An outbreak of Salmonella illnesses linked to chicken in Washington and other states points out that all poultry products carry the risk of contamination. Thorough cooking and proper preparation and handling can make poultry safe to eat.
Since last June, at least 56 people in Washington got sick from a specific strain of bacteria known as Salmonella Heidelberg. The disease investigation linked that genetic pattern of Salmonella to Foster Farms plants in Washington and California. None of the Washington patients died; 15 were hospitalized.
Salmonella is a common cause of foodborne illness, accounting for 600-800 reported cases in Washington each year. Poultry is common among the many sources of Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella in raw chicken is not limited to any one brand. The U.S. Department of Agriculture allows the sale of raw poultry that contains Salmonella, so the bacteria may be in all brands. In most cases of Salmonella illness, a source is not identified.
Symptoms of Salmonella illness usually include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. The symptoms usually begin one to three days after exposure, and the illness usually lasts four to seven days.
Proper poultry handling, preparation, and cooking can help prevent foodborne illness. Raw poultry should be kept separate from other foods; it should always be thawed before cooking to avoid undercooking. Cook poultry to 165 degrees F. Always wash your hands after handling poultry and thoroughly clean utensils and surfaces after preparing poultry.
Professional skateboarder Jordan Sanchez clears out a stack old skateboards in his downtown Everett indoor skatepark on Thursday. The Garage will open this Saturday after a successful Kickstarter campaign. Photo: Annie Mulligan / For The Herald
By Julie Muhlstein, Herald Columnist
Sunny spring days are just about here, but Jordan Sanchez doesn’t mind rainstorms. He’s about to open an indoor skateboarding venue, The Garage.
He and his wife, Anah, will hold an open house at their downtown Everett business Saturday, giving skaters a chance to check out the new facility. The 3,500-square-foot space is at 2927 Rucker Ave.
Skateboarders will find a long, narrow venue, with a high ceiling and concrete floors. Sanchez, 27, said they are leasing the site from Rick Lapinski, who owns multiple properties in downtown Everett.
The Garage is filled with features, including movable ramps, designed to lure skaters in out of the rain. At one end are quarter-pipe ramps. Wall rides, ledges, hand rails and a surface covered with faux brick called a “sketchy bank,” offer skateboarders the sorts of places they would find at outdoor skate parks or on property that’s officially off-limits.
Jordan and Anah Sanchez also run a coffee stand, the Mocha Station, at Frontier Village in Lake Stevens. To open The Garage, they had a lot of help — more than 100 donors.
In late December, they launched a fundraising drive on the Kickstarter website. Kickstarter, started in 2009, is a platform for people to make a pitch for funding for creative projects. Creators set funding goals and deadlines, then spread the word through friends and social media.
It’s an all-or-nothing deal in which donors make online pledges to projects, which are described on a Kickstarter page. If those pledges reach the creator’s financial goal, donors’ credit cards are charged. If the deadline arrives and pledges fall short, no one is charged and the project isn’t funded.
Kickstarter makes its money by taking a cut. Through his “Open The Garage” page on Kickstarter, Sanchez said, $17,031 was raised by Jan. 27, far surpassing the $15,000 goal. “We ended up with $15,300,” he said, adding that donations ranged from $1 into the thousands.
In his online pitch, Sanchez wrote: “My wife and I are seeking $15,000 to pay for wood, screws, paint, steel, sheet metal and labor to construct a one-of-a-kind indoor skateboarding facility.”
Dan Eyler worked with Sanchez on ramp construction. “They’re all hand-built, with plywood, two-by-four construction, and masonite,” Sanchez said. His brother, Brian Sanchez, and Kyle Schuman painted murals. The place has a couch, music and a soda machine.
Posted on the Kickstarter page is a link to a YouTube video called “Vic’s Market,” which shows Sanchez’s friends skateboarding on Everett streets, in parking lots, at a school and other public places, and on private property around the city. In one shot on the video, an adult is shown telling a skater, “You need to take it someplace else.”
