Top Story Archives - Page 52 of 156

Bellingham Council: Change Indian St. to Billy Frank Jr. St.

Bellingham City Council favors changing Indian Street to Billy Frank Jr. Street. | PHILIP A. DWYER The Bellingham Herald

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL, The Bellingham Herald

BELLINGHAM – Indian Street will likely be renamed Billy Frank Jr. Street, after the Bellingham City Council asked staff to make the change.

Council member Terry Bornemann requested the change, which was supported by the full council at its Monday, June 15, meeting.

Council member Roxanne Murphy, a member of the Nooksack Indian Tribe, said she supported changing the name of the street as much as she supported honoring Billy Frank Jr., whose activism in the 1960s and ’70s led to a major strengthening of tribal fishing rights under the Boldt court ruling. The decision recognized Washington tribes’ rights to half the fish harvests under their 1850s-era treaties.

“It comes with a bit of heartache that we have a street named Indian Street, because that means so many different things to so many different people,” Murphy said during an afternoon council meeting June 15. “So many people identify with it in Indian Country, and others detest it. This is just as much to me about getting rid of the name Indian as it is about honoring Billy Frank.”

Frank, a member of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, was arrested dozens of times during the “Fish Wars,” when he and other Native Americans asserted their treaty rights and refused to obtain state licenses to fish. He died May 5, 2014.

Indian Street has had its name since at least the beginning of the 20th century. It was chosen as part of an alphabetical sequence of New Whatcom street names because it starts with an “I,” although how much deliberation went into the name no one can say, according to Jeff Jewell, historian and photo curator at Whatcom Museum.

Bellingham Fire Department’s Rob Wilson is in charge of an addressing committee that oversees such name changes. The committee is made up of representatives from the police department, fire, dispatch centers, and the planning, public works and permitting departments.

The committee was generally supportive of the name change, Wilson told the council, but did have a few concerns: 147 addresses — 110 apartments, 33 houses and four businesses — would be affected by the name change, and any of those people could appeal to the hearing examiner if they disagree with the proposed change.

Whatcom Educational Credit Union owns two buildings on Indian Street, but neither is open to the public, so the change wouldn’t affect the credit union much, Marketing Manager Kessa Volland wrote in an email.

“Our buildings on Indian are all behind-the-scenes departments and storage at this point,” she wrote. “I have to say I’m relieved we won’t have to change brochures/location listings on any of our materials.”

The change also would carry costs to change the street signs, and to have staff prepare and send letters to every address affected. A rough estimate put the bill at $20,000 to $30,000, Wilson said.

Another of the committee’s concerns had to do with the naming structure for that part of town.

“Indian Street today does fit a historical naming theme that is alphabetical,” Wilson said. “The change would disrupt that theme.”

The street-name sequence has not been completely alphabetical since the early 1900s. It starts with Old Town’s Army Street, which was never built; followed by Bay Street; then Canoe, which was changed to Commercial Street in 1904; and then Dock Street, which was changed to Cornwall Avenue in 1923, Jewell wrote in an email.

“Railroad Avenue was a train right-of-way predating the street grid, so it doesn’t figure in,” he wrote. “Elk Street, which was the ‘E,’ was changed to State Street in 1926 so (it) doesn’t work. After that it’s smooth alphabetical sailing: Forest, Garden, High, Indian, Jersey, Key, Liberty …”

Wilson said staff members would probably start sending notices to residents within about two weeks.

Reach Samantha Wohlfeil at 360-715-2274 or samantha.wohlfeil@bellinghamherald.com. Read the Politics Blog at bellinghamherald.com/politics-blog and follow her on Twitter at @BhamPolitics.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article25373938.html#storylink=cpy

Inslee asks that Kennewick Man be returned to tribes

By the Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Gov. Jay Inslee has sent a letter requesting that the remains of “Kennewick Man” be returned to Native American tribes.

Inslee’s letter was sent Tuesday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Kennewick Man was discovered in 1996 in the water along the Columbia River in Kennewick.

Radiocarbon dating revealed the bones were about 8,500 years old. DNA analysis now shows a genetic link to modern Native Americans.

Inslee is asking that the remains be given to the appropriate tribes as soon as possible.

He says tribes in Washington have waited nineteen years for the remains to be reburied.

Inslee asked the corps to provide a timeline for the return of Kennewick Man and offered assistance from the state Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.

How to save wild salmon with a fork and knife

Copper River salmon from Alaska (Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times)

If we demand wild salmon on our plates, we are demanding healthy habitat where wild salmon can thrive in perpetuity.

By Mark Titus and Tom Douglas, Seattle Times

IT’S time to save wild salmon — by eating them.

This seems counterintuitive. Why would we kill wild salmon if we are hoping to save them? The fact is, salmon are big business and consumers wield tremendous power through their purchasing decisions. When you buy and eat wild salmon, you are investing your dollars in our nation’s sustainable wild-salmon fisheries.

On June 4, U.S. District Court Judge H. Russel Holland released a ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Pebble Partnership against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pebble has plans to build North America’s largest open-pit copper mine in the headwaters of Bristol Bay in Alaska — home to North America’s largest remaining wild-salmon runs. The EPA’s involvement in Bristol Bay came at the request of tribes, commercial fishermen, sportsmen and business owners, but the court ruling earlier this month temporarily keeps efforts to protect Bristol Bay through the Clean Water Act on hold.

