NUIFC Story // Thriving Cities: Indigenous Spaces in Portland, OR
Portland Thriving City Dispatch
Making Housing a Priority With Oregon's U.S. Senator Ron Wyden
Continuing the NUIFC’s Thriving City Series, the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) welcomed Oregon’s Senior Senator, Ron Wyden, to discuss some of the biggest issues facing urban Indian America.
“Senator Ron Wyden has been and continues to be a fierce advocate for issues impacting the Native community,” said William Miller, NAYA’s Government Affairs Manager.
For the event, Sen. Wyden toured the Mamok Tokatee affordable housing project in the Cully Neighborhood in Portland. Mamook Tokatee translates from the Chinook Wawa phrase for “make beautiful,” and is a community-oriented building that celebrates Native American culture through art and provides ample space for community programs. The event concluded with a policy discussion that focused on infrastructure, education, health and safety, and more.
Among policy discussions, NAYA and Sen. Wyden discussed funding for secondary education to help address the concerning rates of Native American students pursuing higher education. They also spoke about the need for COVID-19 funding, in particular resources to support testing, data collection on vaccine equity, and ways to strengthen the community as it rebounds from the pandemic.
As a Senator, Wyden has made affordable housing a priority and it was one of the biggest focuses during the meeting. He spoke about his newly introduced piece of legislation, the Decent, Affordable, Safe Housing for All (DASH) Act, and how it addresses the homelessness crisis and rising home prices. Sen. Wyden is also the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, giving him influence on how federal funding is allocated. This only makes NAYA’s relationship with their Senator more important because of their work in the affordable housing space and the different federally funding housing projects they oversee. This gave NAYA the chance to provide the Senator with a perspective on how policy can impact the Native community on the ground and why it matters.
Having the ability to connect directly with elected officials, such as Senator Wyden, is an act of decolonization by actively working to promote and elevate issues of tribal sovereignty; this continues to strengthen our democratic process,” says Miller. “It allows us the opportunity to hold our elected officials accountable while synergistically building relationships with them and their staff.”
The NUIFC is proud to bring you this Thriving Cities: Indigenous Spaces in the 21st Century dispatch from Portland, Oregon. NAYA’s event with Sen. Ron Wyden was yet another in a series of speaking series around the country that are centering the needs of urban Indian America.
Read our dispatch for Oklahoma City.