Water Walk

By: Christine McFarlane

Water is an integral life source. It is sacred when you look at it from a First Nations perspective. It is a critical element to life. Every living being relies on water for life-insects, fish, birds, wildlife and plant life and we in return rely on them for our survival.

What will we do when our water supply is depleted, and too polluted for us to use? That is the question I put forth today in this post. Every day usage of water in many situations is being taken for granted and in doing so we are jeopardizing the future of our waters for future generations. If the disregard for the water supply continues, we can expect our water to become depleted and unfit for human consumption. This demands urgency for raising awareness for the conservation of this life source.

Aboriginal peoples in Ontario are aware of the growing rise of our polluted waters. We as aboriginal peoples are taught that the water is sacred and replenishes the very air we breathe. Everyday usage of water in many situations is being taken for granted, and the future of our waters will be depleted unless we do something together to help all our peoples around the world to be aware of its importance for the survival of future generations.

The Mother Earth Water Walk 2011 is currently taking place. It began at the beginning of this month and will end June 12, 2011 in Bad River Wisconsin. One participant of the Mother Earth Walk is  25-year-old Aamjiwnaang First Nation member and University of Toronto student Sylvia Plain. I admire this young lady for participating in such an important cause.

The walk isn’t easy, it is 11,525 miles or 18, 549 kilometer walk that has them walking for 12 hours a day and averaging 35 miles a day. Plain says “the hardest times we have had on the walk was when we walked alone for one day, 36 miles. The Elders told us we were meant to do it, but it was hard because we were used to having support. So even though we were dead tired, we had to double up to motivate each other.”

As a youth, Plain is setting an example for others as she relays “we are walking for the future. It is also to reach out to non native communities to have them think consciously about the water too. Protecting the water is about all of North America because we all live here and we all have the same responsibility.

For more information or to support the Mother Earth Water walk please see 

www.motherearthwaterwalk.com