Good Neighbors Event Follow Up

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Thank you for being part of the Suquamish Tribe’s Good Neighbor event. Please respond to the following questions to help us evaluate the event and so we know what sorts of impacts it had. We appreciate your taking the time to offer your feedback.

Good Neighbors -- Next steps & Feedback

November 2022

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How valuable was this event to you?

Which topics presented at the Good Neighbors event did you most resonate with?
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GC Handbook Submissions for 2023

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Disaster Readiness Training

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Good Neighbors Luncheon

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Please let us know if you can attend the Good Neighbors luncheon, taking place at noon on November 1, 2023, at the House of Awakened Culture in Suquamish.

Good Neighbors Event -- RSVP

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This event is by invitation only and space is limited. If there are others you believe should be invited, please enter their name(s) and email here, and, if you like, why they should be invited. Or contact us at [email protected].

Please add my name and email to the Tribe's text alert and email list for occasional notifications.

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Suquamish government tightens COVID precautions

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With COVID-19 rates increasing within our workplace, across the Reservation, and throughout the region, we are updating the Tribal Government’s requirements for staff and guests. The following changes will go into effect beginning Tuesday June 21:

  1. Physical Distancing – A minimum three-foot separation from others is now required inside all Government-owned facilities.
  2. Masks – The use of approved face masks is now required while inside Tribal Government facilities, vehicles, and vessels when in the presence of others.
    1. Employees may remove their mask while at their desk, provided they are not working with clients and guests and are able to maintain a minimum three-foot distance from other employees.
    2. Occupant load restrictions remain at their normal level, but with adherence to the required masking and physical distancing referenced above.
  3. Guests and visitors — Guests are also required to wear a mask and maintain at least three-foot separation when inside Tribal Government facilities. Appointments with clients and guests are strongly encouraged.
  4. Working outside – The use of approved face masks is highly recommended while outdoors, but is not required when a 3-foot minimum distance cannot be maintained.
  5. Remote work – If a Tribal Government employee’s job function allows, they may telecommute if approved by their supervisor; all other employees are expected to report to work as they are normally scheduled.

Please Remember:

  1. Follow all the safe practices that have helped to keep us all safe. i.e., minimize exposure risks, disinfect and sanitize, practice good hygiene, stay home when sick, etc.
  2. Employees who are symptomatic or who become symptomatic during the day should be immediately separated from others and sent home. They should follow-up with a PCR COVID-19 test in accordance with testing protocols.

We will continue to monitor local case rates over the next few weeks and will adjust our safety measures accordingly. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. With your continued commitment, we’ll be able to keep our co-workers safe.

NOTE: Early Learning Center and CKA families, please see special protocols for your students.

Suquamish Tribal Council’s statement on Resumption of Government-to-Government Relations with the City of Poulsbo

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Two and a half years ago, the Suquamish Tribe suspended our close relationship with the City of Poulsbo. Our decision came some months after the police shooting death of Stonechild Chiefstick and follow-on events that left our community reeling.

We are pleased to announce we are taking the first steps towards normalizing relations with the City as a result of a series of actions that have helped to alleviate tensions.

Background 

Since 2005, representatives of the City’s and Tribe’s councils have met regularly to discuss issues of mutual concern, including the environment, treaty fishing rights, growth management, education, and public safety. The Tribe suspended this relationship some months following the July 3, 2019, fatal shooting of Chiefstick after police responded to a 911 call and confronted him in a crowd gathered along Poulsbo’s waterfront to watch fireworks. Chiefstick, a father of five, was a member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe and the Suquamish community. His death left the community shaken and angry. As the elected representatives of the Tribe, we had to ask ourselves whether there was sufficient safety for Tribal members who live, work or visit Poulsbo, and whether there was sufficient understanding to resume meeting with city officials.

Later events added salt to the wound. Chiefstick’s makeshift memorial at Poulsbo’s waterfront park was repeatedly desecrated, once by a Port of Poulsbo Commissioner, who was arrested (but not charged) for a drunken tirade against Native Americans.  The officer who shot and killed Chiefstick was not criminally charged by the Kitsap County Prosecutor nor disciplined by the City of Poulsbo, and remains on the force. Tribal community members and others who brought concerns to City leaders felt unheard and dismissed.

