Longest Walk participants are set to arrive in Washington, D.C. on July 11. Photos from the walk longestwalk.org.

Submitted photo

Halfway Across America

American Indian walkers take a pit stop at Haskell in their 3,600-mile journey across the United States

Monday, April 28, 2008

Thirty years ago, a number of bills were introduced in Congress aimed at terminating tribal sovereignty, leaving native matters in the hands of the states.

This prompted a meeting by a group of American Indians at D-Q University, an indigenous university in northern California. Drawing on the experiences of forced walks throughout U.S. history, they vowed to walk from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. They called it the Longest Walk.

Following the walkers’ arrival at the capital, the bills that would have destroyed the reservation system were defeated and Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, pledging to guarantee the rights of indigenous people to practice their sacred traditions.

Although thousands of people joined the Longest Walk, including celebrities such as Muhammad Ali and Marlon Brando, only about 20 dedicated walkers completed the entire 3,600-mile journey through 18 mountain ranges, endless plains, wild storms, bitter cold and scorching heat.

One of them was a 22-year-old member of the Choctaw Nation named Jimbo Simmons. Thirty years later, the 53-year-old Simmons helped organize a second walk to commemorate the anniversary and bring awareness to the continued desecration of sacred sites.

The Longest Walk 2 started on Alcatraz on Feb. 11 and broke into two routes. Walkers on the northern route plan to arrive at Haskell Indian Nations University on Tuesday, April 29, for a two-night stay focused on the Baker Wetlands.

With the wind occasionally breaking through on his cell phone, Simmons talked about experiences on the road from Highway 50 outside of Emporia.

Submitted photo

Jimbo Simmons, Joe Bill, and Tissychy (L to R) during the 1978 Longest Walk.

lawrence.com: What is the purpose of the Longest Walk 2?

Simmons: It started out on Alcatraz Island with a prayer, and it’s that prayer that we’re carrying across this land. … To us, this is a continued message that not only started in ’78, but started many, many years ago when non-Indian people came to this part of the world and began to have an impact on our way and our culture—our survival.

Today, we’re continuing that awareness, we’re continuing that survival, regardless of where we’re at and the time that we live in. Some of us, young and old, are carrying on those ways in the best way possible, but also understand that there are traditional people, spiritual leaders, spiritual people, and this is the only life that they have. We must protect that way of life and understand that way of life.

Presentation by the Wetlands Preservation Organization

When: Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Haskell Auditorium, Lawrence, KS,
Cost: Free
Age limit: All ages

Full event details

Many of the different developments that are going on, whether it be sacred sites that are being developed for energy purposes—for example, Medicine Lake in northern California, where geothermal development is being proposed, or over in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, where the sacred mountain there of the Southwest tribes is being used for recreational use—these are just some of those issues that we want to raise and begin to put in people’s minds.

We as native peoples, indigenous peoples in this land, are still continuing on our destiny in life and carrying on our original instructions.

How did you get involved in the Longest Walk?

I was one of the original walkers of 1978. I was one of the first to volunteer to walk across this continent to bring attention to some of the issues. At that time, we were walking about treaty rights and sovereignty issues. In Congress, there was legislation pending to abrogate and terminate Indian treaties and also to terminate the whole federal relationship that native people have with this government.

With the gathering that took place at D-Q University came about the idea of the Longest Walk. When we were discussing who was going to walk, who was going to commit themselves to be a part of this effort, well, I was in that meeting and younger at the time. At 22, I decided, hey, this is an opportunity for me to get involved, and so I stepped forward as one of the original walkers. But there were many people who began to step forward at that time.

Tour of the Wakarusa Wetlands by the Wetlands Preservation Organization

When: Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Where: (One-off place), Lawrence
Cost: Free
Age limit: All ages

Full event details

When we left San Francisco, Alcatraz Island, with people that were committed to walking all the way, we had about 20 people. When we left Sacramento, we had over 400 people that started to carry the message. When we got to the Nevada state line, we had about 125 people that began to make up the core of the walk across the United States.

