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Most Peninsula tribal reservations will ban marijuana as it legalizes in state

If you live on or visit a reservation on the North Olympic Peninsula, don’t bring marijuana.

At least four of the six tribes in Clallam and Jefferson counties will not recognize Washington state’s 2012 legalization of recreational marijuana.

The use and possession of pot will remain illegal on tribal lands controlled by the Makah, Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam and Quileute tribes, their representatives told the Peninsula Daily News.

The Hoh tribe in West Jefferson County has yet to make a decision.

Representatives of the Quinault did not respond to Peninsula Daily News requests for information on their policy toward marijuana.

Voters statewide legalized pot by approving Initiative 502 a year ago by a 56 percent to 44 percent margin.

The state is finishing procedures and regulations on marijuana in non-tribal areas.

Pot remains illegal on federal lands, including Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest.

“Like the state of Washington and the United States, the Makah tribe is a separate sovereign,” a letter from Makah tribal authorities to tribal members said.

“We have a treaty that confirms our sovereignty and self-determination.

“A big part of that sovereignty is that state laws do not apply to the tribe and its territory.

“As a state law, I-502 could not and does not legalize marijuana within the Makah Reservation.”

Both Makah and federal law lists marijuana as a controlled substance. Possessing, using, buying and selling it is a federal crime, and a tribal crime, said Meredith Parker, general manager of the Neah Bay-based Makah tribe.

“So, on the reservation, the answer is easy: Every little bit of pot is illegal,” the notice to tribal members said.

“We will continue to follow federal law. It is part of the tribal policy as well,” said Sam Hough, Lower Elwha Klallam assistant general counsel.

“It is already a dry reservation,” Hough added.

Likewise, marijuana will not be welcome at 7 Cedars Casino, Cedars at Dungeness and other properties held by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe.

“We believe we are on reservation/trust land held by the United States on our behalf, and since marijuana is illegal by federal law, it is illegal on our lands,” said Ron Allen, Jamestown S’Klallam tribal chairman.

The Quileute tribe, based in LaPush, also will observe federal marijuana laws, said Jackie Jacobs, Quileute spokeswoman.

The Hoh tribe is holding off a decision, said James Jaime, the tribe’s executive director.

“We don’t have a policy at this point in time,” Jaime said.

“We are waiting to see what the federal policy is in regard to the state law.”

The Washington State Liquor Control Board, charged with creating state’s marijuana regulations, added a rule that requiring notification of tribal governments if a vendor applies for a permit on tribal land.

The Yakima tribe, with the largest reservation in the state at 1.2 million acres, recently announced that marijuana sales and consumption would not be allowed on their lands.

Brian Smith, spokesman for the state Liquor Control Board said new state rules have no prohibitions against issuing permits on the Yakama reservation, but such permits would be impractical

“Why grant a license when the federal government is going to come in and take them down?” Smith asked.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tulalip Tribes donate $6.9 million to community

Tulalip Tribal Board Chair Mel Sheldon Jr. thanks the surrounding community for supporting the Tribes’ efforts to support organizations that support the surrounding community in turn.— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner — Tulalip Tribal Board Chair Mel Sheldon Jr. thanks the surrounding community for supporting the Tribes’ efforts to support organizations that support the surrounding community in turn.
— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner

By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe

TULALIP — The Tulalip Tribes announced a record-setting $6.9 million in donations this year, to more than 280 Washington state nonprofits and community groups, during their 21st annual “Raising Hands” celebration, in the Orca Ballroom of the Tulalip Resort Hotel and Casino, on Saturday, Oct. 26.

“We’re here to share stories of goodwill, and of how we came to journey together,” Tulalip Tribal Board Chair Mel Sheldon Jr. said. “We look back on how much progress we’ve made, thanks to the leaders of the past, who built our foundations. We’re so grateful to be able to follow their example, and to share in the goodwill and work that you do. Look around you,” he told those seated in the Orca Ballroom that evening. “We’re all doing the same work, which is bettering the community. It wasn’t that long ago that Tulalip needed help, and we appreciated the helping hands we received, so now that we’re in a position to do so, we’re proud to help those who help others.”