So what can be done in the meantime to protect this world-class resource?

First, educate your family and friends about wild salmon.

This spring, in partnership with commercial and sport fishermen, Alaska Native residents, chefs and conservationists, we completed a national tour of “The Breach,” a documentary film about the history and future of our last great wild-salmon runs. As a filmmaker and former Alaska salmon fishing guide, and a chef who serves wild salmon, we are both motivated by wild salmon economically. But it’s more than that.

We, like most people living in this part of the world, revere salmon as the iconic keystone species they are. They’re not simply a product to be pumped out of a factory — they are the very lifeblood for 137 different creatures when they return to our rivers and streams with the ocean’s nutrients inside them. They are an irreplaceable part of our Northwest landscape — they’re even inside the trees. And yet their future here remains uncertain.

As “King of Fish” author David R. Montgomery says in the documentary film, “We haven’t done a particularly good job of protecting the resource when it comes to wild salmon.” That’s true.

Historically, European and American settlers overfished wild salmon until their numbers crashed. Worse, salmon spawning rivers were destroyed when they were dammed, polluted and scoured by rapacious logging and mining practices. Hatcheries and open-net-pen fish farms designed to mitigate this damage have in the long run actually caused more.

Thankfully, there are some healthy runs of wild salmon left — and great strides under way — such as the removal of the two Elwha River dams, which provide real hope for seeing wild salmon return. But of all the fully sustainable wild-salmon runs remaining in North America, none are as strong or as vital as the runs in Bristol Bay in Alaska.

Unfortunately, instead of listening to science and the opinions of 65 percent of Alaskans, the Pebble Limited Partnership decided to sue the EPA and delay the protection process that millions of Americans have asked for.

When we purchase wild salmon, we’re purchasing a food source that is the same as it’s been for millennia — fed by the krill and currents of the open ocean. It’s nutritious and sustainable — and in Bristol Bay alone, provides 14,000 jobs on the West Coast, to the tune of $1.5 billion to the American economy. That simply can’t be said about other non-wild salmon options in the marketplace.

The choices we make with our forks and our dollars will affect what remains for future generations. If we demand wild salmon on our plates, we are demanding healthy habitat where wild salmon can thrive in perpetuity. And wild Bristol Bay sockeye can be purchased year-round, flash frozen or canned, with the same nutrients, quality and flavor as the day it was pulled out of the water — for a price affordable to most.

At the end of “The Breach,” Montgomery finishes his statement about human interaction with wild salmon by telling us, “If we don’t get Alaska right, we may have a clean sweep of getting it wrong.”

So what can else can we do?

Telling the Obama administration how we feel about wild salmon in Bristol Bay is the next best thing. But fundamentally, if we revere wild salmon — as 90 percent of us say we do here in the Pacific Northwest — we need to pick up our fork and insist they remain, by eating them.

A writer and director, Mark Titus recently directed “The Breach,” an award-winning documentary about wild Pacific salmon. Tom Douglas, a chef and owner of a diverse group of Seattle restaurants, co-produced “The Breach.”

Northwest’s first citizens develop tribal tourism

Kwani Williams, who is Tulalip and Lummi, leads a tour at the Tulalip... (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) — Kwani Williams, who is Tulalip and Lummi, leads a tour at the Tulalip… (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times)

By Brian J. Cantwell, Seattle Times

Where else could I get an authentic Indian fry-bread taco, geoduck chowder and a Northwest native dogwood to plant in the yard, all in one stop?

This was a May visit to a garden sale and open house at the Kitsap Peninsula’s newly restored Heronswood Garden, now a property of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe.

There I learned about cedar weaving and got a look at a copy of the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855, the watershed document that ceded Puget Sound-area lands to white settlers and changed native lives forever.

On another day trip, friends and I enjoyed a Skagit County hike at Kiket Island State Park — aka Kukutali Preserve (bit.ly/1ILiT2n) — where we lolled on driftwood while overlooking a panorama of rippling waters, rocky islets and the Deception Pass Bridge’s soaring arch. It’s the nation’s first state park jointly owned and managed with a native tribe, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, which still harvests shellfish from its tidelands.

Each experience illustrated how Northwest tribes are raising their profile — economically, culturally and recreationally — in ways that anyone can sample on a weekend road trip. It’s not just casinos anymore.

Branching out

Tribes that have raked in millions from casinos in the past two decades are looking to diversify investments and broaden their message. Even by owning a garden.

“The tribe’s development officer wanted to consider things beyond fireworks, cigarettes and cheap liquor,” says Dan Hinkley, Heronswood Garden’s co-founder, now the garden’s director for the Port Gamble S’Klallam community.

Through its 1990s heyday, Heronswood became world-famous among what you might call the “plantie” set — the botanical counterpoint to foodies. Garden devotees called themselves “Heronistas.”

Tucked among woods off the road to Point No Point, near Kingston in Kitsap County, Heronswood featured exotic plants that Hinkley collected on safaris all over the planet.

