Category: News

Screenagers sheds light on the impact of youth’s increased screen time

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

Raising youth in our technologically advanced society is a challenge for most caregivers technologywho struggle to understand the effects and how to set limits on their children’s screen time. Today’s youth are the first to be raised in the age of the smartphone, and its influence can be felt everywhere.

Smartphones, video games, and digital media have created new headaches for many families. Concepts like sexting, online bullying, video game addiction, and obsessive social media attachment have become common practice among today’s youth. Behaviors as these can often lead to disruptions in school and sleep, anti-social behavior, and depression. For parents and caregivers, the question of how to even begin addressing these concepts with their children seems like a daunting task.

In this context, Tulalip Youth Services invited youth and their parents to participate in a discussion of the topic and view the award-winning film, Screenagers: Growing Up in The Digital Age, on the evening of September 19. Screenagers is the first feature documentary to explore the impact of screen technology on kids and to offer parents proven solutions that work.

“Parents should always take the time to talk to their kids about the risks of technology, especially social media and using technology appropriately,” stated Teri Nelson, Youth Services Executive Director. “There are some great uses in the digital age that provide opportunities to learn and be creative, but with everything there needs to be moderation. I feel big concerns for our youth are online safety, privacy and reputation management with social media. One bad decision to post something inappropriate can have long-lasting, damaging effects.”

During the film’s screening there were 32 youth in attendance, plus several caregivers and Youth Services staff members.

Screenagers provided an in-depth, personal look at how families are coping with kids and screen time, the plot explored how being connected to devices is affecting relationships and even child development. Directed by Dalaney Ruston, a Seattle filmmaker and physician, the movie profiles her own family’s struggles with smart phones, social media, and video games. The film includes interviews with parents, teenagers, authors, psychologists and neuroscientists providing ideas on how we can empower ourselves to best navigate this digital world we live in.

Throughout the film, children and their parents are shown dealing with often serious consequences related to excessive screen time, or screen time without boundaries. Revealing stories that depict messy struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction are shared.

A boy who lives with his grandmother becomes a “different child” when told he has to get off his video games. The grandmother seeks help for dealing with the confrontations.

Another boy, Andrew, is so consumed with playing video games into the wee hours during his freshman year of college that he stops going to classes and leaves school. He enters a rehabilitation facility to treat his addiction.

A girl with a love of photography spends most of her time in her room posing and taking pictures of herself to nurture a social identity aimed at getting “likes.”

Another girl, Hannah, shares a picture of herself in her bra with a boy she likes. When he shares the picture, the girl deals with the fallout at school and being bullied.

It’s not just the kids scrolling Facebook or Instagram or blasting away on the PlayStation that demand the attention of the filmmakers. Adults connected to work and their own social outlets through devices are called out by the very kids who they are attempting to digitally police.

“Can we really tell our kids, ‘Do as we say and not as we do’?” the film asks.

Interwoven into these stories, are cutting edge science and insights from thought leaders who present evidence on the real changes happening in the brain. For example, we are led to believe that through technology we can multitask. However, the truth is our brains aren’t built to multitask. We’re meant to focus on one thing at a time. Switching what’s on our screen from Facebook to Instagram to Twitter and inevitably back to Facebook , that back-and-forth raises levels of the hormone cortisol in our brains. Cortisol is the hormone produced when we are stressed. On top of that, every time you refresh any of your social media feeds, the brief burst of news or images gives you a quick dopamine hit, which activates the brain’s pleasure centers and leaves you wanting more. It’s a destructive cycle that can lead to addiction and an inability to stay unplugged and offline.

While our digital lifestyle is certainly not going anywhere, it’s critical to find a healthy balance between screen time and real-world interactions. In most cases, this means putting realistic restrictions on screen time for children and their parents.

Among community viewers at the film screening was tribal member Nickie Richwine and her three daughters. Following the movie, Nickie shared she already places restrictions on when and how her daughters can use their devices, but has learned additional methods of staying offline from the film.

