News Briefs

Dr. Andrew Sund to serve another five years as Heritage University president

The Heritage University Board of Directors announced in July that it unanimously approved extending Dr. Andrew Sund’s contract for another five years of service.

“We appreciate Dr. Sund’s steadfast dedication to the university’s mission and campus community and his strong leadership of the institution during challenging times,” said Dr. Kathleen Hilton, chair of the Board of Directors. “We look forward to continuing to work with him in the years ahead to ensure a strong future for Heritage University.”

“The years I have spent at Heritage University have been, professionally, the most rewarding of my life,” said Sund. “I would like to thank the Board of Directors for trusting me, but I would also like to thank staff and faculty for their support. I know that together we will continue to do amazing things. I believe in our mission, and we have much work ahead of us. Finally, I would like to thank the many students that have been at Heritage these years. Their dedication to education has inspired me to serve the University. I look forward to the future of Heritage!”

Ichishkiin (Sahaptin) Language Center director earns Ph.D. from the University of Oregon

Heritage University alumnus and director of the Center for Language Revitalization and Preservation Twálatin Greg Sutterlict received his Ph.D. in Critical and Socio-Cultural Studies in Education from the University of Oregon. During the ceremony, Michelle Jacob, Ph.D., an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation and director of UO’s Sapsikw’athla, a master’s-level teacher program for Native American students, hooded Sutterlict and handed him his degree.

The ceremony occurred on Monday, June 13, 2022, at the UO Education Department graduation ceremony. It was the first time in the university’s history that a Yakama professor hooded a graduating Yakama student earning a doctoral degree.

Environmental Studies students take home awards at a national academic conference

Two Heritage University students won poster presentation awards for their research projects at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) National Conference in Palm Springs, Calif., in October.

Kayonnie Badonie, a senior majoring in environmental science, won second place for her presentation, Water Conservation Tactics Through Well Decommissioning on the Yakama Nation Reservation. Noah Sampson, a senior majoring in environmental studies, placed third for his project Brewery Byproducts Can Help Fisheries? Evaluation of Brewer’s Spent Grain as a Feed Additive for Rearing Larval Asum (Pacific Lamprey). The students collaborated with the Yakama Nation for their projects.

AISES is a national nonprofit organization focused on helping to increase the number of Indigenous and Pacific Islander’s pursing science, technology, engineering and math studies and careers.

HU student among top honorees at a national conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Heritage mathematics major Anna Diaz took home one of the top awards for students at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Diversity in STEM Conference in October. Diaz received the Outstanding Research Presentation at the conference, which was held in Puerto Rico. Her presentation reported on her project Data Fusion Methods in Applications to Ocean Acidification, which was part of her summer research experience at Brown University.

Diaz was one of three Heritage students to attend and present at the conference. Joining her were biology majors Abby Bravo and Sol Figueroa.

SACNAS is a national professional organization that serves to advance the number of Chicanos/ Hispanics and Native Americans who earn STEM degrees, enter into professional careers, and advance into leadership positions within STEM fields.

Pioneer for Education

Martha Yallup

When Martha Yallup was a young woman, she needed to earn money for college. So every spring and fall, she went to the Upper Falls of the Klickitat River and fished for salmon.

“When they’d jump, she’d catch them in the air with a dip net, and then she’d haul them up the riverbank,” said Sydney Hill, one of Yallup’s nieces. “Each weighed 20 to 30 pounds.

“She’d sell them to non-Indian wholesalers at the Upper Falls, then take the Greyhound to Central Washington University in Ellensburg and go to class. Afterward, she’d go back to the river and, at night, she’d sleep in a pup tent with just her dog.”

This was the kind of drive that Yallup, who co-founded Heritage College, was known for. She died July 8th at age 80.

Throughout her life, Yallup earned three degrees, helped create the Yakama Nation Tribal School, established its Head Start program, and played a significant role in nurturing her many nieces and nephews, instilling the value of education in all of them.

“I think of her as a second parent,” said Hill. “She was always encouraging us to further our education. When I said I wanted to be a teacher, she asked me, ‘Why don’t you be an administrator?’ She wanted us to never limit ourselves.”

