Midwestern Region

NORTHWEST REGION

Jonathan Arakawa, Northwest Regional Representative

National UNITY Council Executive Committee

northwest@unityinc.org

Who is the Northwest Representative and how do I get in contact with them? 

Jonathan Arakawa, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe of Washington

Email: northwest@unityinc.org; jonathan_arakawa@outlook.com

Cell: 360.565.6957

Who does the UNITY Midwest Region Represent?

The UNITY Northwest Region Represents Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Our goal is to provide a voice for the youth of the Northwest and uphold UNITY’s mission of fostering the spiritual, mental, physical, and social development of American Indian and Alaska Native youth. 

Biography of Northwest Regional Representative Jonathan Arakawa 

Jonathan Arakawa is an enrolled member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Mr. Arakawa is the Secretary and Northwest Regional Representative to the National UNITY Council Executive Committee. Outside of UNITY, Mr. Arakawa also serves as Co-Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians Youth Commission (NCAI-YC) while being a student at The Evergreen State College and Peninsula College, studying for both his Bachelor of Arts in Tribal Governance and Master’s in Teaching. He is also a Klallam Language Teacher and serves as Minister of the Lower Elwha 1910 Indian Shaker Church. Since birth, Mr. Arakawa’s family has instilled leadership qualities, cultural values, and traditional teachings into Mr. Arakawa.

These qualities, values, and teachings lead him in pursuit of his work and advocacy for Indian Country. One of Mr. Arakawa’s tireless advocacy efforts and strong platforms in his UNITY and NCAI services is for Native American History to be taught from the Native Perspective in Washington State public schools, and public schools throughout the United States, while assuring an equitable and inclusive educational system for Native American students.

These advocacy efforts have led him to work in the Port Angeles School District (PASD) as a Native American Specialist for the PASD AmeriCorps Program—a national service position—for two years working alongside strong Native American educators.

Mr. Arakawa looks forward to working with our local, regional, state, and federal counterparts to address issues that affect Native youth and Indian Country while bringing all Tribal Nations together to further amplify the strength of our ancestors that run through Indian Country’s veins and unleash our multi-generational strength, wisdom, and resiliency to be that generation of leaders our ancestors prayed for. He believes everyone has a place, every single person is a leader, and when we come together as a Native America, our collective strength is incalculable.