Local News Archives - Page 18 of 92

Upper Skagit Tribe harvests last full return of hatchery steelhead

By Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

It’s the end of an era for Upper Skagit tribal fishermen as the last full return of hatchery steelhead arrives in the Skagit River this winter.

“Our ancestors gave up everything so that we could continue to fish in our traditional areas,” said Scott Schuyler, natural resources director for the Upper Skagit Tribe. “Without hatchery production, we can’t have a meaningful fishery.”

The last full steelhead fishery is especially bittersweet for Schuyler, whose 14-year-old daughter just received her first tribal fishing card. “Maybe she’ll be able to have one day of fishing a year,” he said. “That’s not a meaningful fishery.”

Steelhead are a culturally important species that the Upper Skagit Tribe harvests for commercial, ceremonial and subsistence purposes. Historically, steelhead were available during the long winter months when other species were not available to feed tribal families.

Hatchery programs have been a part of fisheries management in Washington for more than 100 years, making up for lost natural production as a result of degraded and destroyed habitat. Guided by science, hatchery management in western Washington is carefully managed to protect the genetic health of wild fish. In the Skagit River, hatchery programs also provide mitigation for the ongoing effects of hydroelectric plants.

Last spring, the Wild Fish Conservancy sued the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) over hatchery winter steelhead programs that used Chambers Creek broodstock.

“Hatcheries are under attack,” Schuyler said. “Taking away hatchery programs leaves tribes under certain circumstances with a severely diminished or no opportunity.”

The Upper Skagit Tribe, along with the Lummi Nation and Tulalip and Stillaguamish tribes, released a statement at the time of the lawsuit saying that the Wild Fish Conservancy “erroneously concluded that hatchery production, rather than the loss of habitat, is responsible for the depressed state of the Puget Sound Steelhead populations.”

However, WDFW settled the lawsuit, agreeing to halt the release of Chambers Creek hatchery steelhead in all Puget Sound rivers but one, until the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration approves each program. The settlement also put a 12-year moratorium of steelhead hatchery releases in the Skagit River.

This year will be the Upper Skagit Tribe’s last full season fishing for hatchery steelhead, with returns reduced starting next year, and gone by 2017.

Residents Invited to Interfaith Candlelight Prayer Service Feb 24 for Community Healing, Fellowship Four Months After MP Shooting Tragedy

Press Release, Interfaith Candlelight Prayer Service

MARYSVILLE – Participants in the Interfaith Candlelight Prayer Service extend a warm invitation to all Marysville and Tulalip residents for a time of silence, prayer, encouraging words and fellowship after the tragic shooting that occurred at Marysville Pilchuck High School last october.

The prayer service is scheduled for Tuesday, February 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School Auditorium, 5611 108th Street Northeast Marysville, WA 98270. We will begin with a candlelight prayer service at 7:00 p.m. and reception at 8:15 p.m.

Participants leading the prayer service represent many traditions in and around Tulalip and Marysville including Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Baha’i, and Unitarian traditions, says Rev. Terry Kyllo with St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Marysville. Kyllo is organizing the service with Father Pat Twohy who has served among the people in Tulalip and Marysville for many years.

“While our traditions have similarities and differences, we all share a common humanity and together create one community,” says Kyllo. “We all share hurts from our pasts and hope that our community may have a bright future.”

Leaders of these various traditions will lead the prayers. A variety of leaders in the Marysville and Tulalip communities will also share brief words of hope at this point in our journey toward healing, Kyllo says.

More information can be found at http://interfaithcandlelightprayer.wordpress.com/

Quinault boats test new crab pot-monitoring system

Washington state biologists interested in tribal experiment with electronic technology

Pete Wilson, Quinault Indian Nation fisherman, demonstrates how crab pots are scanned using a sensor embedded in the pot float.DEBORAH L. PRESTON PHOTO — Pete Wilson, Quinault Indian Nation fisherman, demonstrates how crab pots are scanned using a sensor embedded in the pot float.
DEBORAH L. PRESTON PHOTO

By Katie Wilson, Chinook Observer

OLYMPIC PENINSULA — Many eyes have been on the Quinault Indian Nation as it tests technology that could help dramatically improve rule enforcement in Washington’s $62 million commercial crab fishery.

Three Quinault fishermen have been using an electronic crab pot monitoring system to track gear use. This entails placing quarter-coin-sized radio frequency tags in their crab pot buoys over the summer and since November. As the pots were pulled aboard, they scanned the buoys in front of a sensor: “Basically like you’re scanning groceries at the store,” said Quinault fisherman Pete Wilson, who was one of the three participants in the pilot program. The sensor transmitted the identification number and the GPS location to a computer.

