Latest News from United Indians

As a community, we are reckoning with the devastating legacy of Indian boarding schools. Recent discoveries of multiple mass graves at sites across the North American continent reveal the extent and cruelty of those efforts to break our Native families and communities. Both governmental agencies and religious institutions orchestrated the extermination of our Indigenous children and youth. 

United Indians of All Tribes Foundation stand with our First Nations, Alaskan, and Native Indigenous relatives. Our programs offer tangible steps families can take to heal the wounds of our past. Every family engaged in home visiting reclaims Indigenous ways of parenting. Every foster child involved in our cultural connections dismantles a colonial mindset. Every parent who asks about developmental screening is learning how to advocate for their child in a system that was not built for them. Every young adult who strives to reach their personal, housing, and employment goals exemplifies empowerment. Every family who finds stable housing defies rapid gentrification in our neighborhoods. Every job seeker and veteran who advances in their chosen field beats the odds in a game that feels rigged. Every Elder who advises us strengthens intergenerational bonds and ensures the transference of knowledge. Every program and event we host offers a path to healing for our Indigenous residents in the City of Seattle. In our 51 years of service, we have welcomed each and every boarding school survivor seeking help, offering them connections to culture, food for the soul, and a place to heal.

We hold all life sacred. We know that every child matters. We ask for action as we mourn. We call for accountability from those institutions who perpetuated these horrors. Though nothing can change what happened or bring justice to our little ones who never made it home, our story does not end at the boarding schools.

Please join us on September 30 by wearing orange in remembrance of our ancestors’ resilience during the boarding school era. Our Indigenous Peoples’ Day theme, “Our Existence is Our Resistance,” comes from that same acknowledgment. On October 11, we are hosting a safe and healthy drive through event at our beloved Daybreak Star Cultural Center. Our staff members are handing out #EveryChildMatters bracelets to community members and program participants to wear as a visible reminder to all that we are creating and sustaining generational healing.

We are still here.

May we continue to heal.

United Indians of All Tribes Foundation

United Indians is delighted to invite all American Indian/Alaska Native Veterans and their families to the Daybreak Star Veterans BBQ! Come along for a day of festivities: we’ll have free food, program t-shirts, and challenge coins. We’re excited to have you!

For more information or to enroll in the program, contact Rich Summer at rsummers@unitedindians.org.

George Floyd
Breonna Taylor
Tony McDade
Ahmaud Arbery

Four precious lives were taken and added to the long list of senseless killings in our society.

We stand united with the Black Lives Matters movement in the same way allies stood with our Native American activists who fought for and established a land base here at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. Initial planning for that campaign happened at the Filipino Community Hall in South Seattle. Black Panthers showed their support by facing military police in solidarity with us. Volunteers from many marginalized communities tended to our wounded, tired, and hungry activists at Resurrection City so that they could return to the protest. We seek to do the same. 

Our founder, Bernie Whitebear, was part of the Gang of Four. He joined forces with Larry Gossett, Bob Santos, and Roberto Maestas to challenge and change the Seattle establishment. From the late ‘60s through 1980, these leaders and communities demanded equity and social justice for People of Color, both men and women. They didn’t let the system pit them against each other. Instead, they came together as a powerful multi-racial group. 

Black and Indigenous communities are deeply connected through our experiences with colonialism, violence, oppression, systemic racism, and White supremacy. We join Black Lives Matters to echo and amplify their voices. We both come from proud histories of mobilization and protest. The sacrifices of our Elders and our ancestors ensured our existence today. They believed that there is no justice and no peace until we are all free. So do we.

Black lives matter.

United Indians of All Tribes Foundation                               

Dear friends and relatives, 

We hope this letter finds you healthy and well. Due to the emergence of the novel Coronavirus and concern for our staff and community, United Indians of All Tribes Foundation leadership has decided that the best course of action is to close our Daybreak Star and Columbia City sites to the public until it is deemed safe to reopen. This closure will be effective Monday, March 15, 2020. Developing updates will be forthcoming.

Many of our services cannot close. We have individuals counting on us daily, and we plan to meet their needs to the best of our ability. Our most essential services, such as the Labateyah Youth Home, Foster Care, and Homelessness Prevention programs will remain operational, though some practices may shift. All other non-essential services will occur in alternative forms until we can safely resume traditional procedures and high levels of contact with the public. 

Our primary concerns are keeping our community healthy, and reducing risk factors. UIATF has been taking constant care to stay on top of this situation by hiring additional staff to help sanitize workplaces, encouraging staff to work from home, and addressing the needs of staff and the community as they arise. 

This Public Health emergency has shaped our year. We have chosen to cancel or postpone many of our events in order to prioritize the health and safety of our community. These events are essential to our continued financial stability, and we hope we can count on your support and attendance at future events once the situation calms. We know that many people are feeling the effects of this virus in their daily lives, and encourage all of you to do what you can to aid your friends and neighbors. We must continue to show up to support each other, as many people, businesses and organizations will feel the ramifications of these realities for months to come. 

Thank you for your understanding, support, and care for the community. We will be fully operational as soon as possible.

Mike Tulee, Executive Director