That need — for places skateboarders are welcome to do what they love without breaking the law — motivated Sanchez to open the indoor facility. A skateboarder for 16 years, Sanchez said he is sponsored by Manik Skateboards and BLVD, another skateboard brand.
“This is an alternative to skating in parking lots and other places, which are completely illegal. And it’s rain or shine,” he said.
Skaters will be charged $8 per day at The Garage, or $5 a day with an annual $150 membership. Sanchez said pads and helmets will be provided. Skaters under 18 will be required to have parents sign waivers. The state issued The Garage a business license Jan. 6, and Sanchez said they also have a specialty business license from the city.
The Garage will be available for private parties, and Sanchez said summer camps are planned. A taco truck and free ice cream will be part of Saturday’s opening.
“This was a big group effort,” said Anah Sanchez, 26.
Does she skate?
“No,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t afford to get hurt.” – See more at: http://heraldnet.com/article/20130301/NEWS01/703019919/-1/News#The-Garage
Before you take your boat on the water this season, spiff up your safety skills and get your craft in shipshape condition with the Everett Sail and Power Squadron.
Squadron representatives are offering a Captain’s Weekend Saturday and Sunday at Cabela’s in Tulalip to help prepare people for boating season.
Visitors can learn about boating safety for adults and children and can sign up for a free vessel safety check. There will be information about boating educational courses and seminars offered locally, such as America’s Boating Course, Seamanship, Piloting and Navigation.
The Everett Sail and Power Squadron is a nonprofit public service organization that promotes boating safety and education.
“Captain’s Weekend” is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Cabela’s, 9810 Quil Ceda Blvd., Tulalip. For more information about the event contact James D. Ferguson 360-387-5456. For more information about the Everett Sail and Power Squadron go to www.usps.org/everett.
See more at: http://heraldnet.com/article/20130302/LIVING/703029995/0/SEARCH#sthash.d4jUNB5E.dpuf
MARYSVILLE — Prosecutors don’t believe the killing of a Marysville man was motivated by his criminal past.
Instead, evidence indicates that Arthur Schroeder, 82, was stabbed to death in his trailer during a robbery.
Prosecutors on Friday charged two people with second-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 24 killing.
They say the suspects, Delaney Henry and Robert Kennedy, admitted to several people that they killed Schroeder inside his small trailer. They also reportedly told people that they robbed Schroeder of about $200 and the key to a safety deposit box they believed held $20,000.
Henry, 28, allegedly told some people that she killed Schroeder because he raped her. She later told detectives that Schroeder propositioned her for sex in the past, but she denied that he ever sexually assaulted her, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Andrew Alsdorf wrote.
Schroeder was a convicted sex offender, but “there is no evidence that his prior convictions had any connection to his murder,” court papers said.
Prosecutors also noted, however, that Schroeder enjoyed the company of “much younger adult women, to whom he would provide cash or prescription pills in exchange for sexual favors.”
Henry was Schroeder’s neighbor at the Brookside Mobile Home Park on State Avenue. She allegedly told detectives that she visited his trailer every other weekend.
Phone records indicate that Henry called Schroeder twice the day he was killed. The records also show that she called Kennedy. Video surveillance shows the suspects together on a bus the afternoon before the slaying. Henry was wearing a scarf similar to the one detectives found at the crime scene.
Schroeder’s grandson told police he discovered his grandfather’s body around 11 p.m. He said he’d gone there to borrow some money or alcohol. Once inside, he found the elderly man lying bloodied and unconscious on the floor. He didn’t call 911 right away. Instead, he and a friend walked to a convenience store and later smoked some marijuana, Alsdorf wrote. He called police about four hours later after he brought his mother to the trailer, court papers said.
Schroeder had been stabbed four times. His heart had been pierced and his throat had been slashed.
His tidy trailer had been ransacked. His cell phone, wallet and a jewelry box were missing. Schroeder’s truck was gone.
The pickup truck was discovered the next day abandoned in Arlington. Someone had torched it.
Detectives eventually heard from witnesses who reported that Henry had confessed to killing Schroeder, court papers said. Another witness told investigators that Henry and Kennedy showed up together the night of the slaying. They allegedly had blood on their clothes and were in possession of three bloodied knives. They also reportedly were sorting through some paperwork.