With every pot registered to only one owner, fishery managers hope this will be a simple way to track boat activity and gear use.

“It would solve some pretty significant issues we face in the crab fishery,” said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish lead biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

As things stand currently, both tribal and non-tribal commercial crab fishermen looking to cheat the system and steal gear and crab can, for the most part, get away with it. Fishermen work at night and “guys that have no scruples come along and fish other guys’ gear,” Ayres said. “Unless someone is right there in the middle of the night and knows what’s going on, it’s almost impossible for us to make a case. …Because fishermen know we can’t do anything about it, they don’t necessarily report [incidents] to us.”

WDFW enforcement officers will hear about stolen gear from time to time, but the traps are in the ocean and the ocean is never still. Besides, whales tangle in pots, debris snags them, storms move them.

The Quinault Indian Nation is working with the non-profit EcoTrust Canada to process the data it collected. The pilot program ended in January. No final report or numbers have been made public yet though Joe Schumacker, QIN marine scientist, expects a report in March.

“If it works well, we’re hoping to have it on all fishing boats in the future and would love to see it used by the non-tribal fishermen as well,” Schumacker in an article in the Winter 2014/15 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission News.

In an phone interview, he said it is something he has been pushing for the last decade. It is something fisheries in British Columbia have utilized and recently the idea seems to be gaining traction in the states, Schumacker said.

“I don’t think it’s all the way there,” Wilson said about the equipment in a phone interview Feb. 3. But he thinks it’s close.

“I’d say 90 percent of our guys are probably going to want this implemented,” he said. “There are one or two who’d probably prefer that it would not, for their own personal reasons.”

But he and the others don’t have anything to hide.

“I think it can only help,” he said.

Cost downside

For fishery managers like WDFW, the technology would mean wading through massive amounts of data, something they don’t currently have the staff for, Ayres said. And there is a daunting cost to fishermen.

“If it wasn’t slightly over $10,000, it would certainly eat up most of it,” Wilson said regarding the expense per boat.

Schumacker didn’t have a cost estimate yet, but said it would have to be well under $10,000 to be affordable to fishermen.

Cost is one reason that WDFW has yet to implement similar monitoring though it has examined the possibility before. With that kind of price tag, it’s a hard sell, Ayres said.

The benefit of the monitoring would primarily go to those in the industry, but since they would also have to bear the bulk of the cost, the technology won’t become mainstream unless the fishermen support it.

Still, Ayres said, “it’s something that’s slowly becoming more common in other situations in other states.”

In theory, as it gains traction elsewhere and becomes standard: “It gets better and slowly gets cheaper.”

But he thinks the department will see more support as younger, more tech-savvy fishermen enter the fleet.

“We’ve got fishermen who still don’t have answering machines and, God forbid, a cell phone or an e-mail address,” he said.

Even now, they are only just beginning to look at requiring an electronic log book instead of paper log books fishermen currently maintain.

Tulalip PD says goodbye to K9 Officer Wolfy

Tulalip Police Department K9 Officer Wolfy with her partner, Senior Officer M. Engen Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil — Tulalip Police Department K9 Officer Wolfy with her partner, Senior Officer M. Engen
Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil

by Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

Ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice, Senior Officer M. Engen and canine partner Wolfy, a 10-year-old midnight black Malinois/ Belgian Shepherd and German Shepherd mix, helped to protect the Tulalip community from drug smuggling and fleeing suspects for eight years.Throughout their partnership they cultivated a reputation as having 100 percent accuracy in drug detection in the Pacific Northwest and parts of North Canada. This reputation led to requests to assist in cases with FBI, DEA and ATF agencies, along with other local law enforcement jurisdictions. On January 2, officer Wolfy lost her battle with cancer and ended her watch, leaving behind a partner and a community that is fighting an addiction epidemic.

As one of Tulalip Police Department’s most valuable assets, Wolfy helped to remove 28 grams of crack cocaine from Tulalip streets, along with 419 grams of cocaine, 500 grams of heroin, 758 grams of Methamphetamine and 1, 976 grams of marijuana.Wolfy also aided in the seizure of $30,000 in cash and over 40 vehicles, including a motorhome and several guns. The total street value of narcotics seized throughout her tenure is $151,000. She completed 344 searches and 811 finds.

“Everyday was such a privilege to serve alongside her. Everyday she was ready to work, no matter the situation or what the weather was like, she never called in sick,” said Officer Engen.

