For many Native Americans,
it's a beacon of hope.
We look at Daybreak Star's
impact and how it came to be.
Many people associate powwows
with singing and dancing.
But the cultural connections run
so much deeper.
Only radio network
officially indigenizing the airwaves.
And using the airwaves to raise awareness
about indigenous culture
and Daybreak Star.
These stories and more next on
CityStream
I'm Enrique Cerna.
Welcome to a special edition
of CityStream.
From the Daybreak Star
Indian Cultural Center.
(Native American drumming and singing)
For nearly half a century,
it's been a fixture in Discovery Park,
serving as a community hub
for Native people.
The effort to create
it began in early 1970.
Indigenous leader
Bernie Whitebear
led a nonviolent occupation
of Fort Lawton
to reclaim land for urban Indians.
Actress Jane Fonda
even joined in raising awareness
around the world.
It's that backstory
that adds
to the fascination
surrounding the Daybreak Star
Indian Cultural Center,
an organization that offers
so much to so many.
Feliks Banel, reports.
Well, for a lot of Native Americans, it's a beacon of hope.
When a lot of Native Americans came here, even like I said, in the early fifties,
there was a lot of needs that were very much needed, but they just
didn't know where to look.
This beacon of hope is Daybreak Star Cultural Center.
It's soaring design and construction from natural Northwest materials
make it stand out, yet fit in among the evergreens at Seattle's Discovery Park.
Mike Tulee is executive director of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation,
the group created by indigenous activist Bernie Whitebear more than 50 years ago.
Well, it's an organization that was founded on
social values back in 1970.
At some point there was a gentleman named Bernie Whitebear, who's seen
a lot of powerful social needs for natives within the urban sector of Seattle,
and so he took it upon himself to gather others of like minded philosophies,
and one day they decided that we're going to fight for our rights.
As the 1960s were drawing to a close.
Hundreds of acres of the old army base at Fort Lawton were being surplused.
Bernie Whitebear was born in the 1930s and grew up in northeastern
Washington on the Colville Reservation,
living in a tent with his brother Lawney and his sister Luana.
In 1970, after moving to Seattle,
Bernie saw an opportunity to reclaim land for indigenous people.
Took this place over for a set of time
beginning March 8th, 1970, lasted for about a month.
There was a great deal of kerfuffle about it
between the the Urban Indians of this city.
Washington's powerful U.S.
senators got involved to help find a solution.
So Henry Scoop Jackson and Warren Magnuson, they brokered that deal
between a Bernie Whitebear and the city of Seattle.
That deal was for 20 acres of land and construction of Daybreak
Star, which was completed in 1977.
Along with an art gallery and a Head Start program,
the beacon of hope is home base for the United Indians of All Tribes
Foundation and their work serving Indigenous people.
We try to find these folks, find out what is that need.
How can we help you?
We have 12 different programs that we can
we can deploy and see if we can make something happen.
Depending on specific needs, program staff connect people with support
such as nutrition for elders, foster care, homelessness
prevention and other resources from within and from other organizations.
Bear room this is Nick. Do you copy? Bear room.
This is Nick.
We're pretty much strongly outfitted to provide
these kind of services towards their needs.
Though Bernie Whitebear passed away in 2000.
His legacy at Daybreak
Star clearly lives on.
Well, he was very highly intelligent, very charming.
He could really bring a smile on your face.
He just knew how to really engage with folks.
He just had a very powerful personality that influenced a lot of people
in a great way.
I was fortunate because I also had an older brother and sister that
contributed a great deal to
my childhood.
Bernie's big brother is artist Lawney Reyes.
One of his most famous works, Blue Jay, is on display at Daybreak Star.
To his brother, Bernie was family
just a regular guy.
More than 50 years
after Bernie Whitebear led the effort to create Daybreak Star, it's a good bet
that the house that Bernie built will always be a beacon of hope.
Bernie Whitebear left us 22 years ago.
But in his final television interview,
he told me that
the creation of Daybreak Star
and all the services provided here
were his proudest achievement.
(Somber Music)
Sadly, we have some somber news to share.
Bernie Whitebear's brother
Lawney Reyes who you saw
in the previous story.
Passed away on August 9th.
Reyes was a sculptor, artist and author.
In addition to his stunning 30 foot
wood sculpture, Bluejay.
On display at Daybreak Star
Reyes' other works
can be seen around the region.
They include this dreamcatcher,
which stands proudly at
32nd and Yesler in Seattle,
Lawney Reyes was 91 years old.
