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Sonic signs franchise agreement with Native American tribe

As part of Sonic Drive-In’s strategy to develop new franchises in rural markets, the company has reached an agreement with the Wyandotte Nation, an Oklahoma-based Native American tribe, to open its first unit in Seneca, Mo.

“The Wyandotte Nation brings an appetite and acumen for operating businesses with high consumer appeal that create new jobs and stimulate business growth. They know the community desires the Sonic experience, and with our unit economics, Sonic is the perfect business opportunity,” said Cliff Hudson, chairman, CEO and president of Sonic Corp. “We also feel a personal connection because both Sonic and the Wyandotte Nation have their roots in Oklahoma. Native American tribes represent a very important part of our community here in the heartland, a significant business driver in our region and a contributor to economic activity and job creation nationwide.”

The new restaurant is slated to be built and open for business at 2314 Cherokee Ave., by the fall, adding to a portfolio of small businesses developed by the Wyandotte Nation. These businesses span multiple industries including foodservice, telecommunications, information technology, precision manufacturing and entertainment.

“We have looked at several concepts. What eventually brought us to Sonic was the opportunity to become part of a very recognizable brand,” said Kelly Carpino, CEO of the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma. “The effectiveness of Sonic’s media and promotional strategy along with an amazing product line drew our attention to the franchise. The decision was solidified by Sonic’s new small building prototype that is a perfect fit for smaller, secondary markets.”

This marks the first development agreement with a Native American tribe for the Sonic system.

Google Teams with National Congress of American Indians for Indigenous Mapping Day

Source: Native News Network

WASHINGTON – Many tribal communities in the United States lack accurate mapping information pertaining to roads, buildings, and information on services available to tribal members and the general public.

This week there is an unique opportunity for tribes to give input into a mapping project through Google.

In honor of the United Nation’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the National Congress of American Indians, Google Map Maker, Google Earth Outreach and the Google American Indian Network have teamed up and are proud to present Google’s first ever Indigenous Mapping Day on August 9.

A MapUp is a group of people coming together to improve how Google Maps represents their community. You and the members of your tribal community can add local roads, schools, health facilities, tribal offices and more. You can even map in your tribe’s native language. Google Map Maker currently supports Cherokee, Navajo, Inuktitut, Inupiaq, Kalaallisut, and Hawaiian languages.

Tribal Community Empowerment

Christopher Kalluk, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporation,
Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada

Google Map Maker is a tool that allows tribal governments, businesses, and individual citizens to take ownership of their communities as represented on Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Maps for Mobile.

This tool allows these entities to add to, edit, and improve digital local maps by mapping tribal offices, medical facilities, local roads, and everything in between! Anything from structures, landscapes, or ATM locations can be identified on Google Maps by using the Map Maker tool.

South Carolina Judge Orders Immediate Transfer Of Baby Veronica

Lacie Lowry, News on 6

CHARLESTON, South Carolina – A South Carolina judge Tuesday threw out the transition plan for Baby Veronica and ordered her Oklahoma family to immediately hand the girl over to her adoptive parents.

The judge said Veronica’s father skipped a mandatory meeting.

But Dusten Brown is at National Guard training in Iowa, and the Oklahoma National Guard confirms it wouldn’t make an exception and let him leave for any legal matters involving Veronica.

Veronica’s adoptive parents – Matt and Melanie Capobianco, of South Carolina – raised Veronica for two years before Brown gained custody.

Their adoption of Veronica has been finalized in South Carolina and they were scheduled to meet with Veronica and Brown on Sunday.

Brown and his daughter were a no-show and the Cherokee Nation says all parties knew of Brown’s mandatory training.

We asked an expert to weigh-in on what abrupt changes can do to a child.

“Cases such as these really lose sight of the fact that we’re dealing with 4-year-old child who has attachments to many people,” said therapist Cathy Chalmers.

Chalmers said cases like Baby Veronica’s are a lightning rod for issues like adoption and the historical trauma of Indians.

