Seattle, WA – Hundreds marched for Indigenous People’s Day on October 13, this year marking the city of Seattle’s first recognition of the holiday. Starting at the city’s Henry M. Jackson Federal Building where immigration hearings are held, drummers of all ages led marchers through the streets of downtown Seattle, ending at Pike Place’s Indian Park.

Grief and pride resonated through the march, as ICE kidnappings, the genocide in Palestine, and missing and murdered indigenous peoples were mourned and honored through continued resistance.

Dakota Case, member of the Puyallup Tribe Water Warriors, spoke to the vital importance of Indigenous People’s Day. “It’s actually a step toward fighting colonialism. Stepping up and saying we’re taking over a day that a white dude showed up on our land and said that he found us when there were already a 100 million people living here by that time. I mean we were already metalworking; we were already advanced. And the Spanish influenza and everything that came with the invaders nearly knocked us out. So this is the step in the direction of finally defeating colonialism and actually saying, ‘this is our territory,’ and what enforcing our sovereignty actually means.”

The event highlighted solidarity among national liberation movements. Black, Chicano,and indigenous oppressed nationalities united to uplift each other’s struggles. Ovunayo X of the Black Panther Party of Washington expressed the need for multinational solidarity, stating, “Our struggle is a mutual interwoven survival for Black, Brown, indigenous, Caribbea, and other oppressed peoples. And we will have our liberation. All power to the people by any means necessary.”

Sol Jesus Ozuna, member of Climate Alliance of the South Sound (CASS) and Tacoma DSA, stated, “Today we not only commemorate our indigenous siblings from the past, we gather to ignite the new generations of warriors. This administration of colonizers continues to take what does not belong to them. Even with the removal of Indigenous Peoples Day from federal calendars, we show up in sovereignty. Loud, fearless, and very much a living, united force. Unwilling to see these lands and our siblings being erased and mistreated. Always grateful for the continued generosity offered. May we all continue to honor, protect, and learn from the indigenous people of these lands.”

#SeattleWA #WA #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples

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