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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2022)
Page 4 Minority Business Edition October 5, 2022 Assisting Community Native Owned Constuction Members Acquire Property Elevates Community Eddie Lincoln is the owner of Centu- ry 21 North Homes Realty. He has been in practice for 15 years and serves new home buyers home buyers, down siz- ers, relocators, and commercial buyers. He works with a host of administrative staff members, principal broker and also a team of Real Estate Brokers to consult with on Real Estate deals. Century 21 North Homes Realty is a Full-Service Real Estate firm. He services all the State of Oregon and Washington and also pro- vides information on Wealth Wave Finan- cial Services (How Money Works Educa- tion Resources). Mr. Lincoln noted “Real Estate is an investment and if you can afford to buy property do not hesitate. There are many tax advantages to owning property and allowing it to grow tax deferred.” The office is located at 2715 SE 8th Street Suite #171 Portland, Or 97202. While the office hours are flexible the office hours are primarily between the hours 9:00am – 5:00pm. More information can be found by calling 503-789-0861 or visiting Ed- dieLincoln.com. Construction business operates with dignity, honor, respect, and integrity Leon Araiza Eddie Lincoln Owner of Century 21 North Homes Realty MICHAEL HARPER Agent Providing Insurance and Financial Services 9713 S.W. Capitol, Portland, OR 503-221-3050 • Fax 503-227-8757 Follow Us on Social Media Let's Get Connected for Our Latest News & Updates on Twitter @pdxobserver on Facebook @ThePortlandObserver on Instagram @portlandobserver b y m olly W ashington Leon Araiza is an active member of the urban Native community and is the owner of Advanced Tribal LLC, a gener- al contracting company that specializes in concrete, concrete reinforcement, rough carpentry, seismic upgrades, finish carpen- try, tenant improvements, civil work, and specialty projects. Coming with 33 years of experience in the industry, Advanced Tribal was started in 2015. Leon’s experience is a testament to the ways in which we can reject internalizing messages of inferiority and instead, use those experiences to fuel our resilience. Beginning his career with the Job Corps and from there heading into the Carpen- ter’s Union, Leon describes the treatment as “daily hate crimes.” Leon realized very quickly that he was there to gain knowl- edge, not to make friends.“Reflecting back on it, it’s not surprising that I was able to do that in the gracious manner that I did. Representing our ancestors, I come from a long line of survivors,” Leon reflects. “Our people not only survived but strived in the face of adversity and oftentimes death.” Eventually, Leon got enough ex- perience that he was able to change others’ perception of what he was supposed to be. “I wasn’t just a Brown guy to, you know, shovel this, or pack that, or move that,” he said.“I ended up starting to push work and run crews and then run projects.” Leon always knew the type of culture that he would elevate on his own jobsites- that of belonging and self-love. “This job is not who we are, it’s what we do. It’s who we are that we bring to what we do.” It is that belief that has been the founda- tion for Advanced Tribal’s majority Native workforce, with nine out of ten members of the team from the Native community. As Leon sees it, “that’s really something that draws us all together—our own individual experience with that culture out there that historically has treated us that way.” In an act of resistance, Advanced Tribal provides something different. “As a construction company… we’re into building people. And giving people an opportunity to thrive in a career and be able to take care of their families and learn a trade,” he explains. “We’re some of the most skilled people in the workforce. We have that critical think- ing… That’s how our ancestors really did survive the wilderness, the unknown world that came at them, by being able to look at the change and by figuring out, ok, this is how we’re going to deal with this. And that’s what we do with our workforce on our projects.” “The important thing to me is that when we go to be successful at something in a certain playing field, to not give up who we are,” Leon advises. “Because at some point in time there’s an exchange, that in becom- ing something we have to leave something behind. It’s really important not to leave behind who we are and who we represent as Indigenous people.”
