From: Michael Gerell <mgp@madre.com> (by way of Robert Dorman <redorman@theofficenet.com>)

It was one of the most beautiful sights i've ever seen. Standing on the
high ridge behind Roberta Blackgoat's house, squinting hard against the
high desert sun, i caught the first tell tale flash of color as the
procession came round the bend of the trail leading down the far side of
Blue Canyon. At least 80 people from all over the globe came walking over
land thru the harsh beauty and magnificent isolation of Black Mesa singing
and chanting a prayer with every step, a prayer for Big Mountain and a
prayer for her people the traditional Dineh sheepherders, descendents of
the Anasazi, the ancient ones, those who built stone villages in the high
walls of this canyon country. They came to pray for Mother Earth and for a
halt to the destruction of Big Mountain and her people. They came to pray
for peace and a restoration of the Dineh peoples rights as human beings to
live undisturbed on the land trod by their ancestors many centuries before
the Europeans came. Their prayer echoed down the canyon walls and over the
sage brush and pinyon and juniper. The coyote and the cottontail, the hawk
and the rattlesnake, all living things there heard the prayer. The sacred
springs, some silent now having been sucked dry by Peabody's massive
depletion of the largest aquifer in a dry desert environment, joined in the
cry for sanity and respect for all living things.
The walk started on Mt Fuji, the sacred mountain of Japan. There a group
of Buddhist monks filled a sundance chanupa and lead a walk down to Tokyo
and the US embassy where they delivered over 50,000 signatures on a
petition demanding a halt to forced relocation and a repeal of PL 93-531
the nefarious relocation law of 1974. They then flew to Flagstaff, Az for
the second part of the Prayer Walk for Big Mountain beginning with a
ceremony at the controversial pumice mine on San Francisco peaks. Walking
thru Flagstaff and up Hwys 89 and 160 to Tuba City they were joined by many
supporters from the local area,from Europe and all over the US. They were
greeted with honor and hospitality by the people living in the communities
they passed thru.
Coyote and i joined the walk in Tuba City having made the 16 hour drive
from Central California the day before. The colorful flags and spirited
chanting and beating of prayer drums as they walked caused traffic to slow
and many smiles on the faces of the people passing by. At each rest stop a
circle formed and prayers were said for the land and for the sacred places.
As the day grew dark and a cold wind came up the walk came into Red Lake
and the Tonleya Chapter where they were invited to stay in the Chapter
house for the night. After a warm greeting from some local
elders,themselves victims of the harshly oppressive Bennett Freeze policies
of the BIA, the walkers feasted and socialized while the quides debated the
next days route. There was some concern about a possible over reaction by
the HTC police, which was not without some foundation as their radios had
been abuzz all day with news of the walkers progress and speculations of
possible "eco-terrorism" at the mine. The local press had published
articles headlined "Confrontation Imminent" and "Outsiders not Wanted". So
it was decided to change the route to minimize the chance for confrontation
with a hyped up law enforcement community.
The next morning instead of walking up the pavement to the entrance of
the Peabody mine the walkers cut off on the dirt roads and horse trails
leading up the Southwestern face of Black Mesa bypassing a massive police
pressence guarding the machinery and destruction further North. For a
while on that day the cops had no idea where the walk had gone, nor where
they were heading. It was an exilerating feeling. They walked up washes
and slot canyons on trails used for centuries before the US came along with
its pavement and four wheel drive trucks.
The walk came upon the partition fence at a place where there was no
gate. As the supporters debated how best to help the elders accompanying
them on the walk over the fence, 70 year old Glenna Begay calmly laid her
jacket on the barbed wire and hopped over with grace and dignity glancing
back at the rest with a look that said, "Well, what are you waiting for,
come on over!" That day's walk ended at the Lane's homesite near the
fence. A light snow fell as the walkers set up their camp and the sun set
over the Grand Canyon and San Francisco Peaks so far in the distance. The
residents of Big Mountain came to the camp with smiles and food and good
greetings. Meat was made and fry bread cooked by the pot full. A feeling
of elation and victory washed over the group as they realized that they had
made it into the "disputed" area with out any sort of confrontation with
the police.
Tuesday, February 1,2000, another deadline day, a brilliant sun in a
tourquoise sky washed over the walkers as they started out across the top
of Black Mesa. The walkers headed Northeast towards Blue Canyon while
anxious Freddies and their Monitors and observation aircraft searched the
vastness for the colorful parade apparently gone invisible for a while.
They moved in prayer thru juniper and pinon forest and down steep trails
into the canyon and back out onto Thin Rock Mesa.
The days destination was Roberta Blackgoat's homesite. The walkers came
round the ridge and down the hill singing their chant and smiling at the
Dineh gathered there to greet them. The authorities had finally figured
out where they were and sent a couple of monitors to drive by, but there
was not much they could do with such a large group of peacefully praying
people already two days walk onto the mesa. Once again camp was set up and
a communal feast materialized. Many languages mingled with laughter and
quiet singing as people gathered around camp fires. The stars shone
brilliantly from a sky dark as ink.
Wednesday, the last day of the walk, dawned bright and clear. The
walkers made a short 4 mile trek to a spot designated by the elders for
ceremony. There were at least 300 people gathered in that high desert
meadow in view of the San Francisco Peaks, Wild Cat Peak and Big Mountain
herself. Prayers were said in many languages and the chanupas were smoked.
The ceremony ended with a round of person to person handshakes and hugs.
Many connections were made and friendships flowered that will carry on the
work of human rights and environmental justice not only on Big Mountain but
wherever people in defense of the land struggle to throw off the avaricious
behemoth of globalizing capitalism that threatens them and all their
relations with extinction.

 

Walk in Beauty

m.g.