United Indians of All Tribes (also known as the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, or UIATF) is a non-profit foundation that provides social and educational services to Native Americans in the Seattle metropolitan area and aims to promote the well being of the Native American community of the area. The organization is based at the

Daybreak Star Cultural Center The Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center is a Native American cultural center in Seattle, Washington, described by its parent organization United Indians of All Tribes as "an urban base for Native Americans in the Seattle area." Located on 2 ...

in Seattle, Washington's Discovery Park. UIATF has an annual budget of approximately $4.5 million as of 2013.

History of Native Americans in the Seattle area

Many tribes historically inhabited the Seattle area and, to a greater extent, the surrounding Puget Sound area, because of the rich resources of food and fish. Major groups of local contemporary native peoples or tribes include the Suquamish,

Duwamish Duwamish may refer to: * Duwamish tribe, a Native American tribe in Washington state * Duwamish River, in Washington state * Duwamish (fireboat), ''Duwamish'' (fireboat) See also * Elliott Bay, often called "Duwamish Bay" in the 19th century * Du ...

, Nisqually, Snoqualmie, and Muckleshoot (Ilalkoamish, Stuckamish, and Skopamish) tribes. Many

Alaskan Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik peoples, Yupik, A ...

and Native Americans from the Inland Northwest have also come to live in Seattle. As a result, the city has a large and very diverse urban Indian population. According to the

2000 U.S. Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there are 86,649 American Indians/Alaskan Natives living in the Seattle, Tacoma, and Bremerton area. The Seattle area has become a nexus of many different tribal cultures from all over the country, with large influences from Coast Salish, Tlingit,

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a 1 ...

, and

Plateau Indian Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, also referred to by the phrase Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, and historically called the Plateau Indians (though comprising many groups) are indigenous peoples of the Interior of British Columbia ...

cultures.

History of Daybreak Star

UIATF was established in 1970 during the struggle by Northwest Natives to gain ownership or control of a portion of Fort Lawton, as the United States Army had shrunk its base there. Bernie Whitebear emerged as the group's

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, a position he held until shortly before his death from cancer in 2000. After winning the concession of a renewable 99-year lease on 20 acres (81,000 square meters) in what was to become Discovery Park, Whitebear led the fund-raising for Daybreak Star. Whitebear's brother, the designer and sculptor Lawney Reyes, set forth the "philosophy, nomenclature, and organizational needs of UIATF," working with Northwest architect Arai Jackson to design the center. Whitebear negotiated with then-governor Daniel J. Evans for a $1 million construction grant from Washington State; he also obtained an $80,000 grant for artwork for the building's interior from the Seattle Arts Commission, of which he became a member. Further donations came from tribes and corporations, including many of the materials used in the building. UIATF Pow Wow 2009 - 006

Beginning in 1975 with the grant for artwork, the foundation opened the Sacred Circle Art Gallery at Daybreak Star. The Sacred Circle Art Gallery features both a permanent collection as well as a temporary exhibit space. Until 2001, the gallery featured contemporary art by renowned Native artists such as

James Lavadour James Lavadour (born 1951) is an American painter and printmaker. A member of the Walla Walla tribe, he is known for creating large panel sets of landscape paintings. Lavadour is the co-founder of the Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts. ''I bel ...

Edgar Heap of Birds Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyenne name: Hock E Aye Vi) is a multi-disciplinary artist. His art contributions include public art messages, large scale drawings, Neuf Series acrylic paintings, prints, and monumental porcelain enamel on steel outdoor scu ...

, and Marvin Oliver. After Whitebear's death, a new group of leaders made changes to the gallery, such as changing its name from the Sacred Circle Art Gallery to the Daybreak Star Indian Art Gallery, whittling two viewing rooms down to one, and shifting the focus away from contemporary Native American art. The gallery carries some contemporary work and continues to rebrand itself. Daybreak has also put on several art markets throughout the year.