After a performance by Quil Ceda Elementary student singers, Tulalip Tribal Board member Glen Gobin noted that the Tribes’ financial generosity is a sign of their growing fortunes.

“We’ve given more than $57 million to different charities over the years,” Gobin said. “Fifty years ago, the Tribes’ total budget was $200,000 for the whole year. We had 750 organizations request funds from us in the past year. There’s a lot of good organizations out there, but we can’t give to everybody.”

Tulalip Tribal Board Vice Chair Deborah Parker told the representatives of those recipient organizations to take pride in being “hard workers who contribute to the community every day,” just as she expressed pride in being able to “stand beside you and help celebrate your successes.”

Tulalip Tribal Board member Theresa Sheldon thanked a number of organizations in attendance for helping to educate the public on the larger problems facing the world, “just as we’ve had to re-educate people, to correct them about our history as Native Americans, to let them know that Columbus Day isn’t something that should be celebrated, and that dressing up as a Native American for Halloween is inappropriate. We have to do that re-education because so much of our history is not taught in books.”

The Tribes support regional efforts to improve education, health and human services, cultural preservation, public safety, the environment and the economy. This year’s local recipients included the Arlington Community Food Bank — which received a donation in an amount between $7,501 to $10,000, to help with their construction of a new food bank, providing emergency food assistance to 12,000 people of all ages — and to the Marysville School District, which received a donation of more than $10,000, to support educational programs at Quil Ceda Elementary and Totem Middle School. The Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation received a donation in an amount between $2,501 to $5,000, to help fund their purchase of an advanced medical simulation manikin, with which to train hospital staff in crucial emergency responses.

“And of course, our most importance resource is our youth,” Mel Sheldon said. “It’s the little ones of today who will lead us down the road to the future. We’re all in this together.”

Billy Frank: Keith Harper nomination historic for Indian Country

The following is an open letter from Billy Frank, Jr. regarding the nomination of Keith Harper to be the United States Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Dear Friends,

It is with great pride that I write this letter in support of my good friend Keith Harper, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, whom President Barack Obama has nominated to be the United States Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council, with the rank of Ambassador.

If anyone knows a thing or two about protecting human rights in Indian Country, it’s me. I was first hauled off the river for exercising my treaty rights at the age of fourteen. I’ve been tear-gassed, tackled, punched, pushed face-first into the mud, handcuffed and dragged soaking wet to jail in defense of my boost basic of human rights as a Native. I am 82 years old and I have worked and collaborated with a wide variety of people in my life. I cannot think of a better representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council than Keith!

Keith and I have worked closely together on a number of issues facing Frank’s Landing Indian Community. Keith represented the Landing when our smoke shop fell under attack by the Nisqually Tribe, when all we were doing was operating like other tribal communities. Keith stepped in and successfully protected the Landing in federal court. Moreover, when the Landing did not have the resources at the time, Keith worked with us by contribution hundreds of hours of work on a pro bono basis. He has proven to me that he is not only an exceptional attorney but he try gets what is important to Native people. More importantly for this position, I know he understand the struggle for basic human rights on the global stage.

Everyone knows about Keith’s work on the Cobell trust case of course, but not a lot of people know about all of the other ways he’s advocated on behalf of Indian Country. He’s helped the Native American Church, tribes with treaty claims, impoverished tribes seeking federal recognition, tribes enforcing water rights and he’s worked on protecting tribal natural resources.

Keith has all of the talents to be a very effective Ambassador and he will become the first member of a federally recognized tribe to assume an Ambassadorial position. I can’t tell you how proud that makes me and how important a message it sends to our families and children all across Indian Country. This appointment is truly historic!

Thus, it is with great sadness that I learned that questions were raised about Keith’s work. I would tell anyone in the Senate considering Keith’s nomination that they can trust Keith at his word and that he has always worked for the betterment of all Indian Country.

