Keepers of the Water and Indigenous Climate Action will be postponing the 2023 Tar Sands Healing Walk until further notice.

While the focus of this event was to support local communities impacted by the tar sands, these same communities are now in a state of crisis and displacement due to the intense and early season forest fires. Our focus in the coming months will now be to support communities through this climate disaster.

History of the Healing Walk

The Tar Sands Healing Walk began in 2010, bringing together Indigenous peoples, with the support of allies, to call for healing for the Athabasca region. The 14 kilometer ceremonial walk circles the Syncrude Open-Pit Tailings Mine in Treaty 8 Territory and brings together voices and prayers from across the region.

The last walk in 2014 gathered over 700 participants signaling a strong and clear message: we need to unite all peoples across Turtle Island, Indigenous and Non-Indigenous, to protect the land, water, air, and all living beings from the destruction of the Tar Sands and its pipelines.

In 2023, Keeper of the Water and Indigenous Climate Action are honored to come together to revive the Healing Walk and reaffirm support for our Indigenous relatives most impacted by extractive industries in so-called Alberta and help strengthen capacity for ongoing collective healing and movement building in these territories.

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