Resistance and Resilience

Resistance and Resilience

While Native Americans in Portland have experienced great trauma created by local and federal policies that stripped them of wealth, sovereignty, and identity, they have also built a resilient and vibrant community centered on relationships, culture, and well-being. They achieved this by drawing on deep historical, spiritual, and cultural strengths, combining this resolve with traditions of adaptation, innovation, community, and resistance. Native leaders formed several organizations to meet the needs of the growing community over the years. The Voice of the American Indian Association (VAIA) and the Portland American Indian Center (PAIC) were founded in 1959 to serve Native Americans living on reservations and in the city.xix These organizations provided services and economic assistance, built community, and taught and celebrated Native culture. Though VAIA dissolved in the mid-1960s, PAIC became a powerful organization in Portland, connecting urban Natives to Native culture through programs like annual summer powwows. Working with other communities of color to provide education for adults and youth, the Chicano Indian Study Center of Oregon (CISCO) grew into one of the foremost Native hubs in the country and sponsored the founding of NAYA in 1974 before closing its doors in 1977.xx,xxi

Today, urban Native Americans continue to fight for self- and community identity. Resisting the “assimilate or die” message that many participants grew up with—a narrative that told Native people that they had to assimilate in order to survive—NAYA creates a space of belonging and support by celebrating and fostering the growth of Native culture. Resisting the systems and policies that have attempted to erase Native identity over the years, NAYA and many other Native organizations and groups welcome and accept self-identification. NAYA’s culturally rooted, multigenerational, communitydriven approach to providing relief, stability, and prosperity for individuals, families, and the community has been instrumental in resisting harmful narratives and strengthening the urban Native population in Portland.