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MSD meeting discusses future of MPHS cafeteria

Jim Baker, Marysville School District finance director, hears input on the Marylsville-Pilchuck cafteria during a community meeting held, Monday, Dec. 11, 2014, at Cedarcrest Middle School. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Jim Baker, Marysville School District finance director, hears input on the Marylsville-Pilchuck cafteria during a community meeting held, Monday, Dec. 11, 2014, at Cedarcrest Middle School. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

MARYSVILLE – “Our community has been shaken, shaken very hard by the events of October 24,” said new Recovery Directory Mary Schoenfeldt for the Marysville School District during a community meeting held on December 11, at Cedarcrest Middle School.

The meeting featured two topic agendas. For the first hour parents learned how to help their children process grief during the holidays. The remainder of the meeting focused on the future of the Marysville-Pilchuck High School cafeteria. Parents were able to voice their opinions during mini breakout sessions on what the school district should do to move forward.

The cafeteria was the location where 15-year-old Tulalip tribal member, Jaylen Fryberg, shot six students, killing five including himself. Since the October 24 incident the cafeteria has remained closed out of respect for students and the victims of the shooting. Now the school district is holding surveys asking the Marysville/Tulalip communities what they would like the future of the cafeteria to entail.

Before the breakout sessions, Schoenfeldt spoke to parents about depression and warning signs to look for in their children as the process of grief continues. “Your children will have a loss of concentration leading to short tempers or quick tempers. Watch for signs of grieving and depression in your children as suicide can become an issue.”

Schoenfeldt explained that students might have a hard time coping with the range of emotions that they are experiencing and may not know how to begin a conversation about how they are feeling. Many parents discussed the apprehension their children feel while at the school and trying to settle back into a routine. One mother expressed that her daughter texts frequently throughout the day as a way to cope and that she does not want to eat lunch at the school.

Marysville School District held a community meeting on Monday, Dec. 11, 2014, at Cedarcrest Middle School to hear community input on MPHS cafeteria future. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Marysville School District held a community meeting on Monday, Dec. 11, 2014, at Cedarcrest Middle School to hear community input on  future of MPHS cafeteria. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)

“Acknowledge that you are also having a hard time coping with your feelings. Acknowledging it with your child helps to make it a topic for discussion. Be available emotionally to your kids to listen to them,” said Schoenfeldt.

Following a brief Q&A with Schoenfeldt, parents were then invited to share their thoughts regarding the status of the cafeteria, which was built in 1970. The school district is seeking state funding to help rebuild the cafeteria.

Students temporarily are eating in the gym. “Right now we are just talking, where do we want the kids to eat? It can’t keep being at the gym forever,” said Dr. Becky Berg, Marysville School District Superintendent.

To decide if the cafeteria should be completely torn down or remodeled, the district had the community participate in a Thoughtexchange survey on the district’s website. “The intent is to get all our voice to the table and also include the students’ voices,” said Berg. The survey, which closed December 12, will be presented to the board.

“The intent of tonight, at this point, is to use these breakout sessions for those who haven’t been online yet and discuss possibilities that we haven’t considered,” said Berg.

Many participants expressed they would like to see the cafeteria radically changed in appearance so it would not be such a visible reminder of the October 24 event. Other suggestions included building in a new location, building in a contingency area or simply tearing it down.

The district is currently reviewing the surveys and waiting for funding approval. Berg remarked that while changes will take some time, it is being fast tracked for the students. “This will not be an overnight process. We are all first timers at this and hopefully last timers at this. Let’s keep talking and supporting each other.”

 

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com

 

 

Lady Hawks take loss ingame against Orcas Christian, 17-49

Shaelynn-Sanchey

By Tulalip News staff

TULALIP – Heritage Lady Hawks hosted the Orcas Christian Saints last night and took a loss. 17-49, despite playing one of their best quarters this season.

“It’s hard playing with only five girls. I woke up this morning thinking we should just forfeit this game, but I thought no,” said Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg, Lady Hawks head coach. “That second quarter was the best we’ve looked all season. We played it well. We just have to keep it going.”

Tulalip Heritage – 0 10 5 2 — 17

Orcas Christian – 13 11 17 8 — 49

 

Fight Over Gaming Terminals Goes to 9th Cir.