“My girls are 15, 11 and 8-years-old. I took them all to see Screenagers because as a parent I believe that technology and electronic overuse prevents them from developing social skills that they’ll need as they become young adults,” says Nickie. “Face-to-face interaction is necessary to build healthy relationships with their peers. Texting and IM’ing is no substitute. My kids struggle to understand why I limit their screen time, but one of the main reasons I do is to protect them. Kids don’t understand the internet has a lot of dangers and potentially harmful exposures. I was hopeful that this film would help them understand that.”

Dexter Smith, 8th grader and junior rep for Tulalip Youth Council, was also present for the film and recognized some of his own behavior when it comes to video games. Dexter said he can get too caught up in video games and become angry, especially when he loses. He says he is going to work on that and adds, “I think people my age are on their phones too much when they could be enjoying the outdoors. My advice to youth out here is to stay off of inappropriate sites and not make posts hurtful to others.”

Two young ladies, who wished to remain anonymous, shared, “It’s become way easier to text someone than it is to have a conversation in person. We’re so attached to our phones that we don’t even realize we’re addicted to them. People are controlled by their phones and social media accounts, kids and adults. Even in school kids are constantly posting and updating through their phones during class. It’s a distraction from their education.”

Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, and delves into the messy family conflicts over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Only through self-reflection and an open dialogue do solutions emerge on how we can best empower young people to navigate the digital world. More information can be found at screenagersmovie.com.

 

The doctor’s prescription for limiting screen time

  • Dr. Ruston suggests putting phones and other devices away at meal times, in the car and during family outings.
  • While studying, teenagers should put their phones in another room but can take “tech breaks”.
  • No phones, tablets or other devices in the bedroom when it’s time to sleep.
  • Rather than relying on your phone, buy an alarm clock and a calculator.
  • Limit interactive video games to certain times – the weekend, for example – especially for younger children.
  • Try what a group of teenagers do in the film: when they eat out, they put their phones in the middle of the table. First to check their phone pays for dinner.
  • Set aside regular time to calmly discuss any issues about mobile phones and other devices rather than letting them spark arguments.
  • Parents worried about their children’s screen usage should think about what they are doing themselves.

Salish Modern: Innovative Art with Ancient Roots

Museum Director Patricia Cosgrove sits with “Super Ken” mannequin by Bill Holm.

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

Thirty years ago, you couldn’t find a map using the term “Salish Sea” for the Puget Sound region. There were Seattle galleries and t-shirt shops aplenty selling Northwest Coast Native art, but the masks, totem poles and sinuous formline animal prints were designs from hundreds of miles away, not from here.

Thirty years ago, no major art museum in Washington had mounted an exhibit highlighting Native created works of our own lands and waters. Artists were indeed working – Musqueam visual pioneer Susan Point was making innovative prints based on ancient carved designs. Ron Hilbert was painting bold scenes of spiritual practices and Lummi weavers Bill and Fran James were making sumptuous blankets and intricate baskets. But the critical interest and most gallery attention was focused on art from the Canadian coast.

Painting of a ceremonial smokehouse dance from 1989 by Ron “Chadusqidub” Hilbert (Tulalip and Upper Skagit).

In 1989, the balance started to tip. Washington State’s Centennial exhibit of Native arts opened, managed by Patricia Cosgrove (now Director of the White River Valley Museum) with Kenneth Watson as part of the exhibit staff. Both art historians were on a mission to convince Seattleites that totem poles are not indigenous and that Salish art in all its creative branches is. The exhibit was incredibly successful, and soon many influences aligned to literally change the landscape of the Native art market.

Ever since, both Cosgrove and Watson have worked hard to see the word ‘Salish’ enter the mainstream vocabulary, and to insure that the characteristic sweeping lines and subtle patterns of Salish arts become recognizable and emblematic of the Seattle area.

Through the effort of many, this vision has come true. High quality galleries like Seattle’s Stonington Gallery and Steinbrueck Native Gallery feature experienced and rising artists from across the Salish Sea region. Generations of new artists have risen in skill and popularity. Today, Salish art is an explosion of innovation and creativity that still has a firm foundation in our region’s earliest Salish generations.*

That innovation and creativity of Coast Salish artistry is currently on full display at the White River Valley Museum, located in Auburn only blocks away from the Muckleshoot Reservation. Inside the museum mounts an unprecedented six-month-long exhibition titled Salish Modern: Innovation Art with Ancient Roots.

