Long Walk 4 postponed until 2013

Long Walk 1978

The Longest Walk 4: Return to Alcatraz

 Announcement of Postponement
The Longest Walk 4: Return to Alcatraz scheduled to begin on July 15th, 2012 is being postponed to July 15th, 2013. This decision has been made after much consideration and discussion. There are some who will be disappointed by this decision, and this is understandable. We ask that everyone that is supporting this Walk continu...e to do so. There will be a sunrise Ceremony this July 15th at the Washington Monument, to start up and renew the planning for July 15th, 2013 to December 22nd, 2013. We ask that all those supporting this Walk engage in their own way of praying on sunrise in their own locale on the 15th as well.

The reasons for the postponement are as follows:

1) Need of clarity of message: The purpose of this Walk is to support Indigenous Sovereignty and educate our own Indigenous Peoples as to what the threats to it are and what it means. What we mean by it is that is is about responsibility and respect. It is about Ceremony and spiritual Indigenous ways. Unlike 1978 when the threat was easy to identify, the nation-states are muck more sly in trying to abrogate treaties and undermine Indigenous Sovereignty for the purpose of assimilation. We therefore need to work harder and seek out specific issues that link to our purpose.

2) Need of accountable Fundraising set up: From the beginning of this planning process, a commitment has been made to conduct all fundraising and finances in an open and transparent manner. While this is a good thing, it has also proven to be more complicated than anticipated. At present there has been no money raised that has been submitted to an account. There has been some efforts, but they have not been successful as of yet. It is hoped that a small group of people with experience in this area will volunteer to assist.

3) Need of a firm number of vehicles: To conduct the Walk safely it is important to have enough vehicle support for supporting the Walkers and for moving camp and setting up the kitchen. At this time we did not have that minimal commitment.

4) Need of People to fulfill roles and responsibilities: At this time, Security and the Kitchen are well organized. Help is still needed in fundraising and outreach. If anyone is interested in helping in these two areas please let us know. We are also in need of regional support people that will secure stay places and such in consultation with the Walk Council.

We will issue an update notice the 15th of each month leading to the July 15th, 2013 start date.

All thoughts and ideas are welcome, and we once again extend our apologies to those that were prepared to go on the Walk and/or support it for this year.

for volunteering and questions please email tlw4rta@gmail.com