By Fawn Sharp

President, Quinault Indian Nation

As we all embark on a new year, with new faces in Washington, D.C., and the many challenges ahead, it is timely to remind ourselves of some of the basic objectives we need to focus on to keep moving forward, as a nation and as a community.

The citizens of the Quinault Nation tend to base their strength and endurance on the key values of heritage, family and connection with the Creator and our natural world. We are people who understand the importance of providing for our children in a way that will help them provide for theirs and so on. We also know our economy and sustainability are affected by our neighboring communities, and we have learned to work with the people, businesses and governments in those communities as we pursue economic and environmental health and stability in the Grays Harbor region.

The Quinault Nation sees great value in culturing positive relations with the people of Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Ocean Shores, Westport and other nearby communities, and it seems that most of the people in the area feel the same way.

That’s a key reason we’re very positive about our future here. It’s why we feel good that Quinault Nation is the largest employer in the county, providing clean and diversified, well paying jobs with benefits to more than 1,500 citizens and, in turn, supporting thousands of others through support businesses. It’s why we feel good that we are able to help support emergency services and contribute to a variety of charities and worthy causes throughout the county. And it’s why we feel good that we are actively engaged in civic renewal and economic revitalization programs. It’s also why we feel good that we are so active in habitat restoration and protection programs, including coordinated efforts to stop oil trains and terminals from invading our beautiful region. That’s an effort that clearly demonstrates the camaraderie that exists between our tribal citizens and the non-tribal citizens of the county. When we have rallied for a sustainable economy, and thus against the infusion of oil into our environment we have had lots of company — from doctors, business people, teachers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, children and retirees, people from all walks of life. We are never asked to walk that path alone.

A year ago students from The Evergreen State College studied Economic Options for Grays Harbor, looking beyond the oil terminal debate to other possibilities for job-generating development in Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and other Grays Harbor County communities. The class worked in collaboration with Quinault Nation, the Aberdeen Revitalization Movement, and community organizations. The students were part of the Evergreen program “Resource Rebels: Environmental Justice Movements Building Hope,” which explored the intersections of environmental issues with social issues of race, class, and gender. The program was taught by Zoltan Grossman, a geographer working in Native Studies, and Karen Gaul, an anthropologist working in Sustainability Studies. We were honored to work with the class when the students focused on Native American environmental justice issues in the fall quarter and some of the students witnessed public hearings on proposed oil terminals in Grays Harbor.

Out of this work, the class collaborated with our Quinault Division of Natural Resources staff, who asked students to gather information about economic alternatives to crude oil terminals in the Aberdeen / Hoquiam area. We felt it is important to understand as much as we can about the vision various members of our neighbor communities have regarding the future of our region if we do keep oil out of the equation. What are your ideas and proposals for job-generating projects that do not damage the local economy, natural resources, and the lands and waters we all share.

The class explored the history of Grays Harbor, then the students were organized into four teams, focusing on Ports and Industries, Forestry and Forest Products, Tourism and Transit, and Fisheries and Energy, and a number of them also focused on Community Issues. They conducted interviews in Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Taholah, Westport, and Ocean Shores, asking questions about key peoples’ visions, ideas, and proposals for job-generating economic development projects. They also held an open house, inviting the public to offer perspectives.

In all, the students interviewed or heard from about three dozen individuals in the Grays Harbor area, and summarized highlights from the interviews in an 85-page Economic Options for Grays Harbor Report, at http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/GraysHarborReport.pdf.

I heartily recommend that people read the report for themselves. The students did a fine job capturing the essence of our region and presenting these results. But generally speaking, the report demonstrates how the students came to the conclusion that the solutions to Grays Harbor’s struggling economy will, indeed, come from cooperation and partnerships between people whose lives are based on natural resource-based industries, such as alternative wood products, eco-tourism and recreation, cultural and history-based tourism and forest recreation.

Tourism will be an important part of economic recovery for Grays Harbor. But it’s not a panacea. Overall, the students found that there is no one easy solution to revitalizing Grays Harbor. However, they found many solutions of various sizes and feasibilities that are already underway. The people of this region are resourceful, and hardworking. I believe that with an emphasis on using the knowledge of the past as well as fostering the youth of the community who will be carrying on the work of their elders, we here in the Grays Harbor area will find our place, together, in our rapidly changing world.

So, as we face this new year, let’s commit to doing so together.

Have a blessed and happy New Year!