Computer in every home goal of Muckleshoot Tribe giveaway in WA

AUBURN, Wash. (AP) — Dozens of Muckleshoot Indians lined up for the start of a second giveaway program designed to put a desktop or laptop computer in every tribal household.

The line began forming at 6 a.m. Tuesday outside a former hardware store owned by the tribe. By mid-afternoon tribal officials had processed 361 applications.

The Tribal Council authorized the $1 million program nine months ago partly to provide upgrades for computers that were distributed in a similar giveaway in 1999, council member Franklin Lozier said.

About 500 households are eligible, some as far away as Oregon. The Muckleshoot reservation is about 25 miles south-southeast of Seattle.

Wahleah Sheldon, an eighth-grader in the Bethel School District in neighboring Pierce County, drove up with her grandmother to sign up for a replacement for a computer she got in 1999 to use for schoolwork.

"It needs to be upgraded," Sheldon said.

Christina Cruz said the program was the only way she could get a laptop for her 9-year-old daughter.

"I’m a single mom," Cruz said.

Nicole Collins, a Dell account representative, said about half the computers would be distributed this week, starting by midday Thursday, and the rest next week.

The PCs are Dell Dimension 4600 Pentium 4s loaded with a CD burner and Microsoft Office, and each PC and laptop comes with a new printer. Collins said the units would retail for more than $2,000 each.

Funds for the program come from tribal casino profits, which also support college scholarships and other education programs.

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