Lushootseed Family Night starts Feb. 5th

Please join us for Lushootseed Family Nights where you can gather with loved ones and learn to speak the words off our ancestors. Scheduled for every Tuesday in February and March 20113 at the Hibulb Cultural Center from 5pm-7pm.

Lessons, Materials, Food and Fun provided!!

WHEN:

Tuesdays

Feb. 5th, 12th, 19th, & 26th

March 5th  12th, 19TH & 26th

 

WHERE:

Hibulb Cultural Center

6410 23RD AVE.

Tulalip, WA

 

TIME:

5PM-7PM

 

Contact: Natosha Gobin

RSVP: 360-716-4499

Tulalip Tribes Lushootseed Department

WWW.TULALIPLUSHOOTSEED.COM

Tulalips screen film about American Indian jazz great

Photo courtesy of Sandy OsawaJim Pepper was a leader in both the world music and jazz-rock fusion movement.
Jim Pepper was a leader in both the world music and jazz-rock fusion movement. Photo courtesy Sandy Osawa.

By Theresa Goffredo, Herald Writer, http://www.heraldnet.com

 
Jim Pepper was known for pioneering the fusion jazz movement as well as being the kind of musical innovator who blended jazz with American Indian music.Jazz aficionados are well aware of Pepper’s composition “Witchi Tai To,” today a jazz classic that was a crossover hit between jazz and the top 40 popular song list when it was first produced in the mid-’60s.

Pepper’s life is celebrated in the film documentary “Pepper’s Pow Wow,” showing at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Hibulb Cultural Center on the Tulalip Reservation, 6410 23rd Ave. NE, Tulalip.

Admission for adults is $10. For more information call Hibulb at 360-716-2600 or online atwww.hibulbculturalcenter.org/.

Sandy Osawa will present the one-hour film. Osawa, a Makah, is the first American Indian filmmaker to produce on a national broadcast scale and has made 16 broadcast films.

She and her husband, cameraman and editor Yasu Osawa, will answer questions following the film.

Pepper’s heritage is Creek and Kaw and the film shows a rare, personal glimpse into the life of this jazz innovator, who made his name on the European stage rather than back home in America.

The film pays tribute to Pepper’s life along with sharing his music, including a recording of his grandfather, Ralph Pepper, singing the original chant that became the basis for “Witchi Tai To.”

Pepper played the tenor saxophone and the film opens with him performing the song “Caddo Revival” during the Kaw Pow Wow in Oklahoma, where Pepper grew up.

In the film, Pepper is recorded as saying music created by American Indians “comes directly from the ground, from the earth, from the four directions and the music is a healing force.”

Along with documenting Pepper’s life, the film delves into the birth of the jazz-rock fusion movement of the mid-1960s. The film includes footage of Pepper’s band, the first jazz-rock fusion band called The Free Spirits.

Filmmaker Osawa hopes that Pepper’s life “can be a metaphor for many indigenous people who are struggling to walk in two worlds with one spirit,” she said in a statement.

“Pepper’s Pow Wow” has been shown on the Public Broadcasting Station with funding by the Independent Television Service. Osawa’s films are available at www.upstreamvideos.com.

Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.

Eagle Festival returns Feb. 1-2

Arlington  Times, http://www.arlingtontimes.com

ARLINGTON — The city of Arlington and the Stillaguamish Tribe welcome locals and out-of-towners alike to attend the sixth annual Eagle Festival on Friday, Feb. 1, and Saturday, Feb. 2, in Arlington. The Stillaguamish watershed hosts large concentrations of bald eagles during the winter, when they feed on the spawning salmon.

This year, in an effort to make the festival a two-day event, organizers have added activities on Friday, including a rafting trip on the Stillaguamish River. To make a reservation, call North Cascades River Expeditions at 1-800-634-8433. The cost is $60. Also on Friday, the Predators of the Heart Wild Animal Show will start at 7 p.m. at Eagle Creek Elementary. This event is new to the Eagle Festival and is sponsored by Calvary of Arlington.

