Reflecting on Paco and Kohl's speech!

It was very interesting to listen to Kohl and Paco speak in our class. I think many of us have never really heard personal experiences of Native Americans, such as how they were raised and what they were taught as they grew up. I also thought it was interesting how Paco talked about feeling like he didn't belong to either Native American or American cultures. I've never given it much thought, but I realized I've been feeling that way most of my life! I lived in Japan for 10 years, from age 6 to 16, and just moved back here about 3 years ago. In Japan being half Japanese half American was not too common, and although I wasn't treated badly in anyway, my friends always saw me as a foreigner. After I moved back to America 3 years ago, since i had grew up as a Japanese I was like a foreigner here as well. I've gotten used to the American culture by going to school and working and stuff, but I just thought it was interesting that listening to Paco talk about not fitting into any culture made me think about my life and relate to his. Overall, it was really interesting to listening to Paco and Kohl. Thank you so much for coming and being honest!

A little bit about Snoqualmie Tribe

"Snoqualmie" means "moon" in Lushootseed (which is the language they speak), and so they often call themselves "people of the moon." Their current population is approximately 650, however they used to be the largest tribe in the Northwest with 4000 members. They made their living by hunting deer, elk, and other game animals, fishing for salmon and gathering berries and fruits for food and medicinal purposes.

In 1855, the chief of the Snoqualmie tribe signed the Point Elliott Treaty and ceded all of the tribe's land to the U.S. government. They were to move on to the Tulalip reservation, and most of the current Snoqualmie people still live there. They also lost federal recognition in 1953, and regained it only 10 years ago. The Snoqualmie Tribe is very poor, so because of that they opened a casino a couple years ago, and also make most of their annual budget off salmon bake sales at the Evergreen State Fair.