When we got to Lawrence, Kansas, we had an encampment, and the Run for Survival came from Minneapolis, people came from Oklahoma and people came from Kansas. When we started out in Kansas again, we had over 700 people. Five and a half months later, when we arrived in Washington, D.C., we had over 30,000 people marching in support and solidarity with Native American people.

When we began to plan a commemoration of the Longest Walk, I thought part of that commemoration should include the original route of 1978. I took time to commit myself to help organize that part. When we left San Francisco, we left with about 40 people. Our route has fluctuated anywhere from 30, 40, 50, to 75. We have people coming and going, people bringing us food and bringing us support.

A few days ago we were in Wichita, where the Indian community welcomed us and supported us and also brought to us a proclamation from the governor of Kansas that we’re going to present and read again on April 29 when we resume our walk to Haskell in Lawrence.

How does this walk compare to the one that took place 30 years ago?

There’s a big difference. We have a lot more youth involved. In 1978, many of the people that were involved in the walk were a lot older, people that were dealing with alcohol and drug abuse and didn’t have any kind of connection. It was the Longest Walk that helped them get more direction in their own life. Many of those original walkers went on to become tribal leaders, community activists, organizers in their own communities. A lot of them are still doing that. Today, we have a lot of younger people that are stepping forward and looking for that same type of direction.

And today, we have the internet. We have that technology that’s helping us carry that message much farther and much faster. You can see that with the blogging that’s taking place on the website (longestwalk.org).

What are some memorable experiences from the road so far?

Right away, I can think of one point where it was almost impossible to cross over the Sierra Nevadas because of the high snow drifts. The narrow road was very impassable. A couple of our walkers, right away we had to get them to understand what walking in snowshoes was about. That’s what we did crossing the Nevada Great Basin area.

Going to Sand Creek was memorable also. Being at Sand Creek 30 years ago when it was just small and unknown…today, it’s very important, but I don’t think it’s important enough to turn it into a tourist attraction. That’s what’s happening. They’re turning it into a tourist attraction, more or less a shrine of democracy. That shrine of democracy only promotes the disrespect that this government still has against our people’s beliefs and way of survival and way of life.

I read on the Longest Walk website that walkers are picking up trash as you go along.

On the northern route, we don’t have the numbers that the southern route has. What we’re doing is promoting the necessity for us to understand that cleaning up mother earth is all of our responsibility. It shouldn’t be left up to a handful of people. As I understand, the southern route has picked up over 3,000 bags of trash since they started. But for us on the northern route, we don’t have the support system or the resources to do that.

How many people have walked with you so far?

For us (on the northern route), there’s probably at least 200 to 300, according to our registration and those that have come with us for one mile, one day, one week, one month.

Where are you and what are you doing right now?

Right now I’m outside Emporia getting ready to let a runner off to make up some miles that we weren’t able to cover the last few days. What we’re doing is to continue to cover each and every inch of this ground with our footsteps in the form or a prayer. And that’s what we’re doing today.

So there’s no cheating?

Exactly. I don’t think that’s a good choice of words—cheating—but we want to do it in an honorable way. That’s the way we’re looking at it.

Does everyone walk together, or do you switch off?

We switch off. We try to walk together as much as possible, but safety’s a big issue. We’re on the highway, where trucks are flying by us. At one point, we had a hub cap come flying off and almost hit one of the walkers. Of course, we can’t have children on the freeways and some of the areas where we have to be. We have to be cautious. This is a prayer walk. Right now we’re getting ready to let off a runner. He’s going to be running 20 miles through the rain, through the storm. «

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Posted by editer (Phil Cauthon) on April 30, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Received via email:
>
The "long walk" people are here in Lawrence, Kansas since
yesterday. go to www.indianz.com and see Long Walk 2 is halfway.
Contact Haskell for more info. 749-8404 Just FYI.
<
Thanks lil_frogy

Halfway Across America

American Indian walkers take a pit stop at Haskell in their 3,600-mile journey across the United States

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