SEATTLE — The Tulalip man whose teenage son killed four students and himself at Marysville Pilchuck High School in 2014 was sentenced to two years in federal prison Monday.
Raymond Fryberg, 42, stood up in U.S. District Court and expressed sorrow over the violence his son wreaked using a handgun the elder Fryberg could not legally possess.
Fryberg told U.S. District Judge James Robart he wakes up every day with a broken heart and prays for the young lives lost.
“I am sorry for what my son did,” he said. “ … I don’t condone any of the things my son did. It’s a tragedy.”
A federal jury in September convicted Fryberg of six counts of illegal firearm possession. He was the subject of a 2002 domestic-violence protection order in Tulalip Tribal Court that forbade him from owning guns.
Assistant U.S. attorneys sought roughly three years in prison, the stiffest punishment under sentencing guidelines. Fryberg’s defense attorneys, however, argued the man and his family had suffered enough. They urged two years of probation, with no time behind bars.
An investigation after the Oct. 24, 2014, shootings found the elder Fryberg had repeatedly filled out federal forms while buying 10 different guns and never once answered truthfully that he was disqualified from making such purchases. The defendant’s son used his dad’s illegally acquired .40-caliber handgun to open fire in a high school cafeteria. Before taking his own life, the teen shot five of his friends and relatives. Only Nate Hatch, shot in the jaw, survived.
On Monday Nate’s mother, Denise Hatch, told the court that in the 15 months since the shootings Raymond Fryberg had never apologized, and that lack of apology had divided the community.
Fryberg told Judge Robart that he went to trial on the charges in hopes of preserving his right to own weapons necessary for hunting, which he said is integral to tribal culture.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Fryberg faced a presumed punishment of between 27 and 33 months.
GOLD BAR — A 1.25-mile stretch of forested land along the Wallace River will now be protected forever as salmon habitat.
The land, covering 121 acres on five parcels, was purchased by the environmental nonprofit Forterra in July for $490,000. Forterra, formerly known as the Cascade Land Conservancy, transferred the property to the Tulalip Tribes in November for future management.
A conservation easement ensures the property will never be developed.
“There’s a stewardship plan that we’ll be working on with the Tulalips” to maintain the tract’s value to the watershed, said Michelle Connor, Forterra’s executive vice president of strategic enterprises.
The property on the north bank of the Wallace River consists of five parcels that are a mix of wetlands and mature second-growth forests. It was last logged several decades ago.
“The trees have grown back nicely and the land is actually in pretty good shape,” said Daryl Williams, the Tulalip Tribes’ natural resources liaison.
The tract is located just west of Gold Bar and close to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the Wild Sky Wilderness and other protected lands managed by the state Department of Natural Resources.
The land lies across the Wallace River from a state salmon hatchery, and provides habitat for bull trout as well as four types of salmon: chinook, coho, pink and chum. The land is also home to black bear, elk, deer and beaver.
Williams said the land is likely to remain in its present state, as it already provides ideal habitat for fish in the water as well as for land mammals.
“Right now we don’t have any money to do anything with the property,” Williams said. “Perhaps we’ll thin some of the trees to allow some of the others to grow faster.”
The deal came together when Forterra learned the owner of the parcels, a property investment firm called Robinett Holdings, soon would put them up for sale, Connor said.
“When we first learned the property was coming on the market, we contacted the Tulalip Tribes to see if (the land) would be conservationally significant,” Connor said.
That turned out to be the case, she said.
“The property itself has historical oxbows and natural features that in and of themselves are very, very important,” she said.
It also fit in with the Tulalips’ efforts to restore the watersheds associated with the Snohomish, Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time and effort trying to restore areas on the watershed,” Williams said.
“With new development and redevelopment, we’re losing habitat faster than we’re replacing it,” he said. “We need to do a better job with what we have.”
The deal marks the second large habitat protection project the Tulalips have undertaken. Last year the tribes breached the levees and restored tidal influence to the Qwuloolt Estuary in Marysville. The 315-acre tract took 20 years to convert from farmland to a salt marsh and cost nearly $20 million.
The transfer of the Wallace River tract is also consistent with Forterra’s goals in working with local Native American tribes on preservation, Connor said.