Police have since recovered the safety deposit box key and confirmed that it opens a box at a local bank. There wasn’t $20,000 inside.
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Snohomish County Superior Court. If convicted, Kennedy, 26, is facing a mandatory life sentence under the state’s persistent offender act. He has prior convictions for robbery and attempted robbery. Henry faces up to 20 years if she is convicted.
Detectives continue to investigate Schroeder’s death. Earlier this week, police arrested a Tulalip man who allegedly gave Henry a ride on the evening of a fatal stabbing. He allegedly threatened someone, warning the person not to talk to police about the homicide.
See more at: http://heraldnet.com/article/20130302/NEWS01/703029936#Charges-filed-in-stabbing-death-of-Marysville-man-82%0A
Photos by Robert Mastrianni Louis Mofsie, second from right, with dancers from the group Thunderbird American Indian Dancers
Tish Leizens, Indian Country Today Media Network
At the age of 76, Louis Mofsie, Hopi/Winnebago, an accomplished dancer, choreographer, educator and artistic director of the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, which he founded 50 years ago, is as busy as ever.
Forget about retirement. From January 25 to February 3 he led his Native dance group to perform its Annual Dance Concert and Pow Wow at the Theater for the New City in New York City.
The concert was a theater presentation where the troupe performs dances from the Inuit of Alaska, the Iroquois of New York, the Hopi and Yaqui of the Southwest and the Plains Indians of the Great Plains. Plans are also underway for their annual Queens County Farm Museum Pow Wow at the end of July and their 50th anniversary pow wow at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York on April 20. There are also a number of school workshops and appearances lined up around the metropolitan area throughout the year.
Brooklyn-born Mofise is well loved in his home state. In 1984, he was awarded the New York City Indian of the Year. His leadership was recognized with a New York City Leadership Award by the Law Department and Mayors Office in 1991.
His choreography credits in New York include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Mercer Arts Center; Operation Sidewinders, Lincoln Center Repertory Company; Three Masked Dances, La Mama ETC.; and The Only Good Indian, Theater for the New City.
At a time when pow wows are evolving to be mega events with huge prize money, Mofsie looks back to the time when it was all about bringing people together and enjoying each other’s company through song and dance. He still believes in the pow wow tradition and has made it part of his mission to preserve Native dances that are no longer performed.
ICTMN caught up with Mofsie before his big concert at the Theater for the New City as he reflected on his 50th year of entertaining and educating the audience about Native culture.
What are your thoughts on the 50th year of the founding of your dance troupe, Thunderbird American Indian Dancers?
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of our dance company is overwhelming. I guess 50 years ago when we first organized our group no one would have thought we would last that many years, least of all me. It’s a credit to all those who have worked so hard over the years to help make it a reality.
Why did you start it? What is your recollection of when you started to form the group?
Before we became the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers we were called the Little Eagles. The Little Eagles were made up of a group of teenagers who grew up in Brooklyn. We had learned a great deal from our parents about their tribal backgrounds including dance and music. I think most of us grew up dancing and singing. So it only seemed natural that we would form a small group to continue our interests. We also branched out to learn the music and dance from other tribes.
Photo by Robert Mastianni
Photo by Robert Mastianni
You are an MC, choreographer, dancer . . . what is it you enjoy doing most?
The most enjoyment I get out of what I do is to make contact with the people in the audience and the people I’m working with. I try to make the experience an enjoyable one, as well as an educational one. I find that most people want to learn more about something they thought they knew something about and I think people learn far better when the experience is enjoyable rather than a chore.
Why is educating non-Natives about Native culture important to you?
Educating non-Natives about our culture has been a primary part of the mission statement of our group. Addressing stereotypes and explaining the disrespect they reflect on native people, as well as, other misunderstood cultures is vitally important. We do many school residencies here in the metropolitan area and reaching children at a young age is the best time to influence their perceptions.
What else is in your mission statement?
