Local News Archives - Page 35 of 92

Tulalip offers temporary relief for citizens in case of emergency

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP – With the recent events surrounding the major mudslide that occurred four miles east of the OSO community and resulted in 42 confirmed deaths, cities across the region are re-examining their emergency preparedness plans. In Tulalip, with help from a 2011 $137,000 Tribal Homeland Security grant, a plan is in the implementation phase to provide long-term food and water storage for the Tulalip Reservation.

The need for such a plan arose during the Tulalip Tribes 2010 emergency planning update that included the Tribe’s housing mitigation plan. It was noted at that time that the Tribe lacked the capability to store long-term food or water in the case of a catastrophic event.

Starting in the fall of this year, Tulalip citizens will begin to notice 8×20-foot mobile or cargo trailers placed around the reservation. These trailers will be stocked with 72-hour emergency kits with solar radios and long-term shelf food.

To ensure citizen’s dietary needs are considered, Sandy Evans the Tulalip Medical Reserve Corp Coordinator, will work with a dietician to purchase foods that meet dietary standards, such as diabetic approved foods.

“We are also looking to buy about 30, 55-gallon water barrels and water purification methods and blankets,” explained Rochelle Lubbers, Tulalip Tribes Emergency Management Coordinator. “The emergency kits are the largest cost, and we are not putting a large emphasis on buying shelter equipment, because history shows that people want to stay near their home. They find a way to either camp near their home, or find a relative to stay with. If we ever did need extra sheltering the Red Cross would help.”

Lubbers explains the storage trailers being purchased are specifically to be used in case of catastrophic disasters that would impact not only Tulalip, but also the region surrounding Tulalip, and will be used to service the entire Tulalip Reservation, including non-Tulalip members.

“I can’t say there is a distinction at this time in the plan regarding non-tribal members. The trailers will be located in areas populated with tribal housing, so they naturally favor our tribal members. With that said, once something occurs, we are not going to disregard the need of other people in the community, we will all have to come together,” said Lubbers.

“Ideally we want these storage trailers to become a part of the community. We want the community to feel trained and have supplies accessible. The idea is to get the neighborhoods involved in preparedness,” Lubbers explained. “If you can imagine a regional earthquake that affects multiple cities at the same time, we have to realize no one is coming to help for several days. We are truly on our own.”

This realization that Tulalip could become isolated from surrounding cities is what Lubbers hope neighborhoods will consider when making their own preparedness plans, along with the risk that individual neighborhoods within Tulalip could also become isolated during catastrophe.

Tulalip Emergency Management office will begin announcing trailer placement soon, along with conducting outreach for people interested in being trained in preparedness regarding the emergency storage trailers.

For more information about emergency management, or Tulalip Tribe’s emergency management plan, please contact the Tribe’s emergency management office at 360-716-5945.

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

Tulalip Montessori School graduates future class of 2027

TULALIP – The future graduating class of 2027 took center stage on Thursday, June 12, at the Don Hatch Jr. Youth Center’s Greg Williams Court where family and friends of the Tulalip Montessori School’s graduating class of 2014 attended a special graduation to honor the future leaders of Tulalip.

The evening featured a customized photo slideshow and a mini concert performed by the graduates before taking the walk. The Montessori graduating class of 2014 will continue their education journey in kindergarten next year.

Yakama Tribe Celebrates Treaty of 1855 With Annual Pow Wow and Parade

Jackie McNeelGovernor Jay Inslee, and his wife Trudi, (center) with Navajo Code Talker Kee Etsicitty, (far right) and Yakama Tribal Council Chairman JoDe Goudy on June 9, 2014. — Jackie McNeel
Governor Jay Inslee, and his wife Trudi, (center) with Navajo Code Talker Kee Etsicitty, (far right) and Yakama Tribal Council Chairman JoDe Goudy on June 9, 2014.

Jack McNeel, Indian Country Today

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee and his wife, Trudi, took part in the Yakama Treaty Days Parade on June 9, recognizing the Treaty of 1855 between the U.S. and the Yakama Nation. Governor Inslee stopped frequently to shake hands and exchange a few words with onlookers, as he made his way to the podium to join Tribal Council Chairman JoDe Goudy, who rode behind him on horseback in full regalia, and Navajo Code Talker Kee Etsicitty.

The parade included a rodeo, pow wow, golf tournament, softball tournament, salmon bake and some unofficial business — talks between the the governor and tribal leaders were held on the grounds of the Yakama Cultural Center. A group of young dancers, the Swan Dancers, also honored guests with a Welcome Dance.

Chairman Goudy proclaimed June 9 as “Governor Jay Inslee Day”’ for his commitment to the Yakama Nation. Goudy presented Inslee with a copy of the original treaty and the tribe gave, “so he could read it over and over and over again,” Goudy said.