Since that time, the City of Poulsbo has taken the following important steps:

  • The City hired new Police Chief Ron Harding, who has taken significant action to reshape community policing culture. His policies now require extra hours of in-depth officer training (funded by the City), emphasizing de-escalation, crisis intervention, implicit bias, cultural awareness, compassion for those struggling with mental health and/or addiction, less lethal tools, and using force only as a last resort. He and the City increased their previous halftime Behavioral Navigator, social worker Jamie Young, to fulltime. She works with officers to understand and respond effectively during encounters with those affected by trauma, poverty, mental illness, and substance addiction; she coordinates closely with the CARES program (below).
  • In partnership with the Poulsbo Fire Department (and others), the City launched CARES, a proactive multi-disciplinary intervention program that responds to individuals struggling with behavioral health issues. It helps them obtain care for medical, mental health, substance abuse disorders, and other needs.  The City’s Housing, Health, and Human Services director, Kim Hendrickson, has been instrumental in coordinating with the Police Department and CARES to enhance first responders’ abilities to prevent their encounters with the public from turning deadly.
  • The City responded positively to calls for the public art at the Highway 305-Johnson Parkway roundabout to include visual acknowledgements of the Suquamish presence in this region with original Native art and language.
  • The City settled a civil lawsuit brought by Chiefstick’s family.
  • The City has issued statements acknowledging the suffering endured by Chiefstick’s family and the community at large.
  • The City has become an active member of the Government Alliance for Racial Equity (GARE), which comprises government leaders nationwide striving to combat racial injustice and to make their governments more diverse and equitable.

Next steps 

We have followed these developments within Poulsbo’s city government, aided by our Tribal Council’s Emissary, retired Judge Robin Hunt; she has acted as a go-between while formal Tribal communications with the City were suspended.  We are now ready to re-engage government-to-government relations.

We hope to re-establish our shared work, and discuss ways that first responders (including law enforcement) and mental health and social work professionals from our respective communities might collaborate to address mental health and substance abuse emergencies. We also want to renew elected leader discussions on growth management, water quality, and marine habitat protection.

We are encouraged that a continued focus on mutual respect, appropriate law enforcement, and accomplishing shared goals will provide a foundation for productive collaboration for years to come.

 

Signed,

Suquamish Tribal Council Chairman Leonard Forsman
Vice Chairman Joshua Bagley
Secretary Windy Anderson
Treasurer Denita Holmes
Sammy Mabe
Luther “Jay” Mills Jr.
Rich Purser

Suquamish Tribe seeks input on hazard planning

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Read more

BIA Secretarial Election Results

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Amending the Suquamish Tribe’s Constitution to Remove the Secretary of Interior and BIA Oversight

RESULTS

Posted on April 8, 2022

 

The Secretarial Election Board, whose members include Puget Sound BIA Superintendent Janine Van Dusen and Suquamish Tribal Members Martha George-Sachava and Charlene Renquist certify that the results of the election are to adopt the proposed Constitutional amendment.

The total vote is 137 in favor of adopting the Constitutional change and 59 opposed. A total of 280 Tribal members registered to vote in this election.

 

CHALLENGES

You are entitled to challenge the results of the election pursuant to 25 CFR §81.43 if you are a Registered Voter for this Election. Your written challenge must be received by April 13 at 4pm by Superintendent Janine Van Dusen. Superintendent Van Dusen can be reached via email at [email protected] or at (425) 622-9158.

The following is the statute that defines this process:

§ 81.43 How are the results of the Election challenged?

Any person who was listed on the Eligible Voters List and who submitted a voter registration form may challenge the results of the Secretarial election. The written challenge, with substantiating evidence, must be received by the Chairman of the Secretarial Election Board within 5 days after the Certificate of Results of Election is posted, not including the day the Certificate of Results of Election is posted. Challenges received after the deadline for filing challenges will not be considered. If the third day falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the challenge must be received by close of business on the next business day.

The Northwest Regional Office Director, Bryan Mercier, will receive the election results and any challenges that the Election Board receives. The Regional Director will rule on the challenges and approve or disapprove the election results on or before June 1, 2022.

General Council 2022 Handbook Submissions

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Kraken Tickets Raffle — Enter Here

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The Seattle Kraken is giving the Suquamish Tribe 10 upper bowl tickets to Indigenous Peoples Night at the Kraken game on Dec. 6, 2021, at 7pm. Enter to win a pair of tickets below. We’ll choose the five Tribal members whose numbers come closest to a pre-selected random number to each receive two tickets.

One entry per Tribal member, please.

Note: All who attend must wear a mask, and all who are age 12 or older must bring proof of vaccination.