Second stage of walk to celebrate resilience of Diné people underway

A group of walkers take a short break during the second leg of a journey to celebrate the resilience of Diné ancestors. Submitted photo

A group of walkers take a short break during the second leg of a journey to celebrate the resilience of Diné ancestors. Submitted photo

PREWITT, N.M. - At dawn on March 21, a group of Diné people and their supporters embarked on a 350-mile journey on foot as an act of cultural revitalization to mark the 150th anniversary of Hwééldi, a period of time when 9,000 Diné people were incarcerated for four years at a internment camp at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

The walk is also meant to honor and celebrate the resilience of Diné ancestors and as a prayer that Diné people can have that same resilience today in the face of a very difficult colonial legacy.

The walk is the second of four that will take place this year. The first leg concluded in late February after the young activists walked 225 miles from Dził Naa'oodiłíí (Huerfano Mountain) to Tsoodził (Mount Taylor). The movement, entitled Nihigaal Bee Iina (Our Journey for Existence), will begin near Tsoodził (Mt. Taylor) and end at Dook'o'osliid (San Francsico Peaks) and will last about a month and a half.

The walk is also meant to further expose the disproportionate amount of resource extraction and contamination suffered by Diné people for the benefit of others, which not only contributes to local and global environmental problems but also runs contrary to traditional Diné values of protecting Nihima Nahadzáán (Mother Earth).

Walkers believe that the burden placed on Diné people through oil, gas and coal extraction should be exposed and challenged as a form of environmental injustice as water contamination, increased violence and safety hazards to young women due to massive imports of oil boom workers affect Diné people on a daily basis.

The walk began at the chapter house in Prewitt, New Mexico where the proposed Piñon Pipeline would end after transporting oil extracted from the Navajo Nation's Eastern Agency. Prewitt is also where uranium was first discovered in Diné Bikeyah (Navajo Homeland). Roughly half of the uranium used to build the infamous atomic bombs, which destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan, was mined from this area. Walkers mourn and challenge the exploitation of sacred places for nuclear-based energy and weaponry.

Walkers will travel along segments of the Transwestern Pipeline, which spans the distance from St. Michaels, Arizona to Leupp, New Mexico, as well as Church Rock, New Mexico, where, in 1979, the greatest nuclear disaster in American history occurred. At that time, roughly 90 million gallons of radioactive waste washed down the Rio Puerco through many Diné communities. Walkers hope that by praying and walking in these affected areas they can help heal, inspire and unite the land and people.

With the heaviness of these many issues, the walkers also want to bring joy and laughter to each of the communities they visit through music, art and poetry. Walkers believe that one of the most important things at this time is gathering Diné people together. Through this unification, walkers believe Diné people can confront and overcome the many challenges and co-create healthy communities based on the principles of k'é (kinship, interdependence) and hozhó (inner/outer harmony, inter-beauty).

All respectful peoples are invited to join the walk. More information is available at (949) 536-0988.

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