Tribes partner to survey forestlands with LIDAR

An aerial photo (above) is compared with the LIDAR model.

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

The Stillaguamish and Tulalip tribes have partnered with the state Department of Natural Resources and three private timber companies to map forestlands in the Stillaguamish and Skykomish basins.

LIDAR, which stands for Light Distance and Ranging, uses an airborne laser to survey topography.

“The laser pulses from the plane are reflected back to record billions of points of light that measure elevation,” said Derek Marks, Timber/Fish/Wildlife biologist for Tulalip.

Elevation data was collected on working forestlands and a large area of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The result is a high-resolution model that enables natural resources managers to identify resources and potential risks, such as landslides.

“We can save many hours with high-resolution models,” Marks said. “We don’t have to walk the hillside; a forester would have to traverse the area to know where the streams are.”

The new LIDAR surveys covered an area that previously had not been mapped, where the forest canopy covers streams. The models will guide environmental permit reviews for logging and road proposals.

“We’re also reflying the entire North Fork Stillaguamish corridor to compare the data with LIDAR from 2003, to see what’s changed in a 10-year period,” said Scott Rockwell, Timber/Fish/Wildlife biologist for Stillaguamish. Those surveys will cover tribal restoration projects on the North Fork.

“It streamlines management and risk assessment for private industry and state lands,” Rockwell said. “It allows tribes to prioritize and scope restoration projects where we can see obvious habitat potential.”

The surveys were coordinated by the Puget Sound LIDAR Consortium, an informal group of federal and local agencies that acts as a clearinghouse for the high-resolution topographic models, making the data available to the public.

Quinault Denounces State Fish and Wildlife Commission Process

Water 4fish

TAHOLAH, WA (2/18/14)— “I am extremely disappointed that the State Fish and Wildlife Commission has chosen to unilaterally develop a management policy for Grays Harbor salmon,” said Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation. Her comment referred to a recent news release in which the Commission announced its February 8 approval of a new salmon-management policy to conserve wild salmon runs and clarify catch guidelines for sport and commercial fisheries in the bay.

“As co-managers, the Quinault Nation and State should be working collaboratively and cooperatively to conserve Grays Harbor salmon. Yet the Commission didn’t even bother to meet with us. The Commission’s plan is a stark reminder of the decades-long battles in the federal courts which found that the so-called ‘conservation’ actions of the State of Washington were in fact ‘wise use’ decisions that unlawfully discriminated against treaty fishing. It is inconceivable that today, some 40 years after the decision of Judge Boldt in US v Washington, the Commission would still choose to ignore tribal rights and interests,” said Sharp.

“Quinault Nation has consistently demonstrated leadership in habitat restoration, enhancement and all aspects of good stewardship. The State’s pursuit of fish-killing dams in the Chehalis River and the Commission’s actions reflect continuation of a disturbing pattern. Rather than confronting the major threat to natural fish production in the Grays Harbor Basin, destruction and degradation of habitats, the Commission has chosen to focus on harvest by a small segment of the fishing community. The State also continues to ignore the orders of federal courts. Proper management of Grays Harbor fishery resources requires a comprehensive and cohesive approach developed through collaborative processes at state/tribal, regional and even international levels. By acting on its own, the Commission violated the principles of cooperation and trust and even such agreements as the Centennial Accord. While the Commission’s policy can’t apply to our fisheries, implementation of the Commission’s policy could well set the stage for future conflict and confrontation,” said President Sharp.

Talking Stick 2014: Drama, Dance, and the Electric Powwow in Vancouver

source: fullcircle.caA performer on stage at the 2013 Talking Stick Festival in Vancouver, Britich Columbia. The 2014 edition of the fest is now underway. — source: fullcircle.ca
A performer on stage at the 2013 Talking Stick Festival in Vancouver, Britich Columbia. The 2014 edition of the fest is now underway.

