SEATTLE – The Justice Department has awarded the Stillaguamish Tribe grants totaling $1.05 million that will enhance youth cultural programs, help crime victims, and combat alcohol and drug abuse.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Tribal Youth Program awarded $339,053 to support the Stillaguamish’s Education Department, and provide a language teacher and carving teacher in the Cultural Department, along with cultural supplies and canoes. In addition, the Natural Resources Law Enforcement Department will obtain supplies for safe hunting program for young people. A component involves interacting with positive role models – tribal council, elders and leaders, for example – who will connect them with the tribe’s culture and past.
A second award for $372,561 under the Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities Program will be used to aid crime victims through collaborative support and culturally appropriate services for victims, families and the community. Specifically, funds will provide staff training and program software; supplement food, clothing and children’s supplies; and a leased vehicle to be used for transporting children and unification travel.
The grants come from various programs intended to provide resources for tribal youth, victims of crime, and those fighting drug and alcohol addiction, U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes said. “From drug courts to youth engagement, the Justice Department is supporting innovative programs to improve the lives of those who are members of our 25 federally recognized tribes.”
Stillaguamish was one of six tribes awarded a share of more than $8 million in federal grants.
Under a separate DOJ program, the Stillaguamish Tribe was also awarded a $379,795 Public Safety and Community Policing grant through the agency’s COPS office for training, supplies and equipment. Funds will focus on community-based responses to substance and alcohol abuse, child welfare, tribal legal system development, and youth intervention programs, tribal officials said.