In 2000, W. Atlee Burpee & Co., of the famed seed catalog, bought Heronswood. Within a year, Burpee filed for Chapter 11. In 2006 they shut the garden, which languished until the tribe purchased the neglected 15-acre site at auction, for seven figures, in 2012.

The acquisition made sense for the tribe, whose reservation borders the garden. To Tribal Chairman Jeromy Sullivan — a geoduck diver in his day job — Heronswood’s preservation goes hand in garden glove with his tribe’s interest in preserving waterways, shellfish and forests.

The garden’s stature in the botanical world has made its rescue a noble undertaking, and that hasn’t hurt the tribe’s public image.

“The notoriety this has brought around the community has helped the tribe a great deal — everyone has really come together,” Sullivan says. “We have relied on gaming and, like other tribes, we really need to branch out.”

With planned improvements, the garden can be a venue for weddings and events, he says.

Art in the garden will reflect tribal culture, Hinkley says. In March, they dedicated a totem pole at the garden entrance. Carved by tribal member Brian Perry, whose Indian name is Hopi-Cheelth, one side features the garden’s animal symbols, a heron and a frog.

During the recent garden sale, tribal members sold food and helped direct traffic. Tribal member Lloyd Fulton, wearing his U.S. Navy veteran hat from Korea, offered for sale his traditional carvings, such as a halibut-themed bowl of red cedar. His take on owning the garden?

“I think it’s wonderful, it puts people to work, and they have good crowds coming out when they open it like this,” he says.

Telling tribal stories

Washington’s Makah and Yakama tribes have long been known for outstanding museums. Now, casino revenue is helping more tribes tell their stories:

• The Tulalip Tribes’ (Snohomish, Snoqualmie and Skykomish) 23,000-square-foot Hibulb Cultural Center, near Marysville, opened in 2011 and last year welcomed more than 10,000 visitors — many of them school children on field trips from around the region. They learned about the comforts of communal longhouses and salmon feasts, and the miseries of government-boarding schools that once separated tribal children from their families and culture (hibulbculturalcenter.org).

• Near Shelton, Mason County, the Squaxin Island Tribe museum’s Hall of the Seven Inlets depicts watersheds of South Puget Sound with tribal legends, photographs, art and history (squaxinislandmuseum.org).

• Near Poulsbo, Kitsap County, the Suquamish, Chief Seattle’s people, in 2012 replaced an old museum with a modern, $6-million stained-wood building designed by Mithun Architects and showcasing exhibits themed by Seattle’s Storyline Studio (suquamishmuseum.org). Among treasures: a carved canoe used in the 1989 Paddle to Seattle, the first of a modern-day series of culture-affirming intertribal canoe journeys around the Salish Sea.

Canoes carry culture

With newfound tribal wealth supporting them, canoe journeys became an annual event involving hundreds of paddlers from tribal nations across the region, catapulting native culture into the spotlight each summer.

So-called “canoe families” — paddlers, their kin and support crew — travel for up to three weeks to a host tribe’s community. They visit indigenous nations along the way to share languages, songs, dances and traditional foods. Once all canoes arrive at their destination, a joyous weeklong public celebration ensues.

It’s come to mean an investment of at least $1 million by the host nation. When the Swinomish hosted in 2011, they built a plaza with three pavilions shaped like traditional woven-cedar hats, creating a distinctive landmark on La Conner’s waterfront.

In 2015, for the first year since 1993, no tribe stepped forward to host a canoe journey; in 2016, the Nisquallys will host. But tribes have a full slate of canoe races through the summer (see swinomish.org/calendar.aspx). And the Swinomish, Samish, Puyallup, Chehalis and Nisqually canoe families earlier this month gave on-water demonstrations — including wave-bucking rides for brave kids and white-knuckled soccer moms — along with storytelling, drumming and more at Deception Pass and Millersylvania state parks. It was part of Washington State Parks’ annual Folk & Traditional Arts in the Parks program.

“The goal of the program is connecting Washingtonians to their diverse natural and cultural heritage,” says coordinator Debbie Fant.

Partners in message

Tribes are partnering with other entities, as well, on projects that convey culture:

• Washington tribes donated much of the $6 million that supplemented $3 million from the state Legislature to build a longhouse-style center that opened in March at the University of Washington.

The Intellectual House (with a Lushootsheed name that is phonetically pronounced “wah-sheb-altuh”) serves as a cultural link for Native American students and will host research symposia and other events (bit.ly/1c7VUQa).

• Construction is under way this summer in southern Pierce County to develop Nisqually State Park, a joint effort of the state and the Nisqually Tribe, at the birthplace of Chief Leschi and the site of an 1856 massacre of an Indian village. The park plan includes a “People’s Center” to interpret the conflict and reconciliation between Indians and settlers (parks.wa.gov/336/Nisqually).

• Once the Alaskan Way Viaduct comes down, Coast Salish-style artwork will be a centerpiece of Seattle’s new waterfront. The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture in March awarded a $250,000 commission to Puyallup tribal member Shaun Peterson (Indian name: Qwalsius) for a major installation.