The softball tournament was held a few blocks away and 14 teams participated. Most of the men’s teams were made up of players from different tribes. But team “Tribes,” from the Yakama Nation, took first place, and in second were the Muckleshoot “Warriors.”

On the women’s side, the Silver Bullets, made up of players from various reservations throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho, took first place and the Ice Ice Natives from Elwha finished in second. The winners received sweaters and a $400 payout.

Eighty golfers from 13 tribes gathered at the Mt. Adams Country Club. Golfers had the option of playing in a 4-man scramble tournament, divided between duffer and stroker divisions. They also had the option of singles match play.

The pow wow was held about 20 miles away at White Swan. Dancers gathered from far and near for the two-day event. The indoor pavilion was filled and vendors surrounded the building selling everything from frybread and Indian tacos to jewelry and beadwork. An adjacent building held stick game competitions.

Miss Yakama Nation, Jeanetta Garcia, and Junior Miss Yakama, Abigail Totus, were both presented at the parade and at the pow wow along with young royalty from other tribes.

The Treaty of 1855 involved all 14 bands of the Yakama Nation. Representatives of those bands make up the Tribal Council. The population is now upwards of 10,000 members on the 1.2 million acre reservation.

Embattled Nooksacks win delay in loss of membership

By John Stark, The Bellingham Herald

DEMING – The 306 people facing loss of Nooksack Indian Tribe membership have won a round in tribal court, getting a judge to order the tribal council to stop its latest effort to oust them.

The Thursday, June 12, ruling from Tribal Court Chief Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis stems from a March 2014 Nooksack Court of Appeals ruling. The appeals judge panel had ordered a halt to the process of removing people from tribal enrollment rosters until the tribal council could draw up an ordinance spelling out the procedures for stripping people of tribal membership. Such an ordinance also would require approval from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the appeals court ruled.

But in mid-May the tribal council began sending out new notices to some members of the affected families, scheduling July disenrollment hearings before the tribal council under the terms of a 2005 tribal membership ordinance that received BIA approval in 2006. Gabe Galanda, the Seattle attorney representing the threatened families, went back to court to challenge the legality of that maneuver.

After an earlier hearing, Montoya-Lewis agreed that the tribal council was out of bounds.

“This approach appears to be an attempt to circumvent the very clear holdings of the Court of Appeals,” Montoya-Lewis wrote.

While the judge’s ruling delays the move to strip the 306 of tribal membership, it likely will not stop it. There appears to be no legal obstacle to the process, once the tribal council passes the necessary ordinance and gets federal approval. Nooksack Tribal Council Chairman Bob Kelly, who has pushed for the disenrollment, was recently reelected and has the support of a majority of council members.

The disenrollment controversy began in early 2013 after Kelly and a majority of other council members agreed that members of the Rabang, Rapada and Narte-Gladstone families had been incorrectly enrolled in the 2,000-member tribe in the 1980s, and their enrollments should be revoked.

Since then, members of the affected families have mounted a vigorous legal and public relations effort to retain their Nooksack membership. That membership entitles them to a wide range of benefits, among them fishing rights, health care, access to tribal housing and small cash payments for Christmas and back-to-school expenses.

Those facing the loss of tribal membership have based their membership claim on their descent from Annie George, who died in 1949. Members of those three families have introduced evidence that Annie George was Nooksack, but those who want the three families out have noted that George’s name does not appear on a list of those who got original allotments of tribal land or on a 1942 tribal census, and those two criteria determine legal eligibility for membership.

Research program helps diabetics lower stress levels

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP- Healthy Hearts, Healthy Minds is a research program focusing on Native American cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes patients residing on the Tulalip Reservation, or within 20 miles of the reservation. Their goal is to lower stress levels in patients resulting from CVD and diabetes management.

The program is taught through weekly sessions over a 3-month period, and is individually focused. Participants are required to have a medical diagnosis of CVD, diabetes, or pre-diabetes. Culturally sensitive curriculum features coping skills and self-care techniques based on diagnosis requirements.

“Research found that Natives have this problem with CVD and diabetes. They are at a really high risk for getting these disorders. The idea is to try to find out what it is that is making them more at risk and to find an intervention,” said June LaMarr, program’s community principle investigator.

While the program does not treat diabetes patients as the Tulalip Diabetes Program offered at the Tulalip Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic does, the project coordinator Michelle Tiedeman explains collaboration between the two programs ensures all healthcare concerns are addressed in patients.

“Their program focuses on the diabetes portion, we are addressing those symptoms of stress resulting from diabetes self-care management. The idea is we are hoping to lower those levels in order to increase those diabetes self-care behaviors that are needed to maintain glucose levels,” said Tiedeman.

