By Hailey Palmer, Puyallup Tribal News
Puyallup Tribal Member and the Tribe’s Hunting Director Dan Sandstrom got to live out one of his dreams late last month when he was asked by the Seattle Mariners to perform the national anthem before the game.
Not only did the opportunity mean a lot to Sandstrom, but the chance to do it on Native American Heritage Night made it that much more special.
“It’s an honor to represent our Tribe and be there for Native American Heritage Night. … It’s a big honor because there’s a ton of Tribes from the Pacific Northwest that are down on the field singing, drumming and dancing,” Sandstrom said.
Singing the national anthem at the Mariners game is something Sandstrom has been trying to do for the last five years or so, he said, but was finally able to find the right connections this year.
“I was in accounting talking to Donna Caron. …I told her one of these years I want to sing at the Native American Heritage Night and she said, ‘Let me make a call, I’ve got some connections up there,’ and I’ll tell you what, she made it happen,” he said.
Sandstrom said he’s been singing as long as he can remember, but traced back some of his earliest memories singing to the song “Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Campbell.
Recently, Sandstrom started announcing for the football, basketball and baseball teams at Elma High School. Already being at the games, he was also asked to sing the national anthem plenty of times.
“I sing at church, I sing for weddings, I sing for funerals,” he said. “It’s just been a big part of my life. All my kids can sing and I’ve just really enjoyed it.”
Leading up to the big day, Sandstrom said he was a little nervous, mostly about forgetting the words, but everything went as planned with plenty of friends and family on hand to watch.
Photos courtesy of Ben Van Houten, Seattle Mariners