A ZEAL FOR EDUCATION

Yallup worked for the education of indigenous people with the same zeal she brought to her own life.

She believed that people from all walks of life, particularly students from low-income communities, had the right to a good education. She saw it as the way out of poverty.

Yallup earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and, later, her Ph.D. in education leadership, making her one of the first Yakama citizens with a doctorate. She wrote her dissertation on the indigenous experience of education, becoming a top expert in the field and a nationally renowned educator. She studied what had been, but she kept her focus on what could be.

During the George H.W. Bush administration, Yallup turned down a request to interview for a position that would have had national influence.

“She told them, ‘I’m here to serve my people,’” Hill said. “That was her work.”

IMAGINING HERITAGE COLLEGE

Heritage co-founder Dr. Kathleen Ross saw Yallup’s commitment throughout a friendship that spanned more than four decades.

“Heritage University would not exist today without the determination of Martha Yallup,” Ross said.

Yallup’s work with Violet Lumley Rau on behalf of indigenous education, combined with Ross’s institutional knowledge and abilities, made it possible for the three to do what would have seemed impossible to others.

It was 1974 when Yallup and Lumley Rau went in search of a college that would bring college courses to the Yakima Valley so that their Head Start teachers could earn baccalaureate degrees. They came to see Ross, who was then the academic vice president at Fort Wright College in Spokane.

Ross convinced Fort Wright to start a remote campus in Toppenish, and the Yallup and Lumley Rau set about recruiting students.

When enrollment challenges at Fort Wright made it necessary to close the college, Ross broke the news to Yallup and Lumley Rau.

“Martha said simply, ‘Let’s just start our own college,’” said Ross. “I told her that was crazy, and she said, ‘Tell us one thing we can’t do.’”

Ross told them the biggest challenge she knew: They’d need to pull together a board of directors. Not about to let their dream die, Yallup and Lumley Rau went to work, gathering the heads of a local bank, a hospital, and a school district, and two of the three county commissioners to serve as the core of the new college’s board.

Through their determination and planning, the dream they set out to accomplish was about to become a reality. Soon, Heritage College was born.

STANDING FOR PRIORITIES

Following Heritage’s founding, Yallup continued to serve the university in several important roles. Her involvement was integral to the relationship between the college and the Yakama Nation.

She served as director of educational programs for the tribe, as well as tribal administrator, a role that allowed her to effectively communicate and implement educational priorities and objectives due to her direct communication with the Tribal Council.

Yallup remained on the Heritage board for more than 20 years, bringing Yakama Nation input to board and committee meetings. Upon retiring from the board, she was granted Board Member Emeritus Status, which allowed her to continue to be a guiding voice.

“When we had important visitors, especially those from foundations or agencies regarding major grants or gifts, I often asked Martha to come meet them,” said Ross, who was president of the college and then the university. “She was always very articulate in expressing the importance of Heritage College to the Yakama Nation.”

Having gained a great deal from her own pursuit of higher education, Yallup often expressed her particular belief in the importance of hiring the most qualified Heritage faculty at Heritage, Ross said.

“Martha stressed the importance of hiring fully qualified faculty, as many with doctorates from reputable institutions as possible. She was always happy and supportive when we were trying to do that.”

THE LEGACY LIVING ON

The significance of Martha Yallup’s contributions to Heritage University lives on in the form of the Martha B. Yallup Health Sciences building and the Bill and Martha Yallup Scholarship Fund.

“It was appropriate to put Martha’s name on a building that was dedicated to academic programs since she had pursued advanced higher education and so greatly valued it,” said Ross. Today the building is used for several different programs and houses the Heritage advancement department offices.

Martha Yallup may well have found the Yallup Scholarship Fund the most meaningful tribute to her life, her work, and her ideals for the betterment of her people. Established in 2007, it awards scholarships to Yakama tribal members or Yakama descendants majoring in natural sciences or health-related majors.