Alex Jacobs, 2/19/14, ICTMN

Talking Stick, the annual Native arts takeover of Vancouver, BC, is here. For the record, we’ll call it by its full name:

“FULL CIRCLE, First Nations Performance Company, presents the 21^st Annual TALKING STICK FESTIVAL.”

That is indeed a mouthful, but you will always need many words, emotions and hand signs to describe what happens every February into March in Vancouver BC, when these First Nations artists and performers stage their events. These are the descriptions but its best to see and hear the actors, poets, musicians and dancers put all their energy, work, love and passion into these performances.

Yesterday, February 18, the festival opened up at The Roundhouse with music, dance, stories, food and drink at Wax hoks Shqalawin (Open Your Hearts). And with that, we were off and running. Here’s a rundown of the happenings you should investigate if you’re in Vancouver from now through March 2:

From Talking Stick to Microphone, Feb 21 at Café Deux Soleils, led by “East Van ghetto poet” Zaccheus Jackson (who has twice represented Vancouver and Western Canada at the Individual World Poetry Slam), this is a selection of this country’s best independent musicians and slam poets going head to head.

A Tribe Called Red

W2 Media, Live Nation & Talking Stick Festival present Salish Coast Live with A Tribe Called Red. ATCR will be performing at Salish Coast LIVE, Feb. 22, with Ostwelve, Mat the Alien, Lido Pimienta, Self Evident, VJs Kinotropy + Heidrogen, and Tsleil-Waututh artists. Buy tickets early as this show will sell out in advance. First Films, New Voices, 3 nights of films and talkback, from the Indigenous Independent Digital Film-making Program at Capilano University, Feb 19, 20, 21. Festival Opening Pow Wow at the Roundhouse, Feb.23.

The following productions have several shows throughout the Festival:

Raven Meets the Monkey King. JJ is an inquisitive 11 year old who dreams of becoming a rich and famous treasure hunter. She buys a mysterious box from a garage sale and inside finds an authentic Raven Mask wrapped in an original Chinese Opera poster depicting the Monkey King. In removing them she inadvertently sets free the spirits of the Raven and the Monkey King, who were trapped in the box for ninety years. These two tricksters share their stories and life lessons with JJ. An exuberant tale of how our lives are transformed by the people we meet, the choices we make and the stories we tell.

In Spirit (formerly Quilchena). In 1978 Monica Jack will be thirteen years old soon and her dad proudly presents her with a new bike. Sharing in his excitement, Monica rides the bike to show her friend who lives only a few houses up the road. Failing to return for dinner, a makeshift search party finds only her bike, tossed into some bushes at the side of highway 5A. For eighteen years, her family and friends imagine Monica into adulthood. This is a haunting journey inside the missing Monica’s experience. This is a story of the tragedy of a peoples systemically abused by an uncaring government, it is also the story of a community who banded together to ensure their missing child is never forgotten. This is a tour de force performance by Sera-Lys McArthur. Director/playwright Tara Beagan and Designer Moro were named in NOW Magazine’s Top Ten Theatre Artists for their work on Quilchena.

For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again

For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Michel Tremblay’s hilarious and heartrending tribute to his mother; Kevin Loring is the narrator, regaling us with tales about his feisty mother – a born storyteller with a love of exaggeration and invention. Margo Kane, as Nana, exasperates the son she so fiercely loves – yet proves an inspiration for his art. One of the hits of Western Canada Theatre’s 2011-12 Season, critically praised, the piece was invited by the prestigious Magnetic North Theatre Festival to perform in Ottawa in June 2013.

The Hours That Remain , a Gwaandak Theatre production in association with New Harlem Productions. This play explores the story of a woman haunted by the disappearance of her sister. Denise desperately seeks to find answers to Michelle’s disappearance and is visited by her missing sister in a series of visions. In confronting the pervasive reality of missing women in Canada, we are also faced with the legacy of loss endured by families, friends and community.