“We see that repatriation of indigenous lands is an important part of our conservation mission,” Connor said.
Snohomish County was the primary provider of funds for the land purchase and transfer, providing $280,000 in Conservation Futures funds toward the purchase, and toward other costs associated with obtaining the conservation easements and transferring the property to the tribes.
County Parks Director Tom Teigen said the Conservation Futures Advisory Board often tries to strike a balance between acquiring land for active recreation, agriculture and habitat preservation, but this particular exchange stood out for its potential benefits to salmon.
“At the end of the day, preserving that property and getting that much acreage as well as the riverfront is significant,” Teigen said.
Forterra also received $250,000 from the state Recreation and Conservation Office toward the property purchase.
It has been 100 years since water flowed in this now former farmland along Ebey Slough. The place is unrecognizable from what it was just four months ago.
“A lot of things are going to change really fast in here,” said Todd Zackey, as he and a team of researchers from the Tulalip Tribes navigated the waters Monday.
In August, the Tulalip, along NOAA and Snohomish County breached a levee along the slough, flooding the land and returning its natural state.
Now, researchers are casting nets into the water to see what fish are showing up. The goal is to create a salmon spawning habitat to help in increase their numbers around Puget Sound.
Researchers are casting nets into the Ebey Slough to see what fish are showing up. (Photo: Eric Wilkinson / KING)
Right now, though, there are far more questions than answers.
“Can we punch a hole in the dike and have the salmon respond in a positive way?” asked researcher Matt Pouley. “Are we going to see a population response over a reasonable amount of time?”
So far only a few salmon have been spotted, but that’s to be expected for this time of the year. There are plenty of other fish, though, and that’s a good sign.
No one is in a hurry. This is a long term project. It will likely take a century for full restoration of these waters.
And this project is about more than strengthening the fish supply. It’s about a way of life that goes back thousands of years for the Tulalip, and preserving that tradition for generations to come.
“The tribe is, in essence, losing part of its culture,” said Zackey. “Restoring salmon is restoring the culture of the tribe.”
The Quilt Walk for Justice was an effort to bring attention to the Dollar General V. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Supreme Court Hearing. The case has the potential to strip tribes of their inherent sovereignty. Photo/Bonnie Juneau
By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News
If you sign a contract with someone, the base understanding is that you have agreed and will abide by the terms of the contract. Seems fairly straightforward and it’s one of the ways that Tulalip reaffirms our sovereignty, by insisting that those who want to do business on our Reservation understand and agree that any legal issues will be heard in the Tulalip Court system. Dollar General, after signing a similar agreement to do business with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, is now arguing that a civil suit brought forward for alleged abuse of a minor, shouldn’t be subject to tribal court jurisdiction. On December 7th, Tulalip Board of Director Bonnie Juneau and Tulalip Youth Council Co-Vice Chairwoman Jlynn Joseph joined Indigenous people from across the nation in protest.
Tulalip Board of Director Bonnie Juneau and Tulalip Youth Council Co-vice Chair JLynn Joseph joined demonstrators for the Quilt Walk for Justice, the quilt squares each included a message from survivors of sexual assault to illustrate the real trauma that results from patchwork jurisdiction on tribal lands. Photo/Bonnie Juneau
“It’s important for our youth know happens when we travel to D.C.,” said Bonnie, “I want our future leaders to know what kinds of work we do while we’re here and why tribes have to be involved in national politics. Cases like this are why we support candidates that aren’t local, this is why we give campaign contributions, because national politics affect us at home.” Photo/Bonnie Juneau
“Choctaw is similar to us, Tulalip,” said Bonnie. “They have the ability enter consensual agreements, contracts, with businesses. We’ve done this with Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and all the businesses in Quil Ceda Village. In that contract the business agreed to submit to the civil jurisdiction of our courts.”
The case is deeply concerning for several reasons, explained Bonnie.
“These businesses only want tribal jurisdiction and sovereignty when it benefits their bottom line,” she said. “They want the benefits of our lands and rights without honoring the laws of our land. Their big claim is that they feel the United States isn’t protecting their civil rights in tribal courts. If a U.S. citizen travels to Canada or Mexico, it’s understood that they agree to abide by the laws of those lands. If they don’t, does the Federal Government get involved in those cases? This isn’t a case of someone driving onto the reservation and not knowing they were there. Dollar General knowingly contracted with the Tribe, they knowingly agreed to tribal court jurisdiction.