The Arlington Arts Council will again be conducting its Nature Art Show at Magnolia Hall. The show opens on Friday at 5 p.m. with an artists’ reception and wine tasting, and continues on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Included in the show are a Nature Art Contest and an Eagle Photograph Contest. Cash prizes will be awarded. For more details, log onto www.arlingtonwa.gov/eaglefest.

Also included in the Eagle Festival is a Nature Poetry Contest whose details can be found online, again, at www.arlingtonwa.gov/eaglefest. Fogdog Gallery will be displaying the poems and providing prizes at 233 N. Olympic Ave.

Starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, city Natural Resource Manager Bill Blake will lead a short walk through the city’s Storm Water Wetland Park, and along the Stillaguamish River’s Eagle Trail. Participants should meet at the Haller Park parking lot, located at 1100 West Ave. From 10 a.m. to noon, wildlife biologists will be giving tours at the Port Susan Bay Nature Conservancy.

For a personal encounter with a live bird, guests should stop by the Sarvey Wildlife open house from noon to 4 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 110 E. Third St. Sarvey Wildlife staff will be showing many birds of prey. Nature exhibits and representatives from Western Wildlife Outreach, Sound Salmon Solutions, Pilchuck Audubon Society and Snohomish Conservation District will be on site from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Representatives from Sound Salmon Solutions will be presenting “Tree Tenders” at 11 a.m. at the Depot at Legion Park.

The Country Carvers Chainsaw Show will return Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Legion Park. Chainsaw artists from across the Pacific Northwest will carve eagles and other art, and an auction at 3 p.m. on Saturday will sell those carvings to the public, while the best-in-show title is awarded.

For more information on the Eagle Festival, please visit the city of Arlington’s website at www.arlingtonwa.gov/eaglefest or call 360-403-3448.

 

 

HuffPost Social Reading Feist, Broken Social Scene, Blue Rodeo Show Support For Idle No More Movement

Canadian singer Feist performs at the Oya music festival in Oslo, on August 8, 2012.   AFP PHOTO / SCANPIX NORWAY / Stian Lysberg Solum ***NORWAY OUT***        (Photo credit should read Solum, Stian Lysberg/AFP/GettyImages)
Canadian singer Feist performs at the Oya music festival in Oslo, on August 8, 2012. Photo credit: Solum, Stian Lysberg/AFP/GettyImages

Huffington Post Music, Canada, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca

A number of Canadian musicians have joined forces to show their support for Idle No More, the movement of First Nations people for “healthy, just, equitable and sustainable communities.”

According to the CBC, Feist, Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, Blue Rodeo, former Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page and The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie have signed a petition backing the movement. The petition was started by Weakerthans’ singer John K. Samson just before Christmas (Dec. 21) and originally sent it through various contacts.

“The response was immediate and huge, from artists of all disciplines, genres and mediums,” Samson said, adding he got the idea after a conversation with his friend and writer Leanne Simpson, a member of the Alderville First Nation. “It’s fundamental to how we think of ourselves and our identity and what a fair and just society should be. Artists have to be right at the forefront of that, it didn’t surprise me that so many replied with enthusiastic support.”

The statement, dubbed Canadian Artists Statement of Solidarity with Idle No More, reads:

“We recognize that our identity as Canadian artists is coloured by the shameful and continued history of injustice and colonialism, and support the Idle No More movement’s demands that Canadians honour and fulfill Indigenous sovereignty, repair violations against land and water, and live the intent and spirit of our Treaty relationship.”

Samson has also contributed the song “www.ipetitions.com/petition/rivertonrifle'” from his 2012 Provincial album to a benefit compilation being organized by Holly McNarland, a strong supporter of the movement who has taken to Twitter to get the message out. And argue with those opposed to the movement.

“I bit the bait and got into it about #idlenomore,” she tweeted on Jan. 6 “A racist mind is like a chastity belt but not worth it, throw the F’N key away.”

Other musicians who have signed the petition include Ian Blurton, Christine Fellows, The Sadies, Sarah Harmer and Bif Naked.

Spring Planting is Near: Join the Arbor Day Foundation in February and Receive 10 Free Redbud Trees

Press Release, Arbor Day Foundation, http://www.arborday.org

Joining the Arbor Day Foundation is an ideal way to get in the mood for spring planting. Anyone from Washington who joins the Foundation in February 2013 will receive 10 free Eastern redbud trees to plant when the weather turns warm.

