Michigan tribes welcome the Longest Walk

Jun. 2—TRAVERSE CITY — Walkers on a nationwide journey calling for an end to drug abuse and domestic violence in Indian Country arrived in Michigan earlier last week en route to the White House.

The Longest Walk 5 Spirit Walk (LW5) is the most recent of several national walks to call attention to the devastating impacts Native American nations face at alarming rates.

The journey began 457 miles away May 1 on the reservation territories of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Minnesota, and will end in Washington D.C on July 15.

Along the way, organizers and walkers have met with several sovereign nations to host forums and gather data from community leaders, law enforcement, clergy and drug program directors.

Carol Collins, executive director, said that once enough data is collected, they will prepare a presentation to Congress on their findings with the hope is that the data is used to address next steps. Collins said that they plan to share what they collect with other sovereign nations as well.

Last week, on their 12th stop, activists and walkers were welcomed by The Little River Band of Odawa Indians, after being hosted earlier by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Walkers made their way from the Upper Peninsula, across the Mackinac Bridge, and headed down to Traverse City. They then followed U.S 31 to Kalkaska before they crossed to Onekama and continue through Michigan, where they will meet with other Anishinaabek nations.

Darla Banks, daughter to the late American Indian Movement co-founder and activist Dennis Banks, said, "We are here to heal from the devastating intergenerational traumas we've suffered as the result of all kinds of violence and together we will learn how to discontinue the harmful cycles of abuse."

Dennis Banks proposed the idea of a 3,000-mile march from Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California to Washington, D.C. in 1978 to bring attention to 11 bills pending in the U.S. Congress.

Hailing from more than 80 Indigenous tribes, several hundred marchers began their journey at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco — and ended five months later in Washington, D.C., accompanied by thousands of supporters.

According to the Global Nonviolent Action Database, the 3,000 mile protest shed light on 11 bills that would strip Native nations of hunting, fishing, land and water rights, allow resources to be extracted from reservation land, and abrogate all treaties between the American government and American Indians.

On many levels, the Longest Walk was a success. Congress did not pass any of the 11 bills, and the movement successfully spread word about American Indian issues to the general public.

In 2015, Darla lost her daughter, Rose-ba Downwind to domestic violence, which played a huge role in the Longest Walk 5 — the longest and the final aalk organized by Dennis Banks.

The "Call an End to Drug Abuse and Domestic Violence," began in 2016 on the La Jolla Shores in San Diego, California, and proceeded along the southern route through 13 states, and met with 53 diverse tribal communities.

Banks died shortly after in 2017, and for the last five years, the committee of LW5 Spirit Walk, composed of family and friends of Banks have worked to organize and carry out the mission of addressing "all lives lost due to domestic violence, substance related deaths and trauma."

According to their preliminary findings report, the team on the walk distributed a four-page, anonymous survey distributed at gatherings and forums to collect a tangible source of data on the impact of drug abuse and domestic violence in Native American reservations across the nation.

The report states that today, Native American populations continue to disproportionately suffer from social and health disparities, having great impacts on the livelihood of the people and future generations.

"The Native American population continues to have higher rates of death from drug and alcohol use, infant mortality, domestic violence, non-completion of high school, early death and much more," the report continued.

The initial findings were presented at the American Public Health Association Conference in 2016, Collins said that more data is being collected during the "final miles," to bring a clearer picture of what is happening on tribal lands.

According to the Department of Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults (83 percent) have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime.

Although the exact number of incidents per person is unknown, the DOJ's report states it is clear that most American Indian and Alaska Native victims have experienced at least one act of violence committed by an interracial perpetrator (97 percent of women and 90 percent of men).

The report found that fewer victims (35 percent of women and 33 percent of men) have experienced one or more acts of violence by an American Indian or Alaska Native perpetrator.

"This finding offers strong support for the sovereign right of federally recognized tribes to criminally prosecute non-Indian perpetrators," according to the report.

Until recently, federally recognized tribes did not have this authority, even for crimes committed on tribal lands.

This gap in jurisdictional authority provided immunity to non-Indian perpetrators and compromised the safety of tribal communities.

"No more trauma, no more pain for our communities," said Banks.