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Tribe partners with Tacoma’s Indian Ed

By Clare Jensen

Tacoma Weekly
cjensen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: June 19, 2008

The Puyallup Tribal Council and Tacoma School District’s Indian Education program share a vision of giving tribal youth opportunities for a better future.

That’s why the council decided to share some of its wealth with the program that has been struggling financially over the past several years.

The Puyallup Tribe has made a commitment to support the Tacoma Indian Education program by granting a total of $500,000 over a five-year period.

“The entire council… has supported education, and this is another fine way to express that support,” said tribal councilmember James Miles.

Without that grant, Indian Education would have had to rely mainly on the federal formula grant, which would be stretched thin throughout the year.

Swan, director of Indian Education for Tacoma, said in the past the program has received an additional federal grant, which they are applying for again this year, but the ­highly competitive nature of the demonstration grant leaves that funding uncertain.

Walt Swan said without the grant from the tribe, federal grant funds would have been just enough to cover his salary for the 2008-2009 school year.

“We’re very grateful for their generosity,” Swan said. “They’ve recognized the need, and we want to make sure the money is put to work in raising our kids’ achievement scores and getting our kids on to bigger and better things past the K-12 situation. I think that’s the tribe’s goal, and we fit right into that as well.”

Swan said Indian education will be able to offer tutoring at various strategic sites throughout the district, and professional development for the certified teachers who will be providing the tutoring.

They will also be able to offer more extensive summer programs.

“I see some really good things coming out of Indian Ed with this grant over the next five years,” he said. “This opens Indian Ed up to a lot of good things.”

Of the approximately 500 students enrolled in Indian Education, about 70 of them are Puyallup tribal members.

Miles said that in addition to helping those members of the tribe, “we have a responsibility to help the greater Native American community, especially in terms of education. Education opens the door of opportunity … it is our heritage and our culture that binds all of us.”

Miles said he “benefited a great deal” while he was a part of the Indian Education program in the Tacoma school system.

He added that this five-year grant is just the beginning of what the tribe plans to do in regard for helping Indian education throughout the area.

“One-hundred thousand dollars (per year) is just a drip in the bucket in a sense of what the need is in Indian Ed…the benefit is Indian people taking care of Indian people.”

Swan and Miles said the grant to Tacoma’s program is serving as a model for partnerships with Indian Education programs in other districts.

“We want to explore what greater relationship can we accomplish [with Tacoma schools]. We want to create a model…that we can replicate through surrounding areas,” Miles said.

Swan said it is very humbling that the tribe chose to support Tacoma’s program.

“I’m really honored to be part of the first part of this. They couldn’t have helped a program more in need.”

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