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Category: Tulalip News
Women’s health spotlighted at health fair
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – For the first time in three years women packed into the Tulalip Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic to attend a health fair tailored specifically to their health needs. On Friday, May 8 the lobby at the clinic was transformed into a woman-only zone that featured over 20 informational booths on women’s health from A to Z.
Funded by the Tulalip Stop Smoking Program due to budget constraints, the fair highlighted the forgotten issues of women’s health, such as routine health check-ups, proper footwear and wearing a good supporting bra.
Health fair organizer Jennie Fryberg, said this year’s health fair was meant to draw attention to the things women tend to put off due to work or family responsibilities.
“The idea was to do something different and have booths that offered information on other forms of health care, such as essential oils and other alternative health care. There is no mammogram bus this year but we have a great booth that has information on breast and cervical health. We have The Bra Shop attending this year and they accept HMA health insurance so you can get a proper fitting and get a good supporting bra,” said Fryberg, whose mother Karen Fryberg started the tradition of health fairs at the clinic 30 years ago.
Deandra Grant, 15, attended the fair in the afternoon and said she learned how important health can be later in life. “I learned don’t do bad stuff to your body and brush your teeth. You have to take care of yourself. The kidney station was my favorite so far and the diabetes booth. The whole fair is informational for me.”
Held in conjunction with Mother’s Day, the clinic organized a special makeover for three ladies chosen by staff following in the tradition of previous health fairs that provided makeovers to cancer patients.
“This year I knew I needed to do something special for three particular women in our community. The Clinic didn’t have funds for the fair so I knew the makeovers would have to be funded in a different way. The Stop Smoking Program kindly donated the funds for the fair and we did fundraising for the makeovers,” Fryberg said.
Chosen were Lahneen Fryberg, Lavinia Phillips and Nessie Hatch, all mothers of victims from the October 24 shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
“I wanted them to have something special before Mother’s Day and show how proud we are as a community of their strength and that we are here to support them,” continued Fryberg.
For more information on women’s health check out the website www.healthywomen.org, or make an appointment to see a physician at the Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic by calling 360-716-4511.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Record amounts raised at Boys & Girls Club Auction
Photo/Micheal Rios
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
On the evening of Saturday, May 9 the Tulalip Resort Casino’s Orca ballroom was the location for the 17th Annual Tulalip Boys and Girls Club “It’s for the Kids” Auction fundraising event. The ballroom was elaborately designed like never before with a tiered seating arrangement for the record high 650 guests who attended. This year’s theme was in true 12th Man fashion as it was devoted to the Seahawks and prevalent in all visual aspects, from the vivid navy blue and action green colored table dressings and centerpieces to the accent lighting.
The Tulalip Boys & Girls Club is the first club of its kind to be built on tribal land in Washington. Established in 1995, 2015 marks twenty years of commitment to the community.
The Club serves as a model for those working to improve the lives of young people in surrounding communities.
With the success of previous auctions, the Club has not only been able to sustain services, but to likewise complete needed campus expansions that added additional learning space. This included spaces like 2014’s all new Computer Learning Center with state-of-the-art technology allowing our kids to stay on par with the area’s best schools when it comes to computer technology.
While auction attendees enjoyed the great food, great friends and the great auction items available, they were continually reminded of the hundreds of children who’ll benefit from the night’s proceeds. Video montages depicting Club members, staff, and events were played throughout the evening. A very touching video dedicated to Diane Prouty, or as the kids call her “Grandma Diane”, was shown right before she took the stage to speak on the importance of Tulalip’s Kid’s Café. Through Kids Café, the Club provides healthy, filling, hot snacks and meals to kids after school. Many of the kids who participate in Kids Café would not have an afternoon snack or dinner without the Club.
Auction participants showed their generous support by donating a record high $40,945 to Kids Café. That proved to be just the beginning. By the end of the night, the auction had also raised a new record for total proceedings, amassing over $300,000 that will benefit and support the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club.
On behalf of the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, the Tulalip Tribes thanks everyone who contributed to the success of the 17th annual auction. The outpouring of support received each year from sponsors and volunteers is quite overwhelming. As in years past, the funds raised from the auction will ensure that our club not only continues to provide, but improves upon, quality programs in a fun, safe and positive environment for the children who attend throughout 2015 and early 2016.
NEW Exhibit: Roots of Wisdom opens at the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
Mytyl Hernandez, Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
Tulalip, Washington – Overcoming environmental and cultural challenges can make for unexpected partnerships that result in extraordinary outcomes. At Roots of Wisdom, the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve’s latest exhibit opening to the general public May 16th from 12:00–5:00 p.m., the knowledge of native peoples and cutting-edge Western science are explored, providing insight into how we can improve our relationship with the natural world.
