The third annual People of the Heart Water Walk for Indigenous Peoples' Day 2021 was the 12th Water Walk for Gichigamikwe Terri Denomie, of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), co-founder and co-organizer of the Walk. This year her mother, Barbara Swartz, joined her daughter by driving one of the vans that accompanied the walkers in the 90-mile trek from Copper Harbor to Baraga and by offering her cooking skills for the participants.
Terri, who is Head Start Center Director at the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, including KBIC Head Start and Early Head Start, spoke about her connection with her inspiration -- the late Grandma Josephine, who led water walks along all the Great Lakes. The lovely photos of water Terri takes and posts on her Facebook page are evidence of her belief that "Water is Life."
Terri and Barbara, along with People of the Heart co-founder and co-organizer Kathy Smith of KBIC, paused at Great Sand Bay on Oct. 9, the first day of this year's Walk, to speak with Keweenaw Now.
"I'm the proud caretaker of our KBIC Water Walkers Eagle Staff since 2015," Terri said.
She often carries the Eagle Staff or the traditional copper pail of water during water walks. Terri added she is even thinking of having a small water walk for her KBIC Head Start pupils to make them aware of the importance of protecting the water.
"The Children of our Community will always be in my heart! I've watched so many young children through their first five years of life in our Community, and love to watch them grow!" Terri said.
Besides serving on the Tribal Education Committee for 26 years, Terri served on the Tribal Council from 1996 to 2001 and dedicates hours of volunteer time for women's ceremonies and Talking Circles, preparing and delivering senior citizen meals in Baraga and more.
This is the second year Terri's mother, Barbara, has cooked for the Water Walkers. She also cooked for Pow Wow feasts for 9 years.
"She's one of our elders, who guides us and supports us," said Kathy Smith.
Kathy, who formerly worked in the KBIC Natural Resources Department, told Keweenaw Now her main concern is conserving the seeds and plants, sources of food and medicine for the Anishinaabe people, especially now when climate change brings more hot, dry weather. In addition, the black ash trees on the reservation, used for making baskets, have been threatened by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer.
"Something needs to come about or our beautiful gifts (i.e. resources) could be taken away," Kathy said. "Luckily we have seeds in storage."
She recently received a position in charge of wild rice issues for GLIFWC -- the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
In the traditional Anishinaabe migration story, wild rice is the "food on the water," important for food security, she explained.*
The People of the Heart Water Walk is a spiritual journey during which participants, Native and non-Native, honor the water to call attention to the importance of protecting it.
During the Water Walk, Nibi (water) is always moving throughout the day. It doesn't stop. Just as a river continually flows, so does Nibi in a water walk. In order to keep this gentle flow, participants use a relay system of walkers. When one person passes the copper vessel of water to the next walker, this is a phrase you may hear in exchange: "Anishinaabemowin: Nga izhichige Nibi onji." Broad translation: I will do it for the water.**
Day 1: Copper Harbor to Mohawk
During the Walk, Terri posted on Facebook, "Day 1 of the People of the Heart Water Walk started at 7:40 a.m. in Copper Harbor and we walked 33 miles to Mohawk stopping at 6-7 p.m.!"
Some of the Water Walk vehicle support drivers pause at Great Sand Bay to assist with the relay exchanges, but the copper vessel of water and the Eagle Staff keep moving on the way to Eagle River and Mohawk. (Video by Keweenaw Now)
The Rev. Julie Belew, pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Baraga, participated again in the People of the Heart Water Walk, along with her husband, the Rev. Bucky Beach, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Houghton. In addition to walking, the couple have offered hospitality to the walkers each year.
"Water is fluid: With its ebb and flow surrounded by diverse environments, I think of the diverse communities that come together to surround the water in prayer," said Pastor Julie. "It touches my heart every time the copper vessel is passed from one pair of hands to the next as we carry the water. With collective intentions we express gratitude for Nibi giving of herself to sustain all our relations -- the two legged, four legged and winged creatures. We cannot live without her!
"As the many cars passed us on our three-day journey I would hear a pleading come from my heart, 'Please, (people who pass us by), may there be some realization/awareness that she (Nibi) needs our protection and care, and it will take all of our efforts.'"
Charli Mills of Hancock participated in the People of the Heart Water Walk for the second time, driving one of the support vans. She had also driven a vehicle and provided food and drink for them in October 2019.***
"This year, the weather was unseasonably warm, reminding us that the work we do for the water is vital," Charli told Keweenaw Now. "Climate change is here."
In 2020 Charli was unable to participate actively in the Water Walk, partly because of COVID (Last year People of the Heart encouraged supporters to do their own water walk or an individual activity of personal connection with water to keep the group small because of COVID distancing protocol.) and partly because she was working hard to finish her MFA degree.
"I took breaks (from studying) to meditate on the work of the Water Walkers and focus my attention on how precious Nibi is to us all," Charli added.
Cynthia Drake of Ripley is another Water Walker who participated remotely but spiritually in last year's walk (because of her daughter's illness) but walked with them again this year and has welcomed the People of the Heart Water Walkers to her home and waterfall each year. She commented on what the Water Walk means to her.
"It's just a powerful spiritual journey and practice to do this honoring and respect of our Nibi, our water, which is truly our life, and to be in community," Cynthia told Keweenaw Now. "When we do the Water Walk it brings us into this beautiful community of people who are almost like tributaries into the flow of the water as we do this journey with the water. I was just honored to be a part of it."
On Day 2, Oct. 10, Water Walkers passed through Lake Linden, Mason and Dollar Bay on their way to the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton. They passed Torch Lake and Portage Lake, stopping at a point just a few miles short of Chassell.
