A More Perfect Union: facing challenges and seeing progress in Native communities

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Today marks the final episode of our series A More Perfect Union, created with our partners at Spokane Public Radio, Northwest Public Broadcasting, and Humanities Washington.

In this series we’ve been exploring what a more inclusive country could look like for Washingtonians across the state.

Today, we’re honing in on how Native people in the Northwest have worked to create a more perfect union for their own communities. And what they’d like to see change in our state and federal government.

We look at some of the legal challenges for tribes with University of Washington assistant affiliate law professor Eric Eberhard, who has practiced law for 52 years, 50 in the field of American Indian law.

We learn what those words mean to Cheryl Ellenwood from Washington State University’s Social of Philosophy, Politics and Public Affairs and Center for Native American Research and Collaboration, speaking here with Sueann Ramella from Northwest Public Broadcasting.

And we look at some of the positive developments with Leonard Forsman, the chair of the Suquamish Tribe and president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and Glen Nenema, chair of the Kaiispel Tribe.