A picture of Healing House, where Community Health is co-located.

Healing House Primary Care Expands Eligibility

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Suquamish Tribe Healing House Primary Care Clinic is now accepting new patients from the following groups:

  • Suquamish Tribal Members and their families
  • American Indian/Alaska Native tribal members/descendants enrolled in other federally recognized tribes
  • Suquamish Tribal Government staff and their families
  • Port Madison Enterprises employees and their families

For these patients Primary Care accepts any insurance. Primary Care is also now accepting anyone with Medicaid.

Primary Care is currently at capacity for all other patients with private insurance and Medicare.

All patients must provide proof of insurance.  For American Indians/Alaska Natives without insurance, please call the clinic for Medicaid enrollment assistance.

For more information regarding eligibility and new patient registration, please contact the Healing House reception desk at (360) 394-1350.

Stage 2 Burn Ban Begins July 12th

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Wildfire Risk Continuing to Rise

The Suquamish Tribe, in cooperation with the Kitsap Fire Marshal, has declared a Phase 2 Burn Ban on the Port Madison Indian Reservation starting immediately. The ban, which limits all outdoor fires, is in effect until further notice.

Under a Phase 2 ban, all outdoor burning is prohibited in Kitsap County and on the Port Madison Indian Reservation with the exception of ceremonial fires. 

  • Burning Permits are suspended.
  • Recreational burning is now prohibited, including in:
    • fire pits in parks, campgrounds, and yards
    • outdoor fireplaces
    • beach fire pits or bonfires
  • Only the use of charcoal or charcoal briquettes in a barbeque specific for that purpose and used over a non-combustible surface, such as concrete, is allowed.

For more information, please visit the Fire Marshall’s Office Burn Ban page: https://www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/Pages/Fire-Marshal.aspx

 

Justice Gorsuch opinion in ICWA ruling is worth reading

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Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch offers a masterclass on tribal sovereignty in his concurring opinion offered in the court’s recent decision to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act.

“In affirming the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), the Court safeguards the ability of tribal members to raise their children free from interference by state authorities and other outside parties. In the process, the Court also goes a long way toward restoring the original balance between federal, state, and tribal powers the Constitution envisioned,” he writes in a 43-page opinion.

“I write separately to add some historical context. To appreciate fully the significance of today’s decision requires an understanding of the long line of policies that drove Congress to adopt ICWA. And to appreciate why that law surely comports with the Constitution requires a bird’s-eye view of how our founding document mediates between competing federal, state, and tribal claims of sovereignty.”

Click here to read his analysis in full.

Burn ban now in effect

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Wildfire risk rising

The Suquamish Tribe, in cooperation with the Kitsap Fire Marshal, has declared a Phase 1 Burn Ban on the Port Madison Indian Reservation starting immediately. The ban, which limits most outdoor fires, is in effect until further notice.

Under a Phase 1 ban, all outdoor burning is prohibited except for:

  • Small recreational fires
  • Cooking
  • Ceremonial fires

Permitted fires must be kept within approved devices and safe locations. Open recreational fires must be:

  • Located at least 25 feet from any structures
  • Contained within a designated fire pit less than 3 feet in diameter
  • Not exceed 2 feet tall
  • Not be used as a substitute for burning yard debris

With an early start to the fire season in western Washington, local fire districts are seeing an increase in fire responses.

Higher than normal temperatures are likely to continue and lower than normal amounts of rain are predicted over the next few weeks, worsening fire risk in a landscape that’s already dry.

Escaped outdoor fires are the leading cause of wildfires, sparking nearly 85% of all blazes.

For information on burn permits please visit the North Kitsap Fire and Rescue Outdoor Burning Information page

For further information regarding the burn ban please contact Eric Quitslund, Office of Emergency Management Operations Officer, at equitslund@suquamish.nsn.us.

A statement from Suquamish Tribal Council on Brackeen v Haaland Supreme Court Decision

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The Supreme Court decision upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is an affirmation of Tribal sovereignty and the rights of Indian nations to raise our children and the next generation of citizens and leaders.

The Indian Child Welfare Act protects our children, families, and communities from earlier government-sanctioned practices of family separation. Forced attendance at boarding schools – along with child welfare practices that removed children from parents, extended families, and tribal communities – have traumatized our people.  This was a deliberate federal policy of assimilation designed to eradicate our culture and dispossess our land.

With today’s ruling, the majority of Supreme Court justices stand with us – along with child welfare advocates and legal experts – in understanding that we as tribal communities have the right to raise our children.  The Supreme Court also reminded the states of the unique legal and political relationship between Indian Tribes and the United States Congress.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday, June 15, in Brackeen v Haaland should put to rest questions about the future of ICWA legal protections for our families.

 

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

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The Suquamish Tribe’s Wellness Center has a slew of events planned for Mental Health Awareness Month through May. All activities are open to the Suquamish Community.

Here’s a round-up of what’s coming up:

Weekday Wellness Activities: Each weekday of the month of May join us in connecting with ourselves and culture to support our wellness. Monday Meditations, Tuesday Traditional Crafts, Wednesday Walk or Jog, and Thursday Canoe Journey Giveaway making.

Events/Presentations: Please join us in food, crafts, fun field day, storytelling, workshops, and training this month. Frybread Tacos, Happy box and aroma therapy making, Seven Grandfather Teaching for Youth, Nutrition and Wellness Talk, and Mental Health First Aid Training for Adults.

Personal Wellness Journey Booklet: Self-guided booklet utilizing evidence-based and cultural-based practices to support holistic wellness (available for pick up at Wellness Center or electronically at request via email to oponce@suquamish.nsn.us)

31 Days of Mental Wellness for Youth: In partnership with the ELC and Family & Friends Center, Wellness will support both agencies in a 31 days of mental wellness activities that can be done both at the centers and at home.

Check out the May Wellness Calendar for more details.

Grant funding helps CKA students through pandemic challenges

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Chief Kitsap Academy is putting $125,000 in federal grant money to good use with new computers, school supplies, and a staff counselor focused on easing attendance and adjustment challenges among students as the school emerges from the pandemic.

The funding comes from the U.S. Education Department’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER for short, part of a $123 billion in emergency financial assistance provided to public school districts across the country last year.

Chief Kitsap Academy is using ESSER funds to support student learning recovery and acceleration by purchasing student computers for home and school use, purchasing supplies for Summer School, as well as restocking protective supplies including masks and hand sanitizers.

Meanwhile, as part of the grant, Ashley Kennedy – who previously worked for the Suquamish Tribe Wellness Center – is now helping students with the social and emotional transitions that have come with being back in the classroom.

If you have any questions, contact CKA principal Rex Green at (360) 394-8597.