Convergence

Convergence, on February 26 and 27 at The Roundhouse. Convergence occurs where two strong ocean currents meet, merge, and transform. Propelled by opposing forces, their movement and strength increases as they intersect and coalesce. Two main currents of contemporary aboriginal dance, one more deeply rooted in ancient dance practices and the other more firmly grounded in contemporary dance, are once again reaching a crucial moment of convergence. The momentum of this transformation pushes past boundaries and categorization. It necessitates a deeper understanding of the diversity of contemporary Aboriginal dance. Two evenings examine two main currents of contemporary Aboriginal dance, one more deeply rooted in ancient dance practices share the stage with others more firmly grounded in contemporary dance.

Spirit of Transforming, a new work by Dancers of Damelahamid’s. Opening performance by the Eastern Sky Ambassadors. Spirit of Transforming is the signature new dance work by the Dancers of Damelahamid. It combines the richness and beauty of the tradition of masked dances of the Gitxsan and also explores presenting this genre in a minimalistic way- the very essence of this dance form.

Skins, is a new improvisation based dance work by Rosy Simas (Seneca) which investigates what we hold in our skin. Performed by Rosy Simas and Taja Will from Minneapolis. Over the past 20 years, Simas has created more than 40 original works. In 2013 she was awarded a Native Arts and Culture Foundation Dance Fellowship, and a NEFA National Dance Project award for her new work “We Wait in the Darkness.”

Going To Water: Dancer/Choreographer Maura Garcia (Cherokee/Mattamuskeet) collaborates with others to create genre-spanning art. Themes of social justice, Indigenous identity and the rhythms of the natural world run throughout her creations. Maura will present the solo performance “Going to Water”, which represents the traditional Cherokee ceremony of going to water. It speaks to the rebellious nature of water and of Indigenous people, continuing to make a way despite all obstructions.

NeoIndigenA: Set in a future Indigena with an unbroken continuum of Indigenous knowledge, NeoIndigenA is a ritual journey between Skyworld, Earthworld and Underworld. Santee Smith’s solo performance boldly moves us through sacred pathways of human connection, accompanied by musical collaborators Jesse Zubot, Cris Derksen and Michael Red and featuring elemental voices of Inuit singers Tanya Tagaq and Nelson Tagoona.

Ch’odza (she is dancing)

CH’ODZA (She is Dancing): Raven Spirit Dance, 10 years celebration, Feb 28, The Roundhouse.

“It seems to be, the farther we reach out, the deeper we understand home.” – Michelle Olson

Northern Journey, Choreographer: Michelle Olson, is a contemporary dance performance inspired by the land we carry inside of us. This internal landscape carves out the pathways that lead to our animal instinct and lead us to images that hold our human experience. Inspired by the Porcupine caribou herd and a First Nations traditional story about the caribou, this piece inhabits a place of ice, water, loneliness and transformation.

Spine of the Mother, Choreographer: Starr Muranko, is a collaborative project between contemporary artists in Canada and Peru exploring the relationship between the geography of the Andes Mountain range and traditional and contemporary dance movement in the Americas. “Spine of Mother Earth” is a name given by Indigenous Elders in South America to the Mountain ranges that span from the base in Argentina, through the Americas and end at the tip of Alaska. This column or axis connects the people of the North and the South who have traveled and communicated along this mountain range for thousands of years.

Screening of short-film “A Common Experience”, Based on the play by Yvette Nolan, “Dear Mr. Buchwald”. In 2008 the Government of Canada formally apologized for the treatment of Aboriginal people in the Indian Residential School system. In moving towards healing and reconciliation the government established the “Common Experience Payment”, a program that pays former students for their suffering. It is the story of one applicant, Helen Thundercloud, as told through the eyes of her daughter, Yvette Nolan.

Staged reading from “Red Mother”, Conceived, written and performed by Muriel Miguel of Spiderwoman Theatre – NYC.

