In the moments following an apparent suicide just steps away at the end of the AFN Convention, a group of Alaska Natives from the North Slope came together to sing a song to comfort those left in the Dena'ina Center.
Dozens gathered on a nearby stage and sang two songs -- one in Inupiaq called "Aariga" and another called "Praying for You" -- as the convention officially ended. None seemed to know where the man was from, but they wanted to sing. No one stopped them.
Marie Greene of Kotzebue, one of the singers, said it was a spontaneous sign of solidarity and support. "Our tradition when we hear sudden news is to pull together and extend our love and prayers to the family of the one who passed," Greene said. "We feel it touches all of us."