Four members of the Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona are walking from Maine to Arizona to promote awareness of diabetes.

The group drove from the reservation to Bar Harbor, Maine. From there, they started the 3,000-mile walk back home on Tuesday, covering nine miles on the first day.

"It’s on the East Coast, it’s very different from the desert. I just thought it was the perfect place to start the walk," Terrol Dew Johnson, the co-founder of Tohono O’odham Community Action, told The Ellsworth American.

The group, which includes Johnson's three teenaged cousins, plans to stop at reservations along the way. A fourth cousin will be joining after she recovers from emergency surgery.

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Native Americans Begin 3,000-mile Walk Home to Arizona (The Ellsworth American 6/18)