UPPER MICHIGAN (WLUC) - Driving on US-41 between Chassell and Baraga on Monday, drivers may have noticed a group of people marching down the road.
This was the 5th Annual People of the Heart Water Walk, a three-day, 90-mile walk from the Copper Harbor to Baraga. Copper 90
Water Walker Terri Swartz said the water walk is about staying aware of the cleanliness of the water.
“Our water is our life,” Swartz said. “Water is life. If we don’t have water, we can’t have our life, so we’re just trying to show people that we care about our water.”
Throughout the walk, women lead while carrying a water-filled copper vessel.
Organizer Kathleen Smith said, in Anishinaabe culture, the women are the ones that take care of the water.
“We are the ones that are the caregivers because we give that life,” Smith said. “We actually carry that within us as we have new life.”
Alongside the copper vessel, an eagle staff is carried for the duration of the walk.
Smith explained the eagle works as a protector. She said this job requires a balance of masculine and feminine.
“It’s not only the women that should step up and do this work,” Smith said. “It should be the men as well as we have that balance. When they come along, they’re our protectors, so they’re the eyes that can really look for us and keep us safe in a good way and let us know what’s going.”
Smith said everyone is welcome to attend the walk next year, regardless of where they come from.
“It’s a beautiful way of being able to come together and to really show the communities and bring the communities together,” Smith said.
Click here to learn more about the People of the Heart Water Walkers.
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