“I’m really thrilled that we have works from artists who are rock stars in the Native art world, such as Louie Gong (Nooksack), Susan Point (Musqueam), and Shaun Peterson (Puyallup),” states Patricia Cosgrove, Museum Director and Salish culture enthusiast. “People are surprised when they see the ancientness of the tradition and then recognize the elements of it all around them in these very modern pieces. This is a perfect exhibit to celebrate this vital, fabulous modern art world.

“For museum visitors and people who see the exhibit, I’d like them to know that Salish cultures are alive and can be very modern. In my opinion, modern Salish art is some of the most elegant, divine visuals that you can find,” continues Patricia. “I’d love to see Salish art take the place of totem poles and form line design in Seattle as its visual identity.”

Salish Modern: Innovation Art with Ancient Roots will be on display through December, 17. The exhibit is supported in part by the Tulalip Tribes Charity Fund. Included among the many elegant Salish artworks is a rare painting by Ron “Chadusqidub” Hilbert (Tulalip and Upper Skagit) depicting a ceremonial smokehouse dance from 1989.

*source: Salish Modern exhibit material

Quilting for Tulalip Veterans

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

Over the past two months, seven Tulalip tribal members have been hard at work crafting quilts for the Veterans of Tulalip. The members of the quilting group are Sandra Swanson, Candy Hill-Wells, Lena Jones, Sara Andres, Benita Rosen, Sherry Dick and Rae Anne Gobin. In Native America, blankets hold a significant value to many tribal communities as they are associated with honor and respect. Blankets, including quilts, are traditionally gifted at various ceremonies such as potlatches, pow wows and graduations. Tulalip quilters have used their artwork to help strengthen their community for many generations by gifting them to honor their fellow tribal members.

“Tulalip Tribes had a group of quilters that gathered at the ‘Fudge ‘n Funnies’ quilt store in Marysville until the store had a fire and closed,” explains Quilter Rae Anne Gobin. “Since then, there hasn’t been a place for quilters to gather until the Hibulb Museum was built. In 2016, I attended a Star Quilt class at the museum, taught by Edith Johnny and Tisha Mclean.  It was then, the passion for quilting sparked once again.

“Outside of making quilts for family what else could I do?” Rae Anne pondered. “I thought about my grandmother, Christina Fryberg Williams, who belonged to the women’s sewing group housed at the basement of the old dining hall called the ‘thrift shop.’ I remember hanging out with my grandmother and cherished the quilt she gave me. Then, thinking of my dad, Ralph D. Jones Jr., serving in the Korean War as a combat Veteran. Wishing I could’ve made him a quilt to honor his service, but he passed before I really had the inspiration to sew. It was then, I introduced the idea of the Tulalip Veteran Quilt project to the quilters. To honor our Veterans for their service.”

The project is currently in its second year. Last year, the ladies made their first quilts with a traditional Native American design for the Veterans. This year, the group picked the House Divided pattern. The ladies continue to gather weekly to work on their quilts in preparation for the Annual Veterans Day Service at the Hibulb Cultural Center, where the quilters will present their finished projects to the Veterans.

“I think each one of us didn’t expect the response we received from the Veterans,” states Rae Anne, recalling the 2016 Veterans Day event. “We felt really good about making those and putting our love into the quilts, but we didn’t expect to get the emotion we seen out of the Veterans who got them last year. I think after getting the first year behind us, knowing what that meant to the Veterans, we wanted to continue doing this. Our purpose is to give back to our members who served our country – thanking them sincerely for their service because we care about them. There is a heartfelt emotion, love and words we cannot even express. That saying is true – the more you give, the more you get back.”

Dr. Gilbert Kliman brings Reflective Network Therapy to the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy

Dr. Gilbert Kliman

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

Autism is a common, yet very complex, developmental disability that has been on the rise in recent times. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in sixty-eight children in the United States have a form of autism. People with an autistic disorder often show significant language delays, repetitive behavior as well as social and communication challenges; and often times have experienced emotional and/or physical trauma. Children with autism are usually diagnosed by the age of four, as signs begin to show at a young age such as having obsessive interests, having trouble understanding others’ feelings and not responding by name.