Just ahead on CityStream,
many are familiar
with the singing and dancing
but powwows are so much more
their connection to culture, next.
For 70 years,
Seafair has been the region's
premier summertime celebration.
Featuring parades, hydroplane races
and the Blue Angels.
But the pandemic forced a two year break.
So when Seafair returned this summer,
so did a celebration important
to Daybreak Star
and the United Indians of all tribes.
This field is empty now,
but a few weeks ago,
it was packed with thousands of people attending
the Seafair Indian Days Powwow.
Now, to Native Americans
and First Nations people
throughout North America
Powwows are important events
that bring a connection
to culture and community.
Producer Ian Devier
has much more on its
significance and meaning.
(Native American drumming and singing)
A powwow is really just somewhere
where you can really be social and then
learn about the culture.
It's a big circle of events going on,
you can walk around and,
you know, be entertained all day
and learn something new.
I think it's it's culture at its finest.
I would describe the Seafair Powwow as a
gathering of community.
A connection to culture
and a revitalization.
Powwows actually started about 1879.
And it was more of a
just a display of sorts by Buffalo Bill.
However, when Natives
when they eventually left,
these, these what I call
a sideshow of Buffalo Bill.
They would go back to the reservation and say,
you know I think we'd like to have our own powwows.
So each tribe has their, actually their own
cultural way of providing powwows.
Some of them will do it
for honoring a veterans.
Something will do it for
even honoring a Washington's birthday,
if you can believe that.
Us we're doing it as part of a
Seafair Celebration.
This Powwow started a real small one
from Bernie.
It was actually
informally started by Bernie Whitebear
in the downtown area
in the International District
and by the late eighties.
And they were able to actually
put a full fledged powwow on.
(Native American drumming and singing)
We're not just one tribe,
we're many tribes.
So we try to represent as many tribes
as we can
and engage them and have them included.
as a family.
(Native American drumming and singing)
All of our vendors come from a variety
of tribal backgrounds.
All of our vendors have their own
specialty and our own story
of how they got started,
whether they're making drums
or rattles or different types of food.
So this is what they call Indian ice cream,
for lack of a better English term to use.
It's made from wild soopolallie berries.
I pick the berries
and make it into a juice concentrate.
This has a natural ingredient in it
called sapien that makes it foam
in our language.
sxusem, means to foam.
Corn, and also served at powwows, cornbread.
Salmon, of course, wild rice.
The foods are very, very important.
You know, even though there's some
some may not be healthy,
but they're very tasty.
(Native American drumming and singing)
our particular powwow starts
with a Coastal Grand Entry
which is of coastal tribes
and some of our
Tlingit brothers and sisters that come in
and bless the grounds of the circle
(Native American drumming and singing)
And then we also have
our Powwow Grand Entry
We will have a color guard
and our elders, our head staff,
which is our head
lady dancer and our head man dancing
and all of the dancers
and their regalia from
all the different categories,
all the different dance styles
will come into the circle
and bless the circle.
There are traditional style powwows
that don't have contests.
And then there are contemporary style
powwows that have contests.
And our Seafair Powwow is a combination
in harmony of both.
Your Champion.
There's, there's all kinds of dances.
There's Jingle Dress
there's Crow Hop.
There's what's called High Step,
there's fancy dance.
And Woman's Northern Traditional,
where they had the beaded long buckskin fringe.
But up here they have
the shorter buckskin fringe.
There's a lot of pieces that are passed down
from grandparents, parents to
children and grandchildren
and some of those pieces
have been in the family
for for more generations
than you can probably count.
And each dance style
has its own type of medicine.
I'm a Jingle Dress Dancer,
so that's one of the healing dances
We have fancy shawl dancers,
very gorgeous, athletic dance style.
They mainly focus on
how graceful you are with their shawl
and your footwork
and how strong your legs are
and how you can keep up to the beat.
Your feet can keep up to the beat.
We wouldn't be able to have a powwow
without the drummers,
without the heartbeat,
without that soul being there.
And the dancers
bring in all of their medicine,
and every individual brings in their own
particular type of medicine.
And what I'm doing
when I'm dancing out there
actually is praying for people, you know.
Dancing for people who can't dance.
You know.
The people that come to watch and enjoy
and that need healing.
Maybe they're dealing with some hardship at home.
They come here
and they watch you, and then they
they take it home with them.
And that brings them good feelings to.
What's beautiful is,
is when you got all these people
who all are on the same page
in the same beat,
and they're putting it all together.
You know, there's a lot of medicine
that happens outside the circle as well.
