For the Puyallup Tribe, 2009 was a year of progress. The community realized the completion, groundbreaking and creation of schematic plans for the Tribe’s three major capital goals. A new administration in Washington, D.C. has created an optimistic working future for tribal and national leaders, and community collaboration within the Tribe as well as between neighboring jurisdictions continues to flourish.
The following are the biggest stories to hit our front page over the past year, largely showcasing the continuing growth and development of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians.
Elders get their House of Respect
For years Puyallup tribal elders have heard that a place of their own was on its way.
On Oct. 10 two decades of talk and promises became a reality, as elders took their first steps into the House of Respect, a facility made by and for one of the Tribe’s most coveted resources: its elders. The 26,000-square-foot building is the first in a series of capital projects for the Tribe.
It was put as the top priority in 2006, preceding the community center and justice center (both of which are currently in the works.) Ground broke on the Elders Center in January 2008, and about 20 months later the building is a stunning icon of the elders’ value to the Tribe.
Treatment Center closes its doors
Employees and former patients bid farewell to the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority (PTHA) Treatment Center at a closing ceremony on March 27. After more than 20 years treating drug and alcohol addictions through inpatient and outpatient services, the Inpatient Treatment Center officially closed its doors. The Treatment Center had 40 beds for the 30-day intensive inpatient treatment program, and also provided outpatient and intensive outpatient care for adults with drug and alcohol addiction. Although inpatient treatment will no longer be available, drug and alcohol addiction outpatient and intensive outpatient services are still available to PTHA eligible patients/clients.
The council and PTHA have also implemented a new program that will serve the Tribe’s youth who are struggling with addiction.
Delegation visits D.C. for inauguration
The Tribe kicked off 2009 by sending a delegation of about 10 Puyallup Tribal members to Washington, D.C. for the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama. The delegation included not only Puyallup Tribal Council members, but also other members of the Tribe, who said they are looking forward to four years of hope and cooperation with the new administration.
Ground breaks on community center
The Puyallup Tribal Council, along with staff and tribal members, broke ground on the new multi-purpose community center May 16.
The community center is a long time in the making, and reflects the hard work of many, according to those who spoke at the event. The multi-million dollar project will accommodate a wide range of tribal events, and will include athletic fields, gathering spaces and a connection to nearby wetlands. The center will be located next to Chief Leschi Schools, and will serve as a place for tribal youth to spend their time after school, to avoid negative influences.
Councilmember David Bean described the site as a place of healing, and the project as an effort to help the community. The community center will be more than 31,000 square feet in size. It will include such amenities as a great room for gatherings and events, various meeting and activity rooms, a basketball court and running track, a deli, a youth center, a commercial kitchen and a welcome and reception area. This first phase of the project will cost $13.3 million.
The second phase of the project, for which the Tribe is still seeking funds, will include hydrotherapy facilities, an indoor swimming pool and a multi-purpose athletic field. It will cost an additional $3.3 million.
Site work and construction on the community center will continue through 2010.
Phase one of Justice Center gets underway
In September 2009 Puyallup Tribal Council received grant funding for phase one of the planned Justice Center, which will provide better service to the community, and solidify the Tribe’s presence on the East Side.
Council received $7.9 million from the Department of Justice’s one-time grant for correction centers.
The money, matched with $800,000 in Tribal funds, will cover the costs for design and construction of a 28-bed adult, co-gender detention facility – the first step in the larger Justice Center, which will include full law enforcement services, courts, prosecutor’s office and an emergency operations center.
Police Chief Joe Duenas noted the larger detention facility will nearly triple the amount of space available to inmates, meaning less costs for the Tribe for overflow detention, and more criminals off the streets. Construction is slated to begin in March 2010, with a grand opening for the facility about a year later. A preliminary budget for both phases of the Justice Center was estimated at $15 million.
Ideally, work on phase two would begin as phase one is wrapping up, meaning the Tribe could see the full project completed within the next two to three years.
Miller elected to council, LaPointe, Bean retain seats
The Puyallup Tribal membership came out in full force June 6 to vote for who they wanted to see sitting in the three council seats up for grabs.
In total, 880 tribal members voted in the 2009 general election.
Of the six candidates Sylvia Miller received the most votes, with 463 nods of support.