Phylis Anderson Principal Chief of the Mississippi Choctaw was one of numerous speakers fighting for both victims’ rights and tribal sovereignty. Photo/Bonnie Juneau
“Here at Tulalip, many of our judges have been non-Native and many of our juries include Native American and non-Native jurors, there have even been cases of some of our juries being completely non-native residents or employees of the Tribe. They’re questioning the credibility of our courts. I hope the United States understands that they need to honor the treaties that they made. Those treaties aren’t outdated any more than the Constitution of the United States is outdated.”
Tribal justice systems are sophisticated and include safeguards to ensure due process, Bonnie continued. Tribal jurisdiction, both civil and sometimes criminal, over non-Natives living or doing business on the reservation is vital because Federal law and justice systems are not set up to deal with local cases.
“It’s well known that the Federal court only takes the big cases. Our cases just aren’t big enough for them. Perpetrators have gotten away with crimes in the past, it’s one of the gaps that makes Quil Walkreservations a haven for criminals. It’s one of the reasons that the Violence Against Women Act’s (VAWA) tribal provisions were so important. It also shows us that it’s time to take VAWA one step further to include the protection of minors. The Federal Government cannot give non-Native criminals a free pass to commit crimes against Native Americans on Reservation. By not recognizing the authority of tribal courts that’s, in essence, what they’d be doing.
“This is also about workplace safety,” Bonnie continued. “SEIU (Service Employees International Union) has signed on and even gave their employees in D.C. the day off so that they could participate in the march (December 7th Quilt Walk for Justice). Beyond the jurisdictional issue, this family entrusted their child to this person as a mentor, that’s an immense amount of responsibility. Shame on you Dollar General, justice should be applied equally without prejudice, no matter the age, sex or race of the victim or the perpetrator. This case represents a threat to every Native woman, man and child victimized by a non-Indian.”
A square from the quilt that reads: “The hardest part of sharing my story was not facing the fact that I was raped, but facing the judgment of the police, my friends, family. Everyone I hoped would help.” Photo/Bonnie Juneau
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News; photos courtesy Maria Capili Photography
The Tulalip Resort and Casino (TRC) routinely displays all the reasons why it has earned the coveted AAA Four Diamond Award every year since 2009. Day and night the TRC staff are hard at work, dedicated to providing excellent customer service. As a Four Diamond Award winner, the TRC consistently delivers a luxurious experience, complete with a high level of service, amenities, and impressive surroundings. But, there is one event, held one weekend of the year where the TRC transforms itself from much, much more than the casino we often think of it as. In fact, this event has little to do with slot machines or table games at all.
The event is the annual Taste of Tulalip, Washington State’s coveted culinary festival of the year. More of a food and wine experience than an event, the two-day Taste of Tulalip showcases gourmet food and an assortment of fine wine hand-selected by Tulalip’s top-notch culinary team, led by Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and award-winning Sommelier Tommy Thompson. This year, the Taste of Tulalip celebrated its seventh anniversary over the weekend of November 13.
On Friday evening, Four-hundred and fifty guests filled the Orca Ballroom for the Taste of Tulalip’s 7th Annual Celebration Dinner. The theme of this year’s dinner was “La Famiglia”, which is Italian for “the family”. In sticking with the theme, the Orca Ballroom was completely decked out in Italian backdrops, tapestry, fountains, and even live performance art. If the visuals weren’t enough to have you thinking you were in little Italy, then the live musicians, from an opera singer to a mandolin player, definitely did the trick.
The evening’s inspiration came from the love of Italian grandmothers everywhere who have a special passion for cooking amazing food every day for their families. In tribute, Tulalip chefs recreated many of their beloved recipes, paired with a global offering of rare, top wines.
Tulalip traditions were also highlighted throughout the evening. Tulalip artists continue to use traditional tools and techniques, while also using computer graphics, power tools, laser cuts and more to bring both traditional and innovative forms of Coast Salish art to the 21st century. That’s why Tulalip artist Mike Gobin was chosen to design this year’s Taste of Tulalip logo. The logo he created was etched and printed onto wine glasses, dinner plates, and various marketing materials.
