The Detroit Healing Walk is an inclusive event bringing together people of all backgrounds to walk for the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing of our Mother Earth and of our communities.

American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeast Michigan (AIHFS), an inter-tribal urban Native American health care center located in southwest Detroit, has sponsored the Detroit Healing Walk for the last three years.

A Statement from the Detroit Healing Walk Committee:

At American Indian Health and Family Services in Detroit, we draw from our rich and diverse Native American cultures to create circles of care and healing serving the urban Native American community of Southeast Michigan. We provide substance abuse counseling, medical services, and alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention programs for youth and their families.

In order to meet the needs of contemporary urban life and to create a strong community for future generations, we stay rooted in the cultural traditions passed on to us by our ancestors while walking in today’s world. The Detroit Healing Walk gives us an opportunity to come together as a community and pay tribute to the Native American ancestors who are buried at Historic Fort Wayne.

We invite these and all of our ancestors to walk with us through the streets of the city. We invite them into our sacred circle of healing and allow for their strength and wisdom to guide our service work. In this way the Detroit Healing Walk gives us a connection to our culture that is deeper than the cycles of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and sexual abuse, depression, and historical trauma that plague our communities today. It gives us a connection that goes beyond the settlement of the United States and the colonization of our people and cultures. It is a living connection to the truth of who we are as Indigenous people and as human beings.

We will gather at the burial mound in Historic Fort Wayne (6325 Jefferson in Detroit) on Saturday June 26th at 10:00am. After sharing songs and prayers for our ancestors we will walk approximately a five-mile loop stopping at Clark Park midway for a rest. Along the way we will continue to sing, drum, and pray for healing. Upon returning to the burial mound at Fort Wayne we will conclude with a ceremony conducted by a local Native spiritual leader.

Walkers are encouraged to bring their own water bottles, hats, and sunscreen. People are welcome to stay at the burial mounds if they are unable to walk but would still like to participate and support the event.

We invite people of all nations, ages, and backgrounds to join with us on this walk. We know that we cannot heal alone, and that we need all of our brothers and sisters to be successful. Walk with us. Invite your own ancestors to walk as well. Together we bring healing into Detroit and into our communities.