DOING FOR OTHERS

If Martha Yallup ever felt doubt or frustration pursuing her goals, it wasn’t obvious to the people who knew her.

“She didn’t always agree with tribal leadership, but she knew she needed to get past any differences in order to get what the people needed,” said Hill.

“She may have experienced some frustration if something didn’t seem possible because of lack of resources or when people weren’t seeing her dream or vision,” said Ross. “But she had so much of the energy and connections to get things going and see them through. That’s why she was so effective and accomplished.

“For Martha, it was always about how we should continue working toward our vision and what we should do for others.” page13image41569536

Celebrating the Call for Freedom

 

In the largest public event since the pandemic, a crowd of more than 800 people turned out at Heritage University to celebrate El Grito de Independencia Cultural Fiesta on September 16.

El Grito is an important traditional celebration in Mexico that commemorates the start of the country’s war for independence. Each year on September 15 at 11:00 p.m., Mexico’s president rings a bell at the National Palace in Mexico City and shouts out a call of patriotism based on the Cry of Dolores, the call out made two centuries ago by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla that started the war for independence. This call is replicated in cities and towns throughout Mexico, with the highest-ranking government official making the call. Here at Heritage, Héctor Iván Goday Priske, Consul of Mexico in Seattle, led the crowd through the Cry of Dolores.

Heritage’s El Grito de Independencia celebration featured traditional foods and beverages, music, dancing, a resource fair, and games and hands-on activities for the entire family. Entertainment was provided by Grupo Projecto 2020, Raices de Mi Pueblo Grupo Folklorico and DJ Manny. Along with the activities hosted by Heritage University student groups, participants interacted with community service organizations from throughout the Yakima Valley who attended the resource fair.

“The vast majority of our students have roots in the Mexican culture. Many have family who still lives in Mexico,” said Martin Valadez, regional director of Heritage @CBC and chair of the event planning committee. “It was extremely rewarding to be part of an event that gives them the opportunity to celebrate their heritage and to share the richness of their culture with not only the rest of the Heritage community but with the community at large as well.”

Dr. Andrew Sund awarded the Heritage University Community Service Award to Robert Ozuna during the program. Ozuna is a Heritage University alumnus who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration in 1991. He is the president and CEO of RGI Corporation, which works with non-profit organizations to research, write and manage state and federal grants to provide the funding necessary to fulfill their organizational missions.

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Honoring Our Elders

Celebrating the significant lifetime contributions of Native American elders that impacted the people living on the homelands of the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation.

Every year, for the past seven years, Heritage University recognizes Native American elders for their lifetimes of significant contributions to their communities as part of its Native American Heritage Month celebration. Please join us in celebrating these four individuals.

TANINSH TED STRONG

Strong is a full-blooded, enrolled Yakama whose life work has helped tribes throughout the United States and indigenous people worldwide strengthen their sovereignty. His lifelong command from elders was, “Fill your heart with compassion and your mind with knowledge.” In the early 1970s, he designed the first computer network linking tribes in Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming. Immediately following, he led the restructuring of the Yakama Nation to a centralized administration and financial management system, allowing the tribe to take control of practices formerly run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He advocated and state and national levels while serving as the executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. President Clinton appointed Taninsh to the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, where he advocated for social equity, economic vitality, and environmental justice. He counts being Chief Judge for the Yakama Nation as the most challenging yet most rewarding experience of his career.

CAWMIT TALLULAH PINKHAM

Pinkham is a full-blooded, enrolled Yakama with a heart for helping those struggling with mental illness, addiction and abuse. She spent 23 years advocating for patients at Indian Health Services, where she met with individuals and families to get to know them on a human level so she could help connect them with the programs and services they needed. She encouraged patients to learn the traditional practices of their culture and family to find connection and purpose in their lives. And, when Cawmit saw the generational destruction that comes from domestic violence and child abuse, she worked behind the scenes through the Native Women’s Association to support the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

AIIYUTTONMII CARRIE CHAPMAN SCHUSTER

Schuster is the matriarch of the Snake River Palouse Tribe and a Heritage University alumna. She grew up learning tribal history and culture from family matriarchs in the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. She served as a judge in the Yakama Nation’s courts, as the original news director for the Yakama Nation Review, as an educator working with at-risk middle school kids and preschool children, and as a cultural ambassador connecting the Yakama people with tribal communities globally. In everything she does, she works to prepare those she serves to find their place in their community, to be rightful stewards over the land and people, and to respect the generational teachings of those who came before. She credits the patriarchs and matriarchs on the five reservations for all historical information and family teachings.

