They came to retrace the steps of their ancestors.

To see first hand "Yll-whaltz" or Muck Creek, where salmon have spawned for thousands of years. To journey past village sites and sacred burial grounds and walk along the Squally Plain, where Chief Leschi is said to have trained his warriors prior to the Indian Wars.

More than 200 Nisqually and Puyallup tribal members and friends arrived by bus at Range 91 on Sunday for the third annual Leschi-Quiemuth Honor Walk/Run.

The Joint Base Lewis-McChord command team of Col. Thomas Brittain, Col. Kenny Weldon and Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Barnes greeted the group as its members stepped off the bus.

"I want to welcome each and every one of you here today so that we can honor the Nisqually tribal history as we take this walk, tour and/or run," Brittain said.

The group of military and tribal members stood in a circle to say a prayer of blessing prior to the start of the event.

"I'm glad to see you young people here because this is your history," said Zelma McCloud, an 80-year-old Nisqually tribal elder who led the prayer.

"This land used to be where your ancestors lived; it was part of the reservation years and years ago."

In 1854, Isaac Stevens, governor of the Washington Territory, appointed Leschi and his brother, Quiemuth, as chiefs so they could sign the Medicine Creek Treaty.

The treaty officially formed South Sound Reservation lands that led to the Indian Wars of 1855-1856.

Chief Leschi, who had befriended many of the European settlers, believed the treaty was an act of trickery by Stevens.

Chief Leschi was hanged on Feb. 18, 1858. He had been charged with the murder of a colonel in the volunteer militia during the war.

According to Washington State Senate Resolution 8727, the Senate formally recognized the injustice on March 4, 2004. From that date, Chief Leschi has been regarded by the state as a courageous leader and a great and noble man.

The 7.2-mile walk and 12.5-mile bus tour journeyed along old Nisqually Reservation Allotments on JBLM Lewis Main that today are used as an artillery impact area. The tour ended at the Clear Creek Fish Hatchery.

The event first took place three years ago on neighboring Puyallup tribal lands, where Chief Leschi is now buried.

"For a time, Chief Leschi was buried here (JBLM) at a place that we'll be walking right by," said Dr. Bret Ruby, who works in the JBLM Public Works Environmental Division. "But then in 1917 when this part of the reservation was taken, they moved his body up to the Puyallup Reservation."

Last year the walk was moved to the present location after JBLM and Nisqually officials decided it would be a good way for tribal members to reconnect with the land.

"You might think taking 200 people through an impact area sounds like a crazy idea," Ruby said, "but (Col. Cynthia Murphy, former garrison commander, and Brittain) understood how important these places are to the people here and without question said, ‘This is the right thing to do. Let's make it happen.'"

As families made their way along the walk, they shared the stories their elders had told them about life on the old reservation.

For June Charles, 39, whose father was Nisqually and a World War II veteran, the walk along the prairie was the first time she'd seen the land from his stories.

"I've only seen the tribal side," she said. "I (had) to just come out and see for myself."

Grace Byrd, 39, a member of the Nisqually Tribe, said that five generations of her family showed up to walk.

"This is an honor to travel lands walked by our ancestors and our people," she said.

See more images from the walk at the following multimedia gallery: