Photos and story by Puyallup Tribal News Staff
On May 21, the Puyallup Canoe Family welcomed House of Tears Carvers, traveling with their 22-foot totem pole more than 5,000 miles across the United States and Canada.
The words shared that day were impactful. Our guests spoke about things that continue to affect our Indigenous communities, such as pipelines and fossils fuels, much like our neighbor Puget Sound Energy’s liquefied natural gas project, which intends to open the facilities on our ancestral lands. The community spoke about boarding schools and the many children that didn’t make it home. The carvers explained the red handprints they added to represent the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
The intertribal community shared songs. Eagles flew above, offering a blessing to many.
Council members Annette Bryan and Anna Bean were in attendance. Both shared heartfelt words with our visitors.
The unity witnessed during the celebration of our culture that was once suppressed gives us hope that we are taking the steps towards healing from the generational trauma inflicted on Native communities.
