Water is Life Walk ~Merrimack River

Nurture The Children is hoasting it's 7th Annual
WATER IS LIFE WALK for the MERRIMACK RIVER . Walking the 226 miles from Source to Sea ~ July 23 rd through Aug 21st.  Funding will cover the cost of housing (camping), food, gas for follow car, for the walkers.

WE ARE ONLY 20 DAYS FROM STARTING ~ I have self-funded the first 6 walks with a few donations here and there ~ however I can no longer financially support this work/prayer BUT I cannot stop either so I am asking for your help just $5 donations add up.

All Nations ~ All Faiths ~ One Prayer for the Sacred Water is the Source Of Life ~ NOT OR RESOURCE!!.

This is a healing walk for the Sacred Water                       within the Merrimack River Watershed and ALL THE LIFE that the Sacred Water sustains.

Each step is a prayer.  As we carry the Sacred Water with love, respect, and gratitude; our footsteps transfer those energies into the land where it is picked up by every drop of water in the soil and that is then passed on to the water within the roots of all plants and trees and the bodies of every burrower. As the drops gather into streams, creeks, brooks and rivers the finned, winged and the 4 legged come to the SacredWater and they too pick up those energies. Praying for the Sacred Water is praying for everything and everyone ~ for nothing lives without water.

We walk because the ancestors walked ~ by walking we follow in their footsteps and can pick up the treasures” that were left along the trail!! The Seventh Fire Prophecy tells us to pick up the treasures left by the ancestors and bring them back. One of the “treasures” that was left for us to pick up is the connection of Human Beings to the SacredWater that birthed us all. When we find or rebirth this connection we begin to move from seeing Water as a resource into the deeper understanding that SacredWater is the SOURCE of Life. That process helps return the sacred nature of water back into the word and our understanding of that sacredness. In Native languages the words for water include within the word the Sacred Nature of the Water. When I speak in English I like to say SacredWater as one word because in English the sacred nature of water has been removed from the word.

Water Is Life Walk is also a CELEBRATION OF LIFE. As we walk we take notice of all the plants and animals that come across our path and look inside to see their connection to each other and the Sacred Water. It is a way of reconnecting ourselves to All That Is within the Web of Life (the Universe). Bringing us back to the understanding that none of the plants and animals that feed us would be here if it where not for the water, none of the trees and plants that make our air would be here and without them we would not be here! All of this helps us remember or renew our personal connection to the SacredWater that birthed us all and continues to sustain us everyday.

Our ancestors cut these waters in their birch bark canoes from source to the sea with many portage trails along the way! As we travel down the river we will address the dams along the river. Each dam obstructs the natural flow of the water and movement of the fish and wildlife that are needed to sustain a healthy river. Each dam creates a catch-basin for pollutants from the mills and communities upstream as well as organic waste from storm runoff ~ pollution builds up as we go down the river.

All Nations ~ All Faiths ~ One Prayer for the Sacred Water is the connecting Source Of Life ~ the Great Unifier. You do not have to belong to a Tribal Nation for this to affect you ~ we were all born of the water ~ all our children were born of the water and all our grandchildren will be born of the water. If we do nothing WHAT KIND OF WATER will they spend those first nine months in??

What can I do to help?

~ SHOW UP ~ any time ~ any day ~ any where along the river.

NEEDS:
Sage ~ Cedar ~ Sweetgrass ~ Tabacco
Wilderness Backpacking tent and gear 
water treatment
Funds for campsites (or housing, camping in your yard)
Gas for follow car
Herbal bug sprays or ingredents to make it
Food to feed WaterWalkers
 Snacks and refillable water bottles
Frst aide supplies
Prepaid gas cards for the follow car carrying elders ~ water, first aide supplies and food

If you can Click the DONATE button your funds will pay for the needs listed above.
 
If you prefer Paypal here is our link to the website
https://waterislifewalk.wordpress.com/donate/

Elder Coordinator: Carole Blodgett