Part of our mission statement is also to preserve and perpetuate the songs and dances of various tribes. In some instances some of the dances we do are no longer performed. If we can preserve these dances and songs we feel we are helping to keep the culture alive. All of our material is social music and dance. We do not do any dances or songs that have any ceremonial or religious significance.
What do you think is your major accomplishment in life?
I think my major accomplishment in life has been to feel proud of my Native heritage and to able to share what I have learned with both Native and non-Native people. Since I have been a classroom teacher for 35 years my emphasis has been on education. Helping people get a greater understanding of the richness and beauty of the Native people through music and dance.
What was the biggest obstacle in your life?
Like most people the general run of obstacles have affected me—lack of sufficient time and money to do what you would like to do at the time you feel it is most important. Living here in New York also presents it’s own set of problems. I think keeping calm and being patient have been a blessing for me since it seems, given enough time, most problems will solve themselves.
What else do you want to accomplish at this stage in your life?
I would like to stay as healthy as I can and continue to do the work we are doing. Between fulfilling the obligations we have here and traveling—we are on the go most of the year. I’m hopeful there will be someone who will carry on the work we have begun. There are so many people yet to meet and teach about our culture and it is our responsibility to get the work done.
Prior to President Obama signing the Tribal Law and Order Act into law in 2010, Lisa Marie Iyotte delivered an emotional introduction, describing how she had been raped and assaulted on the Rosebud Reservation while her two small children hid. When she broke down, Obama stepped over to comfort her. Now, Obama can move to Stop the Violence Against Women by signing the VAWA reauthorization into law.
Indian Country Today Media Network Staff
In one of her columns for Indian Country Today, Suzan Shown Harjo wrote: “Only the reinstatement of tribal jurisdiction and remedies has a chance of reversing the epidemic levels of violence against Native women.” That commentary was published April 29, 2005.
Today, after years of struggle, tribal advocates are celebrating Congress passing the VAWA reauthorization, with tribal provisions. The act is now heading to President Obama for his signature.
Harjo, Cheyenne and & Hodulgee Muscogee, is an award-winning columnist and a poet, writer, curator and policy advocate, who has helped Native Peoples to protect sacred places and recover more than one million acres of land, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C. She’s also still regularly contributing to this publication.
The spotlight on the VAWA reauthorization, with tribal provisions, was magnified by Harjo’s 2005 ICT column, and it roused both regional and national mainstream media from their collective slumber concerning this crucial matter. There is something to the old saying “the pen is mightier than the sword.”
In light of the recent action on VAWA, and the impending action by Obama, it seems like an ideal time to revisit Harjo’s column, titled “Congress Make the Streets Safe for Indian Women, too.” Here is that work, in full.
Congress, Make the Streets Safe for Indian Women, Too, April 29, 2005
The streets of Indian country aren’t safe for American Indian and Alaska Native women.
Nearly 90 percent of the perpetrators of violent crimes against Native women are non-Indians—60 percent are white men—and Native nations can’t touch them.
Congress created this haven for non-Indian criminals on reservations and it’s up to Congress to fix it. The 109th Congress has a chance to do that very thing this year, when it considers reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.
VAWA 2005 is being drafted now to address the deplorable situation of women in American, where physical abuse is a feature of one-quarter of all marriages and where one-third of women who are treated in emergency rooms are victims of domestic violence.
While Native women also sustain injuries in abusive relationships, most of the men who assault Native women are strangers or acquaintances (80 percent), rather than intimate partners or family members (20 percent), according to a U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics report, American Indians and Crime (1992-2002), issued in December 2004.
This statistical profile and a raft of other studies, including the 2000 National Violence Against Women Survey, report that:
● American Indian and Alaska Native women are more than twice as likely to be victims of violent crime than other women in America.
● American Indian and Alaska Native women suffer sexual assaults at a rate of more than three times that of women of other races.
● more than one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped during her lifetime.
● the rate of violent crime experienced by American Indian women is nearly 50 percent higher than that reported by black males, the second highest gender/race category victimized by violent crime.
Most violent crimes are committed intra-racially, as with white-on-white crime. This is not the pattern in Indian country, where 88 percent of the perpetrators of violent crime against Indians are non-Indians.