And that's between the connection of
knowledge being passed down.
It helps us
stay connected to to those traditions.
It helps us stay connected
to the food that nourishes our bodies.
It helps us stay connected
to the stories.
It's definitely feeding your spirit.
It gives me that pride you know,
that I'm so resilient that I made it,
you know?
If it wasn't for my grandparents
and people that fought
for these rights for us
to have these events, it just
it it's
gives me a real good feeling in my heart.
After a two year hiatus, the return of the
Indian Days Seafair Powwow was well-received
organizers report record
attendance
estimated at some 17,000 people.
We'll be right back.
Welcome back
to City Stream from the Daybreak Star
Indian Cultural Center,
and I'm joined now by Wilson Kelly.
He is a human resources recruiter here.
Thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.
Thank you.
Now, you actually are
part of the future here,
but you have a past
because as a child,
you came here
and you're involved in programs,
but now you work here.
How does that feel
to be able to come back
and be a part of this?
It feels really good. Yeah.
It fills me with a lot of pride.
I know how much
this felt like a community
when I was a kid.
So I'm glad I can kind of pay
it forward now as an adult.
As a child,
what were the programs
that you were involved in here?
Yeah, so I was a part of a couple
of different programs, programs
that would
now go by the name of Ina Maka
and Kīnā'Ole
So a little bit
of developmental screening
and home visiting for young mothers
and children.
This is an organization
that provides
so many services
and programs for the community.
What stands out for you as to
what's important
and what are those programs
that are helping out?
I know all of our programs are doing
great work.
One that's definitely partial to me
is our Labateyah Youth Home program
that's serving homeless young adults.
18 to 25.
It's a housing for them.
It's also helping them find jobs
and helping them
find new housing,
which I think is incredible.
I mean, you know,
that was difficult for me
when I was growing up
and I wasn't homeless.
So
especially having those challenges
and then being able to be given
that support it means a lot.
And I've seen that program grow a lot
since I've started here at United Indians.
What does Daybreak Star mean
to the Indigenous community of Seattle?
I think Daybreak Star
is really a cultural home.
I know for me, growing up every year
with the powwow,
I'd come with my grandma
it'd be a place
where you just felt in community.
You felt yourself, you felt comfortable.
And I just remember every large event
whether it was a wedding
or a service or a school program,
you know, we'd all come here
and it just felt like home.
Well, by the way,
speaking of weddings,
you guys do events here
and weddings are part of that.
So I would imagine that
that must be a great opportunity
to show people
what Daybreak Star is all about.
Yeah, it certainly is.
I mean, you know,
it's a gorgeous facility
right off the water, right off
Puget Sound.
And I really enjoy what our team
has been able
to do as far as hosting events.
I've seen it grow and grow a lot.
And just this past weekend,
I was here for an event
and seeing our facilities
team work together
and just be on the ball
is really fun to see. In the future
what was your hope for Daybreak Star?
My hope for Daybreak Star
in the future is
I really want to see them grow
their services
that they're able to provide
for the community.
I think we really run the gamut
right now from young children to elders,
but I think there's more we can
do, and I think we're on our way there.
We're stabilizing quite a bit,
and I'd like to see where
we're able to go with that.
Wilson Kelly, thank you so much.
Thank you
Next on CityStream,
raising awareness of Daybreak Star
by tapping the airwaves.
We'll explain, next
Daybreak Star's reputation is well
known locally,
but a news service is trying to spread it
nationally and even globally.
We're talking about Daybreak Star Radio.
Now, whether it's hip hop, rock and roll,
traditional Native music
or spoken
word and poetry,
this new radio station is helping
indigenous Native American
and First Nations
people connect to their heritage.
Producer Randy Eng shares
Daybreak Star Radio's plans to indigenize
the airwaves.
You're listening
to the Daybreak Star Radio Network.
Only radio network
officially indigenizing the airwaves.
Literally the voices
and the representation
of Native people in the music
industry is not there.
That's why we did this, is to get
the immense talent
that the Native community has
out to the public and out to one another.
It's an
opportunity to introduce
a native radio network.
To to our people.
There are lots of Native stations.
There's Native stations from Canada
to Chile, like there's lots of them,
but they're local
and they're often only on the rez,
and sometimes they're not very clear
even when you're on the rez.
Indigenizing the airwaves, that's what we're doing.
We're here to lend our voice in a
respectful way to all of the communities,
to all of the lands,
to all of our listeners across the globe.
We're not focused on
you know, a Seattle audience.
We're not focused on
just, you know, Washington State.