“It’s overwhelming the number of people who came out to vote, the number of people who care about this Tribe,” said Sylvia Miller in response to the large turnout for the general election.
Sylvia Miller has held a seat on council in the past. Prior to her election
to council, she worked as an
executive administrative assistant for the Tribe.
Incumbents Larry LaPointe and David Bean received 412 and 392 votes, respectively, getting them re-elected to the governing body of the Tribe.
Henry John was also up for re-election but did not make the cut with 330 votes.
Tribal administration employees Roleen Hargrove and Don Coats tallied in at 375 and 304, respectively, keeping them out of the council chambers.
Tribal reps voice needs to national leaders
Tribal Council Chairman Herman Dillon, council members David Bean and James Miles, and tribal staff Peter Mills and Michael Bowechop met with congressional leaders for the state, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and even dined with President Barack Obama in June.
“Most importantly it was a networking opportunity to communicate on a more intimate level with members of Congress, rather than in their offices on a more formal level,” David Bean said.
Tribal representatives were able to discuss the financial needs of the Tribe, and also remind members of Congress of what the Tribe has done for itself as well as the local community, such as supplementing monies traditionally supplied by the federal government for the health authority and school, as well as the Tribe’s collaboration with neighboring jurisdictions.
Over the past year, tribal representatives have made a handful of trips to the nation’s capitol to lobby for additional funding for housing, economic development and government infrastructure.
So far, the Tribe has been successful and received $800,000 in housing monies, $1.4 million in road improvement and more than $3 million in stimulus money.
Community Alliance forms against gangs, drugs, violence
Last summer, increased gang violence in tribal housing complexes prompted Tribal Council to re-implement a gang task force that had previously fizzled out.
The gang task force has expanded into what organizer Jody Brooks calls a “Community Alliance,” which combines individuals and groups from throughout the community and departments within the Tribe to look at the bigger picture of an unhealthy community.
The goals are still the same, but instead of focusing strictly on gang prevention and intervention the Community Alliance will address all the community issues cohesively.
“We need to look at the whole picture. Pulling together that community can do anything – we’re forming that alliance,” said Jody Brooks, director of community and family services. That means creating a stronger community by bringing people together, educating on issues like substance abuse and violence, providing healthy activities for youth and families, and creating awareness of the many resources available to youth, adults and families that already exist within the Tribe.
The first Community Alliance event was a dinner and night of free entertainment held in October. In December, the Alliance hosted a holiday event and lighted parade, an East Side tradition that had been defunct for the last two years.
Annual Peace Rally doubles in numbers
The Tribe’s fourth annual Peace Rally nearly doubled from the 2008 event, boasting a turnout of both tribal members and residents from the surrounding East Side and Tacoma communities.
What started in response to excessive gang and violent activity on and around the reservation in years past has become a growing tradition for the area.
Participants in the day-long event’s Peace March, which showcased hundreds of peace supporters along Portland Avenue, held signs promoting peace, the East Side neighborhood and community support services.
The event March 22 was held at the Emerald Queen Casino events tent and brought together many Tribal, municipal and community programs, such as First Creek Neighbors, Safe Streets, Gang Resistance and Education Training and the East Side Boys and Girls Club to name a few, in order to educate participants on the many anti-violence resources available to them right in their own community.
Agreement draws city and tribe closer
Tacoma City Council passed a resolution on March 24 approving a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Tribe to formalize efforts regarding cooperative planning and development.
Alisa O’Hanlon from the City Manager’s Office said the MOU would establish an initial framework for coordinating efforts on many projects. It will bring staff from the two governments together on project teams to collaborate on costs, timelines, permits and other issues. They will identify potential funding sources.
Topics the city and Tribe will collaborate on will include economic development, transportation, cultural assessments and environmental stewardship. An example of the latter is recent efforts to clean up First Creek on the East Side. One stretch of the creek is on land within both the city limits and the Tribe’s reservation. The councils of both governments have approved an agreement establishing collaboration on this effort. “That is a perfect recent example of how we work in a cooperative and collaborative manner,” Alisa O’Hanlon remarked.
City Councilmember Julie Anderson said she and each of her colleagues could likely come up with several topics on which the two governments have common interests at stake.
Mayor Bill Baarsma said in recent years there have been many opportunities for both governments to interact as issues arise. The MOU formalizes this relationship, according to the mayor. “This is a very significant move.”