“The Taste of Tulalip logo was inspired by my father, Thomas J. Gobin, and my twin sister, Marilyn R. Lewis (Gobin),” says Mike of his unique, Coast Salish design. “The salmon represents the people of the Tulalip Tribes, “People of the Salmon’. My father’s Indian name means, ‘Man soars with Eagles’, and my sister’s Indian name means, ‘Aunty to all’. So the eagle represents my father and the hummingbird represents my sister. The eagle is hugging the hummingbird, so, with my father and sister gone now, this design represents my father meeting my sister in heaven and giving her a big hug. I’ve entitled this design, “A Father’s Heavenly Embrace”. I miss both of them a great deal.”
photo/Maria Capili Photography
Within the Tulalip community, giving has often been an expectation of individuals as a means of sharing and survival. As Tulalip has grown economically and prospered from several business ventures, the tribes’ charitable donation program has continued to grow in kind and gives to nonprofits around the region. On this night, Snohomish-based veteran’s organization Heartbeat – Serving Wounded Warriors received two checks for $10,000 each. Heartbeat provides emergency assistance, therapeutic services, support groups, and morale-building programs for wounded service members and their families in Washington State.
photo/Maria Capili Photography
“It’s critical that we serve those who gave up so much for our freedoms,” Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon said. “I was a Vietnam veteran, and if programs like this had been around back then, it would have changed everything. This is truly healing medicine.”
Friday evening’s celebration dinner was followed up with Saturday’s gourmet food and wine extravaganza, as more than 2,000 guests came from all over the region to attend wine seminars, cooking demonstrations and, of course, the Grand Taste. Attendees savored flavors of exceptional food and wine pairings from around the globe as they sauntered about lavish food stations by TRC award-winning chefs, countless winery samples from Washington, Oregon and California, craft beer selections, and even two separate lounges featuring their own hand-picked pours.
The only way to adequately describe the Grant Taste is to share photos, which as they say, are worth a thousand words. And if your mouth doesn’t water, then you’re not looking hard enough. The food was utterly fantastic, as every dish was prepared to wow the taste buds. Add in the wine selection, which encompasses the entire spectrum from once in a lifetime to perfect for a normal Tuesday, and we have a creative and fun atmosphere, free of snobbery and pretentiousness.
The two-day Taste of Tulalip is the annual opportunity for the Tulalip Resort Casino to drop the casino part and flex its culinary muscles as the Tulalip Resort, proving itself as a true destination in the Pacific Northwest’s food and dining scene. Both Friday and Saturday’s events sell-out every year, so be on the lookout for information regarding next year’s Taste of Tulalip at www.tasteoftulalip.com
Throughout the 3-Day fitness camp, Tulalip youth had conversations about how to properly workout and take care of their bodies, and learned the importance of a good warmup that includes stretching to avoid injury. Photo/Micheal Rios
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Dietreich Rios, Suquamish tribal member and owner/operator of Dietreich Fitness in Orlando, Florida, hosted a Native youth basketball camp and fitness clinic at the Donald Hatch Jr. gymnasium, November 23-25. The 3-day health expo was all about health and fitness, while promoting a tobacco-free lifestyle.
““I’ve trained a lot of athletes, from professional basketball players to body builders, but my passion is motivating and helping our Native peoples stay healthy and strong individuals,” says Dietreich while in the midst of a stretching routine he does before day one of the basketball clinic. “Over the past couple years I’ve become more involved in not only the fitness community, but in Native American health across the nation.
“I try my best to reach and help inspire, motivate, and teach as many people as I can. I preach fitness and basketball since that’s what I grew up doing; playing basketball was all I did as a kid then as I got older I got heavily into fitness. I try to integrate the two whenever I can.”
Dietreich Rios, a Suquamish tribal member and owner/operator of Dietreich Fitness in Orlando, Florida. Photo/Micheal Rios
Dietreich grew up in the greater Seattle area before moving to Florida to pursue dreams of opening his own fitness center. He has become a renowned personal trainer and basketball skills coach to many high school hoopers, D-1 college athletes, and has even added the likes of Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis (an NBA player) to his clientele.