CHIMSHOWA GIL CALAC

Calac is Paiute from Susanville Indian Rancheria in California. A Bronze Star decorated Vietnam War veteran, he is passionate about helping those whose voices are often unheard. He spent two years working as a case manager for Yakama Nation Behavioral Health Services before moving to Fort Simcoe Job Corp to help at-risk youth. After he retired, Gil turned his attention to advocating for veterans in hospice care. He is a member of the Yakama Warriors, where he led the effort for the Washington State Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans, and is a member of the Yakama Nation Tribal Advisory Board. Calac maintains a deep reverence for traditional values, guiding him in everything he does.

 

Welcome Home

Heritage University isn’t your typical college. So, it makes sense that its first Homecoming celebration was anything but typical. There were no marching bands or rowdy crowds cheering on the gridiron boys. Instead, there were tacos and Indian fry bread, lawn games and a scavenger hunt, and best of all, lots of laughter and bear hugs as old friends saw each other for the first time in years.

Homecoming brought a crowd of more than 400 alumni, faculty and staff, students, and friends to the Heritage University campus. The event was a celebration in honor of the university’s 40th anniversary. Guests were bedecked in custom-designed, limited edition 40th anniversary Heritage gear, t-shirts for alumni, and bucket hats for faculty, staff and students.

“It was an amazing evening,” said David Wise, vice president for Marketing and Advancement. “We hear it over and over again; Heritage is like a family. You could really feel that during Homecoming. That night we not only celebrated this university and all the good it’s done in its 40 years, we also celebrated all the people, our friends and colleagues, and the common bond we formed through our association with Heritage.”

Heritage even put its own spin on the traditional Homecoming court. The designation of Homecoming Royalty went to the two students who traveled the farthest to attend college. Tania Nunez is a freshman majoring in nursing who travels 140 miles each day, and Yesenia Delgado, a freshman majoring in education, travels 60 miles to and from campus daily.

“Our students have a remarkable commitment to their education. They truly understand the importance of earning their degree to help them build the life they want and deserve,” said Wise. “That commitment is clearly evident in the sacrifices they make to ensure that they get to campus to attend their classes. In some cases, like with our Homecoming royalty, the sacrifices include spending an hour or more traveling to and from campus every day.”

While this was the first Homecoming, Wise is confident it won’t be the last.

“We learned a lot from this first event and are already thinking about ways to build upon its success for next year.”

Growing the Hops Industry

GROWING THE HOPS INDUSTRY

Hard work, ingenuity and care for farmers earns industry leader award of distinction.

Heritage University faculty and students have received scores of accolades over the years, but so far, nothing quite like that recently bestowed on John Reeves, director of Workforce Development for Heritage@Work, a division of Heritage University.

For his 40 years devoted to developing the United States hop industry, Reeves was cited by the Order of the Hop, an organization established in France in 1406 by John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy. Reeves flew to the Czech Republic in July to attend the award ceremony.

Reeves’s work helped build today’s robust American hop industry, second in the world only to Germany’s. The Yakima Valley is the nation’s largest hop producer, with three-quarters of all hops grown in America coming from the Valley.

Reeves seems destined to have done great things in agriculture. When he was ten years old, he started working in the fields of southern Illinois, picking fruit and pulling weeds. When he was 12, he started a commercial tomato farm on land his dad gave him. At 13, Reeves went to work on other farms once he’d harvested his tomatoes. He once set a record by working over 100 hours a week three weeks in a row.

