Sometimes it’s easier to explain what something isn’t than what it is
The water walks are not a march
or a parade or a protest or a fight
We are water walkers
who sing and pray and speak to the water spirits
to encourage and show the water ways, we love them,
all of them, the springs that flow up from underground wells,
the creeks, the rivers, the lakes that flow into the sea
We are not a workshop
but people do learn
they learn as they go
we make mistakes
and we try to correct them immediately
we feed each other
we help each other
we learn songs in Ojibwe
and sometimes english and sometimes a combination of the two
sacred songs
sacred ceremonies
we learn to hold sacred spaces
and sacred items
and each other with reverence
and occasionally silliness
We learn to become community
Indigenous, Blacks, whites, and people from the east
feminine and masculine
and everyone in the circle’
there is no book
or classroom
but there is nature
and the wind blows
and the birds sing
and the horses and the deer
and Migizi greet us
all of us
become a community
learning and growing together.
Sharon M. Day
September 6, 2024