Culture on the hoof

Almost anywhere tribes invest, their culture gets a showcase.

Good example: The Muckleshoot Tribe celebrated its March acquisition of Auburn’s Emerald Downs racetrackby hosting last weekend’s Battle of the Horse Nations, traditional Indian relay races that brought “horse tribes” from across the West to compete for three days in a colorful spectacle of traditional garb and wild gallops.

Track president Phil Ziegler says Auburn will likely be an annual stop for the relay races, described as “America’s first extreme sport.”

Even shopping can be a cultural experience, of a sort. Go looking for camo gear at Cabela’s, in the Tulalips’ Quil Ceda Village (quilcedavillage.com), and native sculpture greets you inside the door. Need a designer suit? Toddle up the road to the region’s toniest outlet mall, Seattle Premium Outlets, also on tribal land. Hungry? Stop next door at Panera Bread, opened in December, for an Asiago Cheese Focaccia.

Not only are Northwest tribes reaching beyond casinos, some are diversifying beyond fry bread. But few are forgetting their roots.

Tribes’ hotels show off their art

A growing number of tribally owned hotels showcase tribal art in lobbies and lounges. Not all are connected to casinos:

• The Suquamish Tribe’s Clearwater Casino Resort in May opened a new $30 million, 98-room hotel wing, added to an existing 85-room hotel that draws some guests who come simply for the view of soaring eagles over Kitsap County’s glistening Agate Passage — and a notable collection of tribal carvings, glass sculpture, weavings and paintings; clearwater-casino.com.

• At the Tulalip Resort Hotel, next to the tribes’ big Vegas-like casino near Marysville, the lobby’s three massive carved-cedar “story poles” — representing storytelling, game-playing and welcome — set the tone; tulalip-resortcasino.com/Resort.

• At Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor County, the Quinault Tribe in February converted the oceanfront Ramada Inn to the Quinault Sweet Grass Hotel, which has no gambling. The Ramada’s previous owner was the Swinomish Tribe; sweetgrasshotel.com.

• A carved hummingbird design at the reception desk is a cultural symbol of hospitality at the Stillaguamish Tribe’s $27 million Angel of the Winds Casino Hotel, which opened near Arlington, Snohomish County, at the end of 2014; angelofthewinds.com/hotel.

Tulalip Tribes and Quil Ceda Village Defend Right to Tax Tribal Economic Development

Source: Tulalip Tribes Public Affairs

Tulalip, WA–June 12, 2015–The Tulalip Tribes and its political subdivision, the Consolidated Borough of Quil Ceda Village, filed suit today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington asking the Court to permanently enjoin the State of Washington and Snohomish County from imposing and enforcing sales and use, business and occupation, and personal property tax on economic activities within the boundaries of the Quil Ceda Village, to the extent of similar taxes imposed by Tulalip.

”With its own resources, the Tulalip Tribes transformed over 2,000 acres of vacant land into Quil Ceda Village, one of the premier shopping and entertainment destinations in Western Washington,” said Mel Sheldon, chairman of the Tulalip Tribes. “Today, Quil Ceda Village has over 150 businesses, creating more than 6,000 jobs, attracting up to 60,000 visitors a day, and contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to the North Snohomish County economy.”

Information from the Washington Department of Revenue reveals that Quil Ceda Village generates approximately $40 million in tax revenues each year, but none of these taxes go to Tulalip or the Village. Instead, the state and county collect one hundred percent of the taxes, with the vast majority going to Olympia. “This is a grave injustice,” continued Sheldon. “Like any government, Tulalip must generate tax revenues to fund the infrastructure and local government services it provides, which benefit not just Village businesses and patrons, but everyone in Snohomish County.”

“As a matter of federal law,” said Sheldon “Tulalip is entitled to collect its own Tribal taxes on business activities in Quil Ceda Village and Tulalip will defend its right to function as a sovereign government.” Tulalip cannot do this as long as the state and county continue to impose and enforce their taxes because businesses and customers in the Village would be subject to dual taxation. The United States has long recognized that tribal taxing authority is an important aspect of tribal sovereignty and self-governance.

For well over a decade the Tulalip Tribes has requested to work together with both state and county officials to reach a fair resolution on this issue, but these requests have been ignored. “It is critical for the continued growth of the Village that we take action now,” said Chairman Sheldon.

About the Tulalip Tribes and the Consolidated Borough of Quil Ceda Village

The Tulalip Tribes is a federally-recognized Indian tribal government, and the Consolidated Borough of Quil Ceda Village is a political subdivision of the Tulalip Tribes, located entirely on federal land held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tulalip Tribes. Quil Ceda Village is located on the Tulalip Indian Reservation and consists of approximately 2100 acres. It is adjacent to the western boundary of Interstate 5 and is approximately 40 minutes north of Seattle, Washington.

Quinault Nation Applauds U.S. Court of Appeals Decision

Big Lagoon Rancheria v. State of California A significant victory for Indian Country

Source: Water4fish.net

TAHOLAH, WA (6/10/15) — A unanimous decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals issued Thursday, June 4, in favor of the Big Lagoon Rancheria in a dispute regarding the State of California’s failure to negotiate in good faith was a landmark case for tribes throughout the country, including the Quinault Nation, according to Quinault President Fawn Sharp.