We’ve all witnessed how the health and fitness movement has grown immensely over the past several years. Currently, there are no shortage of gyms and workout areas in Marysville, and it wasn’t too long ago that the Tulalip Teen Center and Tulalip Bay Crossfit opened their doors to our reservation based community.
“Getting Natives to keep their minds and bodies healthy through fitness, exercise, and sports is a big movement right now. We’ve always had basketball, rez ball you know, but from what I’ve been seeing there is more of an emphasis on overall fitness and health within tribal communities,” explains Dietreich. “Our people are getting inspired from seeing the Nike N7 movement and by seeing famous athletes like WNBA all-star Shoni Schimmel. More Native youth are seeing people who look like them have success on the professional level, especially young girls who look up to Shoni and her sister Jude, they are motivated play basketball.”
Preaching and advocating for a healthy lifestyle that includes being active through exercise and sports is nothing new for Native Americans. Natives have always been known for their athletic ability, but in the last couple generations the numbers say that athletic skill isn’t being utilized like it once was. Obesity, diabetes, and heavy alcohol/drug use have been running rampant through our communities, making it harder and harder to find the well-conditioned Native athlete above the age of 30.
Whatever the reason may be, tribal departments and communities nationwide have ramped up their focus on engaging Native youth to stay active through sports and fitness. Get them started when they are young and the hope is they’ll continue to maintain that healthy lifestyle and be a role model to others later in their life.
“The movement is definitely growing. Through my travels I’ve seen more community fitness centers and youth athletic centers being built on reservations,” reflects Dietreich. “Now there’s a big emphasis to have a gym, to have places for our people to work out and stay fit, and to have departments getting our young ones involved in sports and fitness.”
The Tulalip Tribes Youth Services Department has been monumental in creating activities, services, and teaching fitness based curriculum to our youth. Since opening the Tulalip Teen Center, the Youth Services Department has been steadfast in reaching out and bringing motivational speakers, fitness experts, and Native celebs to engage with our youth.
Shortly after we hosted the Gary Payton Basketball Camp, Youth Services, with the help of DeShawn Joseph, learned of Dietreich and his assortment of fitness skills he uses to motivate and energize Native youth. Within the past year Dietreich has taught fitness and basketball camps on the Jamestown S’Klallam Reservation and within the Navajo Nation. He is also preparing to do some fitness camps up north for a few First Nations tribes in Canada.
Throughout the 3-Day fitness camp, Tulalip youth had conversations about how to properly workout and take care of their bodies, learned the importance of a good warmup that includes stretching as to avoid injury, and covered tobacco prevention.
“Tobacco prevention is an interesting topic to me because it should be a no brainer for all athletes, but still there are so many young athletes who choose to smoke,” asserts Dietreich. “If you are going to play sports, then you shouldn’t smoke tobacco because it’s detrimental to what you’re trying to do.”
The exercises the kids enjoyed most during the camp were undoubtedly those that called for dribbling or shooting a basketball. They were all able to participate in a multitude of basic and semi-advanced basketball skill building exercises. Each exercise is something Dietreich hopes the kids will continue to make part of their fitness routine.
Following the fitness camp, Dietreich took to Facebook to thank the Tulalip community. “In the spirit of being thankful, I want to thank the Tulalip Tribes for hosting me this week while I put on this youth basketball and fitness clinic. I had a great group of kids! Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.”
A woman reads a description of Leonard Peltier’s oil painting, “Steve Reevis,” center on wall in 2001. Peltier is serving two consecutive life terms for the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
The Associated Press
TUMWATER, WASH. – A Washington state agency plans to remove four paintings by an inmate serving time for killing two FBI agents after former law enforcement officers complained about the artwork’s inclusion in a lobby art exhibit.
The paintings were done in prison by Leonard Peltier, 71, a Native American activist who is serving two consecutive life sentences in the deaths of two FBI agents during a 1975 standoff on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The works were hanging near the front doors of the state Department of Labor and Industries’ headquarters in Tumwater, Washington, and part of an exhibit to mark National American Indian Heritage Month, KING-TV in Seattle reported (http://goo.gl/ckVGrA ).
An association representing retired FBI agents demanded the state agency remove the paintings.