I was even more saddened by the hit pieces written about Keith by a single report, Rob Capriccioso. First, let me give you some history on what I learned about Rob and his reporting. He used to write a blog called BigHeadDC which was a topic of a Huffington Post piece: www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/26/escort-throws-cold-water-_n_74227.html.

Rob is named in that piece as the perpetrator of a fraud. In there he is noted as reporting that Senator Trent Lott had a relationship with a male escort. But as that piece explains, it was simply not true. Rob’s report was called “fabricated” and false.”

I’ve also discovered that this is far from Rob’s only questionable incident as a reporter. He was also a freelance writer for an online magazine called “Radar” where he reported that the infamous DC Madam had called Sam Donaldson. Radar refused to publish this salacious report because the DC Madam said herself that the one entry on phone records of Sam Donaldson was a wrong number: radaronline.com/exclusives/2008/10/donaldsons-digits-wrong-number-php.

It would appear this report has a long history of writing questionable stories. For some reason, he has decided to target a person who I know has spent his career defending Indian Country.

Again, I strongly support the confirmation of Keith as the United States Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council. I know he will serve his country well and make all of Indian Country proud.

Respectfully yours,

Billy Frank

Initiative 522: Washington State Throws Out GM Food Labeling Measure

Employees stock shelves near a sign supporting non genetically modified organisms, or GMO, at the Central Co-op in Seattle on Oct. 29, 2013. Reuters/Jason Redmond

By Amrutha Gayathri, International Business Times

Washington state rejected on Tuesday an initiative to mandate the labeling of genetically-modified food items, bringing to an end an expensive campaign that pitted several out-of-state players against each other and drew criticism for failing to make clear the merits behind such a measure.

Initiative 522 was thrown out after 54.8 percent of the state’s voters opposed the labeling while 45.2 percent voted in favor, USA Today reported. The opposition raised $22 million, setting a record for fundraising by one side in the state, with the biggest donations coming from Washington, D.C.-based Grocery Manufacturers Association, and corporations that produce genetically-modified foods such as St. Louis, Mo.-based Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON), Johnston, Iowa-based DuPont Pioneer and Germany’s Bayer CropScience Ltd (FRA:BAYN).

A majority of donations supporting the measure also came from out-of-state entities such as Escondido, Calif.-based Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, an organic retailer and Washington, D.C.-based Center for Food Safety. The state’s residents donated about $550 against the measure while about 10,000 individuals, including residents of the state, donated funds ranging from as little as $2 to $20,000 in support of the initiative.

Currently, there is no federal or state law that requires labeling foods produced by using genetic engineering, and the initiative was based largely on the premise that botched genetic engineering could cause “unintended consequences.”

As many as 49 countries, including Japan, China, Russia, and the European Union, have laws requiring the labeling of genetically-modified foods, according to official text supporting the initiative, which also argued that U.S. food exports to several foreign markets had been hurt from concerns about genetic engineering and due to a lack of labeling of such foods.

A majority of genetically-engineered produce such as corn, canola, soybean and cotton, are largely used as ingredients in other food products including soups, sauces, mayonnaise, breakfast cereals, breads and snacks, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA.

Food manufacturers can voluntarily label whether foods of both plant- and animal-origin contain genetically-engineered ingredients based on guidelines issued by the FDA, according to information on the FDA’s website.

“However, if food from a GE animal is different from its non-engineered counterpart, for example if it has a different nutritional profile, in general, that change would be material information that would have to be indicated in the labeling,” according to the FDA.

The cultivation of genetically-modified herbicide-tolerant versions of several crops has jumped in the U.S. since 1996, and according to the latest statistics provided by the Department of Agriculture, 93 percent of soybean, 85 percent of corn, and 82 percent of cotton acreage in the U.S., as of 2013, is genetically modified.