Other initiatives

The United Indians of all Tribes Foundation also provides programs such as Indian child welfare services, therapy, and treatment; elder services, including a lunch program; a GED education program; and youth services, including advocacy,

substance abuse treatment Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent ...

, and housing for homeless youth. Other programs have included the Ina Maka family program, education and employment services, a child development center, and the ECEAP (Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program) preschool. The foundation also organizes the annual Seafair Indian Days, one of the larger pow-wows in the Northwest, held in conjunction with the city's festival called Seafair. The pow-wow draws tribal members from across the state, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Canada. Youth services include the 25-bed home Labateyah Youth Home (sometimes written ''La-ba-te-yah'') at 9010 13th Avenue NW, near Holman Road in Seattle's Crown Hill neighborhood. Since 1992, Labateyah has offered transitional and state group housing to youth between the ages of 18 and 24. The name ''Labateyah'' is Lushootseed for "the transformer". The program is not exclusively for Native American youth, who compose about a quarter of the facility's clients. Another initiative contemplated by Whitebear was the People's Lodge at Daybreak Star, intended to include a Hall of Ancestors, a Potlatch House, a theater, and a museum,Reyes 2002, p. 190. later called the "Daybreak Star Village" proposal, a project now indefinitely postponed for financial reasons. There is also the Pacific Northwest Indian Canoe Center, intended as part of the ongoing development at

South Lake Union South Lake Union (sometimes SLU) is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because it is at the southern tip of Lake Union. The official boundaries of the City of Seattle Urban Center are Denny Way on the south, beyond which is Denny ...

, just north of downtown,—for which ground was broken February 28, 2007. Both the People's Lodge and the Canoe Center were conceived by Whitebear but left in the planning phases at the time of his death. Current UIATF initiatives include: *The Community Story, a program to facilitate assisting the local indigenous community through input from the Native community and integrating the input into the foundation's programming and to identify their needs. *Pathways to Prosperity, a program aimed to alleviate poverty by providing the necessary tools and knowledge to break this

cycle Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in soc ...

in the Native community. Proposed UIATF initiatives include: *Daybreak Star College, a

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

preparatory school. *Bernie Whitebear Center for Human and Community Development, in

White Center White Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It lies between West Seattle and Burien. The population was 16,631 at the 2020 census. White Center is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Rat City" ...

, an unincorporated neighborhood between Seattle and

Burien Burien ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle on Puget Sound. As of the 2020 census, Burien's population was 52,066, which is a 56.3% increase since incorporation in 1993. An annexation in 2010 ...

, an area where there are an increasing number of Native Americans. *Daybreak Star Youth Summer Camp. A $3.5 million grant received October 2007 from the Northwest Area Foundation should allow the Bernie Whitebear Center, Daybreak Star College—two of the proposed projects—and the Northwest Canoe Center to proceed. The Canoe Center will be on South

Lake Union Lake Union is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east to ...

. The grant will also fund various economic development activities focused on employment and small business development.Northwest Area Foundation Awards $3.5 Million to United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
Northwest Area Foundation Press Release, 10 October 2007, posted by ''Philanthropy News Digest'', 15 October 2007. Accessed online 25 October 2007.

Notes

References

* Ruby de Luna
Phil Lane, Jr.: Profile of United Indians’ New Leader
KUOW, June 26, 2007. Transcript and recording. Accessed online 12 March 2007. *Lawney L. Reyes, ''White Grizzly Bear's Legacy: Learning to be Indian'', University of Washington Press, 2002. .

External links

United Indians of All Tribes
official site
United Indians of All Tribes
YouTube user page

map of proposed completion of Daybreak Star property.

Free online encyclopedia about Washington State history.
Urban Indians and Seattle's civil rights history
Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, contains numerous oral histories, research reports, and other documents, many of which relate to UIATF. {{DEFAULTSORT:United Indians Of All Tribes Non-profit organizations based in Seattle Native American organizations Organizations established in 1970 1970 establishments in Washington (state)