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The CIA, the Black Snake, and the Last Man Standing

Back in the 1970s an unlikely coupling began when the Lakota native community and Dakota ranchers joined forces under the CIA (Cowboy Indian Alliance) to halt uranium mining. The CIA has now been loosely reestablished by a new generation of farmers and ranchers, finding support with folks who are no strangers to the loss of land.

December 4, 2013  Hey Ma…I didn’t freeze to death.

I’ve been walking since the beginning of June. I started in Texas, and now I’m in Canada. I’ve slept in pastures and forests, in my tent, on people’s front lawns, baseball fields, under bridges, in barns, basements, church pews, and oil fields...in below freezing temperatures and blistering heat. But most of the time I’ve enjoyed the hospitality of strangers who were kind enough to offer me their couches, recliners, extra bedrooms, spare trailers, or guest houses for a night or sometimes even a week. I thank everyone, a hundred times over, for all your hospitality, support, and encouragement over these some 1,500+ miles. I never would have made it without you. I’m happy to report that I have finished my wandering for now. With old man winter whipping at my heels, I thought it best to stop at the Canadian border. So officially, my walk concluded on November 25th, 2013 in the small village of Val Marie, Saskatchewan (one day before my birthday), some 1,500 miles from the Texas border. Being on the road for 7 months, I have accumulated a heavy backlog of overdue journal entries, postcards, emails, and phone calls that need attending to. Please bear with me if you have contacted me and I haven’t responded yet. I left on my walk with little more than a backpack, and phone reception and internet access have been hard to come by. Over the next few weeks, expect old journal entries that were put on the back burner and new updates with post-walk notions.

#journal #walking