“He’s nothing but a thug,” said retired FBI agent Ray Lauer. “He’s an unrepentant cop killer.”
Lauer is a member of the Retired FBI Agents Association, which wrote a letter to Labor and Industries demanding the paintings be removed.
“For the state of Washington to use taxpayers’ dollars to basically offer a free art gallery to somebody who is a convicted cop killer, I find it, as a law enforcement officer, appalling and quite frankly disgusting as taxpayer also,” Lauer said.
The state agency said it will replace the paintings this week with other artwork.
Displaying the work wasn’t meant as an endorsement of Peltier’s cause, said Tim Church, a state Labor and Industries spokesman. It was simply meant to be about Native American art, he said.
“We feel badly about the impressions that they’re taking from it. We truly do. That was in no way our intent,” Church said.
Peltier’s case has been a source of protest over the decades.
His son, Chauncey Peltier, said there is no evidence his father killed anyone. He has been exhibiting his father’s paintings around the country to raise awareness about his father’s attempt to gain a presidential pardon.
TULALIP — Last Thursday, the children in Sarah Poyner Wallis’ kindergarten class at Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary School filtered in after the morning assembly.
Maria Martin and Nik-Ko-Te St. Onge, teacher assistants with the Tulalip Tribes’ Lushootseed department, wish the kids good morning.
“haʔɬ dadatut,” they said. The children said it back to them.
The kids sat in a circle for their first lesson: a song, simply called “Hello Friend,” and sung in Lushootseed to the tune of “Frère Jacques.”
Andy Bronson / The Herald With the help of flash cards, kindergartners at Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary School speak the Lushootseed language with instructor Nik-Ko-Te St. Onge. From left: Jaycee Williams, Jesse Lozano,Tyler Hills and Joscelynn Jones-Lloyd.
For years Tulalip children have received lessons in their ancestral tongue at the Tulalip Montessori School and the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy on the reservation. The written form of the language includes characters found in the International Phonetic Alphabet.
This year Lushootseed, or dxʷləšucid, the language of Coast Salish Indians around Puget Sound, was reintroduced to the Marysville School District for the first time since 2011. That’s when the old Tulalip Elementary in the heart of the reservation was closed.
About 50 kindergartners and first-graders — five total classrooms — are getting daily language lessons from Martin and St. Onge this fall.
The simple explanation for the reintroduction is that the Tulalip Tribes were able to hire more teachers.
“Our problem is we were short-staffed. We’ve never had a full crew,” said Michele Balagot, the tribes’ Lushootseed department manager.
Newly hired teachers start out by teaching pre-school kids, and ideally would remain with the same the class of students as they get older, she said.
That’s not very easy in practice, however.
“Some people we hired found out they didn’t like to teach, or weren’t teacher material, or found out they didn’t like working with little kids,” Balagot said.
Add to that the fact that most of the teachers hired have had to learn Lushootseed at the same time they taught it to the children, one of the aftereffects of the boarding school era in which the language was suppressed almost to the point of extinction.
Maria Martin, who is 25, represents a new generation of speakers. She started learning the language as a child in the Montessori school, but throughout her school years only learned the language in the Tulalip summer language camps.
The Lushootseed program sends new hires to Northwest Indian College in Bellingham for formal instruction before they are put in front of a class.
Martin said she feels reasonably fluent when in front of the class, although still consults with her superiors in the language program when she needs specialized vocabulary.
Still, she’s become fluent enough that she’s often delivered invocations and greetings in Lushootseed at official tribal functions.
In Poyner Wallis’ class, she gave instructions to the kindergartners in Lushootseed first, and only English if the kids didn’t appear to understand them.
In one exercise, she held up a flash card with a picture of a brown bear. “stəbtabəl̕,” the kids chimed together.
She held up a picture of a frog. “waq̓waq̓!”
Then she held up an orca, but the kids are unsure and need reminding. “qal̕qaləx̌ič,” Martin said, and the kids shape out the unfamiliar glottal consonants.
A picture of a salmon also stopped them cold, and Martin prompted then with the answer: “sʔuladxʷ.”
“That’s a hard one because it looks like qal̕qaləx̌ič,” one boy piped up. “I almost said ‘salmon’.”