Why can’t Indian governments punish these violent non-Indians and why should Congress step in? It’s a long, complex history, but the short answer is that the federal government made this jurisdictional mess and should take every opportunity to clean it up.
Over a century ago in the name of “Indian civilization,” the federal government criminalized tribal traditions and took control of the reservations. When the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government did not have jurisdiction over Indian murders of Indians, Congress enacted the Major Crimes Act, authorizing federal jurisdiction over murder and other serious offenses involving Indian people.
Congress expanded federal jurisdiction, effectively restricting tribal authorities, under the Assimilative Crimes Act and myriad gaming, environmental, repatriation, arts and other laws.
Tribal jurisdiction and remedies were limited under the federal tribal termination policy. Starting in the 1940s, Congress gave selected states certain criminal and civil authorities over Indian offenses. In the 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act, Congress restricted the sentencing authority of tribal courts to one-year imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. The Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that Indian tribes cannot prosecute non-Indians in criminal matters.
That brings us to the present situation where Native nations cannot punish non-Indians who harm Indian women in Indian territory, or can only give them a slap on the wrist.
There are many reasons that the federal and state governments aren’t doing a better job at bringing these bad men to justice. Basically, it comes down to geography and connectedness. The federal and state agents don’t live where the crimes are being committed and the victims aren’t their neighbors.
Only the reinstatement of tribal jurisdiction and remedies has a chance of reversing the epidemic levels of violence against Native women.
In VAWA 2005, Congress can address the jurisdictional void that prevents Indian tribes from prosecuting non-Indians perpetrating these crimes.
VAWA was signed into law in 1994 and reauthorized in 2000. VAWA 2000 mandates that protection orders from one tribe or state be afforded full faith and credit in outside jurisdictions. It also clarifies that Indian tribes have full civil jurisdiction to enforce protection orders, including authority to enforce any orders through civil contempt proceedings, exclusion of violators from Indian lands and other “appropriate mechanisms.”
Some states do not comply with the federal mandate and exhibit hostility toward affording full faith and credit to protection orders issued by tribal courts. Alaska’s executive branch has challenged a state judge’s decision allowing enforcement of a banishment order issued by the Native Village of Perryville. The Minnesota Supreme Court in 2003 rejected a proposed statewide court rule for the consistent enforcement of all tribal court orders.
Advocates are working with legislators and staffers on the reauthorization of VAWA, which is set to expire this September. Advocates in Indian country would do well to work (and work fast) with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Judiciary Committees to develop a bill that could stand alone or be folded into VAWA 2005.
A meaningful VAWA provision for Indian country would restore tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians in the area of violent crime against women. Proponents should be prepared for the inevitable discussion about review of tribal court decisions and opt-in/opt-out mechanisms.
At the very least, Congress should provide necessary funding to study full faith and credit implementation problems, in particular with regard to tribal domestic violence protection orders, and should withhold certain federal monies (unrelated to domestic violence prevention and response) from states that refuse to comply with VAWA’s full faith and credit mandate.
VAWA’s effect in Indian country would be strengthened by provisions ensuring tribal law enforcement officers’ access to national databases that track criminal history; a national database of tribal protection orders and tribal adult sex offenders to track serial offenders who travel between different Indian nations; an increase in funding for tribal governments and programs providing infrastructure and services to survivors of rape, stalking and domestic and dating violence; and a Tribal Division within the Office on Violence Against Women to act as the liaison to tribal governments on issues unique to Indian nations and Indian women.
Congress can continue with the same jurisdictional system that devalues Native women and handicaps Native nations, or it can fill the jurisdictional void with something that might just work.
If Congress fails to act, the reservation streets will remain safe for violent non-Indians and the Indian women and their children and grandchildren will suffer. How is that good for anyone but the bad people?
International indigenous rights experts looks at the significance of the Idle No More movement, as indigenous peoples engage with nation-states, the UN, and international institutions specializing in transitional justice. (ICTJ)
The goal of the three-day gathering is to collect and share the experiences of indigenous peoples in designing, using, and advocating for truth and justice processes in countries as far apart as Australia, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, Greenland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States.