The free trees are part of the nonprofit Foundation’s Trees for America campaign

“Redbuds will help beautify Washington for many years to come,” said John Rosenow, founder and chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “They will also add to the proud heritage of Washington’s existing Tree City USA communities.”

The Tree City USA program has supported community forestry throughout the country for more than 35 years.

The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting, between March 1 and May 31, with enclosed planting instructions. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow, or they will be replaced free of charge.

Members also receive a subscription to the Foundation’s colorful bimonthly publication, Arbor Day, and The Tree Book, which contains information about planting and care.

To become a member of the Foundation and receive the free trees, send a $10 contribution to TEN FREE EASTERN REDBUD TREES, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410, by February 28, 2013, or visit arborday.org/february.

 

Premiere of ‘Back to the River’

Back to the River Premier

Salmon Defense, http://salmondefense.org

Back to the River tells the story of the treaty rights struggle from the pre-Boldt era to tribal and state co-management. The movie includes the voices and personal accounts of tribal fishers, leaders, and others active in the treaty fishing rights struggle.

The premiere will take place at 7pm on February 1, 2013 at The Seattle Aquarium (1483 Alaskan Way, Pier 59, Seattle, WA 98101)

Seating is limited to 250 people.

Please RSVP to Peggen Frank
pfrank@salmondefense.org
360.528.4308

Hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Salmon Defense is very thankful to the BACK TO THE RIVER SPONSORS who made this project possible.

  • Nisqually Indian Tribe
  • Lummi Nation
  • Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
  • Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
  • Squaxin Island Tribe
  • Tulalip Tribes
  • Quinault Indian Nation
  • Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
  • Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe
  • Skokomish Tribal Nation
  • Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Chippewa author’s book sheds light on a dark subject

The Round House
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 By Monica Brown, Tulalip News writer
The Round House By Louise Erdich
Reviewed by Monica Brown

 

 

The Round House is set in the year 1988 on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. The reservation is seen in an unfiltered light; a tangle of Indian housing, tribal police and questions of where their jurisdiction lies, the local gas station, the catholic church and stories of the old days. In the midst are 13 year-old Joe, Joe’s father Bazil, a tribal court judge and his mother Geraldine, a tribal enrollment specialist.

The story is told through the eyes of Joe who is now grown and is remembering back to 1988. Joe brings us back to the memory of when his mother was attacked and brutally raped and how the act was so infiltrating that it threatened to rip his world apart.

While his mother retreats into darkness and shuts the world out, Bazil begins reading old court files in hopes of gleaming something useful.  Joe becomes restless and sets out for information with his friends; Cappy, Angus and Zack. The boys become immersed in a world that deals heavily with the boundaries of law, spirituality and the bonds between families and friends.

As Joe goes about in his nonchalant way seeking the truth, he questions his father and challenges him on being not just a good husband to Geraldine, but a good judge. Bazil explains to Joe and reminds him of the laws that are in place which will make this an extremely difficult case if the attacker is even found.

“…this one is the one I’d abolish right this minute if I had the power of a movie shaman. Oliphant V. Suquamish…took from us the right to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes on our land.” Says Bazil to Joe in order to reason why it doesn’t just matter if they find who did it, what matters is where it happened.

Once you know something so inhumane, it is as Joe says “a poison in you”. In other places around the world where justice can be handed out, this sort of crime still leaves a gap in the lives of all it touches but to not be able to seek justice can leave a wound which may never heal.

Even though the story is heavy with dialogue and lacks quotations it is still an impressive and deliberate account. Louise Erdrich paints very clearly the internal and external struggle which resides with every indigenous person whether the seek it out or try to ignore it. The book is loosely based on actual events and reveals actual laws that are in place today. The Round House was published in October of 2012 and was selected as the winner in the fiction category for the 2012 National Book Award.

Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa, wrote this story to bring to light “the tangles of laws that hinder prosecution of rape cases on many reservations”. With The Violence against Women Act being rewritten and the Idle No More movement spreading across the globe this book could not have been released at a more appropriate time.