The first Indigenous Peoples March was held in Spokane Friday.
The event brought out a couple of hundred people to downtown Spokane. The idea was to raise awareness of some of the issues indigenous people in the region face.
Native drummers and singers opened the event in front of Spokane City Hall.
Speakers included Spokane tribal member Barry Moses, who also speaks Salish.
“These are our words, this is our land, this is our country, and we look at the toxic political environment were in today and it never ceases to amaze me some of the conversations I hear people say, this is America, speak English, and it’s always ironic to me, we're not in England,” he said.
Also addressing the crowd was Ingrid Sub Cuk, of Mayan descent, who said despite being dominated by another culture for the last 500 years, her people and culture have survived.
“We are still here and we are still proud more than ever to be caretakers of this land and we are fearless advocates that will continue to do so no matter what they throw at us,” she said.
Cuk dedicated her address to two Central American detainee children who have died in custody in the U.S.
The Spokane march was held in solidarity with a march in Washington D.C. and in other cities around the nation.
