HAMILTON, Ohio — Bryan Brant is riding cross-country from the Mississippi River in Illinois to upstate New York. He travels with his horse, a pack mule and a dog. He wants to visit the land of the Six Nations, home to the Brant family.

Brant, a veteran, wants to raise public awareness of Native American problems and to the situation of horses neglected because of the downturn in the economy and the drought. And, he wants to meet his family.

“You have to know where you’ve come from to know where you’re going,” he said.

The Brant family originates from upstate New York and are Mohawk Indians, he said. The patriarch was Chief Joseph Brant, from whom Bryan Brant is descended.

This is not his first long-distance trip. In 2008 he walked across the United States with The Longest Walk 2. This was an American Indian Movement walk to raise awareness that all life is sacred.

“When I got to Pennsylvania on that walk, I was recognized as a Pine Tree Chief of Six Nations,” he said. “What that means is that you have a responsibility to your people, to your family, to the seventh generation to the preservation of all life whether it is two-legged, four-legged or a winged one.”

Brant’s area of concern for the four-legged is in horses, he said. With the downturn in the economy, people have struggled to take care of their horses and this year will be especially tough because of the drought.

“This is another big reason why I ride,” he said. “I see hard times coming for horses. In Indian country, especially on the reservation, there has been a big problem with suicide, alcoholism and drug use. Horses have therapeutic purposes, hippotherapy. To me, an Indian without a horse is like an arrow without a bow.

“My thought is, all these horses are going to be needing homes. Pair them together on the reservations, develop mounted warrior societies. The veterans become a mounted society, and take the youth that needs structure, needs elders there to direct them, and pair them with a horse.”

Brant is spreading this message as he rides – going through urban areas, he draws a crowd. On Sept. 12, he was three months and 800 miles into the journey, more than halfway.

He travels 10-15 miles a day, with a cycle of two days of riding and then a rest day. He does not have a planned route but talks with locals and follows county maps. People have been friendly, offering him overnight accommodations, meals and donations.

Brant spends the night “wherever he ends up,” often along the road. He often rests in the heat of the early afternoon and then rides late into the night. He tried to spend one night at a state park, entering when it was too dark to see the signage. Although the park allowed horse camping, he was given a $160 fine because he didn’t see the sign saying he needed a permit.

In another town someone treated him to a restaurant meal. But the police department interrupted that meal and required him to clean the horse manure off their streets.

“About every third day I’ll hit a town and go and get a hot meal and a cup of coffee, which is a huge luxury,” he said. “A cup of coffee, a shower and laundry are the biggest luxuries in the world.”

To follow Brant’s journey visit www.facebook.com/bryannclarabrant