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‘American Buffalo’ Opens at National Museum of Wildlife Art

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Before you head to Yellowstone National Park this summer to see the real deal, stop at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to see stunning paintings of bison from the early 18th Century.

The exhibit “George Catlin’s American Buffalo” opens May 18 and runs until August 18, featuring 40 paintings by the artist, who produced about 500 works based on the travels among 50 Native tribes in the 1830s, according to the museum. The show takes a “fresh look at the famous works of [Catlin] through the lens of his representation of buffalo and their integration into the lives of Native Americans.”

George Catlin, “Buffalo Bull, Grazing on the Prairie,” 1832-1833, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

“Catlin’s paintings illuminate in great detail the close ties between Native American tribes and bison in the 1830s, and his writings about the land and its native inhabitants have informed generations of conservationists as they wrestle with sustainable ways to manage America’s Great Plains,” said Adam Duncan Harris, curator of art for the National Museum of Wildlife Art, in a press release.

George Catlin, “Hee-láh-dee, Pure Fountain, Wife of The Smoke,” 1832 oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

The exhibition, organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in collaboration with the National Museum of Wildlife Art, is drawn entirely from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection. For more info on “George Catlin’s American Buffalo” and the National Museum of Wildlife Art, click here.

“The Life of William Shelton, a Tulalip Indian” Documentary on Kickstarter

"The Life of William Shelton, a Tulalip Indian" on Kickstarter — “The Life of William Shelton, a Tulalip Indian” on Kickstarter

“The Life of William Shelton, a Tulalip Indian” documentary, which recently took first place for “Best Overall Film” at the Tulalip Hibulb Film Festival is now on Kickstarter. The film, produced by Lita Sheldon, Tulalip tribal member and Jeff Boice, is working to raise money to create a broadcast quality film that can be aired on TV stations and small independent theaters, along with raising funding for additional interviews, footage and to cover the cost of editing, post production and securing distribution rights.

Kickstarter is an online site home to everything creative, including films, games, music, art, design and more. All of the projects on Kickstarter are brought to life through the direct support of people willing to pledge money and show their support. “The Life of William Shelton, a Tulalip Indian” currently has 42 days to raise their goal of $30,000.

You can read about the project, the people behind it and the various items you can receive depending on your donations here.

Clean Sweep Week offers many activities

Source: The Marysville Globe Guest Opinion by Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring

As many community members are already aware, the City and a multitude of enthusiastic, civic-minded volunteers are readying for our 2^nd Annual Marysville Community Clean Sweep Week.

Clean Sweep is our weeklong blitz of free activities aimed at joining with neighborhoods, businesses and residents to get our collective spring cleaning off on the right foot, and hopefully inspire others along the way toward making Marysville a safer, attractive and more livable community.

Neighborhood Clean Sweeps, painting over graffiti, Adopt-a-Street litter control pickup, the Shred-a-Thon and PC recycling are just some of the free activities that will make for a busy week around Marysville’s streets and neighborhoods.

One free activity during Clean Sweep Week that can sometimes get overlooked is the annual Earth Day Celebration hosted and sponsored by the Allen/Quilceda Watershed (A/QWA) Team. That’s only because while most other activities are happening along busy streets or urban areas, the A/QWA Team’s popular native tree and shrub planting projects happen off the beaten path.

The Earth Day Celebration is an integral part of Clean Sweep Week, a testament to the importance we and all the Earth Day participating agencies place on preserving and protecting clean water and a healthy watershed. It’s no coincidence that it falls during Clean Sweep Week.

I invite you to come out and help at this year’s Earth Day Celebration, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 20 at the Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project Site in Harborview Park, 4700 60th Ave. NE, in Marysville.

The A/QWA Team chose the location to raise awareness about the Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project, which is lead by the Tulalip Tribes and includes various federal, state and local governments and agencies.

The Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project is a critical restoration project that will restore tidal influence to nearly 400 acres at the mouth of Allen and Jones Creeks. The event will include educationally focused booths, interpretive trail walks, face painting and a service activity.

The first 200 participants will get a free Earth Day T-shirt that can be stamped with all the parts of a healthy watershed at each of the booths. Participants will leave the event with a greater understanding of the elements within a healthy watershed and actions that they can take to improve our local watersheds. The service activity allows participants to get their hands dirty and implement a lasting beneficial change in the watershed.

This year participants will plant a native tree or shrub along the edge of the Qwuloolt Estuary restoration project and spread mulch to nourish new plants and suppress weeds. This is a fun, healthy way to do something good for the environment – if you don’t mind getting a little grubby.

To sign up, or for more information, contact Erin Martin at (425) 388-3463 Ext. 4661 or Erin.Martin@snoco.org.

The A/QWA Team is a diverse community group working together to implement the Quilceda/Allen Watershed Management Plan and to improve the overall water quality of streams in the Allen/Quilceda Watershed. The A/QWA Team community partnership is just one of the many important coordinating groups that accomplish the City mission:

“to provide quality, innovative and efficient municipal services which promote economic growth, thriving neighborhoods, healthful living and financial sustainability for our residents and businesses.”

The A/QWA Team provides education and outreach opportunities to the community and improvements the environment by actively working in Marysville and the greater Allen/Quilceda watershed. The Team is comprised of representatives from Adopt-a-Stream, City of Arlington, City of Marysville, Marysville School District, Snohomish County Conservation District, Snohomish County Surface Water Management (SWM), Sound Salmon Solutions, Tulalip Tribes, Washington State Department of Ecology and local residents.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to get of the house and give back to our natural environment by volunteering or simply celebrating.

Walk MS raises awareness, funds

By Lauren Salcedo, The Marysville Globe

Lauren SalcedoSamantha Love, left, and Linda Goldberg smile as they prepare to complete the Snohomish County Walk MS at the Tulalip Amphitheatre on Saturday, April 13. — Lauren Salcedo
Samantha Love, left, and Linda Goldberg smile as they prepare to complete the Snohomish County Walk MS at the Tulalip Amphitheatre on Saturday, April 13.

TULALIP — As rain, wind and chilly temperatures plagued Western Washington on Saturday, April 13, hundreds of participants from around Snohomish County withstood the weather to complete the Walk MS in support of those with multiple sclerosis — a disease which, like rain, is more prevalent in the Pacific Northwest.

Marysville’s Samantha Love and her team co-captain Linda Goldberg represent the varying degrees of the disease.

“This is all about awareness. We show both sides of the spectrum. I’m an advanced MS person and Samantha is in the early stages. Hopefully, we can find something that can stop it cold,” said Goldberg. “I think the awareness is important. Because we are both so fabulous on a regular basis, nobody really understands what it really means and all of the different levels of MS. We did all our fundraising through small donations. We’ve had over 200 individual donations to our team, which means that there are now 200 more people who understand and have shared with everybody else the story of MS. We are not invisible as we used to be.”

Goldberg has known Love since she was a child and their diagnoses brought them closer together.

“My daughter was friends with Samantha’s sister Lauren, and Samantha was her little sister. We knew her as a little child running around being crazy, and then she grew up and was diagnosed with MS at age 20, and I had been diagnosed probably about the same time,” said Goldberg. “Everybody started emailing me and saying that Samantha was just diagnosed, so we started emailing and Facebooking each other and supporting each other. This year we came together because she was having struggles with her MS, as was I, and she said, ‘You’re joining the team, aren’t you?’ and she talked me into it. Now we are lovely co-captains and best of buddies, I’m her stand-in mom, and she’s my stand-in cheerleader and my energy infusion and best-bud. She is keeping us together.”

Love was happy to have Goldberg join her on their team.