Senior Officer M. Engen holds a Master Handler certificate, qualifying each year during certification. Officers Engen and Wolfy certified twice a year through the Washington State Police Canine Association and the Pacific North West Canine Association, along with the California Narcotics Canine Association.Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil — Senior Officer M. Engen holds a Master Handler certificate, qualifying each year during certification. Officers Engen and Wolfy certified twice a year through the Washington State Police Canine Association and the Pacific North West Canine Association, along with the California Narcotics Canine Association.
Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil

As a canine officer, Wolfy was trained to detect hidden drugs and drug residue on persons, vehicles and other items. This meant that she developed probable cause enabling Tulalip Police Department to search a person or vehicle suspected of possessing illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia, or probable cause to request a search warrant.

“She is such a trademark for Tulalip and she was such an outstanding asset because she could do things that humans couldn’t, she developed probable cause. At one point the drug dealers were scared to come out on the reservation. I think not having drug dogs out in Tulalip can have a negative impact,” said Engen.

“A K9 unit is a much needed tool. She does not indicate on false cars, if there is no drugs in them, she’d tell me, there is no dope in there,” said Engen, about Wolfy’s skill at detecting illegal drugs. “Wolfy was amazing. She never lost a court case. The times we did have to go to court we didn’t lose. She was that accurate and good at what she did.”

“There is not going to be another partner like Wolfy,” said Engen, who is currently waiting for approval from Tulalip Tribes on another dog. “She was my eyes, my ears and my nose. It doesn’t only affect me it affects the community. At the drug check points the word was getting out that she was there, so people were throwing stuff into the drains and ditches to get rid of it. When the drains clogged they found all this paraphernalia and drugs. She sent a message, and losing her makes things difficult.”

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

“Being Frank” Eating Fish Shouldn’t Be Risky

By Lorraine Loomis, Chair, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Gov. Jay Inslee wants to change the cancer risk rate used to set state water quality standards from one in one million to one in 100,000. That is unacceptable to the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. We refuse to accept this tenfold increase in the risk of getting cancer from known cancer-causing toxins, and you should, too.

The cancer risk rate, along with the fish consumption rate, are key factors in determining how clean our waters must be to protect our health. The more fish we eat, the cleaner the waters must be.

Water quality standards are supposed to protect those who need protection the most: children, women of childbearing age, Indians, Asian and Pacific Islanders, sport fishermen, and anyone else who eats local fish and shellfish. When the most vulnerable among us is protected, so is everyone else.

The federal Clean Water Act requires that states develop water quality standards to ensure our waters are clean enough to provide healthy fish that are safe for us to eat. But the state has been operating under outdated and inadequate water quality standards developed more than 20 years ago, and has missed every deadline since then for updating the standards as required by federal law. The state admits that its current water quality standards don’t adequately protect any of us.

Under his plan, Inslee would correctly increase the fish consumption rate from a ridiculously low 6.5 grams per day (about one bite) to 175 grams per day, the same protective rate as Oregon’s. But he would effectively cancel out that improvement by decreasing our protection under the cancer risk rate.

Further complicating matters, Inslee ties development of the new state water quality standards to a $12 million statewide toxics reduction program that will require legislative approval. That is unlikely given the $2 billion state budget shortfall.

Inslee’s proposal would also require the Legislature to grant the Department of Ecology more authority to regulate toxic chemicals. That is also highly unlikely given the Legislature’s historic reluctance to grant Ecology more power to control chemicals in our environment.

The plan also calls for revising standards for 167 chemicals that the Clean Water Act requires states to monitor in our lakes, rivers and marine waters. But standards for 58 of those – including cancer-causing chemicals like dioxins and PCBs – will stay the same.

At its core, Inslee’s plan does more to preserve the status quo than result in any real improvement to our water quality standards. It is a political solution to a human health issue. The concept of a larger toxics reduction program to tackle pollutants at the source is a good one, but it is not an acceptable substitute for strong water quality rules. We should have both.

We know that Inslee and previous governors have struggled with updating the state’s water quality rules for decades because of complaints by industry that new water quality rules could increase their cost of doing business. But an economy built on pollution cannot be sustained.

Fortunately, at the request of the tribes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said it will step in to develop new standards this year if the state is unable.

EPA Regional Administrator Dennis McLerran announced in December that the agency will keep a close eye on the progress – or lack of progress – of the state’s effort to update our water quality standards. The agency has begun a rulemaking process in parallel with the state effort now under way. If the state develops standards acceptable to EPA, the agency will pause and work with the state to finalize the new standards. If the state is unable, EPA will continue its process and adopt new standards for the state.

This promise by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Regional Administrator McLerran demonstrates true leadership. They clearly recognize the federal government’s trust responsibility to protect the health and treaty rights of the tribes, which also benefits everyone else who lives here.

