Announcement of 1 Billion investment in IHS facilities

On February 13, 2026, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that HHS will commit $1 billion in existing funds to help address the long-standing construction backlog at Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities, starting in Fiscal Year 2027 and continuing over several years.

Tribal Arts Cultural Grant Opportunity

This is a non-competitive grant that offers funding for federally recognized Tribes in Washington state to support Tribal communities. Funding is meant to support expansion, enhance or create space for art and culture that is respectful and responsive to each communities needs. As long as the proposed project is eligible, a Tribe may automatically received funding.
Application deadline is March 31, 2026 at 5 p.m.

Psychosis CARE 2026 Virtual Conference

Registration is now open for the Psychosis CARE 2026 Virtual Conference. This free event will take place April 28–29, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.

 For questions, please contact Health Care Program Specialist Sonya Wohletz

We are pleased to welcome a new Regional Tribal Liaison (RTL), Lisa Wilson, to our team!

Lisa brings a lifetime of service, leadership, and lived experience as the new North Sound RTL. She’s a Lummi Tribal member, mother of three children, and a proud grandmother to eight. Her roots in community leadership run deep—she is a former Lummi Nation council member, former Vice Chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Native Environmental Science.

Before stepping into elected leadership, Lisa spent much of her career working in fisheries, focusing on salmon restoration and upholding treaty rights. That work, she explains, shaped how she sees everything else.

“When I was working in natural resources, my cousin told me: You find the need in your community, and you go fulfill that need,” Lisa said. “That’s always stayed with me.”

Lisa says her work in OTA allows her to continue serving in a role that’s deeply needed—not just in her own community, but across North Sound Tribal communities.

“It’s still about being a Tribal leader, still about salmon, still about health,” she said. “But it’s also about stepping back and remembering what’s important—and being willing to take something on and learn something new.”

Her path to this role reflects decades of perseverance. A teen parent, later a single mom of three, Lisa worked full time, went to school, built her career, and eventually built her own home—all while staying grounded in family and community. Today, she lives next door to her son and says she’s grateful to be doing work that aligns with her values.

“I’ve worked hard my whole life,” she said. “But most importantly, I’m working for Tribal communities, in areas where the need is real.”

At the heart of everything Lisa Wilson does is a simple belief: When you see a need in your community, you step up. And you don’t do it alone—you build relationships, honor trust, and keep health, culture, and people at the center of the work.

Getting to know Lisa

• Best way to work with her: Collaboration, open communication, and shared goals
• Favorite snack: Apples—something she grew to love because of a bedtime ritual with her granddaughter, who refused to go to sleep without a few bites of the “family apple,” shared with everyone before bed. She can also be wooed with Häagen-Dazs ice cream
• Go-to office dance move when things go right: Raise the roof

Learning from Licorice Fern – Find Your Voice

A Coast Salish Story as told by Lower Elwha Klallam Storyteller Roger Fernandes

A long time ago, the People had small voices, they could barely hear each other when they talked. When the People spoke to each other, they couldn’t hear one another. Their voices were so quiet and so small that they couldn’t always understand one another.

One day, a woman from the village was walking through the woods. As she was walking, she heard a voice that said, “Come here” and the woman asked, “Who is that?”

“Over here,” the voice said, the woman went towards the voice and there, before her, was licorice fern.

Licorice fern said, “Chop up my roots and taste them.” So, the woman did as licorice fern instructed; she chopped up licorice fern’s roots and tasted them, and in a big voice said, Oh, that tastes really good!”

The woman now had a big voice. She returned back to the village and (in a big voice) said “Hello!” Everyone in the village was amazed and asked where she got this big voice. The woman told the People about the licorice fern an instructed that everyone go to the forest. So, the people all went to the forest and gathered licorice fern, chopped up the roots, and tasted them. And that is how the People got big voices. And that is all.

Licorice fern reminds us of the power of clear communication when we find our own voice and develop skills. In effectively communicating with others, we can move toward achieving our goals while building healthy relationships.

Come work with us! 

We have a position open at the HCA Office of Tribal Affairs. Please share widely with those looking to support Tribes in Washington state government. 

Rural Health Transformation Tribal Program Specialist

March is a time to remember Billy Frank Jr., an advocate from the Nisqually Indian Tribe whose life’s work centered on protecting Tribal treaty rights and sovereignty. From the Fish Wars to the Boldt decision, Billy stood firm in defense of the promises made in the Treaty of Medicine Creek—reminding the state and nation that treaties are binding agreements, not symbolic words on paper. His leadership strengthened government-to-government relationships and protected the salmon, waters, and ways of life that sustain our communities. As we commemorate him this month, we reflect not only on his legacy, but on the ongoing responsibility to uphold treaties and advance Tribal sovereignty for generations to come.