WELCOME TO THE LONGEST WALK 2008 WEBSITE

This site is several week in the making so I would like to welcome you & thank you for visiting. This is the personal chronicling of the Longest Walk 2008 Northern Route by Chris Wintercount Teves. It has been hard to find the time to get this blog up and going but I hope that you will enjoy it. Many photographes and stories will be added in the coming weeks going as far back as Pueblo, Colorado. Please also visit the Offical Longest Walk Website and Brenda Norrell's Blogspot site for more information on the walk.
www.longestwalk.org
www.longestwalk.org

Monday, September 8, 2008

The Red Road



Long road winding began in the stars,
spilled onto the mountain tops,
was carried in the snow to the streams,
to the rivers, to the ocean…
It covers Canada, Alaska, America,
Mexico to Guatemala,
and keeps winding around the indigenous.
The Red Road is a circle of people
standing hand in hand,
people in this world, people between
people in the Spirit world.
star people, animal people, stone people,
river people, tree people…
The Sacred Hoop.
To walk the Red Road
is to know sacrifice, suffering.
It is to understand humility.
It is the ability to stand naked before God
in all things for your wrong doings,
for your lack of strength,
for your uncompassionate way,
for your arrogance - because to walk
the Red Road, you always know
you can do better. And you know,
when you do good things,
it is through the Creator, and you are grateful.
To walk the Red Road
is to know you stand on equal ground
with all living things. It is to know that
because you were born human,
it gives you superiority over nothing.
It is to know that every creation carries a Spirit,
and the river knows more than you do,
the mountains know more than you do,
the stone people know more than you do,
the trees know more than you do,
the wind is wiser than you are,
and animal people carry wisdom.
You can learn from every one of them,
because they have something you don’t:
They are void of evil thoughts.
They wish vengeance on no one, they seek Justice.
To Walk the Red Road,
you have God given rights,
you have the right to pray,
you have the right to dance,
you have the right to think,
you have the right to protect,
you have the right to know Mother,
you have the right to dream,
you have the right to vision,
you have the right to teach,
you have the right to learn,
you have a right to grieve,
you have a right to happiness,
you have the right to fix the wrongs,
you have the right to truth,
you have a right to the Spirit World.
To Walk the Red Road
is to know your Ancestors,
to call to them for assistance…
It is to know that there is good medicine,
and there is bad medicine…
It is to know that Evil exists,
but is cowardly as it is often in disguise.
It is to know there are evil spirits
who are in constant watch
for a way to gain strength for themselves
at the expense of you.
To Walk the Red Road,
you have less fear of being wrong,
because you know that life is a journey,
a continuous circle, a sacred hoop.
Mistakes will be made,
and mistakes can be corrected -
if you will be humble,
for if you cannot be humble,
you will never know
when you have made a mistake.
If you walk the Red Road,
you know that every sorrow
leads to a better understanding,
every horror cannot be explained,
but can offer growth.
To Walk the Red Road
is to look for beauty in all things.
To Walk the Red Road
is to know you will one day
cross to the Spirit World, and you will not be afraid…

Friday, June 27, 2008

Java Junction Grand Opening June 28, 2008


Photos by: Chris Teves
Java Junction Cafe, Rossville, Pennsylvania

Please join us for the official grand opening festivities of Java Junction Cafe on June 28, between 10am & 3pm, where members of The Longest Walk 2 will be present to talk and answer questions.


The relaxing atmosphere of their sitting rooms is the perfect place to enjoy a cup of their great selection of coffees or enjoy an ice cream on their wrap-around porch. They also serve Panini sandwiches, salads, wraps, desserts, and various frozen drinks. Even if you are in a hurry, stop by to say hello.


Java Junction is located at 7501 Carlisle Road, at the intersection of Routes 74 and 177 in Rossville, PA. about 2 miles from Gifford Pinchot State Park. The cafe is open year around.


Please visit their website at: http://www.javajunction.us/


Hope to see you there!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Afternoon at Gettysburg - Day 88

 
 
Photos by: Chris Teves & Bryan Brant
Gettysburg State Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Top Left: Monuments & Cannons on the Field
Top Right: A Battlefield
Bottom Left: Spencer, Caleb, Ginny, & I
Bottom Right: Butterfly in the Field

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Snake Hunter - Day 85

 
Photos by: Chris Teves
Cowans Gap State Park, McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania
Left: Bryan
Right: His Prey

Monday, June 16, 2008

Cowan's Gap State Park - Day 84


Photo by: Chris Teves
Cowans Gap State Park, McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Bedford, Pennsylvania - Day 82

 
 
 
Photos by: Chris Teves
Bedford, Pennsylvania
Top Left: Art Deco Gas Station
Top Right: The Trial of the Wintercount
Bottom Left: Old Bedford Village
Bottom Right: Downtown Bedford