“I did the walk last year,” she said. “We had a really small team with only four people including myself, and we only raised about $800. This year, as soon as Linda signed on, it got humongous and we have more than 27 team members and $18,000 raised in a month and a half. We just want a cure. People will say, ‘Oh, but you look so good, we would have never guessed you had MS,’ and it’s not until we are in the hospital that they realize that it’s not going away.”

Goldberg was not sure if she would be able to participate in the walk this year because she was struggling with her illness.

“I just got out of the hospital yesterday,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss this, though. We are energized and ready to go.”

The National MS Society hosted seven walks across the state of Washington on April 13, and another in Seattle on April 14.

“Our fundraising goal is $2 million total for the eight walks throughout Washington,” said Jessica Kurtz of the National MS Society. “People have been fundraising for the last few months, and a lot of people have been bringing in donations today. The pledge deadline is May 6, so people can keep bringing in donations until then.”

Kurtz hoped that the Walk MS would raise awareness in the community.

“I think that with the weather the way it is, we could have had a lot of people not show up, but it just shows that the MS community here is strong and people are willing to come out and support their community, and it’s great. There’s a lot of people here. MS is the most prevalent in the Northwest, and you may think that you don’t know someone living with MS, but you probably do. Once somebody in your family or a friend has been diagnosed, it affects you and it affects everybody. This is a great event for people living with MS to come out and see how many people support them. People are just so excited to see all the encouragement, and it makes them feel really good.”

For more information on the Walk MS, or to donate, email walkMSnorthwest@nmss.org.

Coastal cities prepare for rising sea levels

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON – Americans in coastal areas, particularly on the East and Gulf coasts, will confront challenging questions in the coming years as leaders determine how to protect millions of people in the face of rising sea levels and more intense storms.

Should cities rebuild the boardwalks in New Jersey shore towns? Should the government discourage people from rebuilding in areas now more vulnerable to flooding? How much would it cost to protect water and sewer systems, and subways and electrical substations from being inundated in the next storm?

Leaders from coastal communities along the East Coast gathered in New York City on Wednesday to talk about the consequences of Hurricane Sandy, as well as how they will address future sea level rising. The conference was sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit, nonpartisan science advocacy group.

“What we really got a glimpse at was our collective future,” said Joe Vietri, who heads coastal and storm risk management for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is heading up a comprehensive study of Sandy.

Rising sea levels caused primarily by global warming could worsen the effects of storms such as Sandy, particularly when it comes to storm surge. Since 1992, satellites have observed a 2.25-inch rise in global sea levels.

Just before Sandy, sea surface temperatures were about 5 degrees Fahrenheit above the 30-year average for the time of year. Scientists who studied the storm determined that about 1 degree was likely a direct result of global warming.

With every degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature, the atmosphere can hold 4 percent more moisture. As a result, Sandy was able to pull in more moisture, fueling a stronger storm and magnifying the amount of rainfall by as much as 5 percent to 10 percent compared with conditions more than 40 years ago.

Coupled with higher overall sea levels, the intense storm meant more water surging onshore and penetrating farther inland. The storm’s effects prompted officials in Wilmington, N.C., to look at its vulnerabilities if seas rise up to one meter by the end of the century.

“People are listening, people are ready to take some actions,” said Phil Prete, a senior environmental planner for the city.

The officials spent less time discussing the cause of rapid sea level rise: how to slow the carbon emissions that are heating up the Earth and warming the oceans. Many public officials in coastal communities instead are focusing on what they say are the consequences of global warming.

They have no choice, said Kristin Jacobs, mayor of Broward County, Fla., where extreme tides during Hurricane Sandy washed out portions of Fort Lauderdale’s iconic beachfront highway.

“Almost all of us are living in very low-lying areas,” she said. “There are many lessons in South Florida already learned from multiple hurricanes. We have learned from those hurricanes, we have learned to plan for the future, and we’ve learned that this is our new normal.”