The decision, made en banc by the Ninth Circuit Court ruling in Big Lagoon Rancheria v. State of California marks a significant victory for Indian Country and settles the uncertainty created by a now-vacated decision by the court in January 2014. Thursday’s decision holds that challenges to the trust status of lands and the federal recognition of an Indian tribe can only be brought pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)*.

In other words, a party cannot attack collaterally a BIA trust decision outside the framework of the APA. In this particular case, the State of California “failed to file the appropriate APA action and because such an APA challenge would be time-barred,” the Ninth Circuit held that the State could not prevail on its claims. The decision is an affirmation of a U.S. District Court’s decision that the state had failed to negotiate in good faith and ruled that the tribe can conduct gaming under the Indian Gaming Resources Act (IGRA), subject only to the Secretary of the Interior’s approval of the tribe’s gaming compact.

“This holding is a major victory for all of Indian Country and for American justice,” said President Sharp. “Among other things, it will protect the final decisions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from collateral attacks in litigation after the expiration of administrative and legal remedies. It clarifies that the status of tribal trust property is an issue separate from the obligation of states to negotiate in good faith under IGRA. The decision sets a positive precedent for other federal courts and will help protect and preserve the legal status of tribal trust lands throughout the country.

The case began as a bad-faith suit filed against the State of California. Relying on Carcieri v. Salazar, the state argued that the BIA lacked the authority to take land into trust on behalf of the tribe because the tribe was not under federal jurisdiction in 1934. In that case, the state claimed the tribe was not entitled to good faith negotiations under IGRA because the parcel in question was not properly taken into trust by the BIA. In January 2014, a divided three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit held that the tribe was not “under federal jurisdiction in 1934” and that its trust property was therefore not “Indian lands” for purposes of IGRA. This ruling had been a serious blow to the tribe and to Indian Country because it opened the door to collateral Carcieri attacks on BIA fee-to-trust decisions years after the expiration of administrative and legal remedies. In June 2014, the Ninth Circuit granted a rehearing en banc (full court hearing).

That hearing’s decision, Thursday’s unanimous reversal holds that challenges to the trust status of lands and the federal recognition of an Indian tribe can only be brought pursuant to the APA.

“In other words, a BIA trust decision cannot be attacked collaterally outside the framework of the APA,” said President Sharp.

“This truly is a case in which justice prevails. The case ruled that the tribe can conduct gaming under IGRA, subject only to the Secretary of the Interior’s approval of tribal/state compacts and not a barrage of collateral actions,” she said.

*The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Pub.L. 79–404, 60 Stat. 237, enacted June 11, 1946, is the United States federal statute that governs the way in which administrative agencies of the federal government of the United States may propose and establish regulations.

The Clean Energy Governor And The Columbia River Oil Refinery

An aerial view of the Columbia River.AMELIA TEMPLETON — An aerial view of the Columbia River.
AMELIA TEMPLETON

By CONRAD WILSON & TONY SCHICK, KUOW.org

A new oil refinery is the last thing you might expect Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration to be courting. After all, Inslee has developed a national reputation as a champion of curbing the use of fossil fuels.

And yet, Inslee’s administration has worked for months to facilitate such a project along the Columbia River. A Texas-based energy company wants to site a combined crude oil and biofuel refinery in Longview, Washington. The company’s goal is to capitalize on low carbon fuel standards championed by West Coast political leaders, including Inslee.

The refinery is a project Inslee could have the final say in approving.

Inslee is a politician on a tightrope: He’s cultivating the reputation of a national leader on climate change policy. And he’s also the head of a government that is working with businessmen whose project calls for three trainloads of North Dakota crude oil to be hauled into his state each week by way of the Columbia River Gorge.

Riverside Energy’s plans for the 45,000 barrels-per-day refinery first surfaced publicly in April.

Since then, Inslee has said publicly that he knows next to nothing about the project.

“Have not heard much about it other than what you have reported in the media,” Inslee told reporters when asked about it at a May 28 news conference.

Emails obtained through a public records request by OPB and EarthFix tell a different story when it comes to Inslee’s administration. They document how Inslee’s cabinet and staff have been in discussions with Riverside Energy CEO Lou Soumas for nearly a year.

Inslee’s advisers have scheduled meetings with Soumas, asked him to give presentations to staff in various state agencies and invited him to comment on potential clean fuels legislation. In an email to Soumas last summer, an Inslee staffer offered to take action to support the advanced fuels industry.

In February, Soumas wrote to the Port of Longview that the Governor’s office had asked for updates on the project and when it could be announced, according to an email obtained by Columbia Riverkeeper and shared with news organizations.

“They are anxious to tie us in with their just issued draft Clean Fuels Standard process and other activities important to the (state’s) energy and commerce plans,” Soumas wrote. “I’m meeting with several of Inslee’s direct reports on Wednesday in Olympia and they hope for a positive update on concrete progress on the project.”

A week later, Brian Bonlender, the state’s director of commerce, and Matt Steurwalt, Inslee’s executive director of policy, held a meeting with Soumas in Steurwalt’s office, documents show.