Crystal Shawanda

Northern Lights, on Feb 28^th at Djavad Mowafaghian World Arts Centre, 149 West Hastings Street , Vancouver. An evening celebrating Northern writers and artists with keynote from Keavy Martin (University of Alberta): readings from Sanaaq, the first novel written in Inuktitut and recently translated into English; and a screening of the short film Amaqqut Nunaat: Country of Wolves. The evening is capped with the delightful antics of Raven’s Radio Hour out of Alaska – a spoof of 40’s style radio shows, which blends traditional Alaska Native stories with song, dance and comedy, written and performed by Ed Bourgeois and Jack Dalton.

The Festival ends with a Crystal Shawanda Concert with Wayne LaVallee opening, March 1 at The Cultch.

You should probably start with on-line auctions and benefits, where you can purchase hotel accommodations, fine dining meals, ski packages, fine art prints, tix to the International Women’s Film Festival, Ballet, Orchestra and there’s always the big Whistler BC Resort vacation package up for grabs. During the Festival, there’s also art exhibits, Pow Wow, short films, panel discussions by First Nations professionals, story-telling, and as always the wrap party to celebrate another year. Go to FullCircle.ca for details and tickets, if you search Talking Stick Festival you will end up there also.

NW Native Art Show Seeking Vendor Applications from Qualified Artists

– Join Top Native Artists from the Northwest and Beyond in Portland, Oregon –

The NW Native Art Show is now accepting vendor applications from qualified artists through the end of February. The NW Native Art Show will take place July 19^th & 20^th, 2014, in beautiful downtown Portland, Oregon, at Director Park. This event will feature top artists from the Northwest and beyond in addition to drum groups and traditional Native dancing.

Applications can be downloaded at www.NWNativeArtShow.com and there is a $25 application fee. Applications will be reviewed and approved as they are received. Booth fees are $225 for single artists or collaborative artists and include 5’x10’ tented space, one table and two chairs. Artists are invited to enjoy an Artist Hospitality Tent as well as an Artist Reception on Friday night preceding the event. Artists are also invited to submit their work in a juried competition with cash prizes for Best in Show ($1,000) and Best in Category ($500). Categories to be judged are: Basketry, Jewelry, Wood Carving and Sculptures.

ART SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

All art must be the artist’s original work. The Northwest Native Art Show does not allow imported, manufactured or mass produced items. Artists must comply with current state, national and international laws and regulations with regard to the use of endangered species materials in their works. Use of such materials should be disclosed, in writing, to the consumer.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Artists can learn more at www.NWativeArtShow.com, click on “Artists’ Corner.” Interested artists may also call 503.752.2412 or email NWNAtiveArtShow@Moran-Consulting.com.

The NW Native Art Show is presented by Moran Consulting, a Native American-owned small business. A portion of the proceeds raised from the NW Native Art Show will benefit the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA).

Crude Oil Terminal Planned In NW Portland

A Google Earth image of the Paramount Petroleum asphalt plant, recently sold to a an investment firm and leased to Arc Logistics Partners LP for use as a crude oil terminal. credit: Google Earth

By Tony Schick, Earth Fix

PORTLAND — A national fuel storage company has plans to turn an asphalt plant near the Willamette River into a rail and marine terminal for crude oil.

The former Paramount Petroleum plant in Northwest Portland has become part of Arc Logistics Partners LP, which operates four crude oil plants in Alabama and methanol, ethanol and other fuel plants throughout the East Coast and Midwestern United States. Arc Logistics entered into a lease in January with CorEnergy, an infrastructure investment company that purchased the plant for $40 million, according to the company’s financial reports.

The Arc Logistics website lists the Portland site among its terminals and describes it as “capable of receiving, storing, and delivering heavy and light petroleum products,” by both rail lines and marine vessels.

The project is the latest of several potential crude oil terminals in the Pacific Northwest, a region receiving unprecedented amounts of oil by rail shipments because of a surge North American oil production. Currently, Port Westward on the Columbia River near Clatskanie is the only crude oil terminal in Oregon. In Washington, terminals have been proposed in Grays Harbor, Vancouver and Tacoma, and expansions to accommodate more Bakken crude shipments have been proposed at refineries in Anacortes and near Bellingham.