“The more the parties become polarized and divided, the harder it is to set aside personal needs and desires,” she said.

Chalmers didn’t write the transition plan, but was recommended as a resource for Dusten Brown. She’s also Cherokee.

She’s not allowed to talk about Veronica’s case, but she’s seen several cases just like Veronica’s, where a transition plan is thrown out and a child immediately transferred.

Chalmers said that’s when a child suffers.

“Abrupt change says to the child, ‘Where I came from wasn’t okay or I wouldn’t have been taken away from it,'” Chalmers said. “What brings them comfort, the routines, the rituals of their day-to-day life sometimes get lost in all the politics that are involved in a polarized court ruling.”

Cherokee Nation’s Assistant Attorney General Chrissi Nimmo issued the following statement:

It is disgusting to insinuate criminal misconduct or wrongdoing on Dusten’s behalf. He is in another state for mandatory National Guard training, which all parties and the court have known for a least two weeks. It is physically and legally impossible for Dusten to comply with the current order. This is another ploy to paint Dusten as the “bad guy.” It is especially appalling while he is serving his country. Legal steps have been taken by the Capobiancos to enforce the order in Oklahoma, and legal challenges will no doubt follow. To manufacture this media frenzy is unnecessary and harmful to all involved.

Brown returns from training on August 21.

The Oklahoma National Guard offered this statement Tuesday:

“The Oklahoma National Guard will not interject at this time in the legal matters of Baby Veronica and her natural father, Oklahoma Army National Guard Specialist Dusten Brown, who is attending military training in another state until August 21st. While we respect the request by Judge Martin to help enforce his order yesterday, we believe it inappropriate for the Oklahoma National Guard to take action in this matter until such time as it has been fully litigated by all parties. There are other legal mechanisms immediately available to the state of South Carolina to enforce the court’s order that have nothing to do with the National Guard or Specialist Brown’s military service.”

It’s unclear what happens next with Veronica, who is with her grandparents and step-mom in Oklahoma.

Native American Vote-Suppression Scandal Escalates

By Stephanie Woodard, Huffington Post

South Dakota has devised an ingenious new way to curb minority voting. For decades, suppressing the Native American vote here has involved activities that might not surprise those who follow enfranchisement issues: last-minute changes to Indian-reservation polling places, asking Native voters for ID that isn’t required, confronting them in precinct parking lots and tailing them from the polls and recording their license-plate numbers. The state and jurisdictions within it have fought and lost some 20 Native voting-rights lawsuits; a major suit is still before the courts. Two South Dakota counties were subject to U.S. Department of Justice oversight until June of this year.

That’s when the Supreme Court struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, saying, “Today, our Nation has changed.”

Yes, it has. The VRA decision provided an opening for those who are uncomfortable when minorities, the poor and other marginalized citizens vote. Since the decision, new measures to limit enfranchisement have swept the country — mostly gerrymandering and restrictions on allowable voter IDs.

South Dakota’s secretary of state and top elections official Jason Gant is a step ahead of the pack. He will ask the federal Election Assistance Commission if it’s okay to use Help America Vote Act funds to pay for early-voting polling places on three Indian reservations. Such facilities, which the state has already spent HAVA funds on for two other reservations, cost about $15,000 per election. If the new ones are approved, the money would come from the $9 million in HAVA appropriations the state has in interest-bearing accounts earning hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Voting-rights group Four Directions made the early-voting request on behalf of three South Dakota Sioux tribes during the July 31 meeting of the state’s Board of Elections. With the polling places, tribal members would cast ballots closer to home during the 46-day period when South Dakota allows voting ahead of Election Day. Shown above is a portion of a 50-plus-mile round trip some Sioux currently make to early-vote off their reservation–if impoverished tribal members can find transport or gas money. Other Sioux may travel 100 miles or more.

