At the closing of the Walk, during some of our final ceremonies together, I stood holding our sacred Eagle staff, formerly belonging to Walt Bresette, and brought out and  so valiantly cared for by Walk leader Al Hunter, and understood what we had, together, become: The Village of Remembering People. When I voiced those words, given to my heart by Creator, our family smiled. No longer were we simply from "x" or "y" reservation, band, tribe, village, town--we, forever, are  from the Village of Remembering People. To be part of that village is an honor, and a sacred responsibility.

Together, living in a migrating village, in the traditional Anishinabe way, we had remembered our past, remembered our obligations to the future, remembered our obligations to the Earth, and the waters, and, as we dispersed, we all knew that our remembering had just begun.  While walking and struggling forward in the physical world, we  lit sacred fires in the spiritual world that now radiate outwards, lighting new fires, new efforts, new beginnings, new returns to the old ways that sustain us all.

Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world,  is an important source of food, livelihood and drinking water. Lake Superior is also an important part of the spirituality of the Anishinabeg. It is now threatened due to contamination, global warming caused by over-development, and a growing,global water crisis that further threatens the sanctity of its waters and many life forms that depend on clean waters.

This historic journey, both environmental and spiritual, was coordinated by a group of people from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario, and Michigan, beginning in April of 1999. With no financial support, no beginning other than a faith in visions and Mother Earth's needs, the Walk became a living essence of the power of spirt.

Its ripple effect also enlarged the connections between Great Lakes sustainability and what Native peoples' spirituality, culture, and sovereignty, have to offer for its future. One of the most fervent spokesmen for those shared connections was the late activist, Walt Bresette, a Lake Superior Chippewa from the Red Cliff Reservation, in northern Wisconsin, who passed away in February of 1999.

"We need to bring all the people of Lake Superior together," he often said. "We need to talk to each other about what is happening in our villages and our communities, to share our experiences, our concerns, and our hopes for the future. We need to meet our neighbors and learn from them."

The Walk to Remember, led by Walt's eagle staff, became a living circle of fire, a Village of Remembering People who carried the old ways into the new millennium. Along the way, we were astonished to find ourselves being called "The Sacred Walkers."

To us, the journey, the sharing, the responsibility, and that which still lies before is, is what is sacred. We have only just begun, and we hope that you, in whatever way you can, will join us. We journey onward for Lake Superior, for Mother Earth, for our ancestors and the traditional ways, for the Seven Generations to come, and for you. We are all related.

--Niibii Ikwe, walker & website manager