The student body at Quil Ceda Tulalip is about 60 percent Native American, although the actual figure is likely higher once children of mixed marriages or parents who aren’t enrolled in a tribe are taken into account, said Chelsea Craig, a cultural specialist at the school.
All the schoolchildren have been getting a dose of native culture in the morning assembly, which includes singing and a drum circle. The school is also leading the charge in incorporating native history into its regular curriculum.
Craig said she hopes that by getting the kids into Lushootseed while still young, they will learn their ancestral language and come to associate it with a supportive and healing environment.
“My great-grandmother was beaten for speaking Lushootseed,” she said, referring to the boarding school era, which began in 1860 and didn’t truly end until the 1978 passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
When Craig was growing up, some tribal elders could still speak the language, she said.
“The elders spoke it but didn’t share it, because it was too traumatic,” she said. “My great-grandmother didn’t want me to go through what she went through.”
Some Lushootseed words are introduced at the morning assembly, but it’s the lessons in class that are moving toward making the language thrive again.
In Poyner Wallis’ classroom, the kids were split into groups. Nik-Ko-Te St. Onge used the children’s book “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” to help reinforce the vocabulary, and then moved on to flash cars with numbers.
St. Onge held up a card with the number six on it. Jordan Bontempo counted out loud on his fingers.
“č̓uʔ, saliʔ, ɬixʷ, buus, cəlac … yəlaʔc!” he said triumphantly.
Meanwhile, Maria Martin gave the kids pictures of a bear to color that also had a connect-the-dots tracery of the Lushootseed word “stəbtabəl̕.” Two kids colored the bear brown and one black, but others went for green, purple, rainbow stripes and one outside-the-lines expressionist squiggle.
When they were done with the bear, they moved on to a picture of a frog.
Carlee James-Jimicum waved her completed bear at Martin. “I’m ready for my waq̓waq̓,” she said.
Balagot said that there are about 40 people on the Tulalip reservation who can speak Lushootseed with some degree of conversational skill.
“We probably couldn’t hold a full conversation, but we could get the gist of what we’re saying,” she said.
The hope is the 50 kindergartners and first-graders will grow into older kids and teens who can add to that number.
Like Martin, perhaps some of them will return to teaching the next generation.
After finishing up in Poyner Wallis’ class, St. Onge and Martin split up. Martin walked down the hall into Lisa Sablan’s kindergarten class, where the kids were eagerly waiting for their lesson.
When she stepped into the room, they all called out together, welcoming their teacher and friend “haʔɬ dadatut syaʔyaʔ!”
Tulalip Tribes Chairman Mel Sheldon speaks at the rally. Photo courtesy Theresa Sheldon, Tulalip Tribes Board of Director.
Lummi Nation Chairman Tim Ballew II and other leaders rally in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, to oppose the Gateway Pacific Terminal, which would export primarily coal and expand railways. Ballew says that the project would disregard treaty rights and harm the environment. Grace Toohey McClatchy
WASHINGTON – A proposed coal terminal and affiliated railway for Cherry Point, Wash., has sparked concern about treaty violations and environmental degradation for many Pacific Northwest tribal leaders, 10 of whom rallied together in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning against what they said is government disregard for their treaties.
About a block from the White House, three Lummi Nation sisters crooned a song referencing the 1855 U.S. treaty with Pacific Northwest Native American tribes, reserving certain rights for their fishing, hunting and sacred grounds. “What about those promises? Fills my heart with sadness, I can’t do this on my own, we’ve got to come together and be strong,” the women sang.
But Tim Ballew II, chairman of the Lummi Nation, said those rights are in jeopardy.
“All the tribes are standing here today in solidarity to protect not just our reservation community but everybody’s community from the impacts that cannot be mitigated,” Ballew said, standing in front of leaders from the Tulalip, Swinomish, Quinault, Lower Elwha Klallam, Yakama, Hoopa Valley, Nooksack and Spokane nations and the president of United South and Eastern Tribes.
The proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal, a subsidy of SSA Marine, would act as a trading hub between landlocked domestic companies and markets in Asia, said Joe Ritzman, vice president of business development for SSA Marine. The deepwater terminal would handle up to 60 million tons of commodities, primarily coal, and the project would coincide with a railway expansion.