Potlatch fund recognizes Native America’s game changers

Tulalip Vice-Chairwoman Deborah Parker among the honored

Tulalip Vice-Chairwoman Deborah Parker Photo/Theresa Sheldon — Tulalip Vice-Chairwoman Deborah Parker
Photo/Theresa Sheldon

By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News

“There are two ways of spreading light. To be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton

TULALIP – Every year the Potlatch Fund recognizes Native Americans who personify leadership in five areas. Each of the awards is named after a tribal leader who exemplifies what it takes to change the world: The Antone Minthorn Economic Devlopment Award, the Pearl Capoeman-Baller Civic Participation award, the Billy Frank, Jr., Natural Resources Protection award; the Patricia Whitefoot Education Award and the Fran James Cultural Preservation Award. This year, Tulalip’s own Vice-Chairwoman Deborah Parker was among the recognized. She spoke about the experience in a recent interview.

Asked about the award, Parker first spoke about Quinault leader Pearl Capoeman-Baller.

“I’ve known Pearl for years,” she said. “She’s a woman who doesn’t really sit down, she doesn’t rest. She’s a woman who’s always wanted change and works hard to make that change happen. She’s a lady who is all about action and justice.

“To receive an award in the spirit of her work is a complete honor. And as a leader, Pearl embodies that balance of home, work and responsibility. She’s a mother, a grandmother, and a community member who works at the local, state and federal level and she brings all of that together. As an elder she is not on council anymore, but you still see her at conferences helping and motivating the younger generation to not be idle. She’s still working hard and not taking no for an answer.”

“There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you.” – Maya Angelou

Although she’s made impacts in many areas, Parker points to her work to make sure that provisions to protect Native American’s from non-natives were included in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

“It’s not just women, it’s also men who are very emotional about the passage of this bill,” elaborated Parker. “If I was just carrying legislation it would be easy to say thank you and good bye. I used my story, there was no hypothetical here. They had to look me in the face, someone who is a survivor. Being a female tribal leader was another source of strength. People in D.C. had to look at me and say, ‘No, we’re not going to support you or other Native women.’

“Some did,” she continued. “Some said they couldn’t support tribes taking jurisdiction, some were blatantly racist and said they couldn’t believe a non-tribal man would rape a Native American woman. But, what I don’t think anyone imagined is the support. There was so much support from non-tribal women. Native America hasn’t seen that in the past, non-natives supporting legislation to support Native people.”

“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.” – Helen Keller

Undeniably a role model across the nation, Parker was quiet, embarrassed even, when she talked about her notoriety.

“For the women who come out and say, ‘You’re my hero,’ and every time I receive an award, I feel honored. I accept it on behalf of those women who were murdered, for those women who don’t have a voice. Not just women, I want to acknowledge the young boys and men who have been abused. They need closure too, but where do they get it? Guys don’t stand around the lunch room and talk about sexual abuse because of that stigma surrounding it.”

Family and community continually inspire Parker to keep working.

“My children are 100% supportive. They get to hear my phone calls, they hear the conversations, they hear me fighting for our rights. It’s been a blessing, but being away from my family is the hardest part. If someone asks what it’s like to be a modern day warrior, you give up a lot in the process. My family sacrificed birthdays, holidays, they really put aside everything so we could get this [VAWA] passed.”

“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart

The Violence Against Women Act including the tribal provisions were approved. Parker explained that although we won the battle, the war’s not over.

“I just have to remind myself to keep going,” she said. “There’s so much work to be done. It’s not just me. There are a lot of amazing tribal leaders who pitch in.”

Parker explained that one of the most important ways to take care of her people is to be in the room where decisions are made. For tribal leaders a trip to Washington D.C. isn’t a vacation, it’s a battleground of constant negotiation, education and efforts to dispel stereotypes about Native Americans.

“If you don’t go, if your face isn’t there, you don’t have a voice,” Parker emphasized. “It’s not what you look like, it’s what you represent. If you are not at the table, you’re not included.”

