Not only a memorial, but a call to action

The Eagle Hunter Foundation is named after my brother, James Makya (Eagle Hunter) Yates, “Moki”, who moved on from this life. Moki struggled with addiction and mental illness for many years and tragically decided to take his own life on January 24, 2020. If there was anything on this Earth that kept him going, it was skateboarding. Skateboarding was Moki’s light in the dark. It was the only constant in his life which parallels many of our own experiences. Moki pushed and encouraged everyone to skate more and never give up. There was a beauty about him that was contagious anytime there was a skateboard in his hand or the wheels under his feet.

James Makya (Eagle Hunter) Yates

As a refusal to allow Moki to be known as a faceless statistic of suicide and addiction the Eagle Hunter Foundation chooses to bring out the positivity that he offered to the skateboarding community as a response the the undeniable negative attachments brought out by his death.

The Eagle Hunter Foundation is a small local network of older skateboarders, artists, and community members that strive to bring skateboarding to youth by providing skateboards to kids who may not have been exposed to or have the means to begin skateboarding as well as to provide replacement skateboards to those that genuinely need them. The Eagle Hunter Foundation is not only a memorial but a call to action to provide opportunities to kids with a novice interest all the way to concrete passion for skateboarding.

December 2 is Moki’s birthday so every year on this date Hummingbird Tattoo has a tattoo and art fundraiser to raise money to help buy complete skateboards, and skateboard equipment for kids that need them here in the Ohio area as well as various Indigenous communities throughout the country. As of now we are just a group of like-minded community members that believe in the importance of skateboarding as a positive outlet for youth. If the fundraiser continues to grow and we have the capability to do more then we will strive to move into the non-profit realm in hopes to be able to serve more kids and be able to do more for them such as providing protective equipment and/or shoes for those in need.

Please consider joining us on December 2 every year in a celebration of Moki’s life as well as raise money to purchase skateboards for the kids that can benefit from such a beautiful act of expression through skateboarding!