Reeves worked both sides of the agriculture field, laboring with migrant workers and doing business with a cooperative in Chicago that sold his tomatoes – all before high school. He put himself through college, graduate school and his Ph.D. program.

“We worked long days in hot, humid southern Illinois,” Reeves said.

In the early 1980s, Reeves brought his work ethic, people skills, and education to the Yakima Valley as field operations manager for Anheuser- Busch. He immediately developed relationships with growers and made his mark.

Before Reeves entered the scene, there had been no U.S. program for virus testing of hop plants. There was no such thing as a set of quality standards for hops nor any widely understood concept of hop farm sustainability. For the hop growers of the Yakima Valley and elsewhere, there was no selling direct to brewers to earn top dollar for one’s crop.

Reeves’s work changed all that. He was instrumental in establishing the industry’s greenhouse-based virus-free plant propagation program, which meant healthier hop plants and a more robust industry. While employed by A-B, he developed the mega brewer’s ten-point program on quality and farm sustainability, helping growers implement important standards for hop seed, leaf, stem, aroma and more. He made it possible for growers to work directly with buyers, skirting the “middleman” wholesaler and earning more in the process.

Later, Reeves and his leadership team at Yakima Chief Hops built a state-of-the-art carbon extraction facility that removed hops’ alpha acid and oil compounds – the elements that give beer its bitter flavor as well as its aromatic notes. The machine did this, minus the use of any chemicals.

With a master’s degree in plant ecology and a Ph.D. in molecular virology, Reeves took on the challenges before him. His depth of knowledge and his commitment to the industry led to a combined 22 years in leadership positions with Yakima Chief Hops and, later, Roy Farms.

Early on, Reeves’s deep sense of caring for people earned him a reputation as a fair player with the interests of the Valley and its growers at heart.

“John is known as a person who not only can accomplish the task at hand but will do it in a manner that ensures maximum consideration of the people involved,” said Ann George, Executive Director of the Washington State Hop Commission. “He’s established many lifelong friendships among those who have been his colleagues and constituents.”

Reeves says the award experience has caused him to think back on his life, that it’s a long way from rural Illinois to Prague – where, coincidentally, he had an office when he worked for Anheuser-Busch.

Reeves says a trip highlight was seeing a former Latinx colleague receive formal recognition from the Order, which he says almost eclipsed the delight he felt about his award. The man started in the business working in the fields, and Reeves gave him his first promotion.

“Today, he’s a vice president at Yakima Chief Hops and the first Latinx person to be recognized with an award like this,” Reeves said.

Reeves continues to provide management consulting to several area companies in addition to his role in Workforce Development at Heritage, which provides training programs for Yakima’s workforce.

He feels much of his life’s work has been centered on providing opportunities for people.

“A lot of the meaning in my life has come from my work. At a young age, I learned valuable lessons about hard work and teamwork that have stayed with me my whole life.

“I saw people who were systemically discriminated against, and I tried to change that.

“What’s always driven me is seeing people being able to elevate themselves.”

 

A Lift Up to Law School

 

As part of her freshman year at Heritage University in 2018, Maria Rivera did an internship in Laredo, Texas, translating for attorneys on immigration cases.

“We’d go into the detention center early every morning,” Rivera said. “The first time we were seated with the attorney and a law student in frontof me, and then the clients, who were both Mexican women, came in. They look like they hadn’t slept in days.

“They saw these two white men first before turning their heads toward me. I saw the relief on their faces once they saw me. And that’s when I knew there needed to be more black and brown female attorneys.

“I knew that was the only way that people like this, who are seeking justice, could feel reassured, so they could be at peace knowing that their attorneys understand where they’re coming from.

“That was when I decided I needed to become a lawyer.”

Rivera spent the next four years focused on her goal. She majored in criminal justice and history, completed internships at other law firms, and participated in several law-focused events at Heritage that taught her more about the profession. When she graduated in 2020, she went to work as a legal assistant for a Yakima- area law firm, but she had endless questions about how to actually get into law school.

This past summer, she and 35 other Heritage students and alumni and other local community members– all aspiring Latinx or Indigenous lawyers – had all their questions answered.