We appreciate EPA’s willingness to protect the integrity of our state’s environment and water-based resources that are central to human health and treaty rights. We hope the state will step up before EPA has to step in to make sure our water quality standards protect all of us.

For more information visit keepseafoodclean.org.

CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY: A MODERN DAY LOVE AFFAIR FROM ROMANCE TO ROCK

Tulalip Resort Casino Offers Sweethearts Multi-Sensual Dining Combined with Mesmerizing Music

Source: Tulalip Resort Casino
Tulalip, Washington – Tulalip Resort Casino knows how to evoke the sensation of love. On Saturday, February 14th they will be joining forces to create a modern day romance of multi-sensual dining combined with mesmerizing music. Valentine‘s Day rock party includes a concert of tribute bands (“Heart by Heart” and “Rumors”) featuring music from legendary greats Heart and Fleetwood Mac. From 7-8:30pm in the Orca Ballroom, guests can savor a buffet dinner offering a selection of three salads, chicken or beef entrees, assorted desserts and coffee/tea. Admirers and their main squeeze can rock the night away to love pounding sounds starting at 9 pm.

This event for those 21 and over, offers a no-host bar and festival seating. Dinner and concert tickets must be purchased in advance and are priced at $60 per person or $100 per couple, including tax and gratuity. For those who wish to linger longer, show ticket packages (overnight deluxe accommodations, tickets for dinner and dessert, concert and breakfast at Eagles Buffet) are available starting at $350. To purchase Valentine’s Day “Rock Ballad Ball” tickets call (360) 716-6888 or for show packages, please contact reservations at 866-716-7162. Additional details can be found at Rock Ballad Ball.

More Oil Trains Could Roll Through Puget Sound To Shell Refinery

More than 100 people attended the hearing in Skagit County for a proposal by Shell Oil to build a rail expansion to receive oil trains at its Anacortes refinery. Matt Krogh — More than 100 people attended the hearing in Skagit County for a proposal by Shell Oil to build a rail expansion to receive oil trains at its Anacortes refinery.
Matt Krogh

By Ashley Ahearn, KUOW

Shell Oil wants to build more tracks at its refinery in Anacortes, Washington, to receive oil by rail. At a packed hearing in Skagit County on Thursday, more than 100 people turned up to comment on the proposal.

Shell’s refinery in Anacortes is the last of Washington’s five oil refineries to apply for permits to receive oil by rail from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota.

Skagit County had previously approved the necessary shoreline permits granting the go-ahead to Shell to construct expand rail at its Anacortes refinery to receive mile-long oil trains, six of them per week. Environmental groups appealed the decision, calling for a more comprehensive review of the potential health and environmental impacts.

The room was packed Thursday, when the Skagit County Hearing Examiner heard public comments pertaining to the shoreline development and forest practice permits necessary for Shell to proceed with its proposed expansion.

Roughly 15 oil trains already travel along Puget Sound each week, servicing the US Oil, BP Cherry Point, Phillips66 and Tesoro refineries.

“That’s a lot of trains, with no studies whatsoever about human health impacts, chronic exposure, risks, all that sort of thing.” said Matt Krogh of ForestEthics, which has raised concerns about the increase in oil train traffic in the region. “There’s pent up frustration.”

In November, a car in an oil train arrived at the BP refinery 1,611 gallons short, with an open valve and a missing plug, according to a report from McClatchy, a news organization.

There were 30 Shell refinery employees at the hearing, and six of them registered to give testimony.

The company says that the rail expansion project is not intended to increase the refinery’s capacity but to partially replace crude oil that currently arrives by marine tanker.

“Shell is committed to following the permitting process and taking all appropriate measures to meet rigorous safety and environmental standards,” said Tom Rizzo, Shell Puget Sound Refinery general manager, in an emailed statement. “Shell needs the ability to bring oil in by rail to ensure enough crude to keep the refinery viable so that it can continue to produce gasoline and other fuels for Pacific Northwest consumers, and to generate jobs, economic development and tax revenue for the local community.”

The Skagit County Hearing Examiner will decide whether an environmental review must be conducted before final permits are issued for the Shell Refinery to build the necessary rail spur to receive oil trains.

The Army Corps of Engineers is also reviewing permits for the project.

Skeleton found near Wallula Junction

By Davis Wahlman, KEPRTV.com

WALLULA, Wash. — KEPR investigating into reports of human remains being found just north of Wallula Junction.

A 14 year old and his father were hunting near the river when the came across a skeleton with a hole in the skull.

“I was about 100 yards in front of him, I just walked right up on it,” said 14 year old Mitchell Jackson.

He didn’t snag any geese on his hunting trip this weekend, but he did make a chilling discovery.

