The Nibi (Water) Walks are Indigenous-led, extended ceremonies to pray for the water. Every
step is taken in prayer and gratitude for water, our life giving force. We walk for the water, and
as we heal the water we heal all of life. We are not a protest. We are a prayer for the water.
The dates for the walk are 7,8,&9 of October. The walk begins at 8:00 AM each morning with
ceremony, smudging and singing of the sacred songs. The source of the Pelican /river is on Little
Floyd Lake. We will be convening at the public access on Friday morning.
Some of the protocols that we observe are that:
1) Women carry the water, (though s/o and male companions are welcome to accompany them
carrying the eagle staff)
2) Women wear long skirts in respect for traditional Ojibwe practices.
3)The walk is done as a relay, one woman walks one mile at a time, and we move at the pace of
the river, which is a fairly brisk pace. Everyone on the walk is responsible for their own
provisions, so it’s wise to bring lunch and snacks, sunscreen, and a good hat.
4) Sharon asks that 5 people commit to one whole day, from the ceremonial open, in the
morning, and close at night. There is room for people who want to join the walk midway and
a GPS locator: https://maps.findmespot.com/s/B2VT so that you can find the walkers en
route. This link only works after the walk has begun.
Click on the signupgenius link; https://bit.ly/NibiWalkPelicanRiver to indicate how long you
will be walking and to provide your contact information so that we can email you further
updates. This will help us know how many people will be participating and when.
A great way to follow the walk as it proceeds is to join both the Honor the Ottertail and the Nibi
Walk pages on Facebook.
Deb will be posting on the https://www.facebook.com/groups/honortheottertail site as the walk
proceeds.
Sharon posts updates and the location of the walk during the
day: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nibiwalk
To learn more about Sharon and the Water Walks visit her
webpage: http://www.nibiwalk.org/about/ You can learn the water song we sing as we pass the
water on this web page.
There will be a community potluck and a talk by Sharon about the particulars of the walk and
why we walk the water. This training is on Thursday at 5:30 PM in C330 on the M-State
Campus Fergus Falls, MN. We’ll go over the protocols and learn (or review) the Ojibwe
prayers. And perhaps, if there is interest, learn one or more of the water songs.
The walk will stop along the River in Pelican Rapids. Sometime in the afternoon on Saturday
October 8heck with the GPS indicator https://maps.findmespot.com/s/B2VTto find an exact
time.
Questions? Katy Olson 218-770-6681 or katyjolson@gmail.com