SUQUAMISH — Surrounded by a rainbow of people, the Common Threads blanket began to weave together Friday morning as North Kitsap leaders were introduced to the diversity group.

The introduction took the form of a five-hour conference at Kiana Lodge in which the group’s ideas and goals were presented — one strand at a time.

The gathering aimed to promote Common Threads and provide a starting point to help spread the ideas of acceptance and understanding among local leaders, so they could go out into their communities and pass the message along.

“Sometimes we discriminate without realizing it, or knowing why we do it,” said Kingston Kiwanis president Debbie Anderson, adding that the conference opened her eyes to different kinds of racism or gender bias that may not be overly apparent.

Common Threads was started about three years ago by the North Kitsap School District when its board of directors appointed a liaison to meet with members from both tribes in an attempt to determine the key issues affecting Native American youth in the school system, said school board director Dan Delaney. They soon discovered that many conflicts and concerns those teenagers faced were the same as other students and members of the community.

“All the issues the Native American youth and other students were facing were a reflection of the issues in the communities,” Delaney said, adding that shortly thereafter, school board officials decided to form a group to confront some of those problems. “We asked for leaders from all areas to join and provide their perspective.”

In 2005, Common Threads was born.

Until Friday, it had remained a group of about 35 people, supporting causes like Miss Viking Fest Jasmine Campbell and marching in summer parades. Members soon decided it was time to open the group up to more community leaders and members, making the goal of Common Threads more achievable.

“I think the conversation we’re having starts with a small group, and as that group keeps getting larger, the conversation becomes larger as well,” said Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman during the opening of the conference. “The end point of this process is for people to have an understanding of diversity. This is something we need to pass on to the next generation. We’ve made a lot of progress, but a lot of work still needs to be done.”

Gonzaga University’s Associate Vice President for Diversity Raymond Reyes was the event’s keynote speaker, and explained how to bring a community together, despite differences. He listed the three biggest roadblocks that get in the way of community building.

“The No. 1 challenge to community building is time. Hardly anyone has time to do what they want anymore,” Reyes said. “The No. 2 challenge is that we are all different. We need to learn how to see the sameness and the difference at the same time. The No. 3 challenge is projecting our own inner landscape onto everyone else. We see things how we are, not how it is.”

Soon after his speech, Reyes instructed members to work in groups and determine what they would like to see improved in their community. The sessions began with a story from each member, told to their small group, and evolved into plans to put differences aside.

“Raymond Reyes just lights a fire under people. He really gets us to see what’s going on,” said Common Threads member Marilyn Bode. “All of us need to be sensitive to others. We each need a chance to tell our story.”