Every four years since 1992, Peace and Dignity Journeys runners traverse the Western Hemisphere by foot, carrying stories, songs, and prayers, re-uniting Indigenous communities step by step. Departing simultaneously from Chickaloon, Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the journey culminates seven months later with a final ceremony in Panama. On July 6, runners were received by the community of Santa Cruz at the Beach Flats Community Garden.

Santa Cruz Indigenous Solidarity writes: The run is a prayer in motion, a pilgrimage for the Earth, calling back ancestral memories of who we are. The 2016 journey is dedicated to seeds: the sacred medicines and foods that sustain cultures and communities—under threat now more than ever due to genetic modification, corporate ownership, and climate change.

"Through this run, we help ensure, not only the survival, but the perseverance and the growth of our future generations, in a traditional way," says Jose Malvido, North America Peace and Dignity Journeys coordinator.

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