These calls for justice coincide with growing movements by indigenous rights groups, like Idle No More in Canada and the United States, which are drawing global attention.
“Indigenous peoples are among the most affected populations in times of violence,” explains Eduardo González, director of ICTJ’s Truth and Memory program. “Even in places that have not experienced dictatorship or internal conflict, indigenous peoples are affected by systemic, structural violations.”
Against this backdrop of both abuse and silence, some first nations and governments are charting new ground on ways to uncover the truth about the past, redress abuses suffered by indigenous peoples, and begin to heal as part of official truth-seeking policies.
“Around the world, great hopes are pinned on transitional justice measures,” said Pablo de Greiff, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. “In practice, we are still trying to see how transitional justice measures actually work holistically.”
Chief Wilton Littlechild, who helped open the expert seminar on Wednesday morning, is one of three commissioners of the Canada TRC and chair of the UN’s Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
He is also a survivor of Canada’s Indian residential schools, where, for more than 150 years, Aboriginal children were often forbidden to speak their own languages or practice their own faiths, in an attempt to assimilate them into mainstream Canadian society. Many children were separated from their families and communities and sometimes forcibly removed from their homes.
“Justice necessarily involves considering the role of truth and reconciliation,” said Chief Littlechild, “the right to truth for victims and the right to truth for states.”
Each country’s unique historical and social circumstances will shape how groups and government can work together to address and redress historic injustices against native populations.
In Guatemala, the Historical Clarification Commission completed its work in 1999, finding that over 200,000 people had been killed in Guatemala’s civil war from 1960 to 1996. Approximately 83% of victims were Mayan.
Through its investigations, the commission laid the groundwork for today’s landmark case against former Guatemalan General Efraín Ríos Montt, who will now stand trial on charges of genocide.
Alvaro Pop, one of the international attendees and a Mayan activist who assisted with preparations of the Guatemalan Peace Accords, knows how hard it can be for indigenous peoples to raise their concerns. Although Mayans represent nearly 50 percent of Guatemalans and are a stronghold of the economy, they still live “like strangers in their own land,” remarked Pop.
As the UN reports, “The free expression of Mayan religion, language and other factors continues to be hampered by a shortage of resources and a lack of political will to enforce laws.”
Looking ahead, fundamental questions will need to be answered, including how truth commissions can address violations against indigenous peoples when they are still ongoing. While the expert seminar ends on March 1, discussions will continue, resulting in an unprecedented report to the UN Human Rights Council exploring these issues.
“Because indigenous peoples have experienced violence in several areas of the world, under conflict, dictatorship, or as a result of structural injustice,” said ICTJ Vice President Paul Seils, “we anticipate that there will be a need to adapt the instruments of transitional justice to these situations.”
About ICTJ
The International Center for Transitional Justice works to redress and prevent the most severe violations of human rights by confronting legacies of mass abuse. ICTJ seeks holistic solutions to promote accountability and create just and peaceful societies. For more information, visit www.ictj.org
500+ days after VAWA authorization expired, Senator Murray helps push House Leadership to finally pass the Senate’s bipartisan, inclusive bill
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray released the following statement after House Republican leadership finally allowed the Senate’s bipartisan, inclusive Violence Against Women Act to be voted on in the House. The bill, which Murray cosponsored, passed by a vote of 286-138. Passage comes over 500 days after the bill’s authorization expired in late 2011. Since that time Murray has helped lead efforts in Congress to reauthorize an inclusive bill that expands VAWA’s protections to cover more women in at-risk communities.
“This is a long delayed, hard won, and badly needed victory for millions of women, especially those who were told that they weren’t worthy of VAWA’s protections. It means that finally, after over 16 months of struggle, tribal women, the LGBT community, immigrants, and women on college campuses will have the tools and resources this life-saving bill provides.
“There is absolutely no reason that it should have taken this long for the House leadership to come around on a bill that had overwhelming bipartisan support. But passage today is a validation of what we’ve been saying since this bill expired in 2011 – VAWA has never been, and should never be, a partisan bill. That is why I applaud moderate Republican voices in the House who stood up to their leadership to demand a vote on the Senate bill.