“Everyone has inside her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t’ know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish and what your potential is!” – Anne Frank

In closing, Parker exuded hope for the future.

“I feel incredible honored that young girls are inspired to share their voice, to come out with their abuse because I have. I feel honored because they can come out and speak their truth and find healing, not just one, but hundreds and thousands. It is worth it.

“If women can find strength through my words, I’m definitely not going to stop,” she stated. “If I can assist others to create protections for those little children who don’t have a voice, those are giant steps. I never dreamed this could happen in my time.”

SWAIA Winter Indian Market 2013 Features Performances by Six Time World Champion Hoop Dancer Nakotah LaRance and Acclaimed Musician and Performer Brian Frejo

Cirque du Soleil star Nakotah LaRance will hoop dance to flute, hand drum and hip hop beats by Brian Frejo at this year’s SWAIA Winter Indian Market. Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1, 1:30pm.

Kitty LeakenWorld champion hoop dancer and Cirque du Soleil star Nikotah LaRance will perform in collaboration with musician Brian Frejo at the SWAIA 8th Annual Winter Indian Market this Nov. 30-Dec. 1. — Kitty Leaken
World champion hoop dancer and Cirque du Soleil star Nikotah LaRance will perform in collaboration with musician Brian Frejo at the SWAIA 8th Annual Winter Indian Market this Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

Santa Fe, NM (PRWEB) November 05, 2013

SWAIA’s 8th annual Winter Indian Market features performances by Nakotah LaRance (Tewa/Navajo/Hopi/Assiniboine) and Brian Frejo (Pawnee/Seminole). LaRance and Frejo will join forces for two performances showcasing original Native music and choreography that weave both traditional and contemporary elements.

About Nakotah LaRance

Nakotah LaRance is a six-time world champion hoop dancer who has showcased in competitions and performances around the world. He is most known for his performances in Cirque Du Soleil’s “Totem” and The Knocks & Fred Falke music video “Geronimo”.

About Brian Frejo

Frejo plays the Native American flute and hand drum and is a member of the Grammy nominated Native drum group “Young Bird”. As acclaimed DJ, music producer and promoter Shock B, Frejo has produced and performed at special events throughout the country.

Performances are on Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1, 1:30pm at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

Winnipeg student says she was kicked off bus over sweatshirt saying: Got Land? Thank an Indian

APTN National News

See video here

Canada – The day after the city of Winnipeg launched their new aboriginal relations division to help build relationships and give opportunities to aboriginal youth in the city, a complaint has arisen.

A local high school student says she was unfairly kicked off a Winnipeg transit bus. And the girl and her brother say the city of Winnipeg isn’t taking their complaint seriously.

Four epic green ballot battles to watch today

By John Upton, Grist

It’s an off-year election so there are no congressional races today, but some state and local battles are of immense interest to environmentalists. Here’s a quick rundown of the key green fights to keep an eye on:

Virginia governor’s race

In the gubernatorial election in Virginia, the leading candidates are virtual caricatures of their political parties when it comes to climate change. The Democrat, Terry McAuliffe, is concerned about global warming and supports renewable energy. He also used to run a (now quite troubled) greentech company. The Republican, Ken Cuccinelli, is a climate skeptic who’s been trying to score political points by whining about the Democrats’ “war on coal.” Cuccinelli previously led a witch hunt of a prominent climate scientist, Michael Mann, trying, unsuccessfully, to force the University of Virginia to turn over emails and other records related to Mann’s time at the school. (You’ll never guess who Mann has been supporting in the governor’s race.)

President Obama called out Cuccinelli’s climate illiteracy while stumping on Monday for the Democrat. “It doesn’t create jobs when you go after scientists, and you try to offer your own alternative theories of how things work and engage in litigation around stuff that isn’t political,” Obama said. “It has to do with what’s true. It has to do with facts. You don’t argue with facts.”

Virginia, a coal-producing state, used to be solidly red, but in recent years it’s turned purple. The state’s voters went for Obama in 2008 and 2012, and they look very likely to lean blue in this race. McAuliffe is firmly up in the polls.

