Thirty years ago I was walking across Pennsylvania and Maryland. I was on my way to Washington DC and I was not alone.
I was one of thousands who had joined the Longest Walk.
This was a spiritual walk of protest—a call to action to oppose Legislation in Congress that would strip the indigenous peoples of America of their rights, land and Tribal Sovereignty. The Walk was led by Native Americans, but representatives of all races and many Nations joined in solidarity to fight this attack on justice, dignity and human rights.
In 1978 I had no idea that joining the Longest Walk would change the arc of my life, but it did.
Tonight, another group of walkers are on their way to DC and the Longest Walk 2 should reach the White House Friday morning. I plan to be there.
I want to honor the path that the Longest Walk set me on. I want to honor all of those who have chosen to set themselves on a path of change, a path of action and the fight for justice as we work to take this Country back.
To the jump...
Back in 1978 I had just graduated from the University of Detroit and I had no idea that the Longest Walk had begun. I was somewhat politically aware, but I was not really active. I voted and I had knocked on a few doors in a few campaigns, but most of the problems in the world were far from my everyday thoughts. Sure, I knew there was a cold war, an arms race and injustice everywhere, but it was not part of my life to think about it much. Nor was it a goal of mine to do anything about it.
After I got my degree, I headed out on the road. After a week backpacking in the Porcupine Mountains of Northern Michigan, I hitchhiked the back roads to the Pacific Northwest. It was an aimless trip, without a destination and it was a hell of a lot of fun. Everyday was a new adventure.
I was in Oregon when I heard about the Longest Walk. Since February 11, 1978 a group of Native Americans had been walking across America to protest Legislation before Congress. Somebody had a flyer. I still have a copy of it. Here is what it said:
Traditional men of many Indian nations have prophesied for generations that tribes would gather from the four directions. On February 11, 1978, some 180 Native Americans set out from San Francisco to walk across the continent to Washington, D.C. More than seventy tribes are represented in the walk and by the time of its culmination in Washington native people from all over the continent will have been involved in this effort. Thus, the visions and prophesies of the spiritual leaders are being fulfilled.
A sacred pipe is being carried each step of the 3000-mile journey. The pipe was packed by an Indian spiritual leader just before the beginning of the trip. It will be smoked in Washington around July 15, when the walk is completed.
The longest Walk is a spiritual walk. It grew out of the concern of Indian people for anti-Indian legislation currently before the Congress; it has developed into a spiritual awakening for the people and a mobile educational unit for the indian country they are walking through. The Walk is providing the opportunity to break down barriers to better understandings among native people as well as among other people of this country.
The Longest Walk is a historical walk of native people, a walk to commemorate all the forced walks Indian people have made in the past-the Trail of Tears, the many forced removals and marches of Eastern tribes to Oklahoma resulting in the death of 4,000 native people, the Walks of Chief Joseph, the Navajo people, and many, many more tribes that were forcibly removed from their land.
The Longest Walk grew out of the concern of Indian people for their human rights, rights given to them because of their existence on the earth as caretakers. The concern resulted from the most recent attack on native people in the way of anti-Indian legislation. If enacted, these bills will take away the responsibility to control their own lives, their own children, and their own communities.
The legislation includes:
• HR9054 ~ Native Americans Equal Opportunity Act of 1977. Would abrogate all treaties, close all Indian hospitals, schools, housing projects, and end all hunting and fishing.
• HR9950 ~ The Omnibus Indian Jurisdiction Action of 1977. Removes all tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians and limits the power of tribal jurisdiction over members of the tribe.
• HR9951 ~ Quantification of Federal Reversed Water Rights for Indian Reservations Act. Extinguishes all aboriginal rights to the use of water for Indian people.
• HR9736 ~ Steelhead Trout Protection Act. Will stop the Indian from catching steelhead trout and selling them.
• HR9175 ~ Washington State Fishing and Hunting Equal Rights Act of 1977. Gives Washington State complete control over all Indian hunting and fishing off reservations.
• HR4169 ~ State of Maine Aboriginal Claims Act of 1977. Will extinguish all titles and interests in land and water rights of the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes in Maine.
• HR9906 ~ State of New York Aboriginal Claims Act of 1977. Will extinguish all titles to land and water in New York which belongs to the Oneida, Cayuga, Saint Regis Mohawk, Onandago, and Seneca tribes.
• HJRI ~ A joint resolution relating to Northwest Indian off-reservation Treaty Fishing Rights. Mainly against off-reservation fishing of tribes in Oregon and Washington.
• HJR206 ~ Joint resolution relating to regulation by the states of certain hunting and fishing rights. Will keep Indians from fishing and hunting off reservations, except for times set by the state.
• S8 1437 ~ Criminal Code Reform Act of 1977. Would diminish Indian self-government. State and federal jurisdiction would be increased on reservations.
