By Katie Manzanares

Suicide Prevention and Overdose Awareness parade brings community together for prevention, recovery and healing.

Muckleshoot Indian Tribal members, families, departments and community partners came together Sept. 17 for the Muckleshoot Suicide Prevention and Overdose Awareness parade, “Changing the Narrative,” an afternoon dedicated to honoring those lost to suicide and overdose while raising awareness around prevention, recovery and healing.

Presented by the Muckleshoot Behavioral Health Program and Family Support Center, the parade was held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on 392nd in front of the Pow Wow Grounds. Members, families, friends, employees, first responders and programs from across the community participated, carrying a shared message reflected throughout the event: You are not alone.

Muckleshoot Tribal Council Chairman Donny Stevenson opened the gathering by welcoming those in attendance and speaking about the importance of bringing conversations about suicide and overdose into the open.

“We have an opportunity to come together and walk together today to help change the narrative and to do away with stigma associated with things that we often remain either quiet or silent about,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson spoke about the impact suicide and overdose continue to have on Tribal communities and emphasized that prevention also means creating spaces where people feel supported enough to talk about what they are experiencing.

“Nobody at Muckleshoot is alone,” Stevenson said.

Throughout his remarks, Stevenson returned to the importance of connection to family, community, culture, ancestors and future generations and the strength those relationships can provide during difficult times.

“If you’re a part of our Tribe, you’re part of our community,” Stevenson said. “You’re one of our members and you’re part of our family. We always have a place to belong.”

Stevenson also reflected on how far Muckleshoot has come in a generation. He spoke about the opportunities available to young people today that previous generations worked to create, while emphasizing the responsibility to remember the struggles that helped shape the Tribe and continue building a better future for the generations to come.

That responsibility, he said, also includes acknowledging trauma and addressing issues that previous generations may not have been able to speak about openly.

Stevenson spoke from his own experience as a man in recovery, sharing a message about the importance of breaking silence and allowing others to help carry the weight.

“We are all as sick as the secrets we keep, and we’re all as well as what we share,” Stevenson said.

He thanked those who came out for taking part in what he described as the shared responsibility of healing the community.

Following Stevenson’s remarks, the parade got underway, with Muckleshoot departments, programs, members, families and community partners joining together in a visible show of support for suicide prevention, overdose awareness and recovery.

Mountain View Fire and Rescue joined the procession with a fire engine and aid car, representing first responders who answer emergencies and provide lifesaving care throughout the community.

Muckleshoot Elders In Home Support Services also participated alongside the Muckleshoot Canoe Family and Culture Program, which pulled Eagle Spirit through the parade.

As the canoe family passed, organizers highlighted culture as a protective factor in suicide and overdose prevention and spoke about the strength that comes from remaining connected to culture, family and community. One speaker shared how participating in canoe family and being on the water had personally been life changing, encouraging others to find opportunities to become involved.

The parade also included members of a local car club, while a community member was recognized for reaching 10 years of sobriety and for keeping her children involved in culture and the powwow way of life.

Many more Muckleshoot departments, programs, members, families and community supporters participated throughout the afternoon, each contributing to the event’s message of awareness, prevention, recovery and hope.

For those remembering someone lost to suicide or overdose, those walking their own path of recovery and the families, friends and programs supporting them, “Changing the Narrative” created a space to acknowledge experiences that can be difficult to talk about and to do so surrounded by community.

As Stevenson reminded those gathered, Muckleshoot people have their families, their ancestors, their children and one another.

Together, the community walked to make sure no one had to walk alone.