Odyssey of the 8th FIre

"It's time for the caretakers of the Earth to arise, awaken...The whole essence of Native American teaching is to know that everything is our relative, and to be caretakers of the Earth and one another...

"...Even the smallest act of generosity can bestow wonder in one's own heart and mind. You think you have nothing to give—well then you start giving a little bit of the food from your plate, just a pinch, and you offer it so that whoever is hungry, maybe they'll have food and they'll find it. So it begins as an idea, maybe even an imagination, and then eventually this caring for other people becomes real."

- Dhyani Ywahoo

Day 75 - Tuesday, September 5, 1995 - The walkers spent the day at Hawkwind in Valley Head, Alabama. Because there was a lot to talk about, their council continued.

In the two and half months since the walk began, the group has been so intent on moving forward and taking care of the basic necessities of survival, that a lot of personal and political issues have gone unresolved.

As the walkers have frequently observed about themselves, they represent a microcosm of the human community with all the strengths, but also all the shortcomings: anger, greed, fear, jealously, racism, sexism, and so forth. With the daily stresses of the road, these characteristics sooner or later find expression. Buttons get pushed.

Grandfather William Commanda holds the Primstaven - a staff given to the Algonquin peoples long ago by the Vikings. The inscription states that all people come from one Creator, and all are equal. Author photo, 1990.

"We must be of one heart, one mind, one message," Grandfather Commanda told the circle. "We are listening to each other, and we will continue to listen till all have been heard and all have been understood.

"Though different people have different ways of understanding the truth," he said, "there is only one Creator. All of us, no matter what our beliefs, come from this Creator. That's why when Indian people gather we always say, 'Let us put our minds together and have one mind.' We know that. The Creator created us equal. Sometimes we think we are superior. But no, we are all equal in the eyes of the Creator. If anyone is higher it may be the children, for they are the purest and the closest to the Mystery.

"I am definitely encouraged about the walk. This is good. It is good being here at Hawkwind. They are all strong, and it is good to be with them. We will move ahead when we are ready. We cannot fail the Earth or the people. We must follow the Sun to the West, even if only one or two of us get through to the end. This is what we have been told by those who went before us, our ancestors. It is too important. We will go West when we are ready."

Grandfather says he is going to return to Canada in a few days. He will come back later to be with the walkers at the end of September. His left leg is acting up, he told me. It's the result of an old axe injury. He wants to tend properly to his leg, and then he will return to be with the walk in Memphis at the Mississippi River.

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Read Day 76 -- Odyssey of the 8th Fire