Roots of Wisdom features stories from four indigenous communities, giving visitors real life examples of how traditional knowledge and Western science, together, provide complementary solutions to ecological and health challenges facing us today. Through the voices of elder and youth, engaging video interactives and hands-on games, visitors will gather resources, examine data, and take part in the growing movement towards sustainability and the reclamation of age-old practices.
“We are so pleased to have had the opportunity to develop an exhibit through a collaborative process which is a new experience for us. We are so excited that we get to be its hosts”, says Tessa Campbell Senior Curator. “Roots of Wisdom allow our guests an inside look into Tribal communities throughout the country and see how they are managing and preserving their natural and cultural resources”.
Traditional Knowledge/Western Science
Visitors are invited to explore the unique relationship between Western science and native ecological knowledge. From everyday items like duck decoys to surfboards, popcorn to chocolate, guests will learn how native knowledge impacts our daily lives, and recognize the great contributions that indigenous peoples have provided over centuries.
Re-establishing a Native Plant (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
The river cane plays a prominent role both in revitalizing cultural practices and restoring ecosystems. Guest will learn how this hardy plant affects water quality and how Cherokee elders are teaching new generations about the traditional craft of basket weaving. Visitors are invited to experiment with river environments and even try their hand at basket weavings.
Restoring Fish Ponds (Hawaii)
Guests are given a chance to act as a caretaker of a fish pond or join a droplet of water on an incredible journey down a Hawaiian mountainside in these popular hands-on interactives. Visitors learn how native ecosystems have been disrupted and what is being done to restore these innovative forms of aquaculture, which could be a critical component to food sustainability for the people of Hawaii.
Rediscovering Traditional Foods (Tulalip Tribes)
Through a clever computer interactive, hands-on activities, and recorded stories, guests learn how Tulalip Tribes are striving to find a balance in their need for natural resources against the loss of land rights and environmental degradation. Visitors learn about traditional practices of wild harvesting and gardening. They will discover through Western science how these techniques are beneficial to human health.
Saving Streams and Wildlife (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation)
Seen as a pest in some areas of the country, the lamprey is an eel-like fish that is important both ecologically and as a food source to many indigenous people. In this fun interactive, visitors can pick up a replica lamprey as would a scientist. Visitors learn about the traditional stewardship of the lamprey and how the fish is a critical component of the ecosystem that the Umatilla Tribes depend on. Find out how traditional ecological knowledge and Western science are being applied to bring this amazing little fish back from the brink of extinction.
Roots of Wisdom opens Saturday May 16, 2015 at 12:00 PM and closes September 13, 2015.
The Hibulb Cultural Center is open Tuesday through Friday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM, closed on Mondays. Pricing: Adults $10, Seniors (50yr+) $7, Students $6, Veterans & Military $6, Children (under 5) FREE. “Family Pass” (2 adults, 4 children) $25. Visit www.hibulbculturalcenter.org for more information about the museum.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, Roots of Wisdom is specially designed for visitors ages 11-14. The exhibition was developed by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), the Indigenous Education Institute (IEI), the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Tulalip Tribes, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society in Hawaii, and was made possible through funds from the National Science Foundation.
About the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
The Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve is dedicated to those who have gone home before us and those who remain to keep the cultural fires burning. The Hibulb Cultural Center features a fully certified collections and archaeological repository. The Center features a main gallery, a temporary exhibit, two classrooms, a research library, an interactive longhouse and a gift shop featuring Coast Salish and hand made products.
Directions: From I-5 take exit 199 Marine Drive NE in Marysville. Go west approximately 0.5 miles, then turn left on 23rd Avenue NE.
Heartfelt donation finds its way home
Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Rochele Hammond, husband Ken and sons Josh, Jake and Bradon purchased a priceless item donated to this year’s annual Tulalip Boys & Girls Club auction held Saturday, May 9.
The item is a football signed by Seattle Seahawks #72 defensive end Michael Bennett. It wasn’t just the autograph that made this item priceless to bidders, it was the story behind it that resonated with the Hammonds.
The football was donated by Nate Hatch, the only survivor among the five students attacked in the school shooting on October 24 at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Hatch was presented the football by Bennett following the tragedy.
Hatch, a former Tulalip Boys & Girls Club member, decided to donate the football to help raise funds for the club’s programs.
The Hammonds won the final bid but knew the football was worth much more than what they had paid for it. They decided to return the football to Hatch.
“He deserves to have it and I knew he was meant to have it,” said Rochele . “We want him to know we are thinking of him. It just needs to be with him.”
