Shared with permission. Originally published March 2025 in Pampico Blue.
We are “Outer Banks Forever”
So who are we and what is it we do?
Well, we preserve and protect
this treasure for you
We do it in partnership
with our Park Service clan
They watch over Her gifts
and protect Her land
So if you’ve just arrived
And it’s still sort of new
Let me try to explain
why we feel like we do
I had an elder named Carl
And he explained it to me
“This place is… paradise.
It’s my heaven you see.”
There’s no other place
that I’d rather be
than here on this land
where the shore meets the sea
She’s sacred to me
for my own personal reasons
But not just in summer
during all Her seasons
I love the parks and
the monuments too
the beaches and sun
the same way you do
She’s the sea oats and grasses
that dance on the dunes
or the shore birds and songbirds
that gift us their tunes
From the slick, calm waters
of our Pampico Sound
to the ocean shore
where Her waves crash down
From Corolla to Ocracoke
there’s no better sight
than a clear starry sky
on an Outer Banks night
But there’s so much more
It’s the history you see
It’s all of our stories
like the one in me
It’s the most meaningful contact
between my people and yours
We welcomed them here
when we met on our shores
That’s a complicated story
With a painful scar
But it must be heard
As the others are
And although my story
is important to share
It’s only one piece
of the history in Dare
Our histories still live
from first contact to first flight
Of ship graves and life savers
Of Wingina and John White
So please be aware
as you play on this land
you’re standing on lives
It’s not just the sand
Our folks came from Her
and on Her they toiled
their blood, sweat and tears
are mixed in this soil
And their Spirits still offer
their welcome to you
Just smile and walk softly
with respect as we do
And when you leave Her
leave nothing of harm
just take all your memories
and of course Her charm
And teach others how special
this place is to you
And teach them to treat Her
the same way we do
Cause she’s more than just islands
surrounded by blue
She’s our heaven on Earth
that we loan to you
So we’re not just a phrase
or a slogan that’s clever
We’re a way of life
that’s… “Outer Banks Forever.”
About the Poet
Michael GrayHawk “Gray” Parsons is the President and Founder of The Secotan Alliance…and beyond. The mission of The Secotan Alliance . . . and beyond, is to educate the public on the traditional indigenous principles of the Secotan Alliance under the leadership of Chief Wingina, specifically in terms of their application and value in today’s world, and to educate the public regarding the need and the methods to protect Mother Earth through individual, community, corporate, and government actions based on the traditional indigenous earth ethic.
Gray was born and raised in Washington, North Carolina, and is a graduate of East Carolina University (1972) with a degree in Parks, Outdoor Recreation, and Conservation. In 1970, he founded the first East Carolina University chapter of the National Parks and Recreation Society and was a member of the first ever integrated male and female expeditionary group at the North Carolina Outward Bound School. His professional career was in human services, medical sales and marketing, and the organic and natural foods industry. He is past President of the Board of Directors for Native American Lifelines and currently serves as a Board of Directors member of Friends of the Outer Banks History Center and volunteers at Frisco Native American Museum. He is Vice President of the Pitt-GAP chapter of Epsilon Chi Nu, Inc. (the first Native American fraternity in the United States).
He is the author of Pampico Blue and Hope on Hatterask and is a descendant of the Machapunga-Mattamuskeet people of the North Carolina Inner Banks. Gray served twice as a “Water Protector” in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota in 2016. He is a lifelong proponent of environmental stewardship and has spoken at numerous events in that regard from the steps of the U.S. Capitol and beyond.