SPOKANE, Wash. – The Spokane and Colville tribes will both receive federal funding for cultural programming and infrastructure improvements in 2024.
The 2024 federal fiscal appropriations cycle will include $3 million for the Spokane Tribe of Indians to improve the Wellpinit Youth Center. The funds are supported by both Washington senators Maria Cantwell (D) and Patty Murray (D).
The tribe will also receive $2.7 million to aid in the completion of a Salish language school and supportive housing.
Cantwell, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, also supported a $1.7 million water infrastructure improvement project for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. That funding was also supported by Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R).
An additional $100,000 for the Colville Reservation Nespelem Longhouse was also secured with Cantwell’s backing along with Congressman Dan Newhouse (R).
Cantwell touted the passage of the funding as a win for indigenous populations across eastern Washington.
“Funding for these projects will help Eastern Washington tribal communities construct important facilities that will help keep Tribal members safe and preserve their culture,” Cantwell said.
Alongside sovereign nations in eastern Washington, federal funding was set aside for tribes in the western and central regions of the Evergreen State.
