Carson College Moves to Strengthen Tribal Connections

By Scott Jackson

WSU Everett has launched an effort to improve relationships with Native American tribes in the region surrounding the Salish Sea, thanks to a modest grant awarded by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

The grant, awarded to WSU Everett Management Professor Joseph Scott Gladstone, funds travel and outreach efforts, enabling the Carson College to connect with Native American tribes in ways that honor their contributions and perspectives.

“What we’re doing now is going into the tribes, introducing ourselves, and just basically building a good working relationship,” says Gladstone, who is an enrolled member of the Blackfoot Nation and a Nez Perce Tribe descendant. “The hope is eventually they’ll see us as a resource for economic development, rather than either an adversary or somebody who’s trying to take advantage of them.”

Expanding tribal partnerships

Gladstone says the grant will allow him to travel to and meet with tribes within the Everett campus’s service area on the western side of the state. WSU currently has a memorandum of understanding with a number of Washington tribes, but Gladstone notes the majority of tribal signatories are from the east side.

Gladstone, whose area of expertise is American Indian culture and business, says developing a relationship with more Washington tribes would be valuable to both parties in several ways. For one, it could help build a research relationship that uplifts Indigenous collaborators and positions the Carson College as a natural partner when tribes want to do internal studies for business development and organizational management.

“Tribes want to do their own research and drive it from within their own communities, on their own terms” Gladstone says. “I would like to support their vision in my work.”

While it’s unlikely to be realized in the near term, Gladstone says this effort will also be a step toward a career goal and passion he has to help develop more American Indian faculty who specialize in business, and eventually, a center for American Indian business research that calls WSU home.

“The goal of that center is to be the go-to place in the US to gain knowledge about business that’s done in that indigenous way,” Gladstone says. “I see the center as a place to draw future PhD students and postdocs.”

Building stronger relationships

WSU continues to deepen its commitment to building meaningful relationships with Native American tribes across the Pacific Northwest. In early November, the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation became the 14th signatory to the MOU with the university. Earlier this year, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community became the 13th Native Nation to join. First signed by six tribes in 1997, the MOU celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023, marking a significant milestone in fostering collaboration and mutual respect.

WSU also supports Native students through the Native Coug Scholars Fund, a pilot scholarship program that received $1.7 million in state appropriations in the last biennium. Since its inception, the program has provided financial assistance to 108 students, with an average contribution of $4,500 per recipient. WSU is seeking $2.2 million in the 2025–27 biennium to expand this initiative, ensuring that more Native students can access the resources they need to thrive academically and beyond.