Tiny House Movement builds success
Tulalip students put skills to use for the homeless
Photo/Mara Hill
By Mara Hill, Tulalip News
An old, rusty building left over from a time when Quil Ceda Village was the Boeing Test site hides a treasure. You walk inside and you’re surrounded by people hard at work. The sound of drills buzzing, hammers banging and voices raised in a friendly hello.
The workers are students of the Tulalip Construction Training program. They each come from a tribal nation, some as far away as South Dakota. Their dreams vary, one wants to build a patio for his son’s grandmother, others want to join a union, or add to their skills for do it yourself projects or to improve their qualifications for work. Currently, they’re building their skills through a “tiny house” project that will assist with a subject near and dear to my heart, homelessness.
I have been homeless. Not sleeping on the ground in the rain kind of homeless, but staying at a friend’s house, couch-surfing kind of homeless. I was anxious and depressed. It was the darkest place I’ve ever been in my entire life. I write this with tears in my eyes as I remember striving for some kind of normalcy for my daughter. I was willing to do anything to have a home of my own.
I’m on my way to that normal life. Through the Tiny House Movement, with the help of the Tulalip Tribes, the urban homeless population of Seattle will also have a chance to change their lives.
Tiny house encampments evolved out of tent communities. These encampments are increasing in popularity due to the rising cost of housing. Tiny homes generally don’t exceed 500 square feet, and can be easily moved from one location to the next.
Instructor Mark Newland, and his students of the Tulalip Construction Training program received the housing materials on May 7 and began construction of two approximately 8’ x 12’ Tiny Houses on May 11, 2015. The homes have no amenities, just an open floor plan. However, residents have a roof over their head, a single window, front door with lock, and a single light switch. Each home also features a state of the art fan to control humidity and keep the homes livable during hot weather.
Each house will take between five and ten days to construct. The homes are basic, but simply having a locked door and a safe place to sleep is a game changer for many homeless citizens.
These houses are being donated to Nickelsville, a homeless encampment in Seattle named after former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, in protest to the way he handled the homeless situation.
“Making homelessness criminal, that’s kind of the way a lot of towns go. Running people out of town doesn’t settle the problem. It’s not a human solution. Unfortunately we need a lot more [resources] for the homeless than we have, both here on the reservation and elsewhere too,” explained Sandy Tracy, Manager of the Tulalip Homeless Shelter, about the stigma that homelessness carries. Many of those in need don’t receive help because of perceptions about their character, rather than their situation.
complete and will be delivered to Nickelsville on June 9.
Photo/Mara Hill
This donation is a great way to remind us of our humanity, that those too are people. It’s a great way to express to another community that we care.
Tribal communities experience homelessness but not always to the point of sleeping under underpasses and camping in the woods. Many tribal members are interrelated, or know each other, so there is more couch-surfing homelessness on Tulalip than in the outside communities.
Tracy called the tiny house movement a useful tool for the homeless.
“I’ve seen the little houses where someone is at least out of the elements and have a good door between them and whoever is wandering around. I think those are very good things.”
The dedication to Nickelsville will be Tuesday June 9, 2015 at 1001 S. Dearborn in the International District of Seattle.
Contact Mara Hill, mward@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Strengthening resiliency for our tribal community
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
On Monday, May 11, and Tuesday, May 12, the Tulalip Resort Casino hosted the Tulalip community as we came together to partake in the 3rd Annual Community Wellness Conference. The event was a two-day, all-day occasion that took place in the Orca Ballroom. Sponsored by the Tulalip Tribes’ Problem Gambling and Stop Smoking Programs, this year’s conference was particularly special for all attendees, as we were invited to hear the motivational words and experience the remarkable talents of Native celebrities from across North America.
The target audience this year was our tribal youth, to ensure tribal youth engagement all the students of Heritage High School were bussed to and from the TRC in order to participate in the Wellness Conference. With an open registration, all members of the Tulalip community were welcome to attend. There were approximately two hundred attendees on each day.
Day one was highlighted by keynote speaker Gyasi Ross, author and lawyer, an aerial performance by Andrea Thompson, and our very own Rediscovery Coordinator Inez Bill teaching how to make smudge kits and lip balm. Day two was highlighted by keynote speaker Vaughn Eagle Bear, comedian and actor, and a special performance by DJ crew A Tribe Called Red. The two-day Community Wellness Conference kept everyone engaged, kept interests peaked, and provoked much self-reflection while we learned how to channel our energies into positive experiences.
Conference coordinators, Ashley Tiedeman and Alison Bowen, reflected on the success of the Wellness Conference after it was over, saying the conference was successful not just because they had more attendees than the previous two years, but because of how each Native speaker managed to address and engage audience members on a spiritual and intellectual level. All of the amazing Native speakers shared their story and how they overcome their hardships to get to where they are now, successfully following their passion.
A simple, but powerