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Timeline / Renewing Native Ways / 2008: 800 American Indians repeat the ‘Longest Walk’

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

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Sunrise ceremony at Alcatraz Island, marking the beginning of the Longest Walk 2, February 11, 2008

Courtesy Ilka Hartmann 2011

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Longest Walk 2 northern route leader leads a group of walkers in a prayer song with his drum.

Courtesy Brita V. Brookes

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The Longest Walk 2 arrives in Washington, D.C.

Courtesy Takeo Koshikawa

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Longest Walk 2 youth and elders join together to learn a song at a camp on the road in California. The person on the left holds a burning stick of wild California sage following a smudging ritual.

Courtesy Brita V. Brookes

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Longest Walk 2 participants hold a press conference on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008 to explain the mission of the walk.

Courtesy Brita V. Brookes

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Longest Walkers arrive in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008, and walk down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Capitol.

Courtesy Brita V. Brookes

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Longest Walk 2 arrives in Washington, D.C.

Courtesy Takeo Koshikawa

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Longest Walk 2 arrives in front of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Courtesy Takeo Koshikawa

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Longest Walk 2 leader Dennis Banks, Anishinaabe, speaks on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. at a press conference. The walkers created a traditional tipi village on the National Mall for the week of their arrival.

Courtesy Brita V. Brookes