They participated in a new Heritage program called the “Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars Program” – “PLUS” for short – created solely for that purpose.

A partnership between Heritage and the state’s three law schools at Seattle University, University of Washington, and Gonzaga University, its overarching goal is to help diversify the state’s lawyer population.

Diana López Batista, program director, understood the students’ challenges. She had navigated her way into law school – but she’s the exception.

“Most Latinx and indigenous students have no point of reference,” said López Batista, who works in employment law and labor trafficking through a grant from the Northwest Justice Project. “They don’t typically have family or friends who can advise or mentor them, and that’s a major handicap because the road to law school is filled with challenges.

“You have to get through the LSAT, which is huge. You have to write a bio and a personal statement that will bring you to the attention of the school. You have to leave home and leave the Valley. You have to figure out how to pay for it all. The list is endless.”

And that, she said, is the easy part. There are still three to five years of law school with its intensive study and competitive clerkships and internships, not to mention passing the bar exam after graduating and landing that first job.

LATEST LAW- FOCUSED OFFERING

The law school prep course is the latest in a continuing line of law-focused events at Heritage, offerings that illustrate a strong interest in studying law among a significant number of Heritage students.

The Washington State Supreme Court has heard cases on campus in a “traveling court,” and State Supreme Court Justice Stephen González has been on campus several times to meet with students. Various forums have led to a lunchbox series where guest attorneys – typically Latinx and Indigenous – came to campus and talked about their educational and professional journeys.

“We knew from spending time with students at these events that we had a lot more territory to cover,” said Kim Bellamy-Thompson, chair of the university’s criminal justice department and an architect of the PLUS program. “I think the really healthy number of students who took this class, especially considering the size of our institution, really says a lot.”

The PLUS class started with an overview of the rigorous admission process and covered everything from the basics of the United States legal system to personal well-being strategies once in law school. During the last week, faculty and students toured all three law schools, sitting in on classes and talking with students, instructors and admissions staff.

“From LSAC prep books to having area attorneys speak to our students and then touring the law schools, we tried to cover it all,” said Bellamy-Thompson. ”First and foremost, we had to have every participant leave here with a basic understanding of the law school admission process, feeling they could move ahead.”

PASSION FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE

These days, Rivera is busy getting ready to enter law school. She took the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) this fall and is now applying to several schools. She and other class members talk frequently using their Instagram handles and texting.

To anyone who has thought about becoming an attorney “for even 30 seconds,” she said, “I would definitely recommend this course.

“I was able to talk with attorneys who focus on different concentrations of the law and ask them how they got there, ask them for advice.

“I had the opportunity to ask the small or big questions of the admissions teams of each of the three law schools, which also preps me for the application cycle.

“And it was refreshing to bounce around issues and ideas with like-minded individuals who are going through the same struggles you are while applying to law school.”

Director López Batista left the classroom hoping funding will make the course possible again.

“I think back to my family members’ experiences as farmworkers and their issues around working conditions and wages.

“I remember workers having ‘organizing meetings,’ including one attended by two white attorneys. The people thought these lawyers were going to be our saviors, but it didn’t work out that way. I was ten years old when I decided I wanted to be a lawyer to help people who had no one to speak for them.

Passion for the people you are trying to serve is key, said López Batista.

“All these students have amazing passion and backgrounds where they have overcome adversity. So many are so committed to their communities.

“I envision the ongoing success of this as actually creating a pipeline, providing the educational opportunities so that ultimately the attorneys in our community are reflective of our community.”

Graduates of the 2022 PreLaw Undergraduate Scholars Program

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Program was created to teach Latinx and indigenous students how to prepare for, enroll in and succeed in law school and beyond.

It’s a partnership between Heritage and Washington’s three law schools – Seattle University School of Law, University of Washington School of Law, and Gonzaga University School of Law – and the following legal services organizations:

• Benefits Law Center
• Columbia Legal Services
• Northwest Justice Project
• Northwest Immigrant Rights
• Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA) • TeamChild

These groups continue to provide the students’ with connections to practicing lawyers and judges, a crucial component of the program.