“Throughout this process – often through tears – countless women had the courage to come forward and tell painful stories about why this bill was so vital to them. By stepping out of the shadows, they reinforced that they were more than statistics, and they forced those who stood in opposition to this bill to face up to the reality that who a person loves, where they live, or their immigration status should never determine whether they are protected from violence.
“I want to especially thank Deborah Parker of the Tulalip Tribe in my home state. Deborah has been by my side time and again in this effort and repeatedly told her deeply personal story of the violence and abuse women face on tribal lands to illustrate a tremendous unmet need. Along with Deborah, I know that advocates across the country are breathing a sigh of relief today knowing that we finally got this done.
“I’m proud to join the President, the Vice President, Senator Leahy, and the coalition of women’s groups, law enforcement, clergy members, educators, and concerned citizens who’ve repeatedly stood strong to make this moment possible. For nearly two decades VAWA has allowed women to escape lives afflicted by violence and abuse. It’s been one of the privileges of my career to stand strong over the past year and a half to ensure that VAWA’s protections are expanded to include more women.”
Apple Health for Kids offers Native American families a quality, free or low-cost insurance option
More kids and teens in Washington State qualify for health insurance through Apple Health for Kids than ever before. Apple Health for Kids, a free or low-cost health insurance program for kids and teens in Washington State, seeks to provide an affordable health insurance option to families across the state. Today marks the launch of a statewide campaign to enroll uninsured kids and teens in the Apple Health for Kids program.
With Apple Health for Kids, kids and teens under the age of 19 receive quality medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage. In addition to having access to a network of doctors, hospitals and clinics, families will have no copays or deductibles. New federal guidelines mean most families that make up to 300% of the federal poverty level qualify. Premiums range from free to $30 per child, depending upon a family’s household income. No family will pay more than two premiums. For example, a family of four that makes $5,700 per month likely qualifies for $30 per child, per month health insurance premiums.
About one third of the 83,000 uninsured children in Washington live in Pierce, King, Yakima, and Clark counties. While the Apple Health for Kids campaign will include statewide outreach, specifically reaching target audiences in those four counties will be a priority. Special attention will be given to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino populations that currently have lower levels of enrollment. Several partners are assisting with outreach efforts, including Community-Minded Enterprises, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Yakima, Kauffman and Associates, Inc. and Desautel Hege Communications.
“More families than ever are looking for ways to save money, but still provide quality health care to their children, and Apple Health for Kids is the perfect solution,” said Jo Ann Kauffman, MPH, President and CEO of Kauffman and Associates, Inc. “Families, including those who use Indian Health Services, can easily enroll to have access to things like x-rays, immunizations, well-child checks and maternity care.”
The campaign is using an innovative, research-based model to promote easy enrollment and offer one-to-one support for people going through the enrollment process. A new website,myapplehealth.org, has been developed which simplifies the application and links enrollees with representatives who can help them fill out the forms and answer questions they may have. Phone interpreting is available in 240 languages.
Now through June, Apple Health for Kids will be promoted at special enrollment events as well as existing community events like Hoopfest. Employers and childcare providers will also receive information and materials to educate employees and parents about the program. It is important that all families in Washington State know about this quality, free or low-cost health insurance option, so advertising is part of the outreach plan as well.
Families with kids and teens should visit myapplehealth.org or call 1-855-900-3066 to learn more and see if they qualify.
About Apple Health for Kids
Apple Health for Kids (AHFK) was created in 2007 as part of the Cover All Kids law signed by Governor Gregoire in order to expand existing health care programs for children by making it affordable to all families. Since its creation, the program has made innovative changes to application and renewal processes to offer families a single, streamlined enrollment process and comprehensive benefits to all eligible applicants. AHFK has also undergone changes to expand eligibility to more of Washington State’s 83,000 uninsured children, now covering families making up to 300% of the federal poverty limit, regardless of immigration status.
