It was a cold and foggy morning, Nov. 29, at the District 6 Service Center, the day a group of 15-20 Community members participated in the 2008 River Run.
The logistics of the event mirrored the
day's atmosphere, foggy and unknown. Those gathered knew they were going to Casa Grande
Ruins but didn't know exactly how they were going to get there. The usual route for the River
Run begins in D7 and the destination is the Casa Grande Ruins.
This year's run began in D6 with a morning blessing from Mike Tashquinth, a resident of Komatke and local spiritual leader. His blessing included the use of creosote, sage, and a personal offering. After the blessing, it was decided that the runners who were gathered outside the D6 Learning center would run together to the Shell Station where long distance runners would then take over.
The sun began to rise and could be seen as nothing more than a fiery, orange dot behind the early morning fog as the runners began their trek.
The River Run commemorates the river that flowed through the Gila River Indian Community and is regarded as a spiritual run for the participants, their families, and the communities they represent.
There are many ways this run came about but according to Adrian Hendricks who spearheaded the event, "The route follows the run we had to commemorate the Revolt run."
Throughout the years Hendricks has had his share of running through all seven districts of the Community, whether it be for spiritual or endurance purposes. "I first did it just to see if I could make it through the whole community. It wasn't really a spiritual thing," Hendricks said.
Eventually his running began to have a meaning which extended to the Community as a whole.
Giving presentations on the 1751 Pima Revolts throughout the community he started to run as a way to commemorate those events that took place in O'odham history. Eventually that commemorative run began to take on another meaning.
It was Anthony Gray, a song carrier and Community member form District 4, who brought to light the idea of a run commemorating the Gila River. Gray had stated that although he brought fourth the idea, the run is really for the Community. He said a lot of community members had told him they had dreams and aspirations of this run. However, at the time no one acted on it.
In 2005, with the help of a few organizers he first River Run took place. A year later Gray received a song about the river in a dream.
As the long distance runners took over from the D6 Shell station, the sun slowly began rising over the fog and shinning a little brighter. For the majority of the run the group decided to avoid major roads but for timing purposes it was necessary to run along Belt Line Road.
As they neared the village of Lone Butte the sun was shinning brighter and the fog began to recede further into the background of the D6 landscape.
There are many runs that take place within the community that are regarded as spiritual runs. There is the international run called the Peace and Dignity Run, which begins in Alaska and ends in Mexico City and the more local Unity run which usually begins in a Southern village in the Tohno O'odham Nation and ends in Salt River or vice versa. Both these runs journey through the community. What is unique about the River Run is that it is organized by the Community and takes place solely within Community boundaries, with the exception of going through Casa Grande.
This year the run took on a totally grassroots effort and did not seek support from any of the tribal departments. "We didn't want to involve the tribe because there was too much negative stuff going on. And we didn't want to deal with hierarchy or paperwork. That's not us." Explained Hendricks.
The runners ran past Lone Butte and the Tho Thak Ki Treatment center eventually making it to the intersection of Maricopa Road and Beltline. From there they took a dirt road near the southeastern corner of the intersection and began traveling south. Along the dirt road shards of pottery dotted the desert floor beneath the brush. It was obvious the old excavated village of Snake Town was near.
One of the benefits of participating in the River Run is getting to see parts of the community one might not see just driving through. "We run in places that are kind of hard to get to so people are forced to see a new part of our community," Hendricks said.
Eventually the runners made it to D5 where a light lunch had been provided for them. A couple of the long distance runners had to leave so the mile runners were used more at this point. The sun was shinning bright above the small camp as they took a break for lunch. It was clear and the fog had drifted away as they gained ground on their destination.
After lunch runners were placed a mile a part relay style. Once a runner was done with their leg of the run they would be picked up and placed ahead of the last runner who was waiting for their turn to run. The run proceeded this way up through D3 where a handful of support cars and trucks waited for the
runners to reach Veterans Memorial Park. Once there Hendricks carried the run from the park to the dirt roads of D2.
From there the sun began its track along the western sky and the shadows of the standing cacti in D2 started stretching towards the east. When the run arrived in D1, drivers and organizers worried that they wouldn't make it to the ruins before they closed.
According to community lore, running has been a traditional way for O'odham to pray for thousands of years. It was also a way to get news to the different villages. Some of the ceremonies that took place required a male to run to the ocean for salt and make the journey back home within 4 days.
In these modern times it is not hard to wonder why any one would attempt to run in the same manner our ancestors did. Hendricks said, "People in our history have sacrificed their existence to have this ability to run, to have this land, to sing our songs, to have these sacred place. Running is a big part of our culture and so if people aren't participating in our culture they are failing our ancestors."
When asked how the community benefits from the run Hendricks said "We will have more people becoming comfortable with the fact that our collective strength and spirituality can take us a long way."
The sun hovered above the now distant Estrella Mountains as the runners made their way through D1 into Casa Grande. At the entrance to the ruins the group met up and ran in together. Ruins officials were not aware Casa Grande ruins or Civan Vah-ki, meaning house of magic, would be the ending destination of their run.
The sun began to tuck itself underneath the western horizon as participants expressed how proud and surprised how far they ran. One of the support drivers mentioned how proud it made him feel to see his 5 year old son keep up with the adult runners.
With the Casa Grande Ruins in the background participants learned about their significance to the Akimel O'odham culture.
Participating in the run included members of the Gila River Runners Club, patients from the Tho Thak Ki Treatment Center, members of the Akimel O'odham/ Pee-Posh Youth Council, and members of the Tohno O'odham Nation.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|