Hours after the meeting, Bonlender connected Soumas with staff at the nonprofit Climate Solutions and a state lawmaker’s office.

When asked about the emails during an appearance on The Seattle Channel earlier this week, Inslee said he expects his staff to have such discussions.

“So I think I’d probably categorize these as: we’re trying to figure out what they have in mind,” Inslee said. “This does not presage any agreement whatsoever or opposition whatsoever because you have to know what you’re doing.”

Environmental groups, including the Columbia Riverkeeper and the Seattle-based think tank Sightline Institute, say such discussions should be happening in public view to ensure an honest process.

“It’s very concerning, it’s very worrisome that this kind of communication, this kind of lobbying would be happening with the governor’s office outside the view of the public, on an issue of this magnitude,” Sightline Policy Director Eric de Place said. “We’re talking about a very environmentally risky project in a key part of the region.”

Energy projects on the scale of Riverside’s proposal must undergo a review by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. It’s designed to assess whether projects comply with state statute.

Jim Luce, an attorney who chaired the council between 2001 and 2011, said he always cautioned the governor not to comment on proposed projects.

“When I was EFSEC chair, working with the governor’s staff, I encouraged — in fact, the staff encouraged — the governor to say nothing regarding a potential application because the public might conclude that there had been a predetermination or a predisposition toward a specific outcome on a project, which the governor would then have to finally decide,” Luce said.

But, he said, staff in the governor’s administration must toe a fine line. They advise on and promote the governor’s energy policies, yet the governor ultimately must make an independent decision on projects that might benefit those policies.

The refinery outlined in Soumas’ pitches to the Port of Longview and state officials aligns with Inslee’s push for cleaner fuels. With California, Oregon and British Columbia having passed low carbon fuels regulations, Soumas has said he sees Washington’s adoption of those rules as a matter of time.

Soumas has pitched his project to economic leaders in Longview as “the U.S. largest advanced renewable fuels facility” having “the lowest carbon footprint of any U.S. refinery” and capable of meeting the state’s proposed low carbon fuel standards.

Two thirds of the facility’s production would handle crude oil shipped by train from the Bakken shale of North Dakota. The other third would handle used cooking, seed and vegetable oils.

The refinery would rely on new technologies to create a mix of low carbon jet fuel, gasoline and other petroleum products for use in Portland and Southwest Washington.

Soumas has also estimated the refinery would generate 400 construction jobs and $8 million in tax revenue.

Inslee’s office told the Longview Daily News it sees opportunity in the project.

Keith Phillips, Inslee’s special assistant on climate and energy, said Riverside’s proposal is intriguing.

“The idea that they’re bringing biofuels and green jet fuels and cleaner gasoline — that’s all intriguing, and we’re very interested in it,” Phillips said. “But we haven’t made any explicit link to the clean fuels standards in part because we are working respectfully with the Legislature on ‘can we reach agreement on how to move forward.’”

Phillips said he and other staff have intentionally limited Inslee’s involvement in such discussions.

“We have been very careful with him and he has insisted on that,” he said. “He knows there have been clean refineries proposed. But has not met with the proponents, and has not been briefed by staff on the details. He’s waiting to see whether he has to perform a former legal role on the project.

de Place of the Sightline Institute said the track record of Northwest biofuel ventures is “one of failure.”

Two projects initially built as biofuel refineries in the Pacific Northwest now handle fossil fuels. Facilities in Clatskanie, Oregon, and in Hoquiam, Washington, failed as biofuel projects and now handle crude oil.

“The prospects of adding a third such site in the same region strikes me as one that’s really just a stalking horse for the conventional oil industry,” de Place said. “And as such I don’t really see why the governor’s office would be participating in the way they are alleged to be participating.”

KUOW/EarthFix reporter Ashley Ahearn and Northwest News Network reporter Austin Jenkins contributed to this report.

Moms suit up to raise money for youth football

Marysville Powderpuff Football Team during a scrimmage game against the Arlington Eagle Mamas on October 13, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Marysville Powderpuff Football Team during a scrimmage game against the Arlington Eagle Mamas on October 13, 2015.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

MARYSVILLE – They are a team of 31. They are tough. They are proud and they play with heart. They are moms who play football to support their kids. Through a combination of tackle and flag football, called “flackle,’ the Marysville Powderpuff team raises funds for youth in the Marysville Youth Football League through ticket sales. While the goal is to raise money for the kids, these moms say they also play for themselves.

Marysville Powderpuff is comprised of mothers with youth playing football and cheerleading through the MYFL. Ticket sales from each game go to support MYFL through uniforms, protective gear, and travel costs. This year the team boasts three Tulalip tribal members.

Mytyl Hernandez is in her second season. She joined to help support her daughter who cheers through MFYL. But that isn’t her only reason. “I love the competitive aspect of it and being with this amazing group of women a few days a week. I don’t love the bruises, most of the other girls love their bruises but that isn’t my favorite part.”

Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Team organizer Kym Gallo has been playing since the start and is now in her sixth season. She knows it might be strange to see moms suiting up for practice right along with their kids who are running drills on the opposite side of the field, but says the kids think it’s awesome. And the large ticket sales on game day show people are intrigued to see these moms showcase their skills in one of the fastest growing sport across the nation.

