Feet don't fail me now
Man's trek carries a message of peace

Peace Walker Gregory-Dean Smith found shelter and food at the Gallup NCI center. [Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent]

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Diné Bureau

Preparing to begin one of five trips across five energy vortexes in the United States, peace walker Gregory-Dean Smith found rest at the Gallup NCI center. While at the center, Smith has invited others to join for part of the walk. Smith preaches that we are all one people as he make his walks. Each of the five vortex trips in will be approximantely 270 miles, the first one crossing reservations, cities and open road of Arizona and New Mexico. He will begin his walk in Window Rock. [Photo Illustration by Daniel Zollinger/Independent]

GALLUP — Gregory-Dean Smith passes on one primary message when he walks: one people, one earth.

"That's what we have to do, begin thinking and acting as one," Smith said. Smith is also known as Brother NorthStar, named after the star that African American slaves followed for guidance when they escaped bondage.

Smith is a peace pilgrim, a person who dedicates his life to working for others in the most extreme sense of the word, by sacrificing his life and living outside of the system.

After graduating in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in African American history and the history of African American music and theater, Smith made a life-altering change and decided to dedicate his life to peace pilgrim work. He became part of the Nippon Myohoji Buddhist Order in 1993, and has been on 19 pilgrimages through 22 countries and five continents, passing on his message of peace.

Dedicated life
Before dedicating his life to walking for peace, Smith was an active actor, singer, writer, storyteller, and performer.

"As a performer, I was a cultural activist," Smith said. "I discovered walking as a way of walking as a way of establishing peace."

Smith averages between 19 and 25 miles per day when on a pilgrimage. "At the end of the 25 mile walk, whatever rage or anger you felt has been calmed or soothed," Smith said. "Walking sort of brings you an inner peace."

When he is walking, Smith said he prays.

"It's a vigil," Smith said. "The mind has to be in tune with the body so that you attract who you want to come to you, because it's a very helter kilter world out there."

Smith said he comes across all kinds of people, but because his mind is in prayer, he said he comes across genuine people who are willing to aid him in his walk, whether its water, fruit, or a pair of walking shoes.

Welcome to Gallup
He arrived in Gallup Saturday after one of his supporters from Texas bought him a bus ticket. He was in Texas for three days before coming to Gallup, and before Texas, had been in Mexico.

His decision to come to Gallup and begin his next pilgrimage came after he learned that a region between the states of New Mexico and Arizona is believed to be one of 52 vortexes in the world, and one of five in the United States, that have electromagnetic energy force fields.

"Ancient ancestors had wisdom about the earth and where those energies gathered," Smith said. "They would gather where those energies gather. This is why I believe your ancestors chose these areas."

In a few days, he will start a 270 mile walk of the first vortex in the United States in Window Rock. From there, he will go to Magdalena, and then from Mount Baldy Wilderness on to the Apache Nation, and he will then begin mapping his way throughout the region. He will be walking through Zuni and Papago Nation as well. The other vortexes scattered throughout the U.S. are also 270 miles each.

His last tough pilgrimage was in 2005, when he traveled through Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize with a 50-pound backpack. Last year, he also did a smaller pilgrimage in the United States He estimates that it will take him five months to complete the five vortexes before he makes his way back to Massachusetts, where he is originally from.

Minimalist life
Like other peace pilgrims, Smith does not have a permanent home, but does reside at one base area in the New England, among seven other pilgrim walkers, including three Buddhist monks, two nuns, and a married couple who walks through South Africa.

When walking, he does not carry a cell phone, or even cash, but only a small bag with basic necessities. He also carries a nice set of clothing, since he is frequently invited to ceremonies or cultural events during his walks. He depends on the generosity of others for food and shelter.

"I solely rely on the people I run across," he said. "It's faith travel. I've stayed in some of the most posh homes and the poorest homes."

Smith has made a small cubicle area at the Na'nizoozhi Center his temporary home for the past few days. Shortly after getting off the bus, some locals who were on their break from work began chatting with Smith and directed him to the Na'nizhoozhi Center for temporary shelter.

Bob Keenan, clinical director at the NCI Center, said that walkers like Smith often go to the center seeking shelter.

"They come in all varieties and sizes," he said.

"I've stayed a lot of places in the United States, and they really take care of their people here," Smith said. "Gallup, New Mexico, is a very amazing place."

The stop through Gallup is the second for Smith, who traveled through the area in 2001 with a Japanese Buddhist nun. It is his first time staying at NCI. At the facility, he found shelter, food, and was able to use the Internet to fill out a live journal for his supporters.

The center, who does not deny anybody shelter, has temporarily housed walkers against homelessness, war, abortion, and even walkers for cattle. The center is also housing a lady from Sweden who is on a spiritual quest and has been there nearly six weeks.

"On average, we get about four or five a year," Keenan said. "We'd rather take them than have them stay on the streets."

While some walkers may stay a few days, others have stayed up to as long as nine weeks.

Smith plans to resume his travels by the end of this week. Eventually, the 54-year old peace pilgrim would like to build a peace temple made of adobe and hemp that would serve for a place for metaphysical students to practice worship.