EWU Students, Public Policy Institute Create Yakama Nation Vitals

An important project developed by Eastern Washington University students and launched earlier this year serves as a tool for Yakama Nation tribal members, leaders, and the public to monitor key indicators of community health and well-being.

The Yakama Nation Vitals is a data-driven information resource and website designed to track and display the conditions of life on the Yakama Indian Reservation. EWU student Matthew Sandell collected the data, and student Amy George designed the website. The pair worked in conjunction with EWU’s Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis. Patrick Jones, executive director of the Institute, says the Yakama Vitals project is the first of its kind in Washington, and he was excited to have the students play pivotal roles.

“To the best of my knowledge, this effort to provide indicators on important dimensions of life on a tribal reservation is the first of its kind for Washington Indian country,” he says. “Matthew is an excellent data analytical student who we felt could take on quite a bit of responsibility for marshaling not only the data but the explanations of it.”

Sandell dove into the project. “I really wanted to work at the Institute,” he says.

His dual major in business analytics and economics provided ideal disciplines for the creation of a data set comprising nearly 50 indicators.

Information on six core areas: people (demographics), economic vitality, education, health, housing and natural resources is presented on the site.

“The tribe wanted specific education indicators, like how many students attended on certain days of the year, the number of absences per month, and graduation rates … we really want to ensure we tell an accurate story for the community, says Sandell, who is considering a career in public policy. “It was really cool to work with the Nation to create a unique and accessible website. Developing this gave me a lot of skills and really prepared me for my career.”

When it came to designing the website, Jones says Amy George was a great fit.

“Amy is a registered member of the Colville Federation of Bands and Tribes, and we wanted a Native student, if at all possible, to put their imprint on the design of the site,” he explains. “She’s a design student, and the project needed those skills since the creation of an inviting website was at its heart.”

George relished her creative role and her time at EWU. “My ancestry is from the Yakama tribe as well,” she says. “And my dad graduated from EWU.”

Honoring the tribe’s heritage was paramount to her. She started with the current Trends website and added more of an indigenous design.

“You can see Mount Adams from the Nation, so I included that, and I incorporated their unique star design,” George says. “The fourteen stars on the Yakama Nation Vitals logo represent the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nations.”

She’s pleased with the result. “It’s pretty exciting to see your work appear—it feels so official,” says George.

Jones says the students’ work has a lasting impact. “Leadership of the Yakama Nation will now be able to base some of their decisions on the information found on the Vitals—information that wasn’t accessible a few months ago.”

He and Institute colleague, Dr. Kelley Cullen, hope that the experience will give both George and Sandell an advantage in their search for their first post-EWU jobs.

“It’s not the easiest of labor markets now, and the degree to which the two of them can point to experience in their fields should give them an advantage,” Jones says. “In addition to the technical expertise, we hope that the experience of working in a team will stand them well.”