I made my first trip to Cass Lake since the big storm. Terrible destruction but no lives lost.
On our return we checked on the five sisters and found one down.
It happened on New Years Eve 1991 that I helped organize a walk to pledge ourselves to recognize and celebrate the seventh generation.
My mother was not well but she wanted to walk as far as she could. She walked 7/10 of a mile. I told her how far when I got back from the rest of the walk and she smiled grandly. "One tenth of a mile for each of them," she said softly. Her eyes were bright with pride.
We were joined by many walkers but many left us to celebrate the New Year in other ways. Five of us, all female, completed the seven mile walk. At the end of seven miles there was a circle of five red pine.
We built a fire in that circle and prayed for the future of the Leech Lake Reservation. I called those trees the five sisters.
Now one of them has fallen in a fierce and mighty storm. But four remain to encourage us onward.