[Regarding “Daybreaak Star Faces Closure Due to Massive Debt,” Oct. 23, 2013:] This center is a proud part of the Native community. It was once the anchor of this area. It needs the leaders to bring that back, to get the right people who know how to right grants and work endlessly, like the one leader who did that, [Bernie] Whitebear.
I’m not sure if the council has always been that large — six should be enough. Not sure what their pay is for such a downturn.
My son, and nephews and nieces all graduated from the kindergarten program there, back in the early ‘90s and later. My family had contributed a lot of work there, when its strength was its best. I hope they can bring that back.
It’s a full-time job for the leaders, not part-time. If they want it back to its glory, if they can’t commit like that, then they need to pass it on to someone who is willing to do that.
Howaa (“thank you” in Haida).
Jim Brown
South King County
I grew up on Magnolia in the ‘50s — rode my bike all over the fort [Lawton]. My parents brought food to the folks who took over the fort in the early ‘70s.
In the ‘80s, I rediscovered the Daybreak Star center as a very special place that represented healing for me and others because it is not just a “center” — it is a sanctuary from the pressures/hustle and bustle of the outside world.
I hope folks in Seattle will see its value and support a reorganization and perhaps an endowment to assure its continuation in perpetuity.
Lael Duncan
Tonasket, Wash.
As a native New Zealand Maori, I have seen similar struggles with the financial side of programmes designed to promote development of our culture dignity, awareness and language, and especially to foster the transitional development of our youths.
It is sad to see the pending closure of such an esteemed centre, and [I] would like to say that, if it happened in our country, we would protest with such strength in numbers, with faith and courage against our government for insufficient financial support of what is vital to our preservation and perpetuation.
There must be many similar programmes in the same position in your country, as well. Find out who they are and, by means of a peaceful demonstration, UNITE. Set a date to march together to your House of Representatives or much better, The White House...from say Seattle. March from the start of your state to the end, then let another tribe take over in their state. Unite at the border of the last state to march onward. Have others join along the way. Arrange rest points and food stations, support. Your elders must take part, and banners must be raised to bring an awareness of the protest.
I must stress the importance of ensuring there is not one instrument that can be classified as a weapon, and there should be only singing along the way — not slurs or slander of any sort. Even if this doesn’t work, many others throughout your country will become familiar with your objections to your situation and the importance of its survival.
My great-grandfather led the first Hikoi of this kind in the 1920s to demonstrate against the government, claiming our water resources, and we still do the same for various other reasons almost a hundred years later.
I’m not sure if you are aware, but there is an Indigenous Peoples Bank, a branch of the World Bank, [which] have funding available to assist with the continuation and the dignity of indigenous tribes. It is a loan, and there are, of course, conditions, which I understand are assessed on an individual basis.
My hope is that you will find answers to save your centre soon.... If it can give just one person a new direction in his future, a new goal, a new achievement that can bring dignity and prosperity to your people, then it will be worth it.
Christine Phillips
Australia
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