The new center at 1937 Lashi St. N.E., off Reservation Road east of Lacey, is 34,000 square feet and has a gym with a basketball court, an elevated indoor track, exercise rooms, cultural and education resource rooms, and a computer lab. It will double as an emergency services center in the event of a natural disaster, Nisqually Chairwoman Cynthia Iyall said.
Iyall was among a number of people, including U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, who spoke during an hourlong ceremony to celebrate the opening of the community center. About 300 people attended the grand opening, including many families and their children, some of whom could barely contain their enthusiasm for the center and ran laps on the indoor track. Also in attendance were a few South Sound officials, including Yelm Mayor Ron Harding, Tumwater Mayor Pete Kmet and Lacey City Manager Greg Cuoio.
Nisqually Council member Brian McCloud told the audience that the center is just phase one of making the tribe bigger, better and stronger.
“This will instill some pride back into the community,” he said.
At the end of the ceremony, Nisqually youth ambassadors Jordan McCloud and Keisha McDonald pulled back layers of carpet to unveil the tribe’s symbol – a large salmon with a fishing net – at the center of the basketball court. Jordan, 18, a senior at Yelm High School, said that when he was growing up, he had to wait for better weather before he could play on the reservation’s outdoor basketball court. Now, a new generation of children has a year-round destination for sports, he said.
But it’s more than a gym, Iyall said.
“We’ve never really had a place for learning or where kids can connect with other kids,” she said, adding that the reservation also is home to an old baseball field and that the tribe’s administrative building has a gym.
Funding for the center was raised from tribal dollars, a federal appropriation secured by Smith, and assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bank of America, said Joe Cushman, planning director for the tribe.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
