Unemployment rates on reservations are very high around the country for various reasons, and all of our tribes absolutely need a seat at the economic development table. Working together to move the entire county forward is the only way we'll all succeed in a modern economy.

It doesn't seem fair to blame the Makah Reservation in particular for inflating our overall UI rate or to claim it encompasses a large percentage of our overall county population. The overall county unemployment rate is 8%, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sequim is 7.6%. Port Angeles is 7.9%. Forks is 7.9%. The Census Bureau's 2015 estimate has Clallam County's population just under 73,500. The Makah Reservation includes about 1,300 people, or 1.7% of the total population.