The causes are also a settled question in Hoboken, N.J., where an estimated 500 million gallons of Hudson River water inundated the town and stayed for nearly 10 days, said Stephen Marks, Hoboken’s assistant business administrator. He called on the federal government and states to take a leadership role in addressing climate change, particularly in communities that are vulnerable to its effects.

“The debate about climate change is essentially over,” Marks said. “Hurricane Sandy settled that for, I would say, a majority of the residents in our city.”

But coastal populations are particularly vulnerable, and growing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last month issued a report showing that already crowded U.S. coastal areas will see population grow from 123 million people in 2010 to nearly 134 million people by 2020. That puts millions more people at risk from storms such as Sandy.

People may be aware of the consequences of climate change, but it hasn’t seemed to have stopped anyone from moving to the beach – or hurt property values, said Vietri, of the Army Corps of Engineers. He noted that communities suffered far less damage if there were sand dunes or other protective measures, such as substantial setbacks for homes.

“You still have communities rebuilding almost exactly where they were prior to the storm coming,” Vietri said. “You continue to have a situation where we have a tremendous population density living in high-hazard areas.”

Makah Tribe and U.S. Coast Guard Sign MOA to protect ocean

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Rear Adm. Keith A. Taylor, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District, and the honorable Timothy J. Greene Sr., chairman of the Makah Tribal Council, sign a memorandum of agreement at the Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, April 12, 2013.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Makah Tribal Council signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to reaffirm their integral partnership, cooperation and coordination in pollution prevention and response during a ceremony at the Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, April 12.

“This MOA will solidify an enduring relationship for decades to come,” said Rear Adm. Keith A. Taylor, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District. “The agreement establishes consensus guidelines of environmental stewardship necessary to succeed over the long-term. Additionally, the MOA will serve as a model for cooperation between Coast Guard leaders and other sovereign tribal authorities.”

Additionally, the Makah Tribe bestowed a name and dedicated artwork for the primary conference room of the Thirteenth Coast Guard district. For more details about the MOA, see the full United States Coast Guard press release.

Board chair delivers State of the Tribes

Source: Marysville Globe

TULALIP — Tulalip Tribal Board Chair Mel Sheldon Jr. will give this year’s State of the Tulalip Tribes address during the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce Business Before Hours monthly breakfast starting at 7 a.m. on Friday, April 26.

The presentation will take place in the Canoes Cabaret of the Tulalip Resort Casino, located at 10200 Quil Ceda Blvd.

The cost is $23 per person for those who preregister, or $28.00 at the door. Reservations made and not honored will be billed.

For other reservation information, contact the Chamber by phone at 360-659-7700 or via email at admin@marysvilletulalipchamber.com.

Tribe closes Lake Quinault to non-tribal fishing

Source: KOMO 4 News

TAHOLAH, Wash. (AP) – The Quinault Indian Nation is closing Lake Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula to non-tribal fishing until further notice.

President Fawn Sharp said Tuesday the emergency measure is aimed at protecting water quality in the tribe-owned lake.

She said tribal leaders are concerned leaky septic tanks owned by non-tribal residents in the area may have caused untreated sewage to get into the lake. The tribe has detected pollution in some areas of the lake and plans to conduct more water quality tests.

Sharp said the tribe plans to monitor any fish caught by tribal members. She said they are also worried about reports of illegal fishing by non-tribal members and docks being built illegally on the lake.

The lake is located on the southwestern edge of Olympic National Park.

22nd Annual Veterans Pow Wow

May 31st, June 1st and 2nd, 2013, Tulalip Resort

Senators Confirm Sally Jewell to Lead Interior; Predict She Will be Good for Indian Country

By Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today Media Network

Senators are speaking out after confirming Sally Jewell April 10 by a vote of 87 – 11 to become the next secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, saying she will be strong on American Indian issues as she encounters them in her new position—a position that includes oversight of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Jewell, 57, was most recently the CEO of an outdoor gear and clothing company called Recreational Equipment Inc., and she is a former commercial banker and oil company engineer, as well as a longtime advocate for conservation and outdoor recreation.