You know, we're we're national
or international.
We wanted to have more of a way
to connect with one another.
So social media and Internet radio
is kind of the way to go.
Please introduce yourselves
and state your tribal affiliation.
My name is Yung Trybez.
I'm from The Snotty Nose Rez Kids
People of the Snow.
That's northwest B.C., Canada.
Brenda Atencio, I go by G Precious
My tribal affiliation is Ohkay Owingeh,
formerly San Juan Pueblo.
Village of the Strong.
Here in New Mexico.
We're a, Yaqui
part Yaqui, Mexican, you know,
(speaking in Tlingit language)
My names are Ed Littlefield and
Shaakhudastoo
Born and raised in Sitka, Alaska.
(speaking in Tlingit language)
My name is Gene Tagaban.
My Tlingit name is Guuy Yaau
Tak’deintaan Raven Freshwater Sockeye Clan
from Hoonah, Alaska
child of the Wooshkeetaan
Eagle Shark Clan
in Juneau
I'm Cherokee, Tlingit, and Filipino.
Being able to have this
amazing wealth of art
from all Indigenous peoples
from every tribe
we can get music from, from
from all the people
and have other Indigenous people hear it.
There's a connection
there's a connection
we all have
there's a connection to the land and
and from what we come from
there's a connection
to the sky and the stars
and we
we all have that as part of our culture.
It's all in our stories.
And to be able to have
that thread continue,
it just makes us all stronger.
All these like, people, like,
you know, may not be from my same tribe,
but from the same similar background.
I'm like, this is, this is awesome.
I felt inspired.
I felt I felt happy.
I felt home.
Remember who you are.
Remember where we come from
and were able to change this world
and our music.
You know, I love the fact that.
My music's being played
all the way across,
you know, on the other side.
And that's amazing to me.
Daybreak Star Radio Network, right on.
Mike, my executive
director here
at United Indians of All Tribes
had a vision.
He wanted a radio network.
What's stopping us
from doing a radio station?
There's very few of them
in the United States
that are Native operated and owned.
And I just thought,
you know, that's a good question.
I was doing an interview
one day at another radio station
and a gentleman
called in to our request line.
He was asking
a bunch of questions about radio.
How do you start a radio station?
What tools do you need
to start a radio station?
Sure enough, it was Mike.
Things just kind of fell into place.
One notch after another.
The radio station
officially launched
in terms of our first broadcast
last July, 2021.
We have podcasts.
We have music shows, we have talk shows,
we have serious topics.
We weren't going to
just be a hip hop station.
We weren't going to just be an R&B.
We have listeners that may not be a
hip hop fan.
So if someone is a real rock and roll fan
and a metal fan,
they can go to DaybreakStarRadio.com
and find out
when their favorite genre plays.
Same thing for jazz.
You know,
we have a exciting jazz show
that's launching tomorrow, in fact.
One of the interns, his name is Marcus.
Worldwide debut tomorrow.
Hello, everybody.
Welcome to Indigenous Jazz.
This is Marcus on the Air,
and I am your host
I'm learning a lot about how to
work with media.
How do you work with, like,
my own people,
how you do ethical research
and do stuff that supports
others and builds community.
Because the end of the day,
there's a word in Cherokee
called "Gadugi",
which is about working together
like we're together
for the benefit of all.
And I feel like that's
what we're doing here
at Daybreak Star.
"He is Kaw and Muscogee Creek"
Hopefully we aim to do this
radio show is bring attention
to newer artists
who are out there
trying to get stuff going,
whether they're of Native descent
or whether they're tribal members.
Just want to get them recognized.
You'll see artists that
you wouldn't think necessarily,
you know, have that exact Native connection,
but, you know they do.
You can hear Native beats
in all music.
It's the drum, it's
the sound of the drum, it's
the constant rhythm.
So Native music is a part of everything.
People just don't know it.
They've lost
that little bit of knowledge.
So bringing that,
we're bringing that back.
"We got more music coming up."
There's just so much available
and there's so much
that people just need to hear.
The only radio network
officially indigenizing the airwaves
the Daybreak Star Radio Network.
If you'd like to give Daybreak Star Radio
a listen,
just go to their website,
DaybreakStarRadio.com,
or you can download
their brand new phone app
available through Apple or Google
We'll be right back.
That wraps up
this episode of CityStream
from the Daybreak Star
Indian Cultural Center.
If you'd like to learn more
about their many programs
and services, visit their website.
UnitedIndians.org.
I'm Enrique Cerna, thank you for watching.