Arc Logistics, funded by the investment group Lightfoot Capital, became a public company in November. It describes itself as “principally engaged in the terminalling, storage, throughput and transloading of crude oil and petroleum products,” listing production of both U.S. and Canadian crude as factors affecting its business.

The Portland site spans 39 acres and has 84 tanks for a total capacity of 46 million gallons — nearly six times that of Port Westward. At one time, the plant also had a refining operation of nearly 380,000 gallons. That portion of the plant ceased operation in 2006.

Arc Logistics did not return calls for comment. In a release on the company’s website, CEO Vince Cubbage called the portland terminal an important addition to the company’s asset base, supported by a long-term contract with a major oil company: “We expect the Portland Terminal to provide the opportunity for significant incremental growth as additional customers or terminal capabilities are developed,” he said.

The shipment of crude oil through the Northwest has raised concerns over safety and environmental health from environmental groups, state agencies and emergency responders. A dramatic increase in the shipment of oil by rail has included a string of fiery derailments, and federal data show more oil spilled from rail lines in 2013 than in the previous 40 years combined.

“It’s a big threat to our communities and to water quality,” Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of the Columbia Riverkeeper, said. “We’ve seen that these trains carrying Bakken crude have regularly been exploding. A federal safety board said that this Bakken crude should route around urban areas and the thought of putting one in the heart of Portland is a big problem.”

Another environmental consideration raised in the company’s financial report is the Portland Harbor, designated as an Environmental Protection Agency superfund site in 2002 to cleanup uncontrolled hazardous waste. The boundaries of the superfund site are not yet finalized, but if they were to include the facility, its new owner would become a responsible party.

Matt McClincy, the state’s project manager for the Portland Harbor cleanup, said the EPA occasionally includes upland facilities that do not sit directly on the river, but that state evaluations haven’t indicated it will be included.

“The hope would be that short of unforeseen accidents they wouldn’t be a concern for the river,” McClincy said.

Arc Terminals, the operating subsidiary of Arc Logistics, runs 17 facilities throughout the country. Federal data show one third of those facilities have been found out of compliance with EPA regulations in the past three years, ranging from minor violations to a $101,500 fine in Alabama in 2012. Arc Terminals facilities have been involved in only a handful of small spills, none larger than 200 gallons, according to National Response Center reports.

Scott Smith, spill contingency planner for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, said the agency typically doesn’t judge a facility based on its company’s performance in other states. The individual plant’s past performance, even under a different owner, is much more telling.

The facility opened in 1947, and since then “numerous releases have occurred, resulting in localized impacts to soil and groundwater at the site by petroleum hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (“ VOCs ”), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (“ PAHs ”), and metals,” according to the Arc Logistics report. One of the plant’s largest spills was in 2011, when corrosion caused a spill of nearly 16,000 gallons of Naphtha, a liquid hydrocarbon that petroleum plants use as a solvent and diluent. Paramount Petroleum, which has owned the facility since 2005, had it in limited operation at the time of the purchase, according to DEQ.

“‘It looks like a fixer-upper to me,” Smith said of the plant. “A lot of those terminals are very old, and this is one of them. I’ll be looking forward to any infrastructure investment that Arc makes in it.”

The lease agreement between Arc Logistics and CorEnergy includes $10 million worth of additional investments to clean, inspect and upgrade the facility’s storage and to enhance the terminal’s infrastructure.

Marysville project could help traffic avoid train waits

By Chris Winters, The Herald

MARYSVILLE — A long-term project that will ultimately alleviate some of Marysville’s downtown traffic backups will take a step forward this month.

Traffic flow downtown is hampered by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line that cuts through the heart of the city. All the local streets downtown cross it at grade, leading to major backups whenever a freight train rolls through town.

