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Article and photo by Sarah Miller

Tulalip, WA– As the day was winding down, people filed into the Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center’s longhouse room, awaiting the arrival of State Representative John McCoy on September 13^th. John McCoy wears many hats in the Tulalip Community. He is not only a State Representative for the 38^th District, he’s also an elder. He spoke to the group of people on his achievements in the Tulalip community and how it’s very important to listen to your elders.

“I was born on the reservation,” John started. “I wasn’t raised out here, I came out here later. My father was in the navy so I was a navy brat. I grew up along the west coast. My dad was at sea a lot and it was my mother who raised me.”

John learned a lot of his work ethics from fishing with his wife’s uncle.

“I learned a lot from him,” John went on. “He kept me busy, it was very busy work.”
In 1965, John joined the air force and was put to work with computers. In 1970, he got into programming. In 1981, John would get out of the air force. He eventually got to work in the White House during Ronald Reagan’s first term. He worked as a Senior Implementation Manager. Eventually in the 90’s, John made his way back to the reservation with the intent of implementing the vision of the elders there.

“At that time, I sat down and talked with Wayne Williams, he sat me down and gave me the history of Tulalip,” John said.
“He told me about the mission the elders had. The mission was from the thirties and forties, but it was a good idea and I was brought in to implement it. The elders had this vision of having a big trading post here on the reservation. That’s what they wanted. What do we have now? We have a strip mall, Cabela’s, Wal-Mart; that, to me, is a pretty big trading post.”

John stresses the importance of always listening to the elders and the visions they have. He states that there is always something to learn from doing that. Looking back on all that he helped the tribe accomplish, John is proud of where Tulalip is today.

“To do any of this, to get our casinos, to get our mall, to get our tribal government running, we had to put in an infrastructure,” John explains. “It’s more than just bricks and mortar. We modeled our government after our traditions. Tribes that do that tend to be more successful. And we have been successful. As long as we don’t make the same mistakes over and over, we are learning. We are growing.”

John went on to talk about a variety of topics. He sang the praises of the Big Water project that will ensure that Tulalip’s tribal members have clean water. He talked about the wonderful job that the tribal police are doing in conjunction with the Marysville police department.

John accredited the elders that he talked with for helping him to realize the vision of the tribe and where the tribe could go. He states that this is important.

“If you listen to the elders, you will hear their visions,” John said. “It’s good to listen to their mistakes and learn from them. I listen to them because they have no problem stopping me to tell me their stories and give me advice. In order to move forward, we need to listen to them.”

John finished his lecture to a round of applause from the group. If you are interested in checking out some of the events at the Hibulb Cultural Center, you can visit www.hibulbculturalcenter.org to check out their calendar of events.

Police host second community barbeque

Article and photo by Jeannie

            “The main purpose of this barbeque is to get out in the community and introduce ourselves to the community members and try to connect with them. We need to establish friendly communication on a positive note, not just in their time of need,” said Tulalip Tribes Chief of Police, Rance Sutton.

            The Tulalip Police Department gathered on September 5^th at the housing community known around the reservation as the church site, for the second in a series of barbecues that welcome the community to meet with police officers and voice their concerns.

“The only way we are going be effective in resolving crime is if we connect with the community and work together, that way we have more eyes and ears listening and observing for criminal activity,” said Rance.

The Tulalip community is dealing with ongoing issues such as underage drinking, illegal drug use, and speeding vehicles.

One of the concerns that the police department is looking into is child safety. Residents would like to see more playgrounds installed to keep children off the streets and stay active. They even suggested hosting a bake sale to raise funds.

            Residents also agree that they as a community should look out for each other.

“We need to get the community more involved and be more responsible. We need to watch what is going on; it is our responsibility too,” said resident Terra Perrin.

            “We are continuing investigations and we are trying to attack the drug problem from several different angles. One is direct drug investigations, second is when our patrol officer stop cars, they are alert for drug paraphernalia that can lead to a drug arrest, and third, through property crimes. We have had success,” said Rance.

            For more information, contact the Tulalip Police Department at 360-716-4800

Article and photo by Jeannie Briones

John LaPointe, a Swinomish Tribal member, held a discussion at the Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center on the Lushootseed language and how it is a crucial part of Native American heritage. The Coast Salish Lushootseed language is a link to the past, where stories are lived and retold from generations to generations, keeping Native American history and culture alive.

John, a graduate in Theology from the University of Washington, has spent a tremendous amount of time researching the Lushootseed language and understanding key words.

“Through this research, I have gained a profound understanding for this language,” said John.

The arrival of missionaries in 1838 to the Pacific Northwest introduced the Coast Salish people to the English language, and in turn the missionaries learned to speak Lushootseed. The missionaries also told stories of their culture and beliefs, stories the Native Americans found to be similar to their own culture and beliefs.

“I honestly believe the native people understood [these stories] better than some of the missionaries. They understood these stories ultimately aligned with who they are, that you love and care for each other no matter how hard or difficult times were,” said John.

John’s ancestor lived in a time when they took care of their people first before their own needs.

“In our culture today, with “pity,” there is an underlying implication of inferiority. ‘I am a little better than you, you pitiful thing.’ When they used the word, usebabtxw, even though it works in English it doesn’t work in a cultural context,” said John. “How would usebabtxw translate?  Someone who is unfortunate and who needs our prayers is what usebabtxw means, they are not pitiful or below you, they are suffering through a hardship and they are in pain and need our prayers. It’s an extraordinary word.”

According to John, our Native American ancestors lived in a world with no political structure or authority, they cared for the poor and everyone was treated with respect.

“In their minds, the way they grew up, they had no concept of prejudice, they didn’t have categories,” John continued. “You lived in a society where nobody was homeless and hungry; why do you need government, why do you need police? We lived in a mad world; we lived in a world that was so crazy that we made sure everyone was taken care of.”

Our ancestors shared their food and resources; everyone helped each other and shared knowledge and wisdom. John described a Poltlatch ceremony.

“Potlatch was not a way to boast and brag how wealthy you were, it was a public demonstration of how you cared for the poor. We cared for usebabtxw, we gathered and we invited everybody,” said John.

By the early 1900’s, Native Americans were in the midst of the boarding school experience where they were forbidden to speak their language. Native Americans were forced to live on reservations and were stricken with poverty, but they found ways to benefit from the boarding schools.

“Learn everything you can and help your people because the old world is gone. It is a white man’s world now, you will never gain if don’t know the rules,” said John. “Our elders could see the wisdom in their teachings from another culture far away.”

In the mid 50’s, the decline of the Lushootseed language was evident. People who still spoke the language felt isolated in a changing world, and they were witnessing, the loss of their language and culture.

“Everything they [Native Americans] knew and lived for was disappearing, and they felt that when they died there would be no more Indians,” said John.

According to John there are recordings of the Lushstoodseed language that have been translated into English, restoring history and culture for future generations to hear and learn.

John was invited to the Hibulb Cultural Center as part of the lecture series on August 23^rd. The next lecture series, on September 13^th, features John McCoy; he will be discussing his life’s work. For more information and a schedule of upcoming events, visit their website at www.hibulbculturalcenter.org.