“Right now, most Indians in South Dakota get one day to vote, Election Day, when precincts are set up on reservations; meanwhile, other voters have several weeks,” said civil-rights leader OJ Semans, a Rosebud Sioux who co-directs Four Directions. “That’s not equal access.” Semans is shown below, second from right, discussing early voting with county officials.

At this point, you are probably wondering why asking a federal agency for advice is so very clever. It’s because the Election Assistance Commission no longer has any staff whatsoever tasked to respond to such a query, according to EAC spokesperson Bryan Whitener. He wrote in an email, “Questions that require advisory opinions regarding HAVA funds are decided by a vote of the commissioners. At this point, EAC is without commissioners.” A look at the EAC’s website reveals a several-year backlog of unanswered questions.

Better yet, Gant knows — and may have long known — that a query to the EAC would disappear into the void. Soon after the July 31 meeting, the national American Indian news source, Indian Country Today Media Network, the AP and several South Dakota media outlets reported that Gant is an officer of the National Association of Secretaries of State, which voted in 2011 to support disbanding the EAC.

As the scandal accelerates with articles, blog posts and radio and television talk shows on the subject appearing in South Dakota and around the country, Gant insists that the moribund EAC is the arbiter of the Native early-voting question. In an August 2 statement, he said, “The EAC can either say yes, no, or they may issue no response… I will not use HAVA funds unless it is clearly defined that I can do so.”

Four Directions consultant Bret Healy called Gant’s reliance on the EAC “troubling,” given the secretary of state’s involvement with the commission’s demise. Healy added that any request for advice sent to the EAC was a “dead letter.”

Linda Lea Viken, a Rapid City attorney and elections board member since 1999, said she was startled by the turn of events, especially since board members had pressed Gant during the July 31 meeting about when the EAC might reply and he gave no indication that the answer was, in all likelihood, never.

In an email to Secretary Gant, Viken asked, “May I ask, when did you first become aware that the EAC is not fully staffed and hasn’t issued a decision for several years?”

At another point, Viken queried Gant, “In light of the information the board has now [received] about the futility of such a request, what do you propose? We certainly don’t want these folks to be in limbo for years. They have been seeking this decision for a long time, and we should not be dismissive of their request.”

County elections official and elections board member Patty McGee saw things differently. McGee, who has served on the EAC’s federal Standards Board, told the state group on July 31, “We’ve given them several opportunities to vote.” Later, she told this reporter for an Indian Country Today Media Network article, “A person has to make an effort.”

Healy noted that having some — but not all — ways to vote does not constitute equality. He also referred to Natives as a “protected class” of voters, as defined by the permanent sections of the Voting Rights Act, which were not struck down and remain in effect. Because Native Americans have historically had less opportunity to participate in the electoral process and have been subject to official discrimination, any abridgment of their rights draws special scrutiny.

Separately, at the request of U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has analyzed the relevant regulations and opined that it appears South Dakota’s HAVA funds can properly be used for early voting, also called in-person absentee voting. Gant and the state elections board had this information for the July 31 meeting.

Gant is sticking to his guns: “We need to see what the EAC response is and proceed with the next step at that time.”

According to Viken, the state elections board acts as an appeals panel for HAVA issues within South Dakota and can clarify the state’s HAVA plan when necessary. She wants the state board to revisit the Indian-reservation early-voting issue. Said Viken, “It’s always good for us to be refreshed on our responsibilities under the law.”

Photograph by Stephanie Woodard. This article was produced with support from the George Polk Center for Investigative Reporting. c. Stephanie Woodard.

Denise Juneau Says No to US Senate Run in Montana

Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today Media Network

Indians and Democrats have joined forces in being disappointed that Denise Juneau, current Montana State Superintendent of Public Instruction, has decided against running for U.S. Senate.

Juneau, a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, announced August 5 that now is not the right time for her to seek higher office.

“It is not very often that you are presented with an opportunity to change what Congressional representation looks like in our state,” Juneau said in a statement posted on her Facebook page. “It is the kind of opportunity that warrants serious consideration.

