Tulalip community fills the evening sky with prayers for MP victims
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Nearly 100 supporters in the Tulalip community, along with Marysville-Pilchuck alumni, gathered at the Tulalip Boom City site on November 7, to send up a message of support through the use of 400 lanterns for the victims of the October 24 Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting.
Eliza Davis and Alex Jimenez, who organized the event, reached out to fellow Boom City stand owners for lanterns and received a total of 400. Hearing about the event, firework wholesalers Anthony Paul, owner of Native Works, and Mark Brown, owner of R Brown (Great Grizzly Fireworks), also pitched in to donate lanterns. A mini fireworks show followed the event hosted by Boom City stand owners Chris Joseph, Junior Zackuse and Nathaniel Zackuse.
“We just wanted to send up prayers for all the victims, families, our communities and our youth,” said Davis, a Native American Liasion at Quil Ceda & Tulalip Elmentary for the Marysville School District. “In the past my family has used lanterns to send up prayers and messages for our loved ones who have passed on and it really was a healing experience for us. We had a lot of people in grief with heavy hearts come out and by the end of the event I could hear laughter and see smiles, so it turned out perfect.”
Natosha Gobin, who attended the event, said, “Prayers were shared and lanterns were sent above and filled the sky. Some slowly floated up and some quickly went into the air. They all seemed to follow the same path, which from Tulalip, looked as if they were headed straight to Harborview where Andrew Fryberg was surround by his family.”
Brandi N. Montreuil:360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com