“I just see this white thing on the ground and I go walking closer to it. It looked like skull to me and I waited until my dad caught up to me and I said, ‘Dad, I think I found a human skull,” he said.

And he was right.

A skull, jaw bone, vertebrae, and rib cage just sticking out of the ground near their hunting spot along the river near Wallula. Mitchell’s father called the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office who initially thought they could be looking at a homicide. But once the coroner and an archaeologist could took a closer look, they squashed that theory.

The land where they found the remains just north of Wallula Junction is all owned by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. So when they got the call, they knew they had a full plate.

We asked an archaeologist how old he might think the bones are.

“You know, they’re older than ten years old. I can’t tell you if they’re older than 100, 200, years old. They’ve definitely been there for quite a long time.”

Fish and Wildlife archaeologist Dale Earl is tasked with identifying and dating the remains which are now under lock and key at the McNary office in Burbank. He says the body could have been placed where the skeleton was found, or been carried by the river.

They are currently in talks with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to see if it could be one of their ancestors.
While that could be the story, could we possibly be looking ground breaking find?

Reporter: “What are the odds of this being the next Kennewick Man?” Earl: “Very very remote.”

Fish and Wildlife will team up with an anthropologist to date the bones. Archaeologists say the dating process will take several weeks if not longer.

Treaty Days built foundation for Tulalips’ cultural revitalization

Photo courtesy Hibulb Cultural CenterBoys from the Tulalip Indian Boarding School marched in their uniforms to the longhouse for the Treaty Days celebration. It was the first day they were allowed to witness their culture without punishment. — Photo courtesy Hibulb Cultural Center
Boys from the Tulalip Indian Boarding School marched in their uniforms to the longhouse for the Treaty Days celebration. It was the first day they were allowed to witness their culture without punishment.

By Andrew Gobin and Eric Stevick, The Herald

TULALIP — A man will come, following the path of the sun. His voice will be like thunder, and it will mark the beginning of a long, dark night for Indian people.Wayne Williams recalls hearing that prophecy as a young boy at the annual Treaty Days gathering on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.His grandfather, William Shelton, was the last hereditary chief of the Snohomish people. Shelton started the annual gathering, organizing the first in 1912.

More than a century later, Treaty Days continues, though it is not widely known, if at all, off the reservation. Tribes still gather each year at Tulalip to mark the signing of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, remembering a time of worry and great change.

J.A. Juleen’s portrait of Tulalip artist and activist William Shelton was taken in 1913.

“He was adamant that Treaty Days was a commemoration, not a celebration,” Williams said of his grandfather. “The treaty really meant the end of our way of life. Hardly anything to celebrate. He wanted to commemorate it.”Treaty Days was started as a means to remember the traditional dances and songs, and to remind the children of their culture at a time when it was at risk of slipping away.Shelton believed in fostering good relations between Indians at Tulalip and their non-Indian counterparts. Throughout his life, he seized every opportunity to share his culture with people living in Snohomish County and across the nation. What he managed to pull off, during a time when Indian customs were explicitly outlawed, built the foundation for cultural revitalization on the reservation today.

A leader through change

Shelton, who was born at Sandy Point on Whidbey Island, left home at 17 to attend the mission school at Tulalip. His parents did not want him to go, fearing he would die, as many children at the school had from illness. He went anyway.

He learned English and became a bridge between worlds. His ability to communicate in both English and his Native dialects was crucial to preserving language. Shelton worked with noted linguist Herman Haeberlin in studying and recording Salish languages.

Photo courtesy Hibulb Cultural CenterJanuary 22, 1912

In a 1937 letter, the year before he died, Shelton mentioned that his people, the Snohomish, were among those already looking to adopt the ways of “civilization” at the time the Point Elliott treaty was signed. In 1922, the City of Everett purchased a story pole Shelton carved that is now part of the Hibulb Cultural Centercollection. That pole stood for decades along Rucker Avenue, one of the few pieces of public art maintained in a town that then took pride in smokestacks.“I was made happy because it showed that the White Friends realized that there was something good in the Indian ways and teachings,” he wrote.While he saw the value in education, Shelton did not want his culture erased by this new way of life.

In 1902, the federal government opened the Tulalip Indian Boarding School on the reservation in an effort to enforce assimilation policies. Children were removed from their families, from their culture. The same thing happened in the mission schools for 45 years prior. All things Indian were prohibited to the students. Shelton’s daughter, Harriette, attended this school and later in life described the sting of the strap when she was caught talking in her native language.

Photo by J.A. Juleen, provided by Everett Public Library. Members of the Tulalip tribe dine in the new longhouse on the Treaty Day in the 1914 photo.