“After much deliberation, I have decided not to seek the U.S. House or Senate seats in 2014. I sincerely appreciate the outpouring of support and encouragement I have received from people all across Montana and the country. It has been very humbling to be considered for such a leadership role representing our great state; however, my decision not to run for Congress is the right one for me at this time.

“I love serving as the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Montana and am proud of the progress I have made over the last four years.”

Some Juneau supporters, wanting to see an unabashed American Indian woman get elected to the U.S. Congress, thought the time was ripe now. They will have to wait and see if she will run for higher office in the future.

“An Indian woman in Congress would bring an invaluable perspective to D.C.,” said Holly Cook Macarro, a tribal lobbyist with Ietan Consulting. “To get there, we need more Native women in the electoral political pipeline: running for school boards, city council, county supervisors, state legislatures, and active in their local political infrastructure. We seem to see a lot of Indian candidates who want to immediately make a run for Congress without having held previous elected office, but we need to earn it and lay down the groundwork, just like everyone else.”

It’s easy to see what would have made Juneau an attractive contender in a state with a considerable tribal constituency. She was the first American Indian woman elected to statewide executive office in Montana when she won her current position in 2008, and she has been one of a small number of successful Native Americans nationwide to win elected office on the state level. In other words, she knows how to win, and she has already built a pathway of support.

If Juneau, who was raised on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in the state, would have run, many votes and campaign finance donations would have been likely from the 12 state- and federally-recognized tribes in Montana. Her support for education and youth initiatives has also made her attractive beyond Indian country over her past four years in office.

National Democrats have been eyeing Juneau for a possible run for Senate since Democrat Max Baucus announced his retirement this spring. His decision leaves a seat open in the Senate that has been spoken for since the 1970s, and few Democrats in the conservative-leaning state have signaled a desire to try to replace him.

Former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock, and state Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen have also recently announced their decisions not to run on the Democratic ticket. Lt. Gov. John Walsh is reportedly still considering.

Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Daines is likely to run, according to local media.

After Schweitzer – whom many political observers considered the Democratic frontrunner – announced in July that he was not running, Juneau seriously considered it, telling the local press that she felt “obligated to think about it,” and saying that she had queried her friends and family on whether she should.

Some supporters told her behind the scenes that it was going to be a difficult race to win, and they predicted she would spend most of her time fundraising, rather than focusing on the issues.

After her close election in 2008, where she prevailed by just 2,231 votes, it was probably wise to sit this one out, building support for the future, according to some informal advisers.

“While disappointing to the many of us who supported a run, it is not a total surprise to see Denise stay out of the Montana Senate race,” Cook Macarro added. “Montana is a tough state for Democrats, and our victories there have been hard won over the years.”

Even though Juneau decided against running for now, Democrats note that her star is still on the rise, which can only help in the future. They note that she was tapped by the Democratic National Committee to give a speech about education at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, and she was well received in that effort.

“Teachers are sometimes the only ones who tell our children they can go from an Indian reservation to the Ivy League, from the home of a struggling single mom to the White House,” Juneau said in one widely quoted part of that speech.

Her mom, Carol Juneau, helped pave the way for her daughter in politics, having served as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from 1998 through 2007, and then serving as a Democratic Party member of the Montana Senate since 2007.

The elder Juneau told Indian Country Today in 2008 that she wants more women – especially American Indian women – to succeed in U.S. politics.

“My daughter is running this year,” Carol Juneau told ICT in 2008, before her daughter won her current post. “I am very proud of her. She’s going to do great things.”

Pop Goes the Waistline! A Daily Soda Puts Kids On the Obesity Train

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Obesity among children barely of kindergarten age is on the rise, and researchers have linked their development of the disease to regular consumption of sugary drinks, reported CBS News.

While it’s widely known that childhood obesity has tripled in the past three decades in the U.S.—an estimated 17 percent of kids and adolescents aged 2 to 19 are obese, evidence that drinking sugary beverages daily can lead to obesity in toddlers and younger children has only recently emerged.