By JUNE WILLIAM, Courthouse News Service

(CN) – The Tulalip Tribes tried to persuade the 9th Circuit last week that Washington State is violating a gaming compact by providing more favorable terms to another tribe.
The Tulalip claims Washington allows the Spokane Tribe to lease lottery terminals at better rates, contrary to a “most favored tribe guarantee saying if the state gives more favorable terms to another tribe, the Tulalip is also entitled to those terms.
The state regulates tribes’ operations of player terminals for a tribal lottery system under a Tribal-State Gaming Compact. The Tulalip can operate 975 terminals but may increase the amount up to 4,000 by purchasing allocation rights from any Washington tribe in the compact. The procedure is known as a terminal allocation plan, or TAP.
In 2007, the Spokane Tribe joined other tribes in the gaming compact. The state allowed the tribe to make payments into an inter-tribal fund to obtain additional terminals if it couldn’t secure the machines under the TAP procedure because “few, if any” machines were available for lease, according to court documents.
The Tulalip claimed the state gave the Spokane more favorable terms by allowing the tribe an additional way to obtain terminals and petitioned to have the same opportunity by amending its compact. After the state refused, the Tulalip filed a federal complaint in 2012 saying the state breached the compact and asking for an injunction amending the agreement.
In 2013, U.S. District Judge Richard Jones granted summary judgment to the state, saying the Tulalip wanted to “cherry-pick” the benefits of the inter-tribal fund provision .
According to the ruling, the Spokane were required to use “reasonable efforts” to obtain the machines from other tribes and must agree to limit their operations to fewer total machines than other tribes.
“The State has never agreed to the select portions that plaintiff wishes to cherry-pick out of the Inter-Tribal Fund provision without the corresponding limitations,” Jones wrote.
On Thursday, the Tulalip asked a three-judge panel to reverse the lower court’s decision.
Lisa Koop, representing the Tulalip, said the tribe’s “most favored” status required Washington to offer them the same benefits as the Spokane.
U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Tallman immediately asked Koop to respond to the district court’s finding that the tribe “cherry-picked” the most beneficial portions of the Spokane agreement without accepting the “inter-related conditions.”
“That’s simply false,” Koop responded.
She said the state wrongly concluded the Tulalip would have to “take everything” the Spokane were offered.
“Some of the terms are specific to the Spokane tribe,” she argued.
“The state basically said we’ll give you the same deal as the Spokane Tribe, but you didn’t want that because it contains a restriction on the maximum number of machines that would reduce the number of machines that you have,” Tallman countered.
“You’d like access to the tribal fund but you’d also like to not have the numerical restrictions that go with it, right?” U.S. Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown asked.
The state, represented by Assistant Attorney General Callie Castillo, argued that Tulalip’s most favored nation clause says that if the state ever permits an allocation of player terminals to a tribe which is greater or on more favorable terms then Tulalip is entitled to those same terms.
“Nothing in Tulalip’s compact permits it to obtain more favorable terms than those obtained by any other Washington tribe,” Castillo said.
McKeown asked if other tribes could make Tulalip’s “most favored” argument to ask for the inter-tribal fund plan.
Castillo said “every other tribe in the state of Washington” could claim they were entitled to the same deal.
“Tulalip is only entitled to the same terms as Spokane,” she said.
Castillo summed up her argument, saying the court should reject Tulalip’s attempt to “rewrite the compact into something the state has not agreed to with any other tribe.”

Tribal history and culture to be taught at all MSD schools

Marysville School Board members, MSD Native American Liaisons, Denny Hurtado of WA Office of Native Education and Dr. Kyle Kinoshita the Ex. Dir. of Learning and Teaching, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, following the passing of Since Time Immemorial curriculum in MSD schools. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Marysville School Board members, MSD Native American Liaisons, Denny Hurtado of WA Office of Native Education and Dr. Kyle Kinoshita the Ex. Dir. of Learning and Teaching, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, following the passing of Since Time Immemorial curriculum in MSD schools. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)

MSD adopts Since Time Immemorial curriculum during regular board meeting

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

MARYSVILLE – The work to correct history began long before the Marysville School Board met on December 8, to vote on adopting accurate tribal history and culture via the Since Time Immemorial curriculum into their district schools. The idea was first introduced by then newly elected Rep., John McCoy (D-Tulalip), in HB 1495 on January 26, 2005. The bill proposed requiring school districts to offer tribal history and culture along with Washington State and United States history curriculum. It passed 78-18 in the House on March 9, 2005. However, since then school districts have lagged in offering accurate tribal history on the 29 federally recognized tribes located in Washington state. On December 8, MSD decided to unanimously pass adopting the Since Time Immemorial curriculum as part of required curriculum in all their schools.

“This is awesome. This is a big district and to have a school board adopt it means a lot to us at the Native Office of Education, us as Indian people, and the people who created it. This is a great thing, because they are saying how important it is to start teaching about our history and our culture,” said Denny Hurtado, the outgoing Director of Washington Office of Native Education, following the vote.

