walk is showing that we have power as a group, not individually, to make Earth a better place," Marwede added. "We are getting stronger and we are seeing the need to work together."

Both Sasa and Marwede have walked since California and plan on walking the entire way.

[On April 11, walkers made their way from Cuba, N.M., to Abiquiu, N.M., 60 miles to the east. Cuba is the closest the walkers will get to Albuquerque, N.M., 80 miles to the south. In Albuquerque, several supporters gathered for an outdoor event honoring the walkers and their cause. Following the evening event, food and other donations were delivered to walkers by local organizers.]

Reznet reporter Sunnie Redhouse contributed to this report from Albuquerque, N.M.

Candace Begody, Navajo, is a student at the University of Arizona, Tucson. She is a graduate of the Freedom Forum's 2007 American Indian Journalism Institute and interned as a reporter at the Missoulian newspaper in Missoula, Mont.