May 19-22, 2205
Northern Quest Resort | Airway Heights, WA

Lodging:

The Northern Quest Casino Resort is honoring the Government Per Diem Rate of $126 for those paying with a government credit card.

Reservations can be made by calling 877.871.6772 and asking for a room in the WORC Block.

OPTION EARLY REGISTRATION LATE REGISTRATION
Full Conference – Member $695 $795
Full Conference – Non-Member $795 $895
One Day $385 $485
One Day w/ Gala Early $460 $560

Introducing WORC’s 2025 Conference Location:

Northern Quest Resort & Casino, owned and operated by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians!

To advance equity in the waste and recycling industry, WORC is taking a significant step by partnering with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians for our 2025 Conference, which will be held at Northern Quest Resort and Casino. This decision reflects our commitment to the Equity Statement adopted by the WORC Board of Directors in 2023, which emphasizes the importance of supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.

By choosing to invest in a venue owned and operated by the Kalispel Tribe, we’re making a strategic shift to redirect substantial resources into the hands of those historically marginalized and oppressed. This move is not merely a financial transaction but a radical reallocation of power and support to communities that have been systematically disadvantaged.

WORC’s leadership is enthusiastic about this initiative and is committed to continuously seeking out and embracing additional opportunities to uphold and expand our equity efforts.

Conference Tours:

The 2025 Conference will offer two pre-conference tours. Tours are $65 per person and include round trip coach transportation.

Barr-Tech Composting: Barr-Tech’s bio Industrial park promotes responsible organic material recycling and offers products that support sustainable agricultural practices in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. Partnered with local governments and community members, Barr-Tech strives to create green solutions for the recycling of organic materials which relieves pressure on local waste disposal facilities, while creating valuable soil building products. Barr-Tech is committed to responsible organic recycling and is a member of the US Composting Council and it’s Seal of Testing Assurance program.

Inland Empire Paper Company
IEP is a USA family owned fully integrated pulp and paper mill located in Millwood. IEP provides customer with over 50 different lightweight paper options and operates a state of the art paper machine. A Circle of sustainability is practiced at IEP, which owns and manages over 120,000 forest land acres in Eastern Washington and northern Idaho. IEP processes over 45,000 tons of recycled paper feedstock every year and operates one of the newest and most advanced water treatment systems in the United States.

Topic Overview:

The WSRA-WORC Conference will have nearly 20 unique breakouts representing nearly 40 different sessions. Some of the key subject areas being covered include:

  • Waste Reduction is a Team Effort

  • Glass Panel

  • Farm Waste

  • OMLs

  • Textiles

  • Food Waste

  • Offal

  • Electric Fleets

  • Bin contamination

  • Grant Opportunities

  • Fighting waste contamination

FAQs:

Why is the conference hosted at a casino?

As part of the WSRA and WORC efforts to advance equity in our work, we are intentionally partnering with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians to host the 2025 conference at their Northern Quest Resort and Casino. We are proud to be directly investing in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color owned and operated businesses, when possible, to support those communities that have been most impacted by historical injustices and oppression.

What to expect at Northern Quest

  • It’s located on tribal land, so not in a city center. Parking is free and plentiful.

  • Hotel prices are affordable (government rates for all!)

  • They have enough space for all of our conference attendees to stay in the same hotel – no small feat!

  • Smoking is allowed in the casino area but no other indoor areas.

  • Native nations don’t have to comply with Washington State laws, so they haven’t banned single use mini toiletries in bathrooms. WORC is educating and encouraging them to switch to refillable dispensers.

  • The Kalispel Tribe was the recipient of the 2022 Recycler of the Year Award for Public Agency for their recycling, waste reduction and circular organics programs at Northern Quest.

What is the historical context of tobacco use by Indigenous people and how has that led to the current cigarette use in casinos such as Northern Quest?

Many Native American communities have used tobacco in traditional spiritual, ceremonial, and medicinal practices for thousands of years. This article describes the complex history of its use after European colonizers arrived in North America. Here’s an excerpt:

“Until the passage of the Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, laws banned many Native American cultural practices, including various traditional uses of tobacco. And in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, churches or the U.S. government routinely took Native American kids from their homes and sent them to faraway boarding schools where tribal cultural and language practices were forbidden. This also contributed to the breakdown in teaching traditional customs, Goodwin says.

But some tribes managed to hold onto their historic practices in hidden or secret ways, such as substituting cigarettes for indigenous tobacco at traditional ceremonies. For example, at funerals among the Ojibwe (a larger tribal distinction that includes the White Earth Nation), ritually grown tobacco would be placed on the ground to offer prayers to the spirit world for the deceased. To continue this custom when traditional tobacco use was prohibited, the tribe instead started passing a birch-bark basket of cigarettes among attendees to smoke as a group, so the prayer tradition survived. Similarly, since tribal members could no longer keep traditional tobacco with them, they started carrying commercial tobacco and using it for daily offerings and ceremonies.

Tobacco companies may also have contributed to the high smoking rates among Native Americans. Historically these companies marketed to tribal communities by appealing to their cultural connections with tobacco—thus becoming one of the few outside groups that strongly supported tribal sovereignty and economic development (internal tobacco company documents, now public, suggest they had also hoped for more access to tribal casinos and stores as places to sell their products). That legacy of apparent support for tribal interests has left some Native American communities with mixed feelings toward these companies, possibly hampering smoking cessation efforts.”

We recommend reading the whole article! https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-fight-to-keep-tobacco-sacred/

And here is another recommendation for further reading: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8807169/

What is the best terminology to use when talking about Native people and Native nations?

Using appropriate terminology to talk about Native nations shows respect for nations’ sovereignty. It also contributes toward Native narrative change. The Native Governance Center created a guide to explain the different terms and best practices. We recommend checking out the guide! We selected a few excerpts from it below:

“If all members of the group are from the same Native nation, refer to them by using their nation’s name. For example, “White Earth Nation citizens are working to protect their nation’s waterways.” If you’re talking about groups of people from multiple nations, use Native American, Native, or Indigenous. Ideally, if you can, check with the group to determine how they’d like to be referenced. You may see the term American Indian used, too. Native Governance Center does not recommend that non-Native folks use the terms American Indian or Indian. However, this is a matter of preference; you may find that another Native organization recommends something different.”

What are other resources for supporting Black, Indigenous and People of Color owned businesses?

Where can I learn more about the Kalispel and other Native nations in the Spokane area?