I tell everybody that this is the best thing
and the most important thing we do every year.
(singing and drumming)
So today's our annual memorial walk.
Every year we do it to represent all the members who passed on,
so we carry their names through the streets of Seattle.
(singing and drumming)
Today, every year, we honor all of our relatives who have passed
throughout the years, and most importantly,
the ones that have passed in the most current year.
My son worked for the Seattle Indian Health Board.
And as we got into our apartment,
he got the wrong drug and it took his life.
(singing)
Yeah, it's very healing.
It's very healing to know to actually to, to share that loss with others.
He passed away in 2021 from COVID.
(drumming)
My dad passed away in ‘92, when I was 12
(singing)
Homelessness and chronic homelessness
has a high level, more than their fair share of death,
more than their fair share of loss.
(singing and drumming)
It gave me more peace on
the love and
the feelings that they have for all the native people that we have lost
through the years.
So I lift up my hands for all the ones that have been lost here.
(singing and drumming)
This was their last stop
and sometimes they were our last family members
and we were the last ones to tell them, you know I love you, I care for you.
I support you
So we do this every year to honor them,
bring out their names so they are alway remembered in a really good way.
(drumming, cheering)