Noam Chomsky: Canada on high-speed race ‘to destroy the environment’

Noted linguist tells the Guardian “the most powerful among us are the ones who are trying to drive the society to destruction”

Noam Chomsky speaking in Trieste, Italy. (Photo: SISSA/cc/flickr)

By Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, November 1, 2013

Canada is on a race “to destroy the environment as fast as possible,” said noted linguist and intellectual Noam Chomsky in an interview with the Guardian published Friday.

Chomsky took aim at the conservative government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which has pushed forincreased exploitation of the tar sands,muzzled federal scientists, championed the Keystone XL pipeline and gutted environmental protections.

Harper’s pro-oil, anti-science policies have been the target vocal, widespread opposition, including recent sweeping mobilizations by Indigenous communities like the Elsipogtog First Nation fighting fracking exploration in New Brunswick.

“It means taking every drop of hydrocarbon out of the ground, whether it’s shale gas in New Brunswick or tar sands in Alberta and trying to destroy the environment as fast as possible, with barely a question raised about what the world will look like as a result,” Chomsky told the British paper, referring to Harper’s energy policies.

Yet there is resistance, he said, and “it is pretty ironic that the so-called ‘least advanced’ people are the ones taking the lead in trying to protect all of us, while the richest and most powerful among us are the ones who are trying to drive the society to destruction.”

His comments echo those he wrote this spring in a piece for TomDispatch entitled “Humanity Imperiled: The Path to Disaster.” He wrote: “[A]t one extreme you have indigenous, tribal societies trying to stem the race to disaster. At the other extreme, the richest, most powerful societies in world history, like the United States and Canada, are racing full-speed ahead to destroy the environment as quickly as possible.”

To organize around climate change, Chomsky told the Guardian that progressives should not frame it as a “prophecy of doom,” but rather “a call to action” that can be “energizing.”

As the country continues what David Suzuki called a “systematic attack on science and democracy” and “we are facing an irreversible climate catastrophe like the tar sands,” Canada’s race to disaster shows no signs of abating.

5 Visionaries of the Pacific Northwest

By Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network

Out of the Pacific Northwest come some visionary ideas for the protection of rights, exercise of sovereignty, intercultural understanding and meeting our future energy needs. Several of the leaders profiled in ICTMN’s recent compilation of tribal climate-adaptation plans were from Northwest tribes.

There are standouts in other areas as well. Whether they’re ensuring a long-term, sustainable energy supply, educating youngsters about Native history or standing up for prevention of violence against women, these five people are rocking the world with their forward thinking, innovation and commitment to social justice.

1. Deborah Parker, Tulalip: Protecting Native Women Under VAWA

Deborah Parker, Tulalip (Photo: MSNBC)

Parker had a vision of an America in which Native American women received the same protection from violence as other women got. The freshman Tulalip Tribes Council vice chairwoman put her lobbying skills—and her personal story as a survivor of physical and sexual violence—behind the effort to win protections for Native women in the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Partly as a result of her efforts, the latest version of VAWA empowers tribal law and justice officials to arrest and prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against women on tribal lands. Previously, federal prosecutors declined to prosecute a majority of violent crimes that occur in Indian country, including a large number of sexual abuse–related cases.

While lobbying for expansion of VAWA, Senator Patty Murray, D-Washington, cited data showing that statistically, in one year alone, 34 percent of Native women will be raped, 39 percent will be subjected to domestic violence, and 56 percent will marry a non-Indian “who most likely” would not be held liable for any violent crime committed if the tribal provisions were not included in the legislation.

“It’s a better bill because it not only ensures that existing safeguards are kept in place, it also expands protections to cover those who have needlessly been left to fend for themselves,” Murray said.