Reflective Network Therapy (RNT) is a method which helps children with autism, between the ages of two and seven, in a classroom setting. Developed by Dr. Gilbert Kliman in 1965, RNT has assisted over 1,800 developmentally and emotionally disabled children including many foster care children.

“The method involves working with the child in a play therapy session, twenty minutes at a time, every school day,” explains Dr. Kliman. “Each child is worked with every day by a play therapist right in the classroom. Before that therapy session, the teacher briefs the child and the therapist about what the child’s been doing that day – in class and at home. Often the parent has dropped off the child and said ‘Johnny had a bad dream’, ‘Johnny said a whole lot of new words yesterday that we didn’t know he could say’, ‘he started to read’ or ‘he got into trouble’. The teacher uses a very small amount of time, just a minute or two, to condense that information for the therapist. After the twenty-minute play therapy session, the child and the therapist do the same thing in reverse – they debrief the teacher. ‘Johnny has been playing with dogs and cats. The cats had babies and Johnny seemed to be upset about the cats having babies’ and the teacher hears that.

“Meanwhile, other children are allowed to help each session – the children who are not having problems can help the special needs child,” he continues. “For example, he might not know how to play very well, so the more skilled children can teach him how to play and can teach him how to talk and behave. In that process the regular kids become very helpful and altruistic. It’s good for them to learn they can be helpful in their own communities to their own peers. Parents do something similar every week, they get together with the teacher or the therapist and share information about the child, they brief and debrief each other. This establishes a network in which everybody in the classroom has a part in bringing the community’s healing force to a special needs child. We’re finding this very helpful for children who have been through trauma, like domestic violence or having to move from one home to another home – often foster homes. It’s very helpful for children with developmental problems like autism.”

Often referring to RNT as ‘community based’, Dr. Kliman believes that it is important for the child to be in an environment where they feel safe and comfortable. For the past year, Dr. Kliman worked with the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy to implement RNT for the children of the Academy who are either autistic, in beda?chelh, or experienced some form of trauma. Dr. Kliman believes that tribal communities who have their own early learning programs can benefit greatly from RNT.

“The unique part about this method is that it’s evidenced-based and can be carried out in a child’s regular school,” he states. “It’s particularly valuable for Native American special needs children that they be treated in their tribe’s own school and learn their native languages rather than be bussed to a distant white school, which I think was a terrible mistake that happened a long time ago and still haunts Native American communities to this day – the boarding school experience. Native American special needs children go through an unfortunate repetition of that exclusionary experience and what I’m bringing for the past couple years is a message that we can include special needs children at the Betty J. Taylor Center just as it has been done in other preschools.

“I have seen some children get much brighter,” says Dr. Kliman of the kids he is working with at the Early Learning Academy. “I have seen some very agitated hyper-active children become calm and focused without medication – not one of the about 15 children we’ve worked with has been given medication by us. We prefer, in fact, to take children off any medication they’re on because at this age we feel it’s really risky for children to be on some of these powerful medications. We’ve seen mute children become talkative, we have seen some autistic children become well-related, a trans-gender child become more self-confident. We have some children become kinder to themselves, children who use to hurt themselves become more self-respecting and safer. I think the best effect is, in general, children seem to like themselves better with this treatment, they feel self-respect. They absorb the respect of the therapist, teacher, peers and parents so they can feel it’s worthwhile to be themselves. This treatment is a community treatment in which the community of the classroom is harnessed for the good of the individual child.”

In 2011, Dr. Kliman published the book Reflective Network Therapy in the Preschool Classroom to share his method with the world and was met with rave reviews and several awards. The book featured testimonies from many of the children, now adults, affected by RNT. Although there are several different methods, theories and approaches to autism are that there is no cure for the disability as of yet. However, RNT appears to be the most effective treatment to date. In a twice-tested study, a group of seventy-nine autistic and special needs children showed significant improvements to their IQ scores while using Dr. Kliman’s RNT method, with an average increase of fifteen points. One child in particular went from an IQ score of fifty-two to a score of ninety-one during the course of one school year.

“There are about eighty kids we’ve now tested twice for IQ,” he explains. “From nine different projects. From Michigan, Seattle, San Francisco, San Mateo, Argentina and White Plains, New York, we put them all together and the unusual thing about it is almost all the children had a rise of IQ – and they’re all special needs kids. Ordinarily when a kid is traumatized by watching a lot of domestic violence, they do lose some IQ points. This treatment goes the other way; they’re gaining IQ points. It’s not happening with the sixty-three comparison children; in fact, they have no change or slight drops of IQ. These are not significant drops but these are significant gains. We think this is a very sturdy bit of scientific evidence. More importantly, it’s not hard to do and this method seems to work in a lot of different settings.

“There’s a lot of evidence now, in both autism and post-traumatic stress disorder, that there’s some disconnection of brain centers that are ordinarily well-connected, but with those disorders they are not so well-connected. For example, loving and learning centers are not well-connected in autism or post-traumatic stress disorder. Whereas in this treatment, we try to help the child feel cared about and understood in a positive and affectionate way, by the whole school community, and that seems to help the brain grow. It particularly helps the connections in the brain grow. The better all the parts in the brain work together, the stronger and more resilient the individual is.”

For further information regarding RNT please visit www.ChildrensPsychologicalHealthCenter.org or contact Kathryn McCormick, of the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy, at (360) 716-4064.

5th graders make a splash at Seattle Aquarium

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News. Photos courtesy of Malory Simpson

Four 5th grade classes at Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary (QCT) were provided with the exciting opportunity to experience all that the Seattle Aquarium has to offer on Friday, September 19.

Interesting fact, the Seattle Aquarium is the ninth largest aquarium in the United States by attendance and among the top five paid visitor attractions in the Puget Sound region. Bolstering those stats are an additional 96 QCT students, accompanied by teachers and chaperones, who made the field trip to the region’s premier resource for hands-on marine experiences.

“My favorite thing about the student’s field trip was seeing how eager they all were to learn,” said Breezy Distefano, Native Liaison.

“There were so many stations and exhibits throughout the Aquarium setup for the students to interact with,” added Malory Simpson, School Advocate. “They learned a variety of things from details of marine ecosystems to the life cycle of a salmon.”

Being salmon are often viewed as the staple food source of Coast Salish people and the Tulalip Tribes moniker is ‘People of the Salmon’, it is only fitting that the cohort of 5th graders got to learn much about salmon on their trip.

The QCT field trip coincided with the 25th Anniversary of the Salmon Homecoming Celebration held at Waterfront Park, Seattle. Along with the visit to the Aquarium, the students were able to participate in Think Salmon School Days activities.

“My favorite memory of the trip is when we first arrived and the students got to sit and listen to other Native youth drumming and singing as part of the Salmon Homecoming festivities,” marveled Malory. “It is always a beautiful thing to see our students witness other Native students practicing their traditional teachings. It helps to reinforce the ideas and values that our students are being taught at Quil Ceda Tulalip.”

Chairwoman Marie Zackuse to Freeman High School

Freeman High School, now and in the difficult days and nights ahead, the hearts of Tulalip are with you. We are grieving with you. We are praying with you. Words can’t describe the pain that the students, the families and the community are experiencing right now. We know that nothing we can say can bring back the life or the innocence that was lost, we can only offer our love and support during this dark day.

Lady Hawks season opener

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

After finding unprecedented success on the volleyball court last year, a season that saw Heritage make it all the way to Tri-Districts, the Lady Hawks opened up a brand new season with a home game versus the Providence Classical Christian Highlanders. The game was played on Monday, September 11, at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium.

The foundation of this year’s team include senior captains Keryn Parks and Deandra Grant. The Lady Hawks graduated six seniors from last year’s team, which included three starters. In their place comes a new batch of young, eager to play student-athletes.

“We have lots of new faces to our Lady Hawk program. For some of the girls this will be their first-ever volleyball match,” says Coach Tina Brown. “Fortunately, we have two senior leaders in Keryn and Deandra who can remain positive and help teach their teammates during the games. There’s a learning curve for us as a team, but we’ll only get better as we gain more experience playing together.”

It was a tough opening matchup for the new look Lady Hawks, as the PCC Highlanders only lost one regular season game last season and returned the majority of their players.

In the 1st game, the Lady Hawks struggled to get any momentum going while the Highlanders weren’t missing a beat. The Highlanders took the opening game 25-11.

The Lady Hawks played much better in the 2nd game. After trailing 0-5 to start, the girls got their game going on both sides of the net, going on long rallies and hustling to every ball. The service game got going as well with several Lady Hawks coming up with aces. They battled back to get within four points, 19-23, before the Highlanders called a timeout. Both teams traded points leading to the Lady Hawks dropping a competitive 2nd game 21-25.

The 3rd and final game saw the Lady Hawks go down 3-9 early before once again battling back behind timely aces and solid defense to get within three points, 10-13. The Highlanders were just too good on this day though and won the game 25-19 and the match 3-0.

Following the game, Coach Tina said she was very proud of her players for playing as competitively as they did versus a top tier opponent. She continued, “There were stretches during the final two games where we played them even, nearly point for point. However, the mistakes we made during the match are the same we’ve been making in practice. They are little mistakes, but they add up when they keep happening. So we’ll look to fix them and continue working on getting better at practice.”

Keryn added, “It’s a whole new group of girls compared to last year and we’re still getting used to playing with one another and learning each other’s strengths. In the 2nd and 3rd games the score showed we got really close. I think we’ve gotten way better through practice and it showed today on the court.”

Up next for the Lady Hawks is another home game versus Arlington Christian before hitting the road to play at Shoreline Christians. Heritage then returns home to play rival Cedar Park on Thursday, September 21.

JR Hawks youth football soars in Tulalip

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

It’s been nearly fourteen years since Tulalip had a youth tackle football program. During that time frame any young athlete with a desire to showcase skills on the gridiron has had to play under the Marysville or Everett banner, but not anymore. Only a matter of weeks ago Tulalip received the necessary funding and resources to put together its own youth tackle football program. With the careful guidance of Lonnie Enick and Josh Fryberg at the helm, the JR Hawks football team has officially taken flight.

“I was coaching youth football here in Snohomish County back in 2002 with the Marysville Red Raiders. When I became an employee of Youth Services I knew a football program would really help the youth here on the Rez,” says Lonnie Enick about his longtime desire to bring youth football back to Tulalip. “Josh and I have been trying for the past four years to get it going. We wanted to have a team with all tribal members, and once we got the field built I knew it was only a matter of time before we had a team.”

Like the Field of Dreams mantra says, ‘If you build it, they will come’. With a brand new football field installed at the Youth Center, all the staff needed was to spread the word about the return of youth tackle football. There was no shortage of eager, young tribal members turning out for a series of practices held in early summer. When it was all said and done the latest iteration of the JR Hawks football team consists of 27 players, 25 of them being Tulalip and two other Native (Alaskan and Klamath). Ages range from 9 to 12-years-old.

Worth noting is two girls are on the team. Tieriana McLean aka ‘Peanut’ and Jayne Jones aka ‘Icebox’, as their teammates call them, are proving females can thrive in the contact driven sport as well.

“Tieriana and Jayne earned their spots on the team, just like the boys did,” explains Lonnie. “The boys took to them well, and in fact they found out pretty quick that these two can hold their own. They’re both aggressive and fast learners. In practice when either of them makes a big play it really gets the boys fired up and ready to play.”

The head coach is Jeff Rice, longtime President of the Marysville Red Raiders Youth Association. Coach Rice is a big asset to the team not only because he knows a lot about the program, but because he’s very familiar with the traditions and culture of the Tulalip Tribes. His assistant coaches are Willy Wolftail, Izzy Wolftail and Deyamonte Diaz. Each of them are tribal members, former high school football standouts, and well-known personalities within the Tulalip community. Together they form a coaching staff that is knowledgeable and committed to the next generation of athletes.

After a series of scrimmages with local teams, the JR Hawks hit the road and journeyed to Judkins Park in Seattle for their first taste of real game action. Their opponent was the JR CD Panthers who ranked number one the last three years in Seattle’s youth premier league.

Prior to kick-off, Lonnie shared his thoughts seeing the JR Hawks prepare to take the field for their first official game. “This has been such a long-time dream for me to run a football program like this for our youth. The smiles and joy it brings as I look around at all our players and their parents who came out to watch, it makes all the work well worth it. I love that sports brings the families and community together in a good way.”