Key to untangling that mess is where I-5 and Highway 529 meet just south of downtown. The idea is to rebuild the interchange, making it possible for northbound traffic on I-5 to enter town on Highway 529, bypassing the railroad tracks.

The current on- and offramps in the interchange only serve traffic going across Steamboat Slough and the Snohomish River to and from north Everett. The Fourth Street exit off I-5 drops traffic just west of the tracks, and a long train can keep traffic backed up all the way onto the freeway.

The city has budgeted $1.5 million this year for an initial design and planning proposal for the interchange project, Chief Administrative Officer Gloria Hirashima said.

That money, plus another $500,000 provided by Snohomish County, will fund the initial design work.

Mayor Jon Nehring highlighted the project in his State of the City speech last week, pointing out that the city would be able to take that preliminary plan to the state or federal government to get money to build the full interchange.

While it is still too early to put a price tag on the project, similar types of interchange expansion projects run in the $35 million to $40 million range, Hirashima said.

The City Council is expected to award a contract for the work to Bellevue-based engineering firm HDR Inc., probably this month, Hirashima said.

Over the longer term, the city also plans to investigate two other interchanges on I-5 for possible changes.

The main downtown interchange to Fourth Street needs improving, Hirashima said, and traffic backups there are also a contributor to downtown congestion.

The second location is where 156th St. NE crosses over I-5 near the north end of the city. The city’s Smokey Point Master Plan would transform 675 acres of agricultural land east of the overpass into a commercial and light industrial manufacturing center that could provide 10,000 new jobs to the region.

Transforming the overpass into a full interchange would improve access to the area and reduce the amount of traffic on 172nd Street NE that development is expected to bring.

“We’re very dependent on I-5 to move people back and forth, so we’re interested in working with the state to talk about improving interchanges,” Hirashima said.

Everyone’s Problem: Secretary of the Interior holds discussion on the impacts of climate change on the Pacific Northwest

Secertary_Jewell1 — Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell (left) and UW Dean of the College of the Environment Dr. Lisa Graumlich (right) hold a round table discussion at the University of Washington in Seattle with researchers and other program managers to discuss the impacts of Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest. *Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News*

By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News

Seattle – The United States Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, along with Dean of College of the Environment at University of Washington Dr. Lisa Graumlich, convened a meeting at the University of Washington (UW) in order to discuss climate change, the data we have already seen in the Pacific Northwest, and what the regional impacts are. Representatives from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), UW faculty, the National Parks Service, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the North Cascades National Parks Complex, the Olympic National Park, and other organizations attended the February 4^th meeting. Impacts on ecology, landscape, development and public planning were discussed, though for Native American Tribes, the implications are much more complex as they affect cultural identities. Although tribes’ interests are more deeply vested, collaboration was highlighted throughout the meeting as key to successfully combating climate change.

Dr. Gustavo Bisbal, Director of the USGS Northwest Climate Science Center, said, “{Tribes} have their finger on the pulse of the land. These communities don’t just worry about ‘oh well we can’t go snowboarding,’ or ‘I cannot go and water my carrots.’ There is a spiritual significance to the resources that they don’t see anymore. There is a danger of cultural erosion with things going away. ‘I can’t do this anymore. I cannot be…I cannot realize my tribal identity.’ That is huge, to understand the significance of how those resources are changing, and are really transforming cultures.”

For many years tribes, especially in Washington State, have led the charge in protecting natural resources. Stemming from the 1974 Boldt Decision, which protected tribal interests and rights to natural resources, tribal sovereignty was realized through the recognition of their authority to co-manage resources with state and federal entities. Today, although tribes remain at the forefront with their survival deeply vested in the preservation of natural resources, it is apparent that everyone has an interest in combating issues that come with climate change.

“I think one big lesson that nature, of course, taught us over time is there’s really no geographic or institution boundaries. When you look at the State of Washington, Department of Natural Resources owns the land, forest land, park land, tribal land, and they’re all impacted,” said Hedia Adelsman, policy analyst for the Department of Ecology and appointed proxy for the governor for the meeting. “Ultimately, how do we then work together to not have this fragmentation.”