NCAI Praises Passage of Protections for All Women; Tribal Courts Gain Jurisdiction over Non-Indian Domestic Violence Perpetrators
Bill represents major advance for public safety in Indian Country; Legislation headed to President for Signature
By Matthew L.M. Fletcher
Washington, DC – Today, in a historic vote the House of Representatives passed S.47, the Senate reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), sending the legislation with the tribal provisions supported by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law. NCAI is praising the efforts of the House and the Senate to reauthorize VAWA and the bipartisan support of the Senate version of the legislation in both chambers with resounding votes of 286 – 138 in the House and 78-22 vote in the Senate earlier this month.
“It is with a glad heart and soaring spirit that I celebrate the passage of VAWA. Today the drum of justice beats loud in Indian Country in celebration of the reauthorization of VAWA and we stand in unity with all of our partners and leaders who were unrelenting in support of protections for all women, including Native women,” said Juana Majel Dixon, First Vice President of NCAI, and co-chair of NCAI’s Task Force on Violence Against Women. Juana Majel serves as a Traditional Councilwoman Pauma Band of Mission Indians located within the state of California. “500 plus days is too long to not have a bill for all women in America. For an unimaginable length of time those who have terrorized our women in our most sacred places, in our relationships, in our homes, and on our land, have gone unprosecuted. Now that time has come to an end and justice and security will flourish in these specific instances. We celebrate the protections for all women included in VAWA, including those for Immigrant and LGBT women,” added Juana Majel.
“With this authority, comes a serious responsibility and tribal courts will administer justice with the same level of impartiality that any defendant is afforded in state and federal courts,” said Jefferson Keel, the President of NCAI and Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, speaking about implementation of the new law. “We have strong tribal courts systems that protect public safety. The law respects tribal sovereignty, and also requires that our courts respect the due process rights of all defendants. My hope is that this new law is rarely used. Our goal isn’t to put people in jail. It is to create an effective deterrent so that our people can lead safe lives in our communities and nations.”
The constitutionally sound tribal jurisdiction provisions in VAWA authorize tribal governments to prosecute non-Indian defendants involved in intimate relationships with Native women and who assault these victims on tribal land. Current federal laws do not authorize tribal law enforcement or tribal courts to pursue any form of prosecution or justice against these perpetrators.
“There were at least five things that came together: an enormous grassroots effort from Indian country; the coalition of the National Task Force to End Domestic Violence; statistics so we could finally show the problem; steadfast leadership from the Department of Justice; and incredible support from so many Members of Congress both Republicans and Democrats,” said Terri Henry, Council Member at Eastern Cherokee and Co-Chair of the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women spoke of the large collective effort that led to the passage of the Senate version of VAWA. “We really want to thank everyone for their hard work. Now we are going to use this tool to protect Native women from violence.”
“Women and men – Native and non-Native, Senators and Representatives from all backgrounds, and tribal leaders from across Indian Country have all spoken that these injustices must not continue. We intend to keep speaking from our heart and with the law by our side,” added NCAI’s First Vice President Juana Majel Dixon. “We are thankful that there are strong leaders in both the House and Senate that have stood for the protections of Native women, regardless of party politics.”
“Today marks not the end of our efforts at NCAI to combat domestic violence issues that Indian Country faces but an important step along the way. We will remain as dedicated as we have been since we began addressing this issue as an organization. There have been many members of Congress who have stood with tribal nations throughout this effort and they have stayed true to the constitution, to the trust responsibility, and to the truth that tribal nations are the best to address our situations at the local level. Today we advance the protections tribal nations can provide all people, Native and non-Native,” said Jacqueline Pata, Executive Director of NCAI.
Findings show that 34% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped in their lifetimes* and 39% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be subjected to violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes**. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46% of people living on reservations in 2010 were non-Natives (single race) and 59% of American Indian women in 2010 were married to non-Native men***.
The NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women was established in 2000 and has been working for thirteen years to protect the lives of Native American women and create more secure tribal communities
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2000). Findings from the National Violence against Women Survey.
** Centers for Disease Control. (2008). Adverse health conditions and health risk behaviors associated with intimate partner violence.
***US Census Bureau, Census 2010.
About The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI):
Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information visit www.ncai.org
