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.