Debra in the News

• Sports betting bill easily passes House, heads to Senate | February 18, 2020

  Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, the House’s only enrolled tribal member, said opponents were wrong to look at the casinos’ proceeds as strictly tribal money. The money the casinos make go… READ MORE

• We await a state Supreme Court decision on Sound Transit | February 18, 2020

  One of the first to clear the House was a bill from Rep. Melanie Morgan to ban race-based discrimination against hair style or texture. And a short time later, the House voted 97-1 in… READ MORE

• Friday Harbor High School students promote the Tardigrade as Washington’s Official Micro-Animal in Olympia | February 18, 2020

  In addition to testifying for the tardigrade, the students met with Representative Debra Lekanoff to discuss waste reduction, marine plastics, and climate change. They also spent time in Senator Liz… READ MORE

• Bills would permit Native students to wear tribal regalia for graduation | February 18, 2020

  The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Debra Lekanoff, was amended to allow objects of cultural significance to be worn, without requiring them to be attached or worn with the cap and… READ MORE

• Washington bill likens salmon to 4th branch of government | January 30, 2020

  Tribal-treaty rights make salmon akin to a fourth branch of government in Washington, and fish recovery should guide farming near water, and rural and economic development, according to a bill… READ MORE

• STATE PATROL UNDER PRESSURE TO EXAMINE BIAS IN SEARCHES OF PEOPLE OF COLOR | January 28, 2020

  Improving diversity is important going forward, as is making sure troopers have training about and are familiar with the communities they’re policing, said Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow. “The majority of… READ MORE

• Recreation over preservation? Residents and Natives worry the San Juan Islands could be ‘loved to death’ | January 24, 2020

  State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, a Democrat representing the San Juans who also works for the Swinomish tribe, said the plan endangers the area’s ecological and cultural treasures. A Tlingit from… READ MORE