Water and women are givers of life. That’s why an Ojibwe woman from Minnesota named Sharon Day has carried water for countless miles over the past ten years, as part of ceremonies called Nibi Walks. This fall, she and other women will walk the length of the St. Croix River, carrying a copper pail of water collected at the river’s source to its mouth at the Mississippi, using roads and trails as close to the river’s path as possible.

Such ceremonies began in 2003 when Josephine Mandamin, member of a Canadian First Nation, organized a water walk that circumnavigated Lake Superior. Day joined that walk and others, ultimately feeling called to continue the work.

“Finally I said ‘Okay, I guess this is what I will do as long as I can walk, as long as I’m able to put one foot in front of the other,’” she says.

Mandamin passed away in 2019, but Day and others are carrying on her legacy. She has walked the Missouri, Ohio, and many other rivers. Last year, on the 20th anniversary of the first walk, Day organized another walk around Superior.

Water women

The relationship between women and water is profoundly important to Nibi Walks. On the walks, only women can carry the water, while men can accompany them, carry an eagle feather staff, and help the walkers in other ways. But women have a spiritual connection to the element.

“We are the life givers whether we choose to bring children into the world or not. We have that capacity,” she says. “And we are the ones who take care of the water. In our spiritual teachings, women take care of the water and men take care of the fire. So they have equal responsibilities and things that are essential to life, but women, women take care of the water.”

Day describes Nibi Walks as a chance to express this care. She recalls something first water walker Josephine Mandamin said on Day’s first walk. On that journey, Mandamin had organized walkers to bring water to Lake Superior from all four directions. Day carried it north from the Gulf of Mexico. Settled in for the night in a small camper, Mandamin quietly spoke up.

“I just had this realization that we have orphaned this water,” she said. “We took it from its home and now it’s our job to be responsible for it until it gets to Lake Superior. And then who knows how long it’ll take the water to get back home. But what we do know is that it will confer with all the other waters along the way and it will tell the water that there are still human beings who love and care for the water.”

Continuing care

Day has previously led Nibi Walks on two St. Croix River tributaries, the Kettle and Willow Rivers. Now she feels it is time to bring the ceremony to the St. Croix. The plan is to start on September 1 at Upper St. Croix Lake near Solon Springs, and follow the river down the Wisconsin side before crossing at Sunrise Ferry and completing the journey on the Minnesota side. The final route and other details are currently being finalized.

The walk will follow protocols rooted in Ojibwe teachings. Women carry the water, wearing long skirts. They are in ceremony from the beginning to the end of the day. Each walker carries it for a little less than a mile before handing it off, allowing chances to rest and keep the water moving. The water does not stop moving through the day, handed off in a relay without halting.

“We try to move like the river, continuously all day long, every day until we reach our destination,” the Nibi Walk website says.

They pray and sing. Whenever they cross a stream or river, they offer tobacco. It is all part of the ceremony. Day says Nibi Walks are not publicity or protest, but prayer.

“If I want to raise awareness I would raise a bunch of money and hire marketing people. That’s not what we’re doing,” Day says. “We’re speaking to the spirit of the water.”

Water world

While the walks are in some ways simple, quiet ceremonies, the goal is ambitious, to say the least.

“What we’re trying to do is create world peace,” Day says.

She recalls saying this once to a group of walkers, including several young people who snickered. But Day says it is true.

“If I can understand that I am water and you are water and I can love and respect and have gratitude to the water, I can love and respect and have gratitude for my own body,” she says. “I can also have love and respect and gratitude for you.”

Nibi Walks are a reminder that human beings share something with every other living thing on Earth.

“Basically, there’s not a thing on this planet that can survive without water,” Day says. “Water creates that good life.”

Visit nibiwalk.org for more information. Sign up for the email list if you wish to learn more and follow the St. Croix River Water Walk.