A tricky compromise

To Shelton, the new government-run school presented an opportunity — albeit a circuitous route to save his heritage.

Shelton began by asking permission for the seemingly impossible. He sought to have a longhouse built on the reservation where sanctioned Indian dancing could take place. Repeatedly between 1908 and 1910, Shelton’s requests were denied by the Tulalip superintendent, Charles Buchanan, who as the local federal authority said that such customs were “blatantly at odds with Department of Interior regulations,” according to official correspondence.

In 1911, Buchanan tired of dealing with Shelton and told him to write letters outlining his requests to the secretary of the interior, as well as the commissioner of Indian affairs, the local agent’s superiors.

Shelton wrote them, asking for permission to build a gathering house for the people at Tulalip. He asked for one day a year when the people could come together and sing the old songs. He asked to allow the children from the Tulalip Boarding School to be brought into the longhouse.

Shelton proposed all this under the ruse of celebrating the 57th anniversary of the signing of the treaty on Jan. 22, 1855. The celebrations were to mark the start of their new way of life on the reservation, he said. Shelton wrote that the day would also be an opportunity to show children how poor and primitive the old ways were. In other words, he told authorities what they wanted to hear while masking his true intentions.

“He wanted the children to be reminded of who they were, the culture they come from,” Williams said.

Shelton’s requests were approved.

Tulalip Longhouse exterior, circa 1914. William Shelton stands with and two associates who assisted in construction of the building.

Photo by J.A. Juleen, provided by Everett Public Library. Tulalip Longhouse exterior, circa 1914. William Shelton stands with and two associates who assisted in construction of the building.

Many family heads gathered with Shelton, pooling their money — a dollar here, two dollars there, a dime or two, and maybe an extra 50 cents — to buy food for the first potlatch in more than half a century. As the years passed, the feasts continued. A menu from the 1915 Treaty Days calls for four “sacks of spuds,” 30 salmon, coffee, tea, lard and a box of oranges. A menu similar to this is served at the gathering today.David Dilgard, a historian with the Everett Public Library, believes Shelton was a wise man facing a difficult predicament. Dilgard compares Shelton to Brer Rabbit, the trickster hare of African American and Native American origin who uses his wit to survive against bigger and more powerful foes.Convincing authorities to allow Treaty Days was much like Brer Rabbit goading the fox into throwing him into the briar patch, thus allowing him to escape.

Shelton wanted the tribes to be proud of their heritage in uncertain times.

It was Shelton saying: “You have to not be afraid to say ‘I’m an Indian, dammit,’” Dilgard said. “That is what Treaty Days was all about.”

This photo taken to commemorate the Mukilteo Treaty Monument Dedication was taken on May 2, 1931, by photographer James C. Bailey. Wayne Williams is t...

Photo courtesy Everett Public Library. This photo taken to commemorate the Mukilteo Treaty Monument Dedication was taken on May 2, 1931, by photographer James C. Bailey. Wayne Williams is the small boy on the far right of the photo standing in a headdress.

A lifetime of memories

In a black-and-white photograph, taken in Mukilteo in early May 1931, there is a little boy in the front row wearing a grimace and Plains Indian feathered headdress. He’s surrounded by dignitaries, including Gov. Roland Hartley, U.S. Sen. Wesley Jones and even Kate Stevens Bates, the daughter of territorial Gov. Isaac Stevens. It was Stevens who led the treaty negotiations in 1855. Also in the crowd were state lawmakers, members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a boy in a tricorn hat and pantaloons and a Colonial era-clad girl in petticoats, lace and a wig.

The little boy, barely 3, appears uncomfortable amid the fanfare of the event, the unveiling of a bronze and granite marker commemorating the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty. More than 3,000 people gathered for the dedication, including three tribal members who were present the day the treaty was signed 76 years earlier.

Next to the child is his mother, Harriette Shelton Dover. Behind her is the boy’s grandfather, William Shelton. All wore the Plains attire, likely gifts worn to distinguish their status, though not reflecting their local roots.

Today that little boy in the photo is 87. His hair and beard have turned white, but his mind is sharp. Wayne Williams paid a visit to the Hibulb Cultural Center at Tulalip the other day, whistling as he reminisced about his grandfather, his mother and a lifetime of Treaty Days.

“We went every year,” Williams said. “In the early days, we slept in the longhouse during Treaty Days. The fires were warm. Early in the morning, maybe around 4 a.m. or so, someone would get things going, and they would start to sing and dance. Then part way through, speakers would talk about the day and what it meant. For our people and our way of life, it was always changing.”

The Tulalip Longhouse interior January 1914, during Treaty Day commemoration of the 59th anniversary of the Point Elliott Treaty signing. Tribal membe...

