2008: 800 American Indians repeat the ‘Longest Walk’
More than 800 participants from many Indian nations repeat the Longest Walk of 1978 to draw attention to protection of sacred sites, youth empowerment, and Native American rights. The walk begins with a ceremony on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay, and the promise to “sit around the campfires along the way, tell our stories, hear the tales that people on our route have to tell us,” as reported on a blog kept by walkers. Over the next five months, walkers travel 8,200 miles to arrive in Washington, D.C., on July 11.
“We’re walking for Mother Earth. We're walking for things that should be right. That’s what we're walking for! Native people, we will always take up the gauntlet. We will never lie down in the face of struggle. If we have to keep walking this continent, we’ll walk it again!” —Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement and lead coordinator of the Longest Walk 2
- Theme
- Native Rights
- Region
- California, Great Basin, Great Plains, Northeast, Northwest Coast, Plateau, Southeast, Southwest
Courtesy Ilka Hartmann 2011
Courtesy Brita V. Brookes
Courtesy Takeo Koshikawa
Courtesy Brita V. Brookes
Courtesy Brita V. Brookes
Courtesy Brita V. Brookes
Courtesy Takeo Koshikawa
Courtesy Takeo Koshikawa
Courtesy Brita V. Brookes