Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man of profound courage and vision: Jeromy Sullivan, the late chairman of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe. From his early years, Jeromy was molded by his surroundings, nurturing a love of the land and the water and their gifts. His early experiences digging for clams or catching crab and salmon imbued him with a deep connection to his culture and to his environment. Besides being an experienced leader, he was still a relatively young man when we lost him last month. I loved to see Jeromy's pride and enthusiasm for the progress being made by his Tribe. Once, he gave me a tour of the Tribe's new health facility, and it mattered to him that Tribal members could get care in a quality environment, that they had the respect and the dignity that all Americans deserve. He was proud that not only was the facility first class, but rather that the care that people would receive would be first class as well. Jeromy was also a passionate advocate for Tribal treaty rights. Jeromy saw his role as Tribal chairman to be one of not only advocating for today's fishermen or geoduck harvesters, he was a champion for the rights of future generations of Port Gamble's S'Klallam Tribal members. I can't tell you how many conversations I had over the last 10 years about discussions with the Navy in which Jeromy was unbending in his belief that he had a responsibility to ensure that his people could enjoy the rights promised to them in their treaty.…”