These entities historically have worked individually, even in natural resource preservation efforts. DNR, for example, is currently developing a climate change adaptation plan, though it only affects DNR land. The boundaries on the land do nothing to contain environmental impacts. On Mount Rainier

Other entities get wrapped up in whether or not it is their responsibility to preserve natural resources or prepare for climate change.

“A climate catastrophe is not the time to have an identity crisis. From a National Parks Service perspective, I think there are still those many, many people within our population who think of national parks as zoos. Some of us realize the importance of national parks for the baseline information that they can provide regarding climate change. From a policy and legislative perspective, they look at specific species in parks, which a zoo-like mentality, as opposed to looking long range and thinking; well what if Roosevelt Elk actually move out of the park habitat, or what if they’re not doing so well. To what extreme would we go to maintain a population of Roosevelt Elk at the expense of keeping baseline data to inform climate change decisions,” said Sarah Creachbaum, Superintendent for the Olympic National Park.

Creachbaum demonstrated two roadblocks that need to change, one being the perspectives at the decision making level, and the second being the challenges in identity and questions of responsibility. The National Parks Service essentially is at the frontline, observing environmental changes on a daily basis. The potential data they stand to provide, in addition to what they do now, is overlooked because of these roadblocks. Creachbaum said they want to come to the table and be part of the team, but their significance has yet to be realized. That lack of vision in addition to oversight at the policy level creates a gap, consequentially hindering natural resource preservation.

Adelsman said, “We are just at the beginning of starting to look at it as a system. The part that I struggle the most with is we are recipient of the science, and we say we need to consider that in our planning policies, but what does that really mean?”

Climate change affects regions and regional systems beyond the natural environment, including the economy, public health, and population. For tribes, the effects will change tribal identity and culture if there are no longer traditional natural resources to have access to. At the end of the day, it is more than a tribal issue, more than a local or regional issue. In the Pacific Northwest, even speaking locally, climate change is an international challenge, as we share waters and mountains. Climate change impacts everyone and it will take a consorted, multi-national effort to plan for and prevent changes in the Pacific Northwest.

Andrew Gobin: 360-716-4188; agobin@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Columbia River Native Fish Shop Opens This Weekend

By Anna King, NW News Network

In the Northwest, Native Americans have caught and traded fish along the banks of the Columbia River for eons. Nowadays, natives sell just-caught fish out of coolers roadside.

This weekend, one native entrepreneur is opening her own brick-and-mortar fish shop in Cascade Locks, Ore,. called the Brigham Fish Market.

Kim Brigham Campbell is a petite woman with sleek black hair, razored just below her chin. And a laid-back, warm persona.

We walk past the clean, bright front counter to the room behind.

“In the back here we have our ice machine and our 20 by 20 freezer cooler,” she says.

“We’re getting a good variety [of fish]. There is our smoked fish, there are bellies and stuff for bait for sturgeon, there is sturgeon, we have some clam chowder that we are going to have on opening day, and more varieties of salmon.”

Bins of filets are all packaged up tight in glossy vacuum packs ready for sale.

From Brigham Campbell’s store you can see the Columbia River where these fish are plucked fresh from the chilly water. In this cooler is a precious half-year of hard work.

Brigham Campbell’s Native American family is well-known on the lower Columbia River. She’s a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation. Her father fishes, her uncles, her cousins, her sister, her children.

Brigham Campbell says her family name is tied to this store, and that means she’s had a few sleepless nights lately.

“I’ve been really comfortable building the building,” she says. “And now that it’s time to open the building, I hope that it’s everything that I want it to be and everything that people are expecting of me.”

To build the store, Brigham Campbell and her husband took out loans, cashed in a 401(k), struck a land deal with the nearby port and even borrowed money from her parents.

