A soldier who is Native American was blessed with sacred tobacco and fanned with his veteran grandfather’s eagle feather by friends and family at his tapping-out ceremony.
Marcos Davis Reyes, 21, a private in the United States Army, received the gesture when he graduated on June 5, at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina.
He was motivated to join the Army by his veteran grandfather, who Marcos was very close to before he passed, and his family members thought serving the country was an extremely honorable thing to do.
And so, on the day of his graduation, Marcos’ mother, stepfather, brothers, cousins and family friends showed up for his tapping out ceremony.
Rather than have everyone rush to tap Marcos out, though, the group stood near him and handed out sacred tobacco, which is used by many Native American groups in ceremonies, prayers and healing as a way to connect with ancestors.
Each person walked past Marcos and offered their blessings, while he was fanned with his late grandfather’s eagle feather fan.
Then, Marcos’ mom, Keeley, proudly stepped forward to tap out her son, who was visibly touched by the gesture.
The moment was captured on video by a family friend, Sophina Calderon, who has known Marcos since childhood – and when Sophina later shared the video online, it went viral with millions of views.
Native Americans have historically served in the U.S. military at a higher rate per capita than any other ethnic group, according to the National Indian Council on Aging, Sophina pointed out.
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She added: “Understanding what Marcos’ grandfather meant to him and how he was following his grandfather’s footsteps by joining the Army and being fanned by his grandfather’s eagle fan, I could tell that Marcos was touched by the whole event.
“Being far from home in Arizona, and far from his family, he was happy to see how much of his family made it all the way to South Carolina just for him.
“The response has been very positive and surprisingly far more widespread than we had anticipated.
“We thought our Native American relatives far and wide would see and understand the significance behind what we did.
“But we didn’t expect the interest to spread to all non-Native relatives who also respected the emotion in that video.
“It was humbling to see such a unified response of well-wishers from all over the world who saw it as an honorable gesture of solidarity.
“Those who served but perhaps didn’t feel appreciated for their service poured out support and stated how much they wished they had a family come out to support them as we did for Marcos.
“It was sweet to see many comments by veterans about a fellow soldier they served with who was Native American and how much respect they had for their Native American colleagues in arms.
“To see the honor and respect we show to those who serve, it was an emotion felt by many.
“In a way, by sharing our video that then went viral around the world, it was our way of honoring all who served and are actively serving in the armed forces.”
