SPOKANE, Wash. – Members of the Spokane Tribe of Indians and surrounding tribes gathered on Friday at the Spokane Plains Battle Monument to honor their resilience in the Inland Northwest.
The event featured storytelling and drumming, celebrating traditions that have endured for more than a century.
Warren Seyler, a historian for the Spokane Tribe of Indians, emphasized the significance of the event.
“I want to raise each of the flags of the tribes that participated here. The song that you’re going to hear, we’re going to use is called The Hangman’s Song, or The Chief’s Song. It’s been alive for at least 167 years,” Seyler said.
Greg Abrahamson, chairman for the Spokane Tribe of Indians, spoke about the enduring spirit of the tribe.
“All of our generations that are down from us, our children, our grandchildren, great grandchildren, some of them that aren’t here to here yet, but they’re on their way there. Our people will keep going. We will soar. They can’t wipe us out. We will be here for generations. And since time we will be here,” Abrahamson stated.
The Spokane Plains Battle took place in 1858 between U.S. Union soldiers and tribes indigenous to the area. The tribes fought to defend their communities and ancestral lands from settlers.
The gathering served as a reminder of the enduring strength and cultural heritage of the Indigenous peoples in the region.