OUR CURRENT FOCUS IS THE IMPACT ON TREATY FISHING RIGHTS, AND IT’S THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO UPHOLD THE TREATY. Tim Balew II, chairman of the Lummi Nation
But the project’s designated land includes burial sites for Lummi ancestors and artifacts, Ballew said, and the coastal development would harm age-old fishing traditions within the tribe.
“The location of the pier will take away fishing grounds and the increase in vessel traffic would impede access of our fishermen to fishing grounds throughout our usual and accustomed areas,” Ballew said.
Washington state, Whatcom County and the federal government are reviewing the environmental impacts of the proposed export terminal and associated rail expansion, expecting to release state-local and federal environmental impact statements in 2017. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is the federal review agency, is also inspecting Native American treaty rights at play.
“Our current focus is the impact on treaty fishing rights, and it’s the government’s responsibility to uphold the treaty,” Ballew said.
The Lummi Tribe, whose reservation is minutes from Cherry Point, entered the Treaty of Point Elliot more than 150 years ago, which ensured the sovereign nation right to “fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations is further secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the Territory.”
JoDe Goudy, chairman of the Yakama Nation, said his tribe has faced similar treaty battles in Oregon, most recently when the governor halted a proposed coal export plant near their sacred ground and Columbia River fisheries. But now that decision is under appeal, putting their treaty rights at stake again, Goudy said.
“The recognition from us collectively (is) that those reserved rights go hand in hand with our sustained existence as peoples,” Goudy said. “A direct attack on such things, in our hearts and minds, is a direct attack on our sustained existence.”
Not only would the Gateway Pacific Terminal affect the Lummi Nation, Goudy explained, but the proposed railways would transport coal by the Yakama Nation’s portion of the Columbia River.
“This issue affects all of us, we’re connected in ways that the U.S cannot even imagine,” said Tyson Johnson, council member of Nooksack Indian Tribe.
SSA Marine will wait until the state, county and federal environmental reports come out, Ritzman said. But with plans for mitigation strategies and a 75 percent natural buffer of the 1,500 acres for the project, Ritzman said he expects his company’s proposal to meet all state and federal environmental requirements and not impact the fisheries.
President Barack Obama and his administration met with the tribal leaders and many more Thursday afternoon as a part of the White House Tribal Nations Conference.
“I credit the current administration for every year building on our efforts to help us rebuild our nations and I encourage them to continue that,” Ballew said. “We really want them to give this issue its due respect. It’s a human rights issue, it’s a treaty rights issue, and we need our sacred sites protected.”
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Leaders and members of the Lummi Nation and other Washington State tribes opposed to coal terminals in the Pacific Northwest are bringing their concerns to the other Washington, the U.S. capital, on Thursday November 5.
Eight tribes in total will call on Congress to honor treaties that safeguard both the environment and tribal members’ ability to fish and conduct other cultural and sustenance activities that would be compromised by proposed industrial development. They plan to speak on the issue at the Ronald Reagan Building courtyard during the White House Tribal Nations Summit, to be held
“Tribal treaty rights are being threatened by corporate interests and congressional interference,” said the tribes in a media release announcing the event. “As Lummi Nation fights to protect its fishing areas from North America’s largest coal terminal, other tribes have faced their own development pressures and stand united with Lummi against the terminal and the erosion of treaty rights.”
The Lummi have vociferously opposed the projects and have asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review and reject the proposal for a coal rail terminal at Cherry Point, the ancestral village site of Xwe’chi’eXen.
The statement is signed by Lummi Nation Chair Tim Ballew II; Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Chair Brian Cladoosby (also president of the National Congress of American Indians, a post to which he was recently reelected); Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Chair Frances Charles; Tulalip Nation Chair Melvin Sheldon Jr.; Yakima Nation Chair JoDe Goudy; Hoopa Valley Tribe Chair Ryan Jackson; Spokane Tribe Chair David Brown Eagle, and Quinault Tribe Vice President Tyson Johnston.
“Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) has led efforts in Congress to prevent the U.S. Army Corps from reviewing the impact of the terminal on the Lummi Nation’s treaty fishing rights—a central tenet of its trust responsibility,” the leaders said in the statement. “If successful, it could set a dangerous precedent for other projects in Indian country.”
