Today, cultures of reciprocity are central among many Indigenous communities, including among the Coquille Indian Tribe, in Southwest Oregon, whose members say that the custom of potlatch is evident in almost every aspect of life.
Author: Tim Novotny
Oregon allows government-run insurance programs to cover Native American healing practices
In October, the Biden Administration expanded both Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for practices including sweat lodges and drumming in Oregon, California, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Jen Procter Andrews is Vice Chair for the Coquille Tribe based in Coastal Oregon, and a member of the Portland Area Indian Health Board.
She says this is a fantastic development which will address issues specific to Native communities.
Coquille Tribe and State of Oregon come together for emergency preparedness exercise
Tribal, county, state and local partners gathered for an emergency preparedness exercise and demonstration. These partners worked together to set up components of an Evacuation Assembly Point (EAP). An EAP is a short-term, designated location used after emergencies like the Cascadia earthquake and tsunami. It serves as a staging area where people can gather while emergency responders work to access impacted regions and facilitate evacuation.
Oregon Department of Human Services newsroom – November 21, 2024
The World Newspaper – December 8, 2024
Coquille Tribe retains Chair, welcomes Rep
The Coquille Indian Tribe has voted to retain its chairman and secretary/treasurer, while welcoming a new representative following a recent election.
Chair Brenda Meade, who has served in that position since 2012, was sworn-in to a new three-year term on Oct. 25. Jackie Chambers, who has served as secretary-treasurer since 2021, and new
Representative Shelley Estes, were also sworn-in by Vice Chair Jen Procter Andrews on the same day.
Meade will continue heading the seven-member Tribal Council, which oversees all of the Tribe’s governmental and business activities. Over the past 12 years, she has remained passionately engaged in state, regional and national organizations that work on Native American issues, including serving as chair of the Oregon Legislative Commission on Indian Services.
Some of her other leadership roles have been with the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Gaming Association, the Governor’s Task Force on Oregon Tribal Cultural Items, and the University of Oregon’s Native American Advisory Committee.
“We have much more work to do,” Meade said. “Working to protect our sovereignty and create opportunities for self-sufficiency for our Tribe and Tribal citizens is something that requires constant effort but is worth it. A healthy and vibrant Coquille Tribe can only add to a healthy and vibrant community.”
Estes, who has been serving as chair of the Elders Advisory Council among other roles with the Tribe, takes the seat that had been held by Laurabeth Barton who did not run for reelection.
Native American students and supporters gather at UO to celebrate resiliency of Indigenous culture
Monday across the U.S., Native Americans observed Indigenous Peoples Day. This included an event at the University of Oregon.
About a hundred people gathered at the EMU Amphitheater to watch Native American dancing, and hear speakers talk about Indigenous culture, history, and issues including the Land Back movement and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).
Jason Younker also attended. He’s the Coquille Tribe’s Chief and UO presidential advisor on sovereign government to government relations. He said this is the tenth year that there’s been a ceremony to replace the tribal flags on campus.
Coquille Tribe plans to open Oregon’s first tribal-run distillery
The project is in partnership with Washington-based distilling company Heritage and will include a tasting room at the Coquille Tribe’s casino in Coos Bay
Coquille Tribe puts millions in federal funding to work
The Coquille Indian Tribe will soon be putting nearly $8 million in federal grant funding to work on salmon recovery and watershed projects, the tribe said Monday in a media release.
The tribe received two major NOAA grant awards this year, including a $4.249 million Barrier Removal Grant and a $3.608 million Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund Grant.
Oregon governor outlines commitments to Native nations
This story originally appeared on Underscore Native News.
This spring, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek promised to visit all nine federally recognized Native nations across the state. So far, she has visited eight and attended the annual Tribal-State Government-to-Government Summit in July. That time marked a span of months when Kotek heard from Native leadership across the state.
In an interview on Aug. 14, Underscore Native News + ICT followed up on those conversations, asking Kotek to clarify her commitments to Native nations and Indigenous community members in Oregon.
Native American Issues Need to Be Part of Presidential Election Discussions
Opinion. Last week, three tribal leaders penned an open letter to presidential candidates, debate moderators, consultants, political commentators, and the media to push for Native American rights to be part of the upcoming presidential debate on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia and the vice presidential debate on Oct. 1 in New York City.
Tribal leaders Coquille Indian Tribe Chair Brenda Meade; Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana Chairman Marshall Pierite; and Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians Chair Brad Kneaper wrote that millions of Americans are tribal citizens who grapple with centuries of disastrous policies designed to stamp out our people and way of life.
The Coquille: Logging Ancestral Lands on the Oregon Coast
Natalie Wilson of the Coquille Indian Tribe has a boots-on-the-ground approach to logging that connects her to the land of her ancestors on the Southern Oregon Coast.
Wilson, a fish and wildlife biologist and the tribe’s subsistence harvest program manager, inspects every tree to determine which will remain standing and which will be cut down…