Photo by J.A. Juleen, provided by Everett Public Library. The Tulalip Longhouse interior January 1914, during Treaty Day commemoration of the 59th anniversary of the Point Elliott Treaty signing. Tribal members are playing the stick game slehal, which is still played at reservation gatherings.

The longhouse that stands today is not the original that Shelton convinced federal authorities to allow the tribes to build. The new longhouse was built in the 1960s.“It is called, in our language, pigwedaltw (pay-gwud-al-twhoo). It means dancing house, or dance house,” said Ray Moses, 84, a tribal elder and story teller. “When they opened that longhouse, I went there with my brother. Big Shot (Cyrus James) was speaking. When he got done, he asked, ‘Why didn’t you Moses boys come out here?’ And we said, ‘We weren’t asked.’ You really don’t need an invitation though. We were bashful.”English and Lushootseed, a Coast Salish language, are spoken interchangeably at many gatherings today, though not as much as in those days.

Neither Moses nor Williams speak Lushootseed, one of the lingering effects of the boarding school.

“I can understand it, and I know a few words, but I can’t speak it,” Williams said.

Today, the language is being preserved, recorded and taught to younger generations.

Historically, Treaty Days was a place to remember the language, and the culture. It also was a place to remember the treaty and what it means.

Thursday will mark the 160th anniversary of the treaty signing. It is a fairly short document — 15 articles, in all. There are 100 signatures on the treaty. Eighty-two, those belonging to Indian leaders, are simple Xs.

The government wanted land; the tribes, to preserve their way of life.

Tulalip Longhouse Interior January 1914, at the Treaty Days commemoration. Posts inside the longhouse were ornamented by William Shelton with clan and...

Photo courtesy of the Everett Public Library. Tulalip Longhouse Interior January 1914, at the Treaty Days commemoration. Posts inside the longhouse were ornamented by William Shelton with clan and family symbols.

Like the U.S. Constitution, the treaty continues to evolve. People wrangle over its application to treaty Indian fishing rights and fights over property lines. These days, the debates have moved into other realms, including patent rights over the DNA of every tree, flower and shrub indigenous to this region. That could have far-reaching implications in the biotechnology industry.The power of the treaty lies in those reserved rights and the inherent sovereignty of tribes. The rights over land management on the reservation demonstrate that power. Today, the realization of land used for economic development has driven economies on and off the reservation, providing 3,500 jobs for people working for the tribes and its casinos and another 5,000 jobs at companies that hold tribal contracts.Listening to the past

Kyle Moses, who at 28 is chairman of the Longhouse Committee, oversees Treaty Days preparations. The cultural leaders keep the gathering alive, understanding that they cannot know where they are going without knowing where they have been.

“It is important to remember the history,” Moses said. “We are still here. Our culture is still here. We are reminded of our ancestors and how they had to fight for what we have today.”

Treaty Days began as a means to preserve the culture and traditions. Now the emphasis is on exercising sovereignty and treaty-protected rights, comprehending what that means and understanding the need to continue to pass those values on to future generations.

“It is important to remember what was promised,” Moses said.

7th Annual Tulalip Tribes and U.S. Forest Service MOA Meeting

Representatives for the Tulalip Tribes and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest staff sat down to discuss changes to forestry projects and future developments.Photo/Mike Sarich, Tulalip News — Representatives for the Tulalip Tribes and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest staff sat down to discuss changes to forestry projects and future developments.
Photo/Mike Sarich, Tulalip News

By Micheal Rios Tulalip News Scenic photo courtesy Libby Nelson, Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources

In November 2007, the Tulalip Tribes signed an historic Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the U.S. Forest Service to work together on a government-to-government basis regarding the Tribes reserved hunting and gathering rights on off-reservation ancestral lands, specifically the 1.7 million acres that total the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie (MBS) National Forest. Every single acre of the 1.7 million that totals the now MBS National Forest was ceded land as part of the Treaty of Point Elliot of 1855. The MOA lays out a framework for increased communication and collaboration in areas such as planning, policy making, and sharing of technical expertise and data, to provide stewardship and conserve the natural resources that the Tribes value and depend upon.

Continually developing an effective partnership in stewardship of national forest lands and resources is critical to maintaining a positive relationship between the Tulalip Tribes and the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Forest Service. Ensuring this effective partnership, both parties attend a government-to-government MOA meeting once a year. The annual meeting creates a forum to address the Tulalip Tribes specific concerns as they arise and allows for the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Forest Service to update the Tribes with any forestry policy/project changes or developments. This year’s annual meeting was held Thursday, January 15 at the Tulalip Administration Building.