Although the game ended up being lopsided in the JR Panthers favor, it was a good learning experience for the JR Hawks and provided the coaching staff with a list of things to work on going forward. The team plays another away game at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma on September 16 before playing a home game on September 23 versus the JR Puyallup Warriors.

“It feels great to see a Tulalip Tribes youth football team again,” says Josh Fryberg. “I remember wearing that Tulalip Tribes football jersey when I was a kid. The youth will learn so much about discipline, work ethic, and teamwork from playing football, things that will help them mature into responsible adults. We are proud of all of the players for striving to be successful on and off the field. We look forward to creating great relationship with all organizations for youth football as we support unity and teamwork.

“I really want to thank the volunteer coaches from back in the day; Delmer Jones, Steve Henry, Dana Posey, Jay Napeahi, Jon Moses and Eddy Pablo Sr. for building a foundation for us to build upon today. Thank you for everything that our current coaching staff and parent volunteers do for the youth, you all are truly difference makers. We are looking forward to a great season and many more future generations of Tulalip Tribes youth football to come. Special thank you to Play It Again Sports located in Marysville for all their support. As a community member, if you want to purchase any team spirit wear it is available there and part of your purchase will go towards supporting the football team. Let’s continue to bring our Tribes and community together in a good way.”

1st Tribal Lending Builds Strong Future for Native People With American Indian College Fund

 

Darkfeather Ancheta.

Submitted by Dina Horwedel, American Indian College Fund 

Denver, Colo.—September 8, 2017– Home ownership, like education, are considered to be both an investment and part of the American dream. But these paths to a strong future have not always been accessible to American Indian people.

Home ownership has been problematic because not all lenders could or can provide loans for people living on reservations or federal trust lands.

As for higher education, federal government statistics show that only 13.8% of American Indians and Alaska Natives age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with nearly 30% for all other groups. Affordability is a major reason for this disparity.

But now thanks to 1st Tribal Lending, an administrator of a federal program called The Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program, American Indian and Alaska Native families, Alaska Villages, Tribes, or Tribally Designated Housing Entities can access financing for properties both on and off Native lands. The program was enacted by the Office of Loan Guarantee within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Native American Programs, which guarantees the Section 184 home mortgage loans made to Native Borrowers. Financing is available for new construction, rehabilitation, purchase of an existing home, or refinancing. This program makes it possible for lenders to serve Native Communities both on and off the reservation, helping to increase the marketability and value of Native assets and financially strengthen Native communities.

1st Tribal Lending has supported the American Indian College Fund (the College Fund), a national nonprofit which provides access to higher education for Native people, to get a college education, for more three years, giving a percentage of its closing costs to the College Fund. This year they announced they are renewing their commitment to Native higher education with a gift of $66,000.

“It’s a perfect match,” said Darkfeather Ancheta, HUD 184 Tribal Advocate/Outreach, of 1st Tribal Lending. We are a Native organization that helps Native people get into their homes, and if we can help the American Indian College Fund help Native people get an education, this also helps with economic development—it’s a perfect synergy.

It’s a huge help to Natives to support their education. I personally know people who are trying to finish their education that do not have the resources to pay for it. One tiny grant can make or break a student. We think supporting the College Fund is a wonderful opportunity because graduates will use their educations to get into a job, create a life, and help their communities. And once they take this step, we can help people finance their dream home,” Ancheta said. “When our customers benefit, we all benefit in our country.”

Robin Máxkii, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee nation who graduated from Salish Kootenai College with a degree in psychology and is planning to earn her master’s degree in the fall, is one of many Native students 1st Tribal Lending has helped to support through the College Fund. Thanks to scholarship support, in addition to attending college Máxkii has been able to enjoy college-related activities such as serving internships with the National Science Foundation; an invitation to the White House, MIT, and Google; and she has appeared on the television series Codetrip Nation for students to discover technology opportunities as part of Roadtrip Nation.

Máxkii said, “Thanks to 1st Tribal Lending and the American Indian College Fund’s generous support, I am the first in my family to attend college. Growing up in a less privileged community has not only offered financial and academic challenges, but has also helped me realize the value of a college education. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been and still be able to attend these institutions which wouldn’t be possible without the support of your organization. My educational pursuits would not be possible without generous support from scholarship sponsors like you. Thank you for enabling this opportunity!”