Mark Denning and Siobhan Marks led the group in an opening water ceremony, to give thanks to the water, and to pray over river water that would be held in a copper pail for the entirety of the seven-mile journey.

They chose the Kinnickinnic River to recognize what has been dubbed Milwaukee’s forgotten waterway.

Kletzsch Falls on the Milwaukee River in Glendale has posed an obstacle for migrating fish since it was built in 1935. However a new fish passage on the eastern shore of the river (visible in background) is allowing lake sturgeon and other fish to access upstream portions of the river.

“Why do we care?” asked Nicholas Miller, pursuing his PhD in Multispecies History and Anthropology at UW-Milwaukee in fall 2023. “Why are we putting so much energy into restoring these? They were here before and we’re trying to repopulate them. Why is that important to people?”