STI is the result of partnership between the State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, private and public agencies and several of the 29 federal recognized tribes in Washington state. The curriculum provides a basic framework of Indian history and understanding of sovereignty for grades k-12. Aligned with the Common Core standards for English, language and art, STI lessons can be adapted by teachers to reflect the specific histories of tribes in their local area.

Denny Hurtado, outgoing WA Office of Native Education Director speaks to Marysville School Board, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, on developing Since Time Immemorial curriculum. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Denny Hurtado, outgoing WA Office of Native Education Director speaks to Marysville School Board, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, on developing Since Time Immemorial curriculum. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)

Teachers Shana Brown from the Seattle School District who is of Yakima dependency, Jerry Price, a middle school teacher with the Yelm School District and Elese Washines, an educator in the Yakima Nation Tribal schools, developed the curriculum under the leadership of Hurtado. STI was designed not just for non-Native students, but also for Native students. Its purpose, explained Hurtado to MSD board members, is to breakdown Native American stereotypes and misconceptions and to build bridges between tribal communities and non-Native communities.

“All they [students] know about us is what they learned in school, which is very little, and what you see on TV, which is not true, and what you read about during Columbus Day and Halloween,” Hurtado said before the vote.  “I didn’t want this curriculum to seem like it was just an Indian thing. This was a true partnership to develop something good for our school to use. The purpose is to build bridges between our community and your community. That is a big point for us Indian people, because we have a lot of mistrust of the education system because our first experience of education was the military boarding schools.”

Over 1,000 teachers have received STI training by the Washington State Office of Native Education and 30 percent of school districts in Washington are using STI curriculum in some shape or form. Montana, Oregon and Alaska have also adopted STI curriculum in their school districts, and currently the Seattle School Board is looking into implementing it into their schools.

Tulalip member and MSD Native Liaison Eliza Davis speaks to Marysville School Board members, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, on the importance of accurate tribal history in school curriculum. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip member and MSD Native Liaison Eliza Davis speaks to Marysville School Board members, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, on the importance of accurate tribal history in school curriculum. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)

Matt Remle, a Lakota Native from the Standing Rock Reservation and Native American Liaison with MSD, who was present for the voting, said the change was long overdue. Fellow liaison, Eliza Davis, Tulalip tribal member, said the history of her own Tribe was lacking during her high school education.

“I graduated from Marysville-Pilchuck High School. I remember in Washington State history we watched the movie “Appaloosa.” That is what I remember of Washington State history. I don’t remember learning a whole lot about our Indian people or about Tulalip Tribes. I support the curriculum 100 percent. It is so important for our kids, all of our kids, and the whole community to understand the true history of all Washington Tribes, and also the history of Tulalip, Marysville, and what Tulalip does for this community as a whole. I think adopting this curriculum is the right direction.”

“I am excited for this day. I am excited about this and I am ready to approve this. We should have had this a long time ago,” said MSD board member Chris Nation right before the unanimous vote.

For more information on STI, please visit the website www.indian-ed.org.

 

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com

 

Heritage Lady Hawks to play Grace Academy Eagles today at 3 p.m.

HeritageBBPromo-GirlsToday

Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks will host Grace Academy today at 3 p.m. The game will be played in the Francy J. Sheldon Gymnasium at Heritage High School . You can view live coverage of the game at www.tulaliptv.com

 

Crime doesn’t pay, but it sure costs

Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP – Due to jail reforms meant to eliminate overcrowding and prevent offender deaths due to medical issues, the Tribe will be spending more than it did in 2014, to book and jail offenders arrested by Tulalip Police Department come 2015.

The Tulalip Tribes passed a motion to adopt resolution 2014-445, approving contracts with the Marysville and Snohomish County jail facilities for 2015, during the October 4, 2014, regular board meeting. This means Tulalip will continue to use the jail facilities to house Tulalip tribal members who commit crimes on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, along with adapting their budget to reflect the increase of jail costs.

Beginning next year it will cost the Tribe $43 to book an offender into the Marysville Police Detention facility and $65 for a daily housing fee. The facility has a 57-bed capacity and services the cities of Marysville, Lake Stevens and Arlington in addition to Tulalip, making space limited and competitive.

To house offenders at Snohomish County Jail, located in Everett, the Tribe currently pays a $95 booking fee and a $66 daily housing fee. In 2015, this will increase to $115 booking fee and $84 daily housing fee.

Tulalip Police Chief Carlos Echevarria says these fees are used to pay for administrative tasks. “Each year it goes up.”

However, the rates for Snohomish County, the most expensive jail facility the Tribe currently uses, depends on the offender’s physical and mental stability when they are booked, determined by the jail staff during the booking process.