Theresa Pitts of KBIC, who grew up near Torch Lake, a Superfund site and Area of Concern -- polluted by years of copper mining toxic waste -- joined the Water Walk this year because of her own experience of the need to protect the waters of the Keweenaw.
Theresa especially wanted to walk from Hubbell, her childhood home, to Mason, where she remembers spending time with family members, including her grandmother, who lived there.
"It was in Mason where I learned of the dangers of Torch Lake. It was there I came to understand at an early age that her water was sick," Theresa writes in a guest article for Keweenaw Now on her personal experience of this year's Water Walk, "People of the Heart Water Walk offers hope for area lake."
On Day 2 People of the Heart Water Walkers cross the Portage Lift Bridge between Hancock and Houghton. Some drop asemaa, sacred tobacco, into the Keweenaw Waterway as a gift to the water. Mike Rodriguez of KBIC carries the Eagle Staff. (Video by Keweenaw Now)
Water Walkers continue their Day 2 walk along the Houghton waterfront. (Video by Keweenaw Now)
Donica Hope Dravillas commented on the diversity of the group of walkers.
"We have People from all walks of life gather to carry this water," Donica said. "I am honored to walk with the Grandmothers, Youth, Men, Them, and Women that have brought their self and their heart to do this work."
Day 3: Houghton to Baraga
During the Walk on Day 3, Oct. 11, Indigenous Peoples' Day, Gichigamikwe Terri Denomie posted on Facebook this map of the remaining route from the Houghton-Baraga County line toward the Water Walkers' final destination, inviting others to join them for the conclusion of the Walk at the Sand Point Lighthouse on Keweenaw Bay. (Map © and courtesy Gichigamikwe Terri Denomie)
On a beautiful, sunny Oct. 11 afternoon, the Water Walkers reached the Ojibwa Recreation Area, where they returned the water carried in the copper vessel to Keweenaw Bay, offering asemaa, sacred tobacco, and singing a water song in the Ojibwa language.
People of the Heart Water Walkers arrive at the Ojibwa Recreation Center in Baraga for the completion of their 90-mile Water Walk at Sand Point Lighthouse. Carrying the copper vessel of Nibi is Kathy Smith, accompanied by her twin sons -- Jacob, carrying the Eagle Staff, and Caleb. (Video by Keweenaw Now)
Water Walkers return Lake Superior water (Nibi) they have carried from Copper Harbor to Baraga in a ceremony on Keweenaw Bay near the Sand Point Lighthouse. Kathy Smith, her son Jacob (carrying the Eagle Staff), and Gichigamikwe Terri Denomie with her grandson Chance sing the Nibi Song by Dorene Day. (Video by Keweenaw Now)
The Nibi Song in the above video was suggested to Doreen Day by her grandson. They have given permission to everyone to sing this song to the water. The words are translated here:
"Water, we love you.
We thank you.
We respect you."
The pronunciation is as follows:
Ne-be Gee Zah- gay- e- goo
Gee Me-gwetch -wayn ne- me – goo
Gee Zah Wayn ne- me- goo ****
Following the return of Nibi to the lake, Kathy Smith thanked the Water Walkers for their participation.
Kathy Smith expresses thanks to all who contributed to the success of this year's People of the Heart Water Walk. (Video by Keweenaw Now)
Kathy noted also the importance of the food chiefs who worked in the kitchen: Erika Vye, Ronnie Mae Krueger, Evan Lanese, Gabriel Ahrendt, Elise Rosky, Emily Shaw, and Rachael Pressley.
Kathy, who has been the co-organizer of the People of the Heart Water Walk all three years, told Keweenaw Now she was very pleased with this year's walk for several reasons.
"This year was a fantastic year," Kathy said. "The weather was beautiful and Mama aki had been so generous to us all. She provided everything that we needed to bring awareness to the water, and the surrounding communities have been so supportive. Nimiigwechiwendam to everyone who supported, donated time and monies. Especially to the food chiefs that provided sustenance.
"The walk has been successful each year as we go along and gets more acknowledgement each year. Each step is a prayer and gratitude for our most precious gift, Nibi. We help by healing our own personal connection and relationship to each other, the land and to Nibi. What better gift of coming together along with MTU's Indigenous Peoples' Day Campaign who facilitates the planning committee. It's a precious gift in building relationships and doing this work together."
Joanne Thomas of Allouez, in Keweenaw County, was unable to join the walk because that same weekend she was hosting visitors from out of town, descendants of Big Annie Clemenc, heroine of the 1913 Copper Miners' Strike. Annie's descendants, Denise Masse and Debra Devlin, came to Calumet to donate the award for Big Annie's 2013 induction into the International Labor Hall of Fame to the Big Annie exhibit at the Coppertown Mining Museum in Calumet. Joanne, who created that exhibit, was a part of the event at the museum. She also told the visitors about the Water Walk happening that day because they had expressed a wish to visit the spring of fresh water near Centennial Heights, just north of Calumet.
"It was the weekend of the Water Walk, and I was taking them to fetch water at the spring because they loved the water when Debra tried it when she was here earlier in August," Joanne told Keweenaw Now. "They were happy to 'participate' as they were tactilely appreciating clean water."
Thus, as Kathy Smith noted, awareness of the People of the Heart Water Walk for Indigenous Peoples' Day is reaching a wider community each year.
Notes:
* See p. A51 of an excerpt from The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway, by Edward Benton-Banai, for the reference to wild rice in the story of the Anishiinaabe migration.
** See "Protocols for the Nibi Walks."
*** See Charli Mills' 2019 Keweenaw Now guest article, "Experiencing People of the Heart Water Walk."
**** Click here for more on the Nibi (Water) Song.
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