“Even though sugar-sweetened beverages are relatively a small percentage of the calories that children take in, that additional amount of calories did contribute to more weight gain over time,” Dr. Mark DeBoer, a pediatrician at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, told Reuters.

The study was published August 5 in Pediatrics. Researchers tracked 9,600 kids between the ages of 2 and 5 years old and their consumption of sugary drinks, including sodas, sports drinks and fruit drinks that were not 100 percent juice. The children’s body mass index (BMI) was measured. Kids in the 95th percentile or greater for their gender and age are considered obese; those in the 85th to 95th percentile are classified as overweight.

There was an obvious correlation between drinking sugary drinks and a higher BMI for children at ages 4 and 5. Five-year-olds who drank sweet beverages were about 1.5 times more likely to be obese than their peers who didn’t.

For kids 2 years of age who also drank sugary beverages, a BMI increase was observed over the following two years, suggesting the gradual weight gain overtime could lead to obesity.

“As a means of protecting against excess weight gain, parents and caregivers should be discouraged from providing their children with [sugar-sweetened beverages] and consuming instead calorie-free beverages and milk,” wrote DeBoer and the researchers. “Such steps may help mitigate a small but important contribution to the current epidemic of childhood obesity.”

The researchers also noted that policy changes should be considered to help curb kids’ consumption of sugary drinks.

Rowers Brave Angry Waves to Honor Warriors in Paddle to Quinault

Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network

Emmett Oliver watched from his daughter’s truck as his 14-year-old grandson Owen arrived Aug. 1 at Point Grenville in the Chinook Nation’s canoe as part of the 2013 Canoe Journey/Paddle to Quinault, Washington.

It was a perfect storm of irony and symbolism. Twenty-four years ago, Oliver, a noted Quinault educator and retired Coast Guard officer, proposed the Paddle to Seattle as part of Washington state’s centennial celebration. Tall ships, formerly instruments of empires bent on dominating indigenous cultures, were going to be there; Oliver wanted to ensure the state’s First Peoples had a presence, too.

Quinault President Fawn Sharp and Quinault Councilman Rich Underwood welcome canoes at Point Grenville for the 2013 Canoe Journey, Aug. 1. Quinault hosted the 2013 Canoe Journey Aug. 1-6. (Photo courtesy Richard Walker.)

That event gave birth in 1993 to the annual Canoe Journey. This year’s theme was “Honoring Our Warriors,” a tribute to Indian country’s military veterans. And on this day, Oliver – at 99 the Quinault Nation’s oldest living veteran – watched from his home shores as his grandson’s canoe arrived, having been escorted from Neah Bay by the state’s official tall ship.

Oliver’s daughter, Marylin Bard, described the moment as “powerful.” But she said it symbolized much more: The tall ships were invited by Quinault President Fawn Sharp so they could practice protocols of friendship that had been neglected in the past by European sailors – and to convey a message that Native and non-Native peoples can collaborate and work together on common issues.

The moment seemed to set the tone for the 2013 Canoe Journey: Healing, honoring, encouragement and love.

Pullers and skippers in 89 canoes endured rough seas and fog in the month of travel en route to Quinault, but the prayers and medicine were stronger. One canoe tipped between Port Townsend and Jamestown S’Klallam on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and at least six tipped during the landing at Queets. The bow of a Suquamish canoe was broken after it tipped. And yet all pullers arrived safely at Quinault.

“There were some days we shouldn’t have been out there, but we did our best because we really believe in this Journey,” Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman said. “The ocean humbled us, but we made it through. We’re still here.”

In the protocol tent, canoe families shared stories of deliverance and sang songs of blessing, healing and honoring – a recognition that, as Jamestown S’Klallam artist Elaine Grinnell once said, in life and in the canoe “It’s the team that gets you where you need to go.”

“Songs have the power to reach out and heal,” said Antone George, Lummi. “This is what Tribal Journeys is all about.”