In her previous positions, Jewell hasn’t done a lot of specific work on Indian-related issues, which she admitted during her confirmation hearing, yet some Indian leaders say she has done enough to know that she will be a positive advocate. For instance, she was part of the Board of Regents at the University of Washington, which approved the construction of the university’s new $5.8 million longhouse.

Billy Frank, a Native American environmental advocate, has issued his strong support, as have Fawn Sharp, Chris Stearns, and other Indian leaders.

Several senators also say they believe Jewell will be good for Indian country.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, has met with Jewell multiple times and has discussed a number of issues important to Indian country, according to the senator’s staff. On March 7, at Jewell’s confirmation hearing, Cantwell asked Jewell for her “comments on the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which will be part of your responsibilities. And whether you would commit to protecting treaty rights and incorporating tribal input into the Interior resource decisions?”

“I’m fully committed to upholding the sacred trust responsibilities that we have to Indian tribes and Indian nations,” Jewell replied. “And building and strengthening the nation-to-nation relationship that we have with tribes. I know this is a very important part of the Department of the Interior. … I’m certainly very interested in becoming more steeped in those issues and it has come up across the board in almost every one of my meetings with senators so far. So I very much look forward to taking this part of the role extremely serious.”

Cantwell further asked Jewell whether she supports energy development on Indian lands.

“Some tribes are blessed with natural resources and I think leaning into those resources to help the tribes economically as well as help the country by finding sources of energy development are really important,” Jewell said. “I know that businesses and tribes want certainty, in terms of the regulations. And I know that there have been issues with the Bureau of Land Management on how the leases occur. And I certainly will look into furthering that development.”

The comments from Jewell were not enough to convince Sen. John Barrasso (D-Wyo.), the vice-chair of SCIA, to vote for her confirmation. He was tough on her ties to conservation groups during her confirmation hearing, and he ended up being one of the 11 Republicans to vote against her confirmation.

Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) office said he is interested in bringing Jewell to Montana to see firsthand the issues involving his state’s tribes. Based on conversations prior to her confirmation, Tester believes she will be a strong advocate for Indians, his spokeswoman said.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, predicted in a press release that Jewell will be an “outstanding” secretary.

“As fellow engineer, I am confident that Ms. Jewell will use science as her guide in addressing the challenges that lie ahead, including managing our nation’s land and water, and expanding safe and responsible energy production,” Heinrich said. “Ms. Jewell shares my commitment to Indian country and to protecting our natural heritage for our children and for generations to come. And she knows firsthand that conservation and growing the Western economy are inextricably linked.”

On the House side, Don Young (R-Alaska), the leader of the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs, has not yet met with Jewell, but he has plenty of thoughts on how she can work to strengthen Indian country.

“One of the most important things she can do as Secretary is reorder the pecking order of the bureaus within the Department to give Indian Affairs equal standing with the others,” Michael Anderson, a spokesman for Young, said. “Additionally, one of the Department’s most solemn obligations is to ensure federal laws and policies dealing with tribes are beneficial to American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Congressman Young looks forward to promoting that message and building a strong relationship with Secretary Jewell in the days and months ahead.”

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii), the ranking member of the Indian-focused subcommittee is also interested in meeting with Jewell as soon as possible, according to the congresswoman’s staff.

President Barack Obama, upon receiving word that the Senate had confirmed Jewell, also mentioned her impending relationship with Indian country in a statement.

“Sally’s commitment to energy and climate issues, her belief in our strong government-to-government relationship with Indian country, and her understanding of the inherent link between conservation and good jobs ensure that she will be an exceptional Secretary of the Interior.”

Jewell was sworn in April 12 in a closed-door ceremony, immediately replacing outgoing Secretary Ken Salazar. She is the 51^st Secretary of the Interior.