A long list of questions and issues informed the robust syllabus for Heritage University’s first PLUS program, which included these units:

• “Envisioning Yourself as a Lawyer” allowed students to absorb individual narratives from several Latinx and indigenous lawyers who grew up in Central Washington. Each discussed the unique path they took in becoming practicing lawyers and judges. Current law students spoke to the students as well, with role play centered on how lawyers interview and counsel clients.

• “Wrestling the Beast” explained the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). “Nuts and Bolts of the Law School Admission Process” was a full three-hour session. “Financial Planning for Law School” included individual one-on-one counseling sessions.

• A mock law school class gave students the opportunity for individual mentoring sessions with Central Washington Legal Aid and Community Lawyer Mentors.

• Students experienced an evening with Chief Justice Steven González and Justice Helen Whitener of the Washington Supreme Court.

• Mentors and mentees were encouraged to meet outside class sessions to explore job shadowing, internships, or simply ongoing connection and resources.

• “It Takes a Village” discussed practical ways to build support systems dealing with family, emotional, cultural, financial, academic and community issues.

 

Heritage University to Dedicate New Early Learning Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University to Dedicate New Early Learning Center 

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new $4.1 million state-of-the-art Early Learning Center (ELC) made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor. The ELC project also received a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce. The ceremony will take place Friday, December 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. on the Heritage University campus.

The new five-classroom ELC is scheduled to open in January. The ELC will serve children between the ages of 12 months and kindergarten, providing pre-kindergarten learning known to be invaluable in later years of scholastic achievement. This new facility will allow the ELC to increase its licensed enrollment from 74 to 90 students.

The university’s ELC shares the Heritage University mission of making higher education accessible regardless of economic, cultural, or social barriers and will strive to help families with similar access and financial challenges to prepare their children for success in kindergarten and beyond. “Our early learning programs are designed to offer experiences that enhance and enrich each child’s cognitive, language, social, emotional, physical and creative development,” said ELC Executive Director Claudette Lindquist. “We believe that good childcare is good family care. However, our basic philosophy is one of freedom to learn, grow and make choices and we have structured the environment to reflect that belief.”

The ELC also prepares current Heritage students for their future careers through work-study opportunities that provide them valuable experience in their chosen fields. “We have employed social work and nursing students who perform a wide variety of important roles as assistants at the ELC,” said Lindquist. “They get to use what they’ve learned in the classroom here, earn a paycheck while in school, and obtain skills and experience coveted by employers.”

Heritage began construction of the new center in March and invited the community to watch the project’s progress through a camera connected to the university’s website (https://heritage.edu/eagle-cam/).

For more information, contact Claudette Lindquist at (509) 865-0723 or Lindquist_C@heritage.edu. For help with interviews, please contact Davidson Mance at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@heritage.edu.

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Heritage University honors Native American tribal elders as highlight of Native American Heritage Month celebrations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University honors Native American tribal elders as highlight of Native American Heritage Month celebrations

Toppenish, Wash. – November is Native American Heritage Month, and Heritage University is celebrating by honoring four Native American elders for their lifetime contributions to the Yakama people and their community. This year’s recipients are Gil Calac, Carrie Schuster, Ted Strong and Tallulah Pinkham.

Chimshowa Gil Calac is a Paiute from Susanville Indian Rancheria in California. As a Bronze Star decorated Vietnam war veteran, he is passionate about helping those whose voices are often unheard. He spent two years working as a case manager for Yakama Nation Behavioral Health Services before moving to Fort Simcoe Job Corp to help at-risk youth. After he retired, Gil turned his attention to advocating for veterans in hospice care. He is a member of the Yakama Warriors, where he led the Washington state effort for establishing March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, and is a member of the Yakama Nation Tribal Advisory Board. Gil maintains a deep reverence for traditional values, which guides him in everything that he does.

