Jasa’s parents divorced when she was in fourth grade. “When my dad left, so did the majority of my Native American heritage,” she wrote.

Jasa grew up with her mother, who did not raise her to think about herself as Native American. Her father Joe didn’t begin to get into Salish culture until after the divorce. He said it was a relationship that began nine years ago with a woman invested in native culture that flamed his interest in his own history.

Together Joe and his partner have a daughter, Katlyn, who is seven and Jasa’s half-sister. She was able to enroll in the tribe thanks to the blood quantum of his current partner. What’s funny, he said, is that Katlyn is the only one of his children to have blond hair and blue eyes.

“If I had all my children standing next to me, you’d think that the oldest [Jasa and her brothers] were enrolled and the youngest [Katlyn] wasn’t.”

Joe is glad the tribe recognized his youngest as a member. “I was lucky to meet this woman that I’m with now and have our child be able to enroll.”