#1057 – Dick Bernard: More thoughts from Anne Dunn. "The next seven generations"

My friend, Anne Dunn*, is always worth paying attention to. She has great wisdom, from life.
Today came two items, one from Anne, the other about something which Anne said. The sources were different, and, well, you can read them in the same sequence that I did.
I believe Gull Lake is the prominent resort lake just north of Brainerd MN, though I might be wrong. I believe the Treaty of 1855 referred to in the commentary is this one**, though at this writing I am not sure.
First, from Anne’s Facebook post this afternoon: “Water Walkers are those who are still strong enough to make long walks and those who are dedicated to making the future a better place for the next seven generations. They make many steps across the land and every step is a prayer. Together they are engaged in a sacred dance.It requires a commitment of time and energy. In many cases these young women leave their children behind because they believe this is what must be done to accomplish their vision of a better tomorrow.They also are prepared to endure the hardship of deprivation and extreme weather conditions. Sometimes they might face derisive comments from those who do not understand that they walk for the lives of all nations.They carry the water as women have been doing for centuries. They remember that their children are born of water. They recognize that water is vital to the lives of those nations that depend on it for survival.Water walkers raise awareness. They are hard to ignore as they go along the highways and byways and skyways in their skirts and shawls.What do such women do at the end of their walk? They return to their homes and teach those who will listen. They educate the young and those not so young but newly aware of their special place in creation.We cannot live without water and the water walker is a messenger of that fact. She is also one who helps seek real solutions to the real problems of the growing pollution around us. Water walkers take the steps for those who stay at home because of ignorance, financial restraints, physical limitations or apathy.”
Later I was reading today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune, and in a column “Indian fishing and wild-rice harvesting, in context” recalls a conversation Anne Dunn had with him about water (the reference is about one-third of the way down).
There is no need to add anything to either Anne’s commentary, or Michael McNally’s column. There is much “food for thought” in both.
Thanks Anne, and Michael.
* Anne Dunn appears often on these pages. Simply enter her name in the search box for other columns at other times.
** – here is a story of the final Minnesota treaty, at Huot Crossing, October 1863. Huot Crossing Trtyt 1863001

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