Women’s football is becoming a role model for young women by breaking barriers in traditionally assigned gender sports. More and more girls are joining flag and tackle football teams, such as the professional women’s tackle football team, Everett Reign.

“In the first year we struggled just to get 17 women playing. Now we have 31 on our roster.” Gallo credits this appeal to play football to those early women who were brave enough to break the stereotype of football as a male only sport.

Gallo explains other moms in MYFL and women attending game day who caught the flackle bug quickly signed up to join Powderpuff.

“They see us on game day and they want to try it. Our kids are so proud of us; that just helps boost us up. Each one of these women make you want to come back and be around them, not only are we learning football, we are picking each other up. We are a sisterhood,” said Gallo.

Tulalip tribal member Veronica Iukes #20 if known as the "Wreckingball" for her hard hitting style. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Tulalip tribal member Veronica Iukes #20 if known as the “Wreckingball” for her hard hitting style.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

This sisterhood is what drew Tulalip tribal member Veronica Iukes, known as “Wreckingball” on the field, who is playing her first season as a Powderpuff.

“I lost my sister almost two years ago and have had a hard time adapting. I feel like I gained 20 more sisters being on this team. We have created a bond. When one of us is having an off day, everyone is there to pick one another up. They are the strongest mammas I know who will go above and beyond for their kids,” said Iukes, who has two daughters who cheer for MYFL and a son who plays football and encouraged her to start playing this year.

Also a newcomer to this year’s season is Tulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams whose son has played with MYFL for the past six years. Although interested in joining she was unable to find the time until now.

“When suiting up with full gear it’s game time, whether we are in a game or getting in a good practice. We get a glimpse of what our kids do on the field. The real MVPs are these amazing kids,” said Williams.

“These women are doing what mom’s do best, working hard for their kids. I know some younger girls that can’t wait to play for our team,” continued Williams, who hopes her daughter will join her on the field some day.

While the idea of women playing football is still a new concept it has gained popularity as women athletes challenge stereotypes.

“We break the stereotype just by looking at us,” said Hernandez. “We are all different ages and sizes in full gear. We are more than just a bunch of moms. This is a sisterhood. We all want to see each other do our best so it’s a constant stream of encouragement, positivity and helping each other get stronger and better. It’s really quite amazing.”

“I would strongly recommend and encourage all mother, aunts, sisters and guardians of children who participate in MYFL or Marysville Junior Cheer Association to play,” said Clarissa Young-Weiser who played with the team last year. “You have a better understanding of the sport and what your child has to go through when playing. There is no other intensity like football.” An injury this season is preventing Young-Weiser from playing this year. She hopes to return the following season.

Marysville Powderpuff team plays their first game on June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Quil Ceda Stadium at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. You can check out their Facebook page at Marysville Powderpuff Football for more information on tickets and team updates.

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com

Yvonne WilliamsPhoto courtesy of Yvonne Williams — Yvonne Williams
Photo courtesy of Yvonne Williams

Tulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams #58 gets ready to perform a play during a scrimmage game against Arlington Eagle Mommas on October 13, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Tulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams #58 gets ready to perform a play during a scrimmage game against Arlington Eagle Mamas on October 13, 2015.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Tulalip tribal member Mytyl Hernandez known for her speed is in her second season with the Marysville Powderpuff Football Team. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Tulalip tribal member Mytyl Hernandez known for her speed is in her second season with the Marysville Powderpuff Football Team.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Marysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills before their upcoming game against the Lakewood Cougar Moms on June 26, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Marysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills before their upcoming game against the Lakewood Cougar Moms on June 26, 2015.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Marysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Marysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Mytyl HernandezCourtesy of Mytyl Hernandez — Mytyl Hernandez
Courtesy of Mytyl Hernandez

The Legacy of Billy Frank Jr.

By Lorraine Loomis, Chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

It has been a long year since Billy Frank Jr. walked on from this world on May 5, 2014. We deeply miss our longtime leader and good friend. We will continue to stay on the course he set for us as sovereign nations with treaty-reserved rights who co-manage the natural resources given to us by the Creator.

During this past year, Billy’s life as a champion of tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and natural resources has been honored widely by tribal, state and federal governments, conservation organizations and others.

His March 9 birthday has been declared a holiday by many of the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. At the Squaxin Island Tribe, a street leading to the tribe’s natural resources building has been named Billy Frank Jr. Way.

The state of Washington gave Billy a Medal of Merit to honor his lifetime of service to all of the people of Washington. The award recognizes that Billy’s “courage, determination and leadership resulted in unique and meaningful contributions to our state and helped make Washington a better place to live,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

The state Senate passed a resolution recognizing his legacy. “Through his lifetime of kinship with the natural world, Billy Frank Jr. helped create a healthy environment that can sustain salmon, achieved change, and brought diverse communities together around shared desires through nonviolent means,” according to the resolution.

At the federal level, a bill to rename the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge for Billy has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Denny Heck. The bill also would create a national historic site at the refuge to mark the place where the Medicine Creek Treaty was signed in 1854.