According to Echevarria there are three tiers Snohomish County uses to classify offenders. If an offender is mentally and physically stable enough to be housed in general population, then it will cost the Tribe $84 a day come January 2015. If the offender requires medical supervision or medication while incarcerated, then the Tribe will pay a $132 daily housing fee. For offenders requiring mental housing units, it will cost $201 daily.

Due to increased jail costs, police departments are reassessing how jails are being used. Cities are responsible for booking and housing costs on misdemeanor arrests, while counties pick up the tab for felony offenders.

Tulalip Tribes pays 100 percent of the cost out of the Tribes’ hard dollar budget. Unlike cities who have a budget stemmed from tax payers, the Tribe must project each year how much to set aside.

To help keep jail costs from skyrocketing, alternative-sentencing programs are used, such as the Tulalip Tribal Courts Elders Panel, for first-time non-violent offenders. Instead of lengthy jail sentences offenders are asked to complete community service or volunteer within the community along with other requirements.

“The only cost associated to TPD are only for Tulalip tribal members, with the exception of persons we arrest and are being held under special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction – VAWA cases,” said Echevarria. “There isn’t a sure way to project who is going to have to go to jail and how much we need to budget for that.”

 

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com

 

Tulalip Forestry preserves cultural teachings through wood program

Tulalip Forestry technicians Steven Gobin and Philip Solomon deliver wood to Tulalip elders free of cost as part of a special wood program under Tulalip Forestry. (Tulalip Forestry/ Ross Fenton)
Tulalip Forestry technicians Steven Gobin and Philip Solomon deliver wood to Tulalip elders free of cost as part of a special wood program under Tulalip Forestry. (Tulalip Forestry/ Ross Fenton)

Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP – Since time immemorial the Snohomish people have used wood as an essential element to survive. Wood was used to cook, stay warm and conduct cultural ceremonies. Today cultural values are being preserved through a wood program run by Tulalip Forestry that supplies seasoned wood to Tulalip elders, 70 years and older, free of cost.

“The program exists to help the elders,” said Philip Solomon a forestry technician with the program. The Elder Wood Program follows the Tulalip cultural teaching of taking care of your elders.

“It is part of our culture to take care of our elders and check on them. These teachings are fulfilled through this program,” explains fellow technician Steven Gobin.

For a little over five years the Tulalip Forestry has supplied this service to elders. Forestry technicians, Solomon and Gobin, both Tulalip citizens, fell the trees selected for the program, cut it to fit into wood stoves and delivered.

“Last year we did 180 cords, but this year they [The Tribal Council] cut back the program so we have done 20 elders and each gets two cords,” said Solomon, who has worked in the program for more than a year.

Many of the elders’ only source of heat is their wood stoves and fireplaces. The program also ensures that elders are not burdened with an extra cost, guaranteeing that elders don’t have to pay the current market price of firewood ranging between $160 to $250 per cord.

Gobin, who has been with the program since it has come under the Tulalip Forestry umbrella, explains that selecting the wood is a science that few consider. “When we deliver to an elder, usually we try to explain to them what type of wood we brought to them. If we bring them Maple, it burns longer for them.”

Maple is optimal for burning in wood stoves. Its dense nature makes it burn slow and hot. Alder is good for cooking and smoking. Douglas Fir is used for ceremonial burning and stove-heat because it burns the hottest due to the high volume of pitch; it also burns with less smoke. Cherry wood is used for cooking and for smoking fish, deer meat and clams. All wood must be dry or there could be issues, such as chimney fires from a build up of creosote in acrid smoke from burning unseasoned wood. Cotton Wood is considered the worst for burning in fireplaces and wood stoves and is on the technicians blacklist of wood not to deliver to elders.

Gobin and Solomon also stack the wood they deliver for elders who have no help. Last year the two received some help of their own through the Tribes’ summer youth work program. James Jimicum, Cody Johnny, Anthony Cooper, Austin Paul, Moy Flores, Kaley Hamilton and Lenora James helped to provide 120 cords of wood to elders.

“They were a big help. We really appreciated them. This year we didn’t have any youth due to the budget cuts. We would work them for four days then on the fifth day we would give them a break. On those days we would talk to them about how important the work they were doing was, and elders would come and talk to them and thank them,” said Solomon.

“When we bring a cord to an elder, what uplifts me is the smile on the elder’s face and their thank you,” said Gobin. “We get a short visit with them. We check on them, ask them how is it going and how are they doing, if they need anything. That is an important part of our culture.”

“We provide a lot for the culture, which is what I really like besides being in the woods and knowing that we are providing good quality wood,” said Solomon, about the laborious work. “It is thinking about the generations ahead of us.”

 

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com