The representatives for the Tulalip Tribes and the Forest Services staff from the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest sat down to discuss topics ranging from the Beaver Relocation project to the co-stewardship areas to ways to improve upon communication. Three important issues raised as a result of the open forum were the Forest Service’s sustainable roads directive, sacred sites protection on national forests, and improved communication with the national and regional level of the Forest Service.

Sustainable Roads

One of the issues that came up again this year is the ‘sustainable roads’ directive given to the Forest Service. The directive calls for the Forest Service to close a certain percentage of their roads by going through their entire road system inventory and prioritizing roads they want to keep. The roads that don’t come high on the list would be the first to be closed.

A sustainable road system means keeping only those roads that they can afford to keep maintained and in proper repair so they don’t fail and create risky situations for drivers or environmentally risky situations for the habitat.

MOA liaison with Treaty Rights Office of Natural Resources Department Libby Nelson describes the importance of having the Tribes input considered when prioritizing which roads to sustain and which to close. “The public tends to be recreational and they are going to want to preserve trailheads and certain places that the Tribes may not feel quite the same way about. Making sure that the Forest Service is really looking at how they are going to ensure treaty rights needs to take a front and center role in their analysis and evaluation of what roads to keep open and what roads to close. So that’s an issue. [For the Forest Service] it becomes a matter of budget allocation and this is where we think it is really important to say, ‘What is important to honor the rights we have to protect of the Tribes through their treaty? How do we plan to integrate that into are analysis?’ Their duty as a federal trustee to the Tribes is to ensure access for treaty right exercise.”

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.Photo courtesy Libby Nelson, Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources — Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Photo courtesy Libby Nelson, Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources

Sacred Sites

Executive Order 13007 Indian Sacred Sites requires Federal land managing agencies to accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by Indian religious practitioners and to avoid adversely affecting the physical integrity of such sacred sites. It also requires agencies to develop procedures for reasonable notification of proposed actions or land management policies that may restrict access to or ceremonial use of, or adversely affect, sacred sites.

Sacred sites are defined in the executive order as “any specific, discrete, narrowly delineated location on Federal land that is identified by an Indian tribe, or Indian individual determined to be an appropriately authoritative representative of an Indian religion, as sacred by virtue of its established religious significance to, or ceremonial use by, an Indian religion; provided that the tribe or appropriately authoritative representative of an Indian religion has informed the agency of the existence of such a site.” There is no review of such determinations by a Federal agency.

Executive Order 13007 was discussed in the MOA meeting because it appears that one of the conflicts, potentially, would be the executive order and some other federal statutes don’t specify or differentiate treaty rights from federally recognized tribes across the country. This leads to situations where you could have members of other federally recognized tribes coming onto treaty rights lands to practice their culture and/or religion.

The issue that surfaced was that there would be concern if that was happening on the ancestral territories of Tulalip. There should be a protocol for talking to the Tribes here first who have reserved rights on those lands. The Tulalip Tribes and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest staff will have further discussions about this potential conflict, while also focusing on the general issue of continued co-stewardship of maintaining sacred sites.

Improving communication

Local-level communication between the Tulalip Tribes and the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest staff has developed quite nicely since the signing of the MOA eight years ago. However, the Tulalip Tribes has observed the communication from the national and regional Forest Service offices needs improvement.

“We do have a good working relationship locally now, and that’s great because a lot of things do happen on the forest level, but when the national and regional issues come up we have a ways to go to achieve good communication. On a regional and national level with the U.S. Forest Service, as whole, we often get their policies last minute. Sometimes we don’t hear about them until it’s really late to comment. So we talked about ways to improve that,” says Nelson.

To further increase the capacity for open dialogue on the local level, the Tulalip Tribes are focused on getting the District Ranger and Forest Service staff from the nearby Snoqualmie District to attend future MOA meetings.

Overall, the meeting was a success as both the Tulalip Tribes and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest staffs were able to discuss a range of topics, have an open dialogue regarding potential issues that may arise in the foreseeable future, and exchange ideas about foreseeable projects as a result of the MOA. Most importantly, the meeting served as a reminder of the efforts the Tulalip Tribes has remained steadfast to in the always on-going battle to protect Tulalip’s treaty rights.

As Libby Nelson states, “In order to protect the real exercise of treaty rights reserved Tulalip in their treaty, it’s going to take continued vigilance and pushing back. The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie is surrounded by a lot of people—most of the State’s population lives within easy driving distance. There is now, and will continue to be a lot of pressure from people in urban centers, like Seattle, who would like to see the forest become more and more park-like and provide for their recreational uses. Treaty hunting, gathering and other cultural uses aren’t always very compatible with these other recreational uses or too many people.”