Native Americans will begin the final walk in a seven-year ceremony tomorrow. The People of the Heart Waters Walkers, that started in 2019, will begin the seventh walk to honor the resources of water or nibi. Members from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community will walk 90 miles over three days. The walk will begin this year in Copper Harbor at the Astor Shipwreck Park and end at Sand Point Lighthouse in Baraga. On Sunday the group will begin the day two collecting water from near Ahmeek. After the group arrives in Baraga on Monday participants and the community are invited to a feast at the KBIC Cultural building.
The Indigenous People’s Day campaign of Upper Michigan and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community have sponsored the seventh annual Peoples of the Heart Waters Water Walk. The People of the Heart Waters Walk welcome all people joining the walk to honor the water. Learn more about the seventh annual water walk below.
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The People of the Heart Water Walkers will host its seventh annual Water Walk to honor water resources Oct. 11-13, 2025. This is the closing walk of the seven-year ceremony which began in 2019.
Water Walkers will walk nearly 90 miles through the Keweenaw Peninsula along Gichigami. The route this year will begin at Astor Shipwreck Park in Copper Harbor, MI, and conclude at the Sand Point Lighthouse in Baraga, MI.
The Water Walk is conducted through Anishinaabe ceremonial protocol with traditional understandings of the natural environment. Anishinaabekwe from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community will assist in the walk. In this work, women lead the ceremony carrying a copper vessel filled with nibi, the Anishinaabe
word for water. The water continually moves through the 1842 ceded territory throughout the day beginning at sunrise and into the afternoon. An eagle staff is carried beside them as protector.
The conclusion of the three-day event coincides with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. This annual day of celebration, which falls on Monday, Oct. 13, honors the peoples, histories, and cultures of Indigenous populations across the Americas.
Sponsors of the Walk include the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Campaign of Upper Michigan and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, among others. For more information, visit our Facebook page: @peopleoftheheart.
People of the Heart Water Walkers joins those of all colors, faiths, and philosophies to work together for life’s most precious resource: nibi.
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