SHUNGOPAVI, Ariz. - American Indian runners will carry the sacred message of water to the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico City in March 2006, beginning the journey in the Hopi village of Moencopi.

''Every person represents a cloud and the more people that come, the more clouds will come to make it rain,'' Hopi run organizer Ruben Saufkie Sr. told Indian Country Today.

Hopi from each of the 13 villages will join members of other Indian nations to carry their water message 2,000 miles. For Hopi, it is also an effort to bring unity to their people.

Urging runners to begin preparing spiritually now by purifying themselves throughout the year, Saufkie said they would carry the message of how Black Mesa Trust is pressuring the world's largest coal company, Peabody Coal, to stop pumping water from the N-aquifer.

Runners will begin in Moencopi and pass through Zuni Pueblo and Acoma Pueblo before continuing to El Paso and the border of Mexico. ''Water is life'' is the message the runners will carry.

''It is for all living things. We all need to come together and heal. We need to all get together and get back in balance,'' Saufkie said.

''All water systems are part of a singular network of life and this network is part of the global unity of life - one that includes the great oceans and the seas, the frozen waters and glaciers from which are born the clouds and rains that nurture all life,'' stated the project summary.

''As demand for clean water increases and resources diminish, the prospect of water wars and domestic struggles among diverse populations become more and more likely. The basic right of all peoples to life-giving water is drawn into question and we Hopi - stewards of balance, dancers of rain, teachers of peace - must accept the stewardship responsibilities of our covenant with Massau'u.''

On their journey south, runners will accept water samples that will be poured into a lake at the end of the run. Runners will also carry water from Mount Fuji in Japan in celebration of Black Mesa Trust's ''Decade of Water.''

Urging respect for water, Saufkie, Vernon Masayesva and other board members at Black Mesa Trust are working with Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto and pioneering research into the intelligence of water.

Emoto has released photos of scientific magnifications which reveal that water crystals change in response to the environment. Beautiful music causes the crystals to become more beautiful, while words such as ''war'' and angry expressions cause the crystals to transform into dark and ugly formations, according to Emoto's video shown at the Hopi's ''Water is Life'' conference at Kykotsmovi.

Emoto, who brought his water message to Northern Arizona University last year, said, ''Water teaches in a very clear way how we must live our lives. The story of water reaches from every individual cell to encompass the entire cosmos.''

Along with releasing new information on the essence of water, Black Mesa Trust continues its battle to halt the pumping of Black Mesa water for the purpose of coal slurry. The water from N-aquifer is water that Hopi and Navajo depend on for survival in the arid region. While the coal is slurried to Nevada to produce electricity for the Southwest, most Navajo living on Black Mesa lack running water and electricity.

Saufkie said although the struggle to protect the water on Black Mesa has been a long and hard battle, it afforded the benefit of uniting Hopi and Navajo with the common goal of protecting the water.

''Without water, we are not going to survive out here. Hopi and Navajo came together on the water issue. Everyone needs water: not just Navajos and Hopis, but all living things.''

Saufkie said Hopi need to heal from dealing with Peabody Coal. ''We are paying the consequences for selling our water and coal,'' he said in a statement announcing the run. ''Some of the royalties from the coal and water sales get distributed to the villages, and that causes divisions among the villages. This run will be a way of healing those divisions through water.

''We Hopis run not only for the Hopi people, but for all of humankind and all living things. We all need water. We need renewing and healing of ourselves, our villages and our world.''

In September, more than 80 runners, many from the Hopi Water Clan, met with Saufkie in the village of Shungopavi to support the run. Hopi filmmaker Victor Masayesva, brother of Vernon Masayesva, will document the run.

Runners must obtain Mexican visas, as that country now requires U.S. citizens to present at least two official forms of identification, such as a state driver's license, passport or voter registration card, to enter. While families will host runners along the way, runners will need hotel reservations in Mexico City and airline reservations for the trip home. Hopi are raising funds to help runners cover expenses.

Saufkie said when he runs in preparation for Mexico City, he calls out his gratitude to the Hopi springs and prays there. Then he offers a cup of the water to the six cardinal directions before pouring it over his heart, mind and body to stay strong.

For more information, visit www.blackmesatrust.org or www.h2opirun.org; or call Vernon Masayesva at (928) 734-9255 or Ruben Saufkie Sr. at (928) 734-5438.