Instructions for Walkers

Overview

We walk because the ancestors walked. Walking, we follow in their footsteps and can pick up the treasures they left for us. The Seventh Fire Prophecy tells us to pick up the treasures left by the ancestors and bring them back. One of those treasures is the connection of human beings to the SacredWater that birthed us all. When we find or restore this connection, we begin to move from seeing Water as a resource into the deeper understanding that SacredWater is the SOURCE of Life. That process helps return the sacred nature of Water back into the world and restores our understanding of this sacredness.

In Native languages, the words for Water include within them the sacred nature of the Water. In Panaswampsek (Penobscot), Nə̀pi means “the sacred water of all life.” When Grandmother Carole speaks in English, she likes to say “SacredWater” as one word, to remind us that the sacred nature is absent in the English word “water.”

Please Participate with Humility and Respect

  • Children and youth are welcome and encouraged to Walk. See the Youth Leadership page for more info.
  • Bring your own water bottle, we’ll provide Water to fill it. No purchases of Water during the Walk.
  • Ceremonies will be performed daily and have special requirements.
    • Please, no photos during Ceremony or of anyone when they are in Prayer.
    • Women: Grandmother Carole respectfully requests for cultural ways to be respected. We ask women to not attend ceremonies during your Moontime (menstruation, monthly cycle) because you are already in your own Renewal of Life ceremony as you return the life force given to you to bring forth new life. Ask us and we will tell how you can participate during this special time! The SacredWater is the source of all life and your sacred Renewal of Life energy is needed by our Earth Mother and her lifeblood, the SacredWater.
  • Dress code for Carriers of the SacredWater and Eagle Staff. Individuals who want to be Carriers are requested to conform to the traditional dress associated with the feminine and masculine energies. This is not about gender or sexuality but about these energies. Anyone who wants to carry the SacredWater is asked to wear an ankle-length skirt to tent the feminine energies; anyone who wants to carry the Eagle Staff is asked to wear full-length pants.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Participation in Ceremony does not authorize anyone to perform these Ceremonies!