The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain escorted canoes down the Pacific Coast of Washington state during the 2013 Canoe Journey/Paddle to Quinault. The escort was provided to commemorate the 225th anniversary of first contact between the new United States of America and the Quinault Nation. Quinault President Fawn Sharp called the tall ships’ involvement an opportunity to help make some amends for some past transgressions” and “convey[s] a message that tribal and nontribal communities choose to look forward to and work together on a collaborative basis toward common objectives.” (Photo courtesy Richard Walker.)

George asked for prayers for those on the “journey to wellness.” He encouraged people to never give up on loved ones working to recover from addiction, “because sometimes the hardest thing [for them] is to give up something like that.”

This six-day celebration of the strength of Northwest indigenous cultures included the honoring of culture bearers – including Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Chief Frank Nelson, who had recently been hospitalized for an illness. The honoring of Nelson was powerful, and included gifting and singing and dancing to songs for which he is known.

There were stories of cultural renewal as well. A Palouse woman told of pulling in the Journey – starting on the Snake River in eastern Washington and continuing on to the Columbia River and the Pacific. It was the first time the Palouse had canoed on the Snake River since her grandfather’s time.

A group of Skokomish people hiked an ancestral trail over the Olympic Mountains to Quinault, the first time in about 100 years that Skokomish people had walked the ancient trade route.

Nooksack canoe pullers navigate a wave as they arrive at the Quinault Nation’s Point Grenville for the 2013 Canoe Journey, Aug. 1. Quinault hosted the 2013 Canoe Journey Aug. 1-6. (Photo courtesy Richard Walker.)

And on Point Grenville, which the Spanish and British visited in the late 1700s and the U.S. used as a Coast Guard station from the 1930s through the 1980s, Quinault installed the first of three story poles by Quinault artist James DeLaCruz Jr. The poles will symbolize Quinault restoration, sovereignty and spirituality. The first pole was dedicated in honor of Oliver.

Quinault hosted an estimated 10,000 people, Quinault spokesman Steve Robinson said. Indigenous nations from British Columbia, Washington and Oregon – as well as Maori, Native Hawaiians and the Shinnecock Nation of Long Island – participated and shared their cultures.

Quinault provided oceanfront and forested campsites, firewood, medical and healing tents, laundry and showers, breakfasts and dinners. The menu included elk, crab and salmon.

This is the second time Quinault hosted the Canoe Journey; it last hosted a journey in 2002, when 38 canoes participated. This was the 21st annual Canoe Journey since 1993; there was a four-year gap between the Paddle to Seattle and the first annual Journey in 1993. There were two Journey routes in 2000.

Previous and Future Canoe Journeys
1989: Paddle to Seattle
1993: Paddle to Bella Bella, B.C.
1994: Youth Paddle (Olympia, in connection with the second Cedar Tree Conference)
1995: Full Circle Youth Paddle (in Puget Sound)
1996: Full Circle Youth Paddle (in Puget Sound)
1997: Paddle to La Push
1998: Paddle to Puyallup
1999: Paddle to Ahousaht, B.C.
2000: Paddle to Songhees, B.C. (1)
2000: Paddle to Pendleton, Ore. (2)
2001: Paddle to Squamish, B.C.
2002: Paddle to Quinault
2003: Paddle to Tulalip
2004: Paddle to Chemainus, B.C.
2005: Paddle to Elwha
2006: Paddle to Muckleshoot
2007: Paddle to Lummi
2008: Paddle to Cowichan, B. C.
2009: Paddle to Suquamish
2010: Paddle to Makah
2011: Paddle to Swinomish
2012: Paddle to Squaxin
2013: Paddle to Quinault
2014: Paddle to Bella Bella, B.C.