In each session participants can expect help identifying stress triggers and develop tools to reach goals relating to diabetes care. Participants are requested to complete a base-line assessment, which includes a fasting blood draw, brief physical assessment, and a survey questionnaire, before starting their first session.

There is no cost to participate in the program, but participants are provided a small incentive for participating and can earn up to $190 in gift cards and checks.

“We are looking for people who are experiencing some type of stress in managing those diabetes self-care behaviors. We are trying to help them learn ways to feel less overwhelmed by everything they are asked to do, and help them basically fall into a healthy routine with their diabetes,” said Tiedeman. “We don’t want people to think they can’t participate in both diabetes programs, we want ours to be viewed as an additional service. Because it is a research project, we are hoping that the program is found effective, so we can look to the future and maybe offer something more sustainable in the community.”

Healthy Hearts, Healthy Minds is funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. For more information in participating in the program or the program itself, please contact 360-716-4896 or email healthyhearts@iwri.org.

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

Everett AquaSox Host “Good Karma Monday” for Oso Relief

Source: Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation

Arlington, WA – Fans can name their ticket price and support Oso at the Everett AquaSox’s “Good Karma Monday,” being held on Monday, June 16^th. One hundred percent of all proceeds from ticket sales at the booth will go to support the Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation’s Oso Landslide Relief Fund. Throwing out the first pitch will be Assistant Chief Toby Hyde of the Oso Fire Department. We will also welcome other members of the Oso Fire Department and their families. Game time is 7:05pm.

The Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation is grateful to the Everett AquaSox for their support of the mudslide relief efforts through “Good Karma Monday.” Funds raised through this event will help fund the continuing needs of those affected by the slide through the Foundation, a local 501(c)3 organization.

“We are very excited about Good Karma Mondays as we will be able to partner with a tremendous sponsor in Heritage Bank and at the same time raise much needed funds in our community,” said Brian Sloan, VP of Corporate Partnerships for the Everett AquaSox. We would also like to thank Whidbey Island Bank for their generous sponsorship of “Good Karma Mondays.”

For more information about the Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation, please go to www.cascadevalley.org/foundation. To learn more about the Everett AquaSox, please visit their site at www.aquasox.com.

Gov. Inslee signs ban on tanning beds for those under 18

By Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Teens under the age of 18 will be banned from using tanning beds in Washington state under a measure signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee.

Inslee signed Senate Bill 6065 Thursday, and it goes into effect in mid-June.

Users of tanning equipment would have to show a driver’s license or other form of government-issued identification with a birth date and photograph. Tanning facilities that allow people under age 18 to use a tanning device could be fined up to $250 per violation. The measure allows teenagers to use a tanning bed or related device if they have a doctor’s prescription.

California, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, Vermont and Oregon ban the use of tanning beds for all minors under 18, and at least 33 states and the District of Columbia regulate the use of tanning facilities by minors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Skokomish Tribe Controlling Japanese Oyster Drills on Tidelands

Shellfish technician Josh Hermann loads a cinderblock cell with oyster clusters with oyster drills on them. Click on the photo to see more at NWIFC’s Flickr page.

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

The Skokomish Tribe has strategically placed nearly 100 cinderblocks on the Skokomish tidelands with hopes of attracting an invasive shellfish, the ornate Japanse oyster drill.

“Oyster drills are known to seek out hard vertical structures to gather and lay their egg cases, so by experimentally baiting them with cinder blocks, we’re hoping to lessen their impacts on our oyster seed,” said Chris Eardley, the tribe’s Shellfish Biologist. “We’re going to try and use the biology of these creatures against them.”

The snails release a pheromone to attract others, so Eardley hopes his 72 cinder blocks across eight acres of tidelands will be covered with snails and eggs soon, which will be collected by the staff and removed from the tidelands. The tribe is employing a few methods of drill control and will do an end-of-season survey in late summer to see if the population decreased.

The invasive snail with a pointed two-inch shell latches onto young Pacific oysters, drills a hole through the shell, then eats the meat, killing the oyster.

“They’re detrimental to the oyster population that we’re trying to build and sustain on the tidelands,” Eardley said, “but my chickens will like them.”

Class of 2014: She set a goal — and an example for others

Dan Bates / The HeraldSantana Shopbell, the second-youngest of nine children, is the first in her family to receive a high school diploma. — Dan Bates / The Herald
Santana Shopbell, the second-youngest of nine children, is the first in her family to receive a high school diploma.7

By Julie Muhlstein, Herald Writer

TULALIP — Santana Shopbell has eight siblings, most of them grown. She is the second-youngest child, but she is about to distinguish herself with a big first.

When she graduates from Tulalip Heritage High School on Saturday, Santana will be the first in her immediate family with a high school diploma.

“It was a struggle. I had my doubts,” said Shopbell, 18.

Her focus on a goal — to graduate, and to set an example for more than 20 nieces and nephews — grew until doubt was edged out by accomplishment. “I just kept at it,” she said.