Friday, June 13, 2008

Mini Golf Championship - Day 81

 
Photos by: Chris Teves & Caleb Brant
Friendship Village, Bedford, Pennsylvania
Left: Caleb & Ginny
Right: Bryan & I

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - Day 80

Photo by: Chris Teves
Capital Building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Behind The Name - Winter Counts


Counting by Winters
Winter counts are histories or calendars in which events are recorded by pictures, with one picture for each year. The Lakota call them waniyetu wowapi. Waniyetu is the word for year, which is measured from first snowfall to first snowfall. It is often translated as 'a winter.'
Wowapi means anything that is marked on a flat surface and can be read or counted, such as a book, a letter, or a drawing. Winter counts are physical records that were used in conjunction with a more extensive oral history. Each year was named for an event and the pictures referring to the year names served as a reference source that could be consulted regarding the order of the years. People knew the name of the year in which other important events occurred, and could place these in time by referring to the winter count. The events used to name the years were not necessarily the most important things that happened but ones that were memorable and widely known within the community. One of those events, The Year the Stars Fell, was also widely known to non-Lakota people.

Winter Count Keepers
Each Lakota band, or tiyospaye, had a designated winter count keeper who served as the community historian. The keeper was responsible for recounting the band's history at various events throughout the year and for adding a new image to the winter count each year. Events for which years were named were selected in consultation with a council of band elders. Traditionally only men served as winter count keepers, and the role often was passed down from one family member to another. In the 20th century some counts were passed on to women.
Winter counts were copied over many times as they wore out or required more space, or when a new keeper took over. While many counts clearly originated from a common source, recopying led to differences as well. A keeper might have chosen to record a different event, a different aspect of the same event, or might have made a mistake.

Pictures and Materials
For generations, Plains Indians drew pictures to document their experiences. The pictures on the Lakota winter counts were created to serve as mnemonic devices and are much simpler than ones they drew for other purposes. As some Lakota people learned to write their own language in the 19th century, a few keepers began to add written words to the pictures, and eventually some winter counts consisted entirely of written year names. The earliest winter counts were painted on hides. These records were transferred to muslin and paper once those materials became available. When an outside market developed for winter counts, Lakota people again painted copies of their counts on hides to satisfy the expectations of the curio trade. Pictorial art declined as a form of record keeping when literacy became widespread among the Lakota, although many people today see other types of recording — making marks through written words, art, video, and even online exhibits — as a modern continuation of the winter count tradition.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Rhode Island Bound - Day 76



Photos by: Chris Teves
Newport, Rhode Island
Top Left: Easton "First" Beach
Top Right: International Tennis Hall of Fame
Bottom Left: Trinity Church
Bottom Right: Bowen's Wharf

Saturday, June 7, 2008

A Night at Seekonk Speedway - Day 75


Photo by: Chris Teves
Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Massachusetts

Visiting Family in Fall River, Massachusetts - Day 75


Photo by: John Costa
Fall River, Massachusetts
Me and Grandma Costa

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Fairhaven, Massachusetts - Day 73



Photos by: Chris Teves
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Top Left: Downtown Fairhaven
Top Right: Clams on the Beach
Bottom Left: Fairhaven High School
Bottom Right: Fort Phoenix

Monday, June 2, 2008

Welcome to Ohio - Day 70


Photo by: Marie Littlemoon
Written by: Brenda Norrell
Luv the Mezenger taken into custody by Columbus, Ohio, police. Police attacked the Longest Walk Northern Route, as walkers walked the prayer near downtown Columbus. Police pointed a taser between the eyes of Michael Lane, Menominee, who arrived with his Maori wife and children from New Zealand. Longest Walk children were terrorized by Columbus police who threatened that the children would be taken into custody by social services. Luv was thrown to the ground handcuffed and taken into custody as Luv tried to distract police from tasering Michael. Luv was issued a summons, placed in the paddy wagon and then released. Luv and Long Walker Marie Littlemoon sustained minor injuries, cuts and brusies, from the police. Ohio police claimed that the walkers were a protest and denied it was a prayer walk.

Police Brutality in Columbus, Ohio - Day 70


Photos by: Marie Littlemoon & Chris Teves
Columbus, Ohio
Top Left: Luv the Messenger being Arrested
Top Right: Jimbo Talking with Police
Bottom Left: Luv, Craig & Chris
Bottom Right: Walking Through Downtown Columbus

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Dave Chappelle Meets Walkers - Day 68


Photo courtesy of: Navajo Craig
Yellow Springs, Ohio
(L-R) Marissa, Dave, Craig, Merehuka, & Big Mike

Peaceful Meditation - Day 68


Photos by: Chris Teves
Glen Helen National Preserve, Yellow Springs, Ohio
Left: A Waterfall
Right: Clara in Meditation