EUGENE, Ore. — The Coquille Tribe held a ribbon cutting Friday for its brand-new opioid treatment center in Eugene, the Ko-kwel Wellness Center, which aims to combat overdoses in Lane County.
The clinic, along River Road, is not just open to tribal families and other indigenous people – it’s also accessible to the general public.
According to Oregon Health Authority, the death rate among Native Americans is more than double the state average.
The Coquille Indian Tribe and Bay Area First Step recently formed a community partnership to take a swing at a challenging issue on the south coast, and they expect to bring the results of that partnership home this May. Literally.
In 2023, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) awarded the Coquille Indian Tribe a $1.2 million grant. $735,000 of that grant award could be passed through to Bay Area First Step under the Tribal Residential and Housing Service Element Program. By the end of 2023, CIT and Bay Area First Step reached a Memorandum of Agreement that has now led, in January of this year, to the closing on some property in North Bend. That property will serve as transitional housing for those in mental health and substance abuse treatment.
The Coquille Indian Tribe Community Fund is helping 28 projects through the distribution of almost $200,000 in grants that were handed-out at a celebration on Feb. 6, 2025.
Grant recipients gathered in person at the awards reception at The Mill Casino-Hotel. The Tribe’s grants will help organizations from five southwestern Oregon counties (Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, and Lane) with projects in seven categories: education, public safety, arts & culture, environment, historic preservation, health, and problem gaming. See the press release for details.
In this exclusive interview, Justin Stiefel, CEO of Heritage Distilling Co, discusses the steps taken to establish Oregon’s first tribally-owned distillery. He highlights the importance of overturning the 1834 law that restricted tribal involvement in distilling and shares how the Tribal Beverage Network (TBN) is creating economic opportunities, empowering Native American communities and setting the stage for greater diversity and inclusion in the spirits industry.
The Curry County Board of Commissioners has approved a $6,000 grant from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund to bolster the county’s Aquatic Safety Program.
The funding will be used specifically for the purchase of Personal Watercraft (PWC), essential equipment for the program’s operations. The program, which plays a crucial role in water safety initiatives within the county, is already partially supported by grants from other regional partners.
After more than two years of planning, a distillery will open on Tribal land in Oregon, in which both Heritage and Coquille-branded spirits will be produced and bottled. These products will then be sold in the bars, restaurants and retail outlets of The Mill Casino-Hotel in Coos Bay, Oregon.
The project is expected to open to the public by the end of the year.
“After more than two years of planning, negotiating with the state of Oregon, and completing design work, we are thrilled to have broken ground on this historic project,” said Margaret Simpson, CEO of CEDCO, which operates The Mill Casino-Hotel & RV Park.
South Sound – February 4, 2025
The Coquille Indian Tribe recently received federal permission to build a casino off the interstate in Medford, a cap to a rocky 13-year public process.
The Department of the Interior signed a record of decision in the matter Jan. 10, the Oregon Journalism Project reported.
Oregon Business – January 21, 2025
Rogue Valley Times – January 15, 2025
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.
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.
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