Her toughest course was geometry. Math teacher Jennifer Ham was a great help.

She went all four years to the small school that shares a campus with Marysville’s Arts & Technology High School and 10th Street Middle School. Heritage has fewer than 100 students. “You get one-on-one time with teachers. You learn more about your culture, and other cultures,” she said.

Shopbell lives with her father, Rockey Shopbell, an older sister, a younger brother and an uncle. When she was 11, the family suffered a terrible loss. Her mother, Peggy Jones Shopbell, died.

It was love of family that helped her through. Today, family is everything. “I like hanging out with friends — and my friends are my nieces, nephews and cousins,” she said.

She also loves her community. A member of the Tulalip Tribes, she recently volunteered at a luncheon for tribal elders. She has helped with children through Tulalip Youth Services and has volunteered at the Marysville Community Food Bank.

She expects her next academic step to be Everett Community College but doesn’t plan to enroll until next spring. “I want to take a break,” she said. She hopes to get a job and a car, and do some traveling.

A high school highlight was playing basketball her senior year. Her Heritage team went to the state B basketball tournament in Spokane. She had never played before.

She also played volleyball in high school, was a student-body ambassador and president of the science club.

Someday, she hopes to work in tribal government. A role model is Deborah Parker, a member of the Tulalip Tribes board of directors.

“She is an inspiration,” Shopbell said. “I want to come back and work for my people.”

First, she’ll celebrate. “We’re having a big graduation party with lots of family. They are really proud,” she said.

Why Some In The Northwest Want More Of These Jawless, Eel-Like Creatures

A Pacific Lamprey affixed to an aquarium, before being released at Ahtanum Creek last May 24.Tim Hill Washington Department of Ecology — A Pacific Lamprey affixed to an aquarium, before being released at Ahtanum Creek last May 24.
Tim Hill Washington Department of Ecology

By Rae Ellen Bichell, KPLU

Jawless and eel-like with concentric rings of teeth, the Pacific lamprey’s unsavory looks may be one reason why populations have declined. Now, some people are taking charge of restoring the fish.

While it’s an important source of food for juvenile salmon and contribute to rivers the way earthworms do to soil, the Pacific lamprey is not exactly a charismatic animal.

“When I first saw these fish, I thought, ‘My gosh, it looks like that Sarlacc mouth in Return of the Jedi.’ It just looks like something that’s going to swallow you up,” said Sean Connolly, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Portland, and collaborator on a 1o-year project to restore the fish. (In case you were wondering, a Sarlacc mouth is a gaping abyss of tentacles and teeth.)

“On the flip side of it, it has these incredible blue eyes. It has this look of something remarkable you’ve never see. And when you study these organisms and see them, they actually look quite vulnerable,” Connolly said.

They are vulnerable. In the past few decades, regional populations plummeted, hitting an all-time low in 2010. In the ’60s, people decided the lamprey was an eel-like river vermin worthy of extermination.

“Back in the ’60s and ’70s, people dropped rotenone in the rivers and streams to try to kill all the trash fish. Because that’s what they’re considered: trash fish,” said Patrick Luke, a biologist with the Yakama Nation Fisheries. “But at the same time, they tried to increase the production of trout, salmon, sturgeon, those types of species.”

As big hydropower project began to come online in the northwest, dams were problematic, too.

“When folks were building those facilities and thinking about passage for salmon and steelhead, they weren’t really thinking about a fish like a lamprey, which can’t jump,” Connolly said. “And so what we’ve seen is some pretty substantial declines, over time and definitely historically.”

Those declines were sharp enough to earn the lamprey the nickname “the lost fish.” Emily Washines, who works with the Yakama Nation Fisheries, says she remembers when they they started disappearing from the dinner table.

“It would be the equivalent, I guess, of going to a Mariners game and not having hot dogs anymore,” Washines said of the lamprey’s absence. “It was so much a part of our ceremonies, so much intertwined in our lives that to have the numbers sharply decrease, just within my generation, is so noticeable.”

The Pacific lamprey’s invasive cousin, the Sea lamprey, hasn’t helped. It has marauded Great Lakes waters for a while now. But here in the Pacific Northwest, where the fish is native, the larvae feed juvenile salmon and steelhead, rather than feeding on them. That’s one reason why tribes and government agencies have funded the Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan, which involved releasing buckets of them into Yakama streams. It’s funded by government grants and through the 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords with Bonneville Power Administration.

“Just think what the earthworms do on land,” said Patrick Luke. “These lamprey larvae do the same thing in the substrates of rivers and streams: they aerate, they fix nutrients for microbes and organisms that feed salmon and other aquatic organisms.”

His goal is to get the fish populations back up, though maybe not to the level that earned them the nickname “Columbia River hot dog.”