Apparently, the collective non-Indian still wants to decide where Indians should live and in what manner they should live. People in this country, Indian people and others, as well as many persons in the international community are participating in The Longest Walk to call attention to the basic issue of human rights.
I had met a small group of folks who planned a cross country trip to join the Longest Walk. I decided to join them. After a few days (and quite a few adventures and breakdowns) we left the car and joined the walk in Western Pennsylvania.
It was an important spiritual highpoint of my life and I can say that the experience put me on the path to have the focus to do the work that I've done tracking the culture of corruption and Jack Abramoff.
Three decades ago, I had no idea of that the Longest Walk was just one of the journeys started in 1978 that would intertwine with my own. Back then, the agreement that would allow sweatshops to flourish on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) was being negotiated. Back then, Jack Abramoff was meeting Grover Norquist and starting his career as a GOP grifter, cultural warrior and bagman. Back then the extreme Right Wind was laying the groundwork to capture the Government of the United States and harness it in the service of their corporate masters. These and many other journeys would weave into my life, but the Longest Walk was the start of that weave.
For me, my pathway to our current moment in time and the work I do to help take this Country back began when I joined the Longest Walk.
It was a political act to join the Walk and collectively, we were successful. The oppressive Legislation was defeated. It was a rare political victory for the Indigenous People living in America.
But more than a political act, I found joining the Longest Walk to be a spiritual act. It set me on a pathway to activism with a pray and strength of heart and vision that have seen me through many struggles and dark political times from Reagan straight on through to the disaster also known as George W. Bush.
While camping on the outskirts of DC with the Longest Walk, I ran into a group of activists from Colorado who had occupied a spur of railroad track leading into the Rocky Flats Nuclear Bomb Factory just outside of Boulder and Denver. By August, I found myself living on those tracks. That led to other actions and journeys. By the time a decade had passed, I was publishing an alternative newsweekly in Athens Georgia. By the end of another decade I was working at Co-op America in Washington DC. That led me to the fight to end sweatshops and in 1999 I started investigating Jack Abramoff, the CNMI and the Republican Culture of Corruption. Another decade has passed and the path I started down—with a prayer—on the Longest Walk in 1978 continues.
I have been excited about this year's Longest Walk 2. It is an ongoing prayer and it is a prayer that we need. It is also a call to action.
On February 11, 2008 more than 1,000 Native Americans, religious leaders and representatives from unions and environmental groups gathered to pray and then walk across America. Their Mission Statement set the tone:
We walk with the message: All Life is Sacred, Save Mother Earth.
We shall walk for the Seventh Generation, for our youth, for peace, for justice, for healing of Mother Earth, for the healing of our people suffering from diabetes, heart conditions, alcoholism, drug addiction, and other diseases.
Through the elements of the seasons, we shall walk through the rain, snow, over mountains, high winds, through the heat and cold, nothing shall deter us from completing our mission: All Life is Sacred, Protect Sacred Sites.
Let those who doubt, hear our pledge. Let those who believe, join our ranks. As we walk the final miles, by our side will be elders, families, children, people of all races, from many walks of life, the old and the new America. All Life is Sacred, Clean Up Mother Earth.
After leaving San Francisco, the marchers divided into a Northern and a Southern route. Along the way they called attention to human rights, threatened sacred sites and a planet in peril. For the most part the walkers were honored and respected, except for an ugly incident in Columbus, Ohio that was documented by Winter Rabbit and navajo in early June.
On Friday, the Longest Walk 2 should reach the White House Friday morning for the Pipe Ceremony. I plan to be there. It is part of a weekend of activities planned for the end of the Walk. Here is the schedule:
We are waking up. We are taking this Country back from the weasels that have captured it. There is a great deal of work to do and it will take generation to repair the damage. The challenge is great, but we are up to it.
All around me I see young people discovering their power. And I see older folks remembering that they have it. Just as the Longest Walk in 1978 set me pathway to action, others are finding their own doorways into a life as an active and aware Citizen of America and steward of our planet. This great awakening is one of the most exciting aspects of the netroots, the progressive movement and the Obama Campaign. We are realizing that, as a good Doctor once told us, we have the power.
As I have studied the individuals of the Right who have captured the government of the United States one thing has been clear. The Right is very aware of the power of an individual to act and change the course of history. I am always struck by the damage done by Jack Abramoff or Grover Norquist or Charlie Black or any of a number of the weasels of the Right. They were able to do this damage because they understood that they had power. Each of us has the power to push them back. United we are unstoppable. It will take time and we will have setbacks, but we must have the courage to act and the faith that we will win.
I believe that we each have the power to change things for the better. Together we can.
The courage and blessings of two walks of prayer separated by thirty years give me the hope that we can do this.
As I watch the Pipe Ceremony on Friday I will honor the Walkers in 1978 and 2008. I will honor the path that the Longest Walk set me on. And I will honor each of you who have chosen set yourselves on a path of change, a path of action and an embrace of the fight for justice as we work to take this Country back.
Peace and cheers.