Aiiyuttonmii Carrie Chapman Schuster is the matriarch of the Snake River Palouse Tribe and is a Heritage University alumna. She grew up learning tribal history and culture from family matriarchs on The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. She has served as a judge in the Yakama Nation’s courts, as the original news director for the Yakama Nation Review, as an educator working with at-risk middle school kids and preschool children, and as a cultural ambassador connecting the Yakama people with tribal communities globally. At each step, she works to prepare those she serves to find their place in their community, to be rightful stewards over the land and people, and to respect the generational teachings of those who came before.

Taninsh Ted Strong is a 4/4 enrolled Yakama whose life work has helped tribes throughout the United States and indigenous people worldwide strengthen their sovereignty. His lifelong command from elders was, “Fill your heart with compassion and your mind with knowledge.”  In the early 1970s he designed the first computer network linking tribes in Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming. Immediately following, he led the restructuring of the Yakama Nation to a centralized administration and financial management system, allowing the tribe to take control of practices formerly run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He advocated and fought for treaty rights, salmon recovery, water rights and environmental management at the state and national levels while serving as the executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. President Clinton appointed Taninsh to the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, where he advocated for social equity, economic vitality, and environmental justice. He counts being Chief Judge for the Yakama Nation as the most challenging yet most rewarding experience of his career.

Cawmit Tallulah Pinkham is a full-blooded, enrolled Yakama who has a heart for helping those who struggle with mental illness, addiction and abuse. She spent 23 years advocating for patients at Indian Health Services, where she met with individuals and families to get to know them on a human level so she could help connect them with the programs and services they needed. She encouraged patients to learn the traditional practices of their culture and family as a way to find connection and purpose in their lives. When she saw the generational destruction that comes from domestic violence and child abuse, she worked behind the scenes through Native Women’s Association to support the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The four elders are being recognized during the eighth annual Honoring Our Elders ceremony at Heritage University on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. in Smith Family Hall. This event is by invitation only. Also, their stories are featured in a series of full-page ads, each dedicated to a specific elder, that are running in the Yakama Nation Review throughout November.  Framed copies of these ads are being added to the permanent display of honorees at the university in the Violet Lumley Rau Building.

Heritage is holding many other events in November in observance of Native American Heritage Month as designated by President George H. W. Bush in 1990. These include:

November 2, 2022, 8:30 a.m. – Flag-raising Ceremony

Heritage University will raise the flags of the Yakama Nation, the state of Washington and the United States during a ceremony featuring the Yakama Warriors. The ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will be held at the main campus entrance.

November 30, 2022, All Day – Dr. Virginia Beavert (Tuxámshish) Day at Heritage University

Heritage University recognizes and honors the esteemed Yakama Nation elder and language teacher on her birthday.

Other Native American Heritage Month events at Heritage will include:

Wapaas Basket Weaving (November 8, 14 & 15)
Roc Your Mocs Week (November 13-19)
Frybread Fundraiser (November 21)
Movie Night (November 21)
Yoga Time (November 28 & 29)
De-stress Workshop (November 30)

For more information on these events, contact Maxine Janis at (509) 865-0737 or janis_m@heritage.edu or Julia Polk at (509) 865-8610 or polk_j@heritage.edu.

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Heritage University to hold El Grito de Independencia celebration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University to hold El Grito de Independencia celebration

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University will host an El Grito de Independencia celebration on Friday, September 16, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at its Toppenish campus in recognition of Mexican Independence Day. El Grito de Independencia commemorates the “Cry of Dolores,” a historical event in Mexico that set off the Mexican war of Independence from Spain and will be re-enacted at 7:30 p.m.

The festival will be hosted Manny DJ and feature performances by Group Proyecto 2020 and Raises de Mi Pueblo Folklorico Group. There will be fun for the entire family, including loteria (games), kid crafts, food and beverages, traditional dancers, live music and a resource fair. The El Grito will be performed by the Titular Consul of the Mexican Consulate in Seattle Hector Ivan Goday Priske. The event is free and open to the public.

El Grito de Independencia will have vendor opportunities. For those interested in registering as a vendor, contact Martin Valadez at valadez_m@heritage.edu. For more information, contact Davidson Mance at mance_d@heritage.edu.

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