There is no question that all of these awards and honors are sincere and well-deserved. They are important because they help us to remember Billy and what he stood for: the protection of tribal cultures, sovereignty, treaty rights and the natural resources that sustain Indian people.

Mike Williams, KRITFC chair, speaks at a recent meeting of the NWIFC.

But it is a recent event in Alaska that is perhaps the best example of Billy’s legacy.

When the indigenous Yupik people of southwestern Alaska were being denied their right to harvest salmon by state and federal fisheries managers, they called Billy. He visited several times to provide encouragement and help the Yupik achieve their dream of co-managing their shared natural resources.

On May 5, the first anniversary of Billy’s passing, 33 Yupik villages on the river came together to create the Kuskokwim River Inter-tribal Fish Commission. Through the KRITFC, the Yupik will no longer serve only in an advisory role, but will work as co-managers with state and federal fisheries managers.

“It was a great day for the Yupik people,” said Mike Williams, who was elected as the first chairman of KRITFC. “The legacy of Billy Frank is stronger now than ever before, and will get stronger,” he said.

We will continue to honor that legacy by carrying on Billy’s work to recover salmon and safeguard our treaty-reserved rights as co-managers of the natural resources that have always sustained us.

Keeping Lushootseed Language Alive In the Voices of Youth

Maria Martin teaches Lushootseed to preschoolers at the Tulalip Montessori School.KUOW PHOTO/BEN GAULD — Maria Martin teaches Lushootseed to preschoolers at the Tulalip Montessori School.
KUOW PHOTO/BEN GAULD

By Ben Gauld, KUOW

In Maria Martin’s preschool classroom at the Tulalip Montessori School, the children were learning to count to ten.

“Two!” they shouted.

But this lesson wasn’t in English. “In Lushootseed!” Martin instructed her class.

“Saliʔ!” their tiny voices rang out.

Linguists estimate that by the end of the century, 80% of all world languages will fall out of use. Maria Martin is trying to prevent her language from vanishing.

Lushootseed is the language of many tribes in the Puget Sound region, including the Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Duwamish. It’s been around for hundreds of years, but is in danger of going extinct.

Only a few tribal leaders are fluent in Lushootseed. “You hear people saying how amazing it is that you can speak it, how they wish they could, but they don’t have time,” Martin explained.

One of Martin’s “worst fears” is that her language “dies out and nobody speaks it anymore. Because that’s a big part of who we are.” If the language is lost, according to Martin, “it just seems that much easier to lose everything else.”

“It’s Something To Be Celebrated”

When a language dies, more than just words stop being spoken. Stories stop being told. Songs stop being sung. Preserving cultural values and history is much harder without a way to share them.

“How are you going to sing songs you don’t know the meanings to?” Martin asked. “How are you going to provide any traditional connections without the language? I feel you need to know the language, if only some of it, to really understand the whole culture.”

If Lushootseed is going to survive, Martin believes it must carry on in the voices of youth. The Tulalip Montessori School offers classes in Lushootseed to children ages three though five. They learn to count, sing songs, and tell stories in the language. The lessons in Lushootseed provide a way for the kids to experience their cultural heritage, which they couldn’t find in most preschools.

Martin said the community’s response has been overwhelmingly positive. She sees parents post Facebook videos of their kids singing Lushootsheed songs, or saying Lushootseed words. “You see that pride in the parents. ‘Hey, my child knows this.’ It’s something to be celebrated.”

When Martin was a child, she attended the same school where she now teaches. She hopes to be the inspiration that some of her teachers were to her.

“I was lucky enough to start out in Montessori and learn some Lushootseed, but after I left I didn’t get much exposure. It wasn’t offered in school anymore,” she explained. She said that much more work needs to be done.

An Evolving Language

The Tulalip tribes are working to train more teachers, and get language programs into higher levels of school.

But for Lushootseed to remain relevant, it must also adapt to the changing lifestyles of its speakers.

David Sienko is not a Native tribe member, but he’s been working with the Tulalip Tribes for the past decade. He’s a media developer in charge of all the technological aspects of the Tribes: managing the website, creating weather forecasts in Lushootseed, and anything that helps to reconcile the language with the technology of today.

“Technology has changed,” said Sienko. “So we have to create new words for modern life, and in doing so that’s going to help preserve the language.”

For example, tqad ti səxʷč̓əɬab means “turn off the TV.” And x̌alalikʷ čəd ʔal ti səxʷʔayilali means “I am typing on the computer.”

Sienko is confident that Lushootseed won’t go extinct any time soon. “All the Lushootseed-speaking tribes are really putting in a concerted effort, and they are starting to work together more readily,” he explained.

Ultimately, it is up to the next generation to keep Lushootseed alive. That’s why Maria Martin does her work.

“The kids inspire me to get up every day and come into work,” she said. “Next year they might go onto kindergarten and forget all about me. But for that little bit there was something there. Maybe they’ll have the chance to take away what I took away.”

RadioActive is KUOW’s program for high school students. This story was produced in RadioActive’s Spring Workshop. Listen to RadioActive stories, subscribe to the RadioActive podcast and stay in touch on Facebook and Twitter.