Taste of Tulalip – The Culinary Festival of the Year

5th Anniversary Highlights Include Extraordinary Epicurean Events, Celebrity Chefs & Sommelier Superstars

Tulalip, Washington – Tulalip Resort Casino is gearing up for a weekend of revelry to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Taste of Tulalip, its coveted award-winning food and wine aficionado event. Scheduled for November 8 and 9, 2013, this year’s line-up of top talent, to be announced within the next month, will include many familiar names as well as some stars on the rise. Past culinary celeb appearances have included ABC TV’s “The Chew” host Carla Hall, Bravo’s Top Chef Master and author Marcus Samuelsson, wine legend Marc Mondavi, “Thirsty Girl” Leslie Sbrocco and others. Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and Sommelier Tommy Thompson are putting together a dazzling roster of food, wine and tradition show-stoppers that have been a year in the planning. Taste 2013 will feature honorary winemaker Bob Betz of Betz Family Winery. Taste of Tulalip tickets have just gone on sale at Ticketmaster, with Friday night Celebration dinner tickets soon to follow.

The two-day gathering, with a focus on food, wine and tradition, begins with a Friday night wine and passed hors d’oeuvres reception, followed by the aptly named Celebration Dinner. The multi-course repast will focus on Native American and traditional recipe inspired dishes, paired with a global offering of rare, top wines. It is priced at $175. Tickets are limited and this event is always a sell-out.

On Saturday “All Access” pass holders ($295) will enjoy early entrance to the unforgettable Grand Taste; a VIP seminar featuring a celebrity cooking demo, table talk and Q & A session on the Viking Kitchen Stage; a private Magnum Party where they’ll be treated to a high level wine and indigenous food pairings; and a special bonus this year – two in-depth Reserve Tasting forums.

The weekend’s highlight is always the Grand Taste, spanning four hours and featuring lavish food stations as well as over 100 wines from Washington State, California and Oregon, and craft beer. It is priced at $95 and includes a Rock –n- Roll Cooking Challenge done “Iron Chef” style with celebrity judges looking for the best from both regional and Tulalip chefs, and sommelier teams. Special guest Emilio Lopez of El Salvador (a sixth generation specialty coffee producer), will be appearing at the Dillanos Coffee Roasters espresso bar, where guests will be able to sample a special TOT 5th Anniversary Blend.

All of the weekend’s wine offerings will be available in limited quantities for purchase in the Taste of Tulalip retail wine shop. There will also be book and bottle signings for those looking to personalize their purchases.

For tickets, go to www.tasteoftulalip.com or www.ticketmaster.com

PBS Newshour: Lummi Fighting Cherry Point Coal Export Terminal

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The controversy over coal-export railway terminals at Cherry Point near Lummi territory in Washington State has drawn the attention of the venerable Public Broadcasting System.

PBS Newshour broadcast a story on August 2 detailing the brewing battle, from tribal opposition to the reservations of health professionals concerned about the respiratory effects of both coal dust and diesel exhaust. The report starts and ends with input from Lummi fisher Jeremiah Julius, who articulates the nation’s concern about the destruction to habitat, air and tradition.

“The whole landscape is sacred to us,” Julius tells a reporter at the beginning of the segment. “There’s not much contaminant-free lands left in the United States. This is one of them.”

The segment aired the same day that the Lummi Nation sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers formally registering the tribe’s opposition to the plan.

Washington State officials along with other partners are conducting an environmental review of the shipping terminal project, which would entail exporting 54 million metric tons annually of “bulk commodities,” including as much as 48 million metric tons of coal per year, the Washington Department of Ecology said in a statement on July 31.

The Bellingham Herald reported on August 1 that a firm stance against the project “could stop the federal permit process for the coal terminal dead in its tracks.” Officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have said that if the tribe were to state in writing that there is no chance for an agreement with the company, SSA Marine, the federal agency would take that into account when evaluating federal permit applications.

“If the Lummis come to that position, it will make us reassess the direction we are going,” said Muffy Walker, the head of the Army Corps of Engineers’ regulatory branch in Seattle, at a press conference according to the newspaper. “We have denied permits in the past, based on tribal concerns.”

If Julius’s sentiments are typical, the Lummi Nation’s stance does not look likely to change.

