~~~ In 2013 Indigenous women walked entire Mississippi River to raise awareness of water pollution’s impact. ~~~ The walkers and their supporters left Lake Itasca State Park, Minn., March 1 after a traditional Ojibwe water ceremony where they collected a copper pail full of clear, fresh lake water, which they are carrying the entire 1,200 miles to where the river empties into the Gulf at Venice, La. It is here that they will pour the contents of the pail into the murky gulf waters, “giving the Mississippi River a drink of herself.” Mississippi River Water Walk 2013 leader Sharon Day is a member of the Ojibwe tribe and executive director of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force, an organization whose mission is to improve the health and education of indigenous people through a variety of programs. She lives just a block from the river in St. Paul, Minn., and has been involved in water issues in the past, being called upon to help with the process of making a spring in the Fort Snelling area of the Twin Cities a protected sacred site in 1998. Day explained that the Mississippi, like all other rivers and waterways around the world, is facing peril due to pollution. “Everyone adds to the pollution,” she said. “And it is not the river poisoning the river, we are doing it!” According to Day, the Mississippi River is the second most polluted river in the United States with toxic chemicals from municipalities, agriculture and industry all accumulating as the water flows to the gulf, taking their toll on the health of the river. “By the time a drop of water reaches the ‘dead zones’ near the river’s mouth, the water is nearly depleted of oxygen,” Day said. “In some times of the year, the dead zones are the size of the state of Delaware. The walk intends to raise awareness of what each individual can do along the way to help change the health of the water in the Mississippi as well as other water resources in the local community. “We want the walk to be a prayer,” Day said, adding that are in ceremony while they carry the water. “Every step we take we will be praying for and thinking of the water. The water has given us life and now, we will support the water.” Via: Gate City Mississippi River Water Walk https://youtube/watch?v=OwIT7wIApFo
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:43:18 +0000
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