The shiny, burnished copper pail was being carefully held by the Native American woman as she led the group leaving the ceremony at Bad Little Falls in Machias. It is one of four special pails and contains water from the Atlantic Ocean. The three others will contain salt water from the Gulf of Mexico, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Native American women from different tribes will be carrying them during the 2011 Mother Earth Water Walk. The walk began in 2003 to make all people more aware of the "sacred gift of water," the source of all life on Earth.
     The walkers of from the east direction have representatives from the five tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy of the United States, especially Maine, and of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. They met Saturday, May 7, at Bad Little Falls in Machias for a ceremony, during which the walkers and their supporters prayed for a safe journey and listened to the sacred drums and the water song in their language. The song is unique for the east direction walkers, and they will sing it along the trip to Wisconsin.
     On June 12, the walkers from the four cardinal directions of west, south, east and north will meet at the Bad River, Wisc., site on Lake Superior. There the four copper pails of salt water will be combined and poured with reverence into the waters of the lake. Native Americans and others from throughout the United States and Canada will be there hoping the water walk will encourage people to become committed to water protection.
Women are often powerful and influential leaders in Native American societies. They are the givers‑of‑life and therefore are speaking for, protecting and carrying the water for all of the water walks.
     Josephine Mandamin, one of several women called "grandmother" because of their leadership recognition, spoke at the Machias ceremony. She was presented with the gift of a traditional woman's peak cap made especially for her by the Micmacs of Maine. Her Anishinaabe/Ojibway name is Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig. Madeline Huntjens, east direction walk coordinator, pointed out, "Josephine has walked 17,000 kilometers already around the Great Lakes and around the St. Lawrence Seaway. She is a respected elder, leader, grandmother to all. She traveled to the west, south and today to the east water walk sites to send them off and participate in the ceremonies."
     People from the five tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Abenaki, Penobscot, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy and Micmac, were in Machias to support the walkers. Donald Soctomah, historian of the Passamaquoddy, observed, "This event was very special. Many people before today went to the Picture Rock site in Machiasport and entered the sweat lodge we put up there. The sweat lodge purifies and energizes and helps the walkers and others prepare."
     Passamaquoddy Joan Dana of Indian Township wore a beautiful beaded dress and necklace/bag while also carrying an eagle's wing. She noted, "Passamaquoddy people do much respect the eagle." Native Americans are allowed by the government to possess eagle feathers to use in their ceremonies.
     During the ceremony at the Bad Little Falls, a tall wooden staff with a large bald eagle's head on top and the eagle's wing were used to bless all present. The drums and the songs and prayers in Passamaquoddy were heard despite the roaring of the falls in the background.
     There were many non‑Natives present in Machias to support the east walkers. Ina Anahata of the Barka Foundation of Bangor said she and four other women had come because "we women are all grandmothers and need to support all women who have the power to nurture, educate and to heal." The foundation believes clean water is a right for all the world's people and is currently helping women of the African nation of Burkina Faso reach that goal.
     Kathleen Shannon of the Machias Bay Chamber of Commerce agreed that women of the world should lead efforts to protect water and nurture Mother Earth. Kehben Grier and others of the Machias Beehive Collective worked with Madeline Huntjens to provide food and shelter for the walkers. She commented, "Everyone, especially me, is happy the falls celebration was so beautiful and meaningful to all present."
     The east direction walkers left Machias with the goal by nightfall to reach Milbridge and attend a fiesta and a place to sleep hosted by the Hispanic community of Mano en Mano. On May 8, they planned continue the walk to reach Bangor. All along the walk route, there are people and communities who will reach out to help them until they reach Wisconsin on June 12.
     A small group of Anishinaabe/Ojibway women and others began the water walk for 2011 when they left Olympia, Wash., with a copper pail containing salt water from the Pacific Ocean. They are the west direction walkers and will continue until they reach Bad River, Wisc., on June 12. The water walk for the south direction began on April 20 in Gulfport, Miss. The date was particularly significant because it was exactly one year since the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. The north direction water walkers will depart from Churchill, Manitoba, on May 21 with their copper pail containing salt water from Hudson Bay, part of the Arctic Ocean.
     To follow the Mother Earth Water Walk, visit <www.MotherEarthWaterWalk.com>; <www.emptyglassforwater.ca/map>; <www.facebook.com/homephp?sk=group 1387140161895>; <www.beehivecollective.org>. Teachers will find following the water walk to be an interesting learning experience for themselves and their students. Each copper pail has a GPS that will send out the location of all the walkers until they converge on June 12.