"In walking, when our foot impacts the ground the descending light of the sky marries the ascending light of the earth..."

- Joseph Rael, Beautiful Painted Arrow

Day 6 - Wednesday, June 28, 1995 - Fair weather favored the walkers as they made their way along Routes 177 and 138 at the southeast corner of Massachusetts. The walkers have been absorbing ocean views across swaying marshland grasses as they walked across the state boundary and into Rhode Island. Eventually, they became lost and separated from each other. Again.

Marsh grasses - along the Massachusetts shore.

"We older people can't keep up with the younger walkers," Tom observed in a phone report to me. "We walk at different paces, and we need to learn to unify. One thing that we found out in our pipe ceremony this morning, as we talked among ourselves, is that a lot more young people are going to have to come out to this walk. This walk is not just about the elders and people of different races, it's also about young people.

“We learned that many young people have a lot of fear: they see what is going on in the world; they see how confused and polluted it is, but they do not know their role. They don't know what to do. They are unclear on that, and concerned. But they do have a role. They are the strong ones. They are the torch bearers.”

"One thing you learn when you walk is that the roads and highways are no longer set up for people, but only for cars. There are no sidewalks, or even many good places to walk. To get off the street, we have to walk on private lawns a lot."

Eventually the walkers came together, found their bearings, and settled for the night. They were given a kind welcome by Rev. Frank Carpenter and the congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Newport, Rhode Island. This was the first opportunity for the walkers to sleep indoors.

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Pilgrims - Ned Paschene and Charlotte Kitchen. (Author photo)

Ned Paschene called the coordinator's office to say that he is now in Ottawa, Canada, making preparations to rejoin the walk on July 7 in New York City with Grandfather Commanda. At that time the walkers will speak at UN headquarters to members of the committee organizing the UN's International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2004).

Like Tom, Ned is short, stocky, gregarious. He likes to tell stories, and he has a musical soul disciplined in the forms of drum, guitar, song and chant. Ned's Indian name is Pemutau, which means "walker."

Ned told me he is being interviewed today about our Sunbow 5 Walk by CBC radio, the national Canadian network. Because Ned is multilingual, they will interview him four times in four different languages -- English, French, Cree, and Montangnais (Innu). Then the broadcasts will go across Canada.

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Copyright 2006 - by Steven McFadden

Read Day 7 -- Odyssey of the 8th Fire