ENRICHING PEOPLE
AllWashingtonians aspire to the samebasic things
– safe communities, excellent schools, decent jobs,
clean air andwater, good health, and roads and
transit thatmake travel easy.Wewant our kids
to havemoreopportunities thanweregiven to
us. Andwe value a culturewhereneighbors help
neighbors.
Tribal governments place the highest priority
on education. They are investing in education –
building andoperating early learning centers,
schools, libraries and youth activity facilities.Most
tribes provide substantial financial support to
college students. The investment is payingoff –
high school graduation rates are climbing and
the number of tribal citizens attending college is
increasing.Many youngpeople return towork for
their tribe after completing their college studies.
Caring for all citizens – young andold, sick and
well – is also apriority. Tribal governments are
also expandingmedical, dental andwellness care
facilities for tribal citizens. Someof the facilities,
especially in rural areas, are alsoopen to thepublic.
Providing adequatehousing, especially for low-
income families and the elderly, is also apriority for
Washington’s tribes. ThroughoutWashington state,
tribes are constructing new homes and apartments.
TRIBALHEALTHCLINICS SERVE THEPUBLIC
The Jamestown
S’KlallamTribeoperates
a family health clinic and
a family dental clinic in
Sequimwhichprovide
services toboth tribal
citizens and non-tribal
communitymembers.
SUQUAMISHOPENS 34,000 SQUARE
FOOT FITNESSANDYOUTHCENTER
The fitness center opened in the fall of 2015 has it
all – two indoor and twooutdoor full-sizebasketball
courts, and rooms for racquetball, volley ball, yoga
and kickboxing. There is aworkout roomwith an
array of exercise andweightmachines. Next door,
the youth center provides space for teenagers
to hangout – andget helpwith homework and
take classes inweaving, drummaking andother
traditional crafts.
The facility, paid for with funding from the tribal
government, is open to tribal citizens and their
families, tribal government employees, andPort
MadisonEnterprises employees.
TULALIPHOSTS FIRSTBOYS&GIRLSCLUB
ONRESERVATION
TheTulalipBoys&GirlsClub is the first club if its
kind tobebuilt on tribal land inWashington. It
was established in 1995, and 2016marks twenty-
one years of commitment to the community. The
Clubpromotes the health, social, educational,
vocational and character development of boys and
girls. Throughbefore and after school programs,
it aims to help youngpeople improve their lives
by building self-esteem, developing values and
teaching skills during critical periods of growth.
YAKAMA STUDENTBEATSODDS,
WINS SCHOLARSHIP
BrettagneAleck graduated this year from the
YakamaNationTribal School with a 3.3grade
average and is onher way to collegewith a full-
tuition scholarship.
But her road to collegewas a rocky one—Brettagne
had toovercome significant challenges, including
becomingpregnant at
age 14.
“A lot of people said I
was going todropout
and that I was going
towork at aminimum
wage job for the rest
ofmy life,” she said. “I
decided to raisemy
son and continuemy
education. I knew
educationwas the ladder up so I needed toget
my diploma. It took a lot of dedication and I had to
work very hard.”
Brettagnewants toget adegree in education and
return to helpnative youth.
“Wehave kids in a lot of different situations – teen
parents, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse,”
she said. “I thinkwhen you support them andgive
them the resources that they can shinebright and
succeed.”
Goeducks are harvested inPuget Soundandare
shipped live by air tomarkets inAsia.
THEYAKAMANATION ISONEOF THE
LARGESTEMPLOYERS INCENTRAL
WASHINGTON
TheYakamaReservation spans nearly 1.4
million acres,muchof it forestland. The tribe
follows sustainable forest products practices
which allows for amaximum allowable harvest
of up to 80million
board feet. Two
sawmills inWhite
Swan, employing
hundreds of workers
who aremostly
tribal citizens,
produce lumber
for homebuilding
andother purposes
throughout the
region.
Yakama constructionworker
6
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2016 |
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