Brigham Campbell herself is a mother of two teenagers, an independent hairdresser and has managed to guide the construction of this new shop.

I ask her who she is most excited to see come through your the front doors.

“My parents, of course,” she says. “I’ll probably cry [when they walk through.] It will be a good thing.”

And getting to this opening hasn’t always been easy. There’s been some talk that she’s taking away from tradition, or changing things too much.

Still, she says many in her tribal community have been supportive.

“In the spring time, April or May I’m going to have a blessing,” says Brigham Campbell. “I’m going to have some drummers and singers come down and do a bigger grand opening. This is just my soft opening. I just need to open my doors. In the springtime I want to honor everyone that’s helped me and the blessing from the tribe.”

Blessing ceremonies for fishing families along the Columbia River isn’t new. For centuries Brigham Campbell’s ancestors prospered from the Northwest’s rivers and land.

With this bright new store, Brigham Campbell says she’s reasserting her belief in the Columbia River. That the wide waters will provide for her family’s future, as it has in the past.

The Brigham Fish Market opens in Cascade Locks, Oregon, at noon on Saturday, February 8.

Special Opportunity to meet the Photographer Matika Wilbur, Feb 16

Matika Wilbur’s Project 562

Kickstarter Finale Celebration
Sunday, February 16, 2 pm
Tacoma Art Museum

Source: Tacoma Art Museum
Matika Wilbur, Seattle artist and member of the Swinomish and Tulalip Tribes, has taken on the prodigious task of photographing every federally-recognized tribe in the United States and to unveil the true essence of contemporary Native issues. The artistic and spiritual journey called Project 562 has already taken Wilbur on a 1,000-mile adventure across the country.

Join us for an unique opportunity to meet Matika Wilbur as she wraps up the final days of Project 562‘s Kickstarter campaign. Hear stories from the road, learn where she’s headed next, and support this historic undertaking.
Learn more and support the journey on Project 562’s Kickstarter page.

Photographic Proof of Contemporary Indians: Matika Wilbur’s Project 562 opens May 17, 2014 at Tacoma Art Museum.

Gardening season at Hibulb opens with goal to donate to local food banks

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP – Dust off your shovels, favorite gardening gloves and garb because it is time for some greenhouse gardening.

A working partnership between the Tulalip Tribes and the Washington State University Snohomish County Master Gardeners Foundation is making available a series of classes for interested gardeners of all levels. Classes will be held at the Tulalip Hilbulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve.

In addition to classes, the crops grown this year will be used to aid local food banks, such as the Tulalip Food Bank, and other Snohomish County master gardener food bank gardens.

Gardening will be done in the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve’s demonstration garden, ‘Gardening Together as Families’. Classes will begin with a two-part series on seedling, followed with a two-part series on transplanting.

Through a hands-on approach, participants will work together to learn the “how-to’s” of greenhouse gardening and grow organic vegetables and herbs that will focus on traditional native food and medicine plants. Participants will also learn the benefits of healthy living through gardening, and how to reduce the impact of invasive species.

Classes are open to the public and there is no fee to attend.

Greenhouse Gardening kicks off February 12, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Seedling class will be held Sunday, February 23, 1 -3 p.m. and again on Wednesday, February 26, 1-3 p.m. Transplanting class will be held Sunday, March 16, 1-3 p.m. and again on Wednesday, March 19, 1-3 p.m.

The WSU Extension Master Gardener Program train volunteers to be effective community educators in gardening and environmental stewardship. They also enhance communities through demonstration gardens and donation of produce to local food banks.

For more information about the classes or the ‘Gardening Together as Families’ program at the Hibulb Cultural Center, please contact Veronica Leahy at 360-716-5642 or vleahy@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov.

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Matika Wilbur’s Project 562

Kickstarter Finale Celebration Sunday, February 16, 2 pm Tacoma Art Museum

Kickstarter Finale Celebration
Sunday, February 16, 2 pm
Tacoma Art Museum