Robin Rieske--"We have to keep these stories alive"

Robin was on the United States walk and helped beforehand with mailouts. She was 20 years old during the walk and a college student at Florida State. She currently lives in Brattleboro, VT and works as a certified substance abuse prevention consultant, community organizer and a media literacy educator. She is still active politically, especially around the impact of media on public health and democracy. She is married to Breeze and she has a stepson named Silas who is heading off to college. Her main passion is belly dancing. "I was a sociology student at the time of the walk. Being on the walk gave me a real life experience in sociology and community. I had the book knowledge but I hadn't lived in a community before so I had a lot of lessons to learn and I still apply some of those lessons today. One of my biggest impacts from the walk is that I gained a huge appreciation for the natural beauty in this part of North America."

"There is so much to say about the walk.... the personal relationships, the day to day logistics of travelling, camping out, cooking, bathing, conflicts, healing, singing. There were powerful experiences of being with the native people and how these different cultures did exist and do exist. I think most of us grow up thinking that one way was the norm and it isn't. Working now with the government, I feel we are more aware of how the services we provide need to be geared toward the culture of those receiving the services whether it's low income families, racial diversity or gender differences. It's all a part of cultural competency. Because of the walk experience, I can now apply that a bit more.

"I've had no desire to go to high school and college reunions, but going to the walk reunions has helped me to keep alive the experience, the stories, the successes, the challenges and the beauty of community. Because we live in a media-saturated society we have to keep these stories alive, we need to tell stories that preserve our planet and not just the stories that our media culture attempts to sell us. Understanding this has helped me to understand the importance of story telling in all cultures and how we have to use our privilege to help others maintain their ability to speak! Dougs book, his tour, the reunions, these have been such great gifts. May we all cross paths again!"