Seattle Urban Native Nonprofits Goes Live with Website Meant to Educate and Inform Public
Seattle Urban Native Nonprofits Goes Live with Website Meant to Educate and Inform Public
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2021
SEATTLE, March 1, 2021 – The Seattle Urban Native Nonprofit collaborative announces the launch of its new website at www.seattleurbannatives.org. The purpose of SUNN is to convene and strengthen Native-led organizations throughout Seattle-King County to build collective power through dialog, education, action, and advocacy.
The region is home to a thriving a vibrant Native community encompassing a rich blend of Tribal cultures, multi-generational families, and individuals with myriad talents and professions.
“Our website will be just one of the public faces of our organization,” said Cleora Hill-Scott, Potlatch Fund’s executive director. “As such, it will be an important resource for both the Native population in Seattle as well as a way for the public to get to know us, and we’re very excited to share it with the community.”
Currently, twelve member organizations comprise SUNN. They include Chief Seattle Club, Duwamish Tribal Services, Indigenous Showcase, Na’ah Illahee Fund, National Urban Indian Family Coalition, Native American Women’s Dialog on Infant Mortality, Native Action Network, Northwest Justice Project (Native American Unit), Potlatch Fund, Red Eagle Soaring, United Nations of All Tribes Foundation, and Urban Native Education Alliance.
SUNN was an outgrowth of a 2014 report published by King County, a comprehensive community scan and assessment titled “Together we can lift up the sky: A Vision for the Urban Indian Community.” The report highlighted the assets, opportunities, and issues impacting Seattle-King County’s American Indian and Alaska Native community. A copy of the report is available here: http://www.liftupthesky.org/.
In 2016, the SUNN collaborative formed after receiving support from a King County Communities of Opportunity grant (https://www.coopartnerships.org/) and Potlatch Fund.
The group of member organizations meets monthly to advance the priorities of the urban Native community. SUNN member organizations represent civic engagement, health and social services, arts and culture, economic development and education. Together, these organizations reach more than 22,000 individuals annually with programming and services.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, SUNN member organizations have been providing vital support to Native communities, which have been especially hard hit by the crisis.
“The pandemic has highlighted the many ways Native communities suffer disproportionately from lack of funding and resources,” Hill-Scott said. “This makes the work of SUNN even more urgent and important moving forward, as we seek to increase the visibility of the urban Indian population and advocate on its behalf.
“We want the public to know that while COVID-19 continues to challenge us, we are resilient and strong as a community. Urban Natives are an integral part of the richness of life here in the Pacific Northwest, and we hope the launch of our new website will allow the broader Seattle and King County community to get to know us better and to see all the ways we contribute to this place we all call home.”
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SUNN Member Organizations:
Chief Seattle Club www.chiefseattleclub.org
Duwamish Tribal Services www.duwamishtribe.org
Indigenous Showcase www.longhousemedia.org/indigenous-showcase
Na’ah Illahee Fund www.naahillahee.org
National Urban Indian Family Coalition www.nuifc.org
Native American Women’s Dialog on Infant Mortality Facebook.com/Nawdim/
Native Action Network www.nativeactionnetwork.org
Northwest Justice Project, Native American Unit www.nwjustice.org/NAU
Potlatch Fund www.potlatchfund.org
Red Eagle Soaring www.redeaglesoaring.org
United Nations of All Tribes Foundation www.unitedindians.org
Urban Native Education Alliance www.urbannativeeducation.org
