Community members filled the Unitarian Fellowship’s pews Friday evening as Cindy Minkler, Oglala Sioux; J.P. Falcon Grady, Blackfeet; and Cynthia Wilson, Lummi, led a procession of concert-goers into the hall with a drum and song. After the whole congregation shared in a land acknowledgment, Minkler approached the piano and began to play.
The Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship hosted the concert to mark Native American Heritage Day, bringing three musicians and storytellers to the stage to recognize and celebrate the ways Native American people contribute to communities and care for our shared land and waterways.
The concert, sponsored by the Fellowship’s Native American Connections and Social Environmental Justice committees, featured original compositions and storytelling from the three performers. A composer and music therapist, Minkler studied piano performance at Seattle Pacific University and music therapy at Western Michigan University before returning to the Pacific Northwest.
Her piano and wooden flute compositions, inspired by moments in her own life, soared through the room. A collection of pieces was inspired by her visit in the ’90s to the historic site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where she saw monuments erected to General George Custer — the U.S. Army officer who famously lost — but noticed no monument for the victorious Lakota and Cheyenne people.
“Reflecting back on this experience many months later, I decided not to focus on my anger but on my hope — hope that one day the Native Americans would be honored for a battle they won,” Minkler spoke over the steady piano rhythm.
After a new monument honoring the Native American warriors was completed in 2013, Minkler returned to the site. Seeing her ancestor’s names listed was a powerful experience, she said.
Minkler called on the concertgoers to spread the word about next year’s event and the ongoing presence of Indigenous communities across the country.
“Tell everybody on your email, your Instagram, your Facebook, your friends, even your enemies — let them know that we’re still here,” Minkler said.
Native American Heritage Day falls on Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving and during Native American Heritage month. President George Bush first declared the day in 2009, and proclamations marking the day in Washington state have been made in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Wilson, a Lummi elder, shared a Lummi origin story about Komo Kulshan (Mount Baker) and the mountain’s wives, explaining how Kulshan is connected to Mount Rainier in the south and Spieden Island in the San Juans.
Wilson is grateful for the education and tools available for people in her community to share their stories and celebrate their heritage, but recognizes that traditional life is still missed, she said.
“We’re thankful for who we are and what we have,” Wilson said. “Things are changing, and we are still here, still mourning for the things that we have lost, but grateful for the education we have and the tools that society has for us to offer even though we miss our traditional way of life.”