2. John McCoy, Tulalip: Teaching Native Culture in Public Schools

John McCoy, Tulalip

His leadership in the Washington State House of Representatives has yielded empowering legislation: Native culture now must be taught in public schools. Tribes can also start and operate their own schools. Tribal governments can gain control from the state over criminal and civil matters on Tribal lands. Qualified tribal police officers can become state-certified, giving them the authority to arrest non-Indians and enforce state law on tribal lands.

McCoy is chairman of the legislature’s Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee and is widely viewed as a strong voice for education and technology. He’s a champion of economic development on and off the hill. As general manager of Quil Ceda Village on the Tulalip reservation, he helped guide development of the village into an economically diverse community. It’s now the second-largest jobs provider in Snohomish County.

3. Gabe Galanda, Round Valley Indian Tribes: Paving the Red Road to Recovery for Inmates

Gabe Galanda (Photo: Courtesy Galanda & Broadman)

The efforts of this Seattle-based lawyer are helping Native Americans in prison to walk the red road to recovery. Galanda formed the nonprofit organization Huy (pronounced “Hoyt”) essentially meaning “I’ll see you later.” (Coast Salish people do not have a word for “goodbye.”) In Washington state, Huy won changes in policies that blocked Native American inmates’ access to traditional religious practices and sacred items.

Huy is lobbying for similar changes nationwide. The organization asked the U.N. Human Rights Committee for an inquiry into restrictions upon Native inmates’ religious freedoms, and appeared as a friend of the court in support of those freedoms. Galanda argues that restricting such freedoms violates federal, state and international law. For some Native inmates, walking the red road while behind bars is the only road to rehabilitation and survival.

“Today’s powwow, everything that we do is to give back, to show our kids and our families that we’re going to work on getting back to those ways, getting back to spirituality and things that matter,” inmate Seymour Ruben told the Cheney Free Press during an August 1 powwow at Airway Heights Corrections Center.

4. Jeff Morris, Tsimshian: Revolutionizing Energy Conception and Consumption

Jeff Morris (Photo: Washington State Democrats)

Morris’s leadership in and out of the Washington State House of Representatives has changed the way Washingtonians think about and consume energy. During his tenure as chairman of the House Energy Committee, he has helped enact laws that improve energy efficiency and facilitate investment in green technology in the Evergreen State. Washington was one of the first states to adopt energy efficiency laws on appliances; by 2020 those efficiencies will conserve enough energy to power more than 90,000 homes, Morris has said. The legislature created minimum efficiency standards and testing procedures for 18 categories of electrical products.

The state Commerce Department must identify barriers to achieving zero net energy consumption and ways to overcome those barriers in updates to the state energy code. Recent changes to the state energy code are expected to result in a 70 percent reduction in energy use in new homes and buildings by 2031. Long-term loans are available to enable consumers to make energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements; borrowers repay the loans in their monthly utility bills.

When he’s not at the state capitol, Morris leads an institute that instructs U.S. and Canadian legislators on energy infrastructure and delivery, enhancing their ability to ensure that the region has a stable, secure and affordable energy supply and delivery system.

5. Darrell Hillaire, Lummi Nation: Standing Strong Against Drugs

Darrell Hillaire (Photo: Lummi Nation News)

The former chairman and current treasurer has never been afraid to take tough measures to improve the quality of life for his people. During his chairmanship, the Lummi initiated the Community Mobilization Against Drugs Initiative, which launched a tough yet culturally based attack on drug abuse in the community—investing in resources for investigation and prosecution, drug testing, surveillance cameras, banishment of dealers from the reservation and burning down drug houses.

This year he showed his creative chops, becoming a multimedia producer to improve intercultural relations and non-Native understanding of the Lummi and their story. He produced an audio version of a popular book on Coast Salish culture; a short film on a foster child’s return home to the reservation, including a dream sequence featuring animated Coast Salish figures; and a stage production on unkept promises from the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. The play has been performed before sellout crowds at Bellingham High School, Silver Reef Casino Hotel Resort and Seattle University.

Hillaire also used the productions to build intergenerational relationships, involving elders as well as students from the Lummi Youth Academy he founded.