Our Tribal Owners are Saving Lives: Snoqualmie Opens Tribal Vaccination Clinic

Junior staff from the Eighth Generation team proudly collaborated with our owners, the Snoqualmie Tribe, to create the logo for the Snoqualmie Tribal Vaccination Clinic!

The Snoqualmie Tribe officially opened up a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for their Tribal members on Saturday, February 20, to help individuals commit to preserving Native traditions, show their cultural pride and demonstrate love and respect for family, Elders, future generations and the broader Native community. The goal is to vaccinate all Snoqualmie Tribal Members, Tribal staff, members of their households, other Natives and other members of the Tribe’s priority populations.

The Clinic is held in the ballroom of the Snoqualmie Casino.

“It is critical to the Snoqualmie Tribe that we are able to provide for our Tribal Members and Tribal Community by providing COVID-19 vaccines to anyone who wants to receive one,” says Snoqualmie Tribal Chairman Robert de los Angeles.

Snoqualmie Tribal Chairman, Robert de los Angeles, receiving the vaccine (R).

The Tribe runs the clinic in participation with Eastside Fire & Rescue, who have provided fire and EMS services on the Snoqualmie Reservation for the last six years. While trained EMTs administer the Moderna vaccine, the Clinic is also staffed with Tribal Government, Casino employees and volunteers. On opening day, UW faculty and students from the UW School of Nursing worked with patient in-take and vaccination screening.

Jaime Martin, the Snoqualmie Tribe’s Executive Director of Governmental Affairs and Special Projects, said collaborating with Eighth Generation on the logo was a natural decision.

“Throughout the pandemic, Eighth Generation and the Snoqualmie Tribe have worked together on finding ways to support the community, and I knew the Eighth Generation team is passionate about vaccination efforts,” Jaime says.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Eighth Generation delivered a donation of more than 10,000 pieces of Personal Protective Equipment to the Seattle Indian Health Board.

Rivalling a typical medical logo that can feel sterile and unfamiliar, Jaime wanted a design that resonated with Snoqualmie Tribal members. “It was important to have references to traditional medicine and elements of Coast Salish art,” Jaime says.

The logo includes Coast Salish design elements like the trigon, crescent and oval. The huckleberries are also commonly used and found in Coast Salish Territory.

Though the Snoqualmie Tribe doesn’t have a full-time clinic, a crew of people and organizations – The Cowlitz Tribal Clinic, American Indian Health Commission, Department of Health, a Tribal Council Member, Casino Executives, Legal Counsel, Eastside Fire & Rescue leadership and Governmental Affairs – merged all efforts to get the Clinic up and running.

“Having such a diverse team has worked well and we're finding ways to think outside the box in delivering this service,” Jaime says. “The vaccine is one tool in ending the pandemic and providing this clinic to help our people and our community, on our Tribal lands, is sovereignty in action.”

Join us in cheering on the Snoqualmie Tribe and their efforts in supporting community!