“To me, these tankers are the trains that killed off the buffalo,” said Julius. “These tankers are going to kill my way of life. So to me, this is—it is a battle.”

Watch Pacific Northwest Weighs Environmental Risks of Cashing in on Coal Export Market at the PBS website.

2 accused of illegally selling caviar, steelhead, salmon

State agents believe the men have connections to an international poaching ring.

Diana Hefley, The Herald

EVERETT — An undercover operation in Snohomish County by state fish and wildlife agents has netted two men with suspected ties to an international fish-poaching ring.

The men are accused of illegally selling caviar, steelhead and salmon. One of the men admitted to illegally “snagging” at least 100 pounds of steelhead, prosecutors said. The men were charged on Tuesday with unlawful trafficking of fish, a felony.

“It’s bad enough when they’re stealing by harvesting illegally. They’ve added to the egregiousness by then making a profit,” said Mike Cenci, a marine patrol captain with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Agents say the men are believed to be connected to a fish-poaching ring that was operating out of several other states. Earlier this year, eight men were indicted in Missouri on federal charges for poaching and trafficking in American paddlefish and their eggs. More than 100 other people were arrested or cited for their part in illegally selling Missouri paddlefish to national and international caviar markets.

American paddlefish, also known as spoonbills, are native to the Mississippi River watershed. The prehistoric fish can live for decades, weigh up 160 pounds and reach seven feet long. Criminals sell eggs from the boneless fish as higher-quality caviar.

“Paddlefish are often sold under the guise of sturgeon,” Cenci said.

With a decline in the highly-sought-after and expensive sturgeon roe, paddlefish eggs have gained popularity. The increase in demand has led to a decline in the paddlefish population, according to federal fish and wildlife agents. Chinese paddlefish, once plentiful in the Yangtze River, are believed to be almost extinct.

Authorities allege that Igor Stepchuk, 38, of Lynnwood, sold an undercover agent five jars of American paddlefish eggs for $500. He also is accused of illegally selling steelhead, and coho and chinook salmon.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife began investigating Stepchuk after receiving a tip in 2011 that he was trafficking illegal caviar. The agent met with Stepchuk numerous times. His friend Oleg Morozov, of Kent, also is accused of trafficking fish.

Stepchuk, a convicted felon, eventually offered to sell the agent steelhead, court papers said. He reportedly told the agent he had poached about 100 pounds of steelhead. It isn’t clear where he caught them. He reportedly showed the agent a freezer full of fish.

Non-tribal fishermen are banned from selling steelhead. Commercial and recreational salmon fishing also is heavily regulated.

Cenci said it’s also illegal to catch fish by snagging, which often means dragging a hook through the water and impaling the fish, rather than waiting for a fish to bite.

“It’s offensive to sportsmen and sportswomen. It’s a matter of ethics,” Cenci said.

The defendants reportedly went on to sell the undercover agent more than a dozen jars of caviar and more steelhead. In total, the men charged the agent more than $4,500 for the fish and eggs.

Detectives sent samples of the caviar and fish to the department’s molecular genetics laboratory to confirm the species. The lab is used primarily to help manage wildlife and fish resources, but enforcement agents use the facility to assist with criminal investigations. DNA testing was done, and the samples were consistent with steelhead and chinook and coho salmon, court records said.

“That kind of activity has a great impact when you’re dealing with endangered salmon runs,” Cenci said.

Bob Heirman, conservationist and longtime secretary-treasurer for the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club, has been planting salmon and trout in Snohomish County for decades.

Poachers are “robbing resources while some people are trying to recover them,” Heirman said.

Stepchuk and Morozov are expected to answer to the charges later this month in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Unfortunately, the state’s fish and wildlife species often find their way to illegal national and international markets, Cenci said. “We’ve seen everything poached from roe to bear gallbladders,” he said.

He encourages seafood eaters to make sure they are buying from licensed and legitimate sellers. “If there aren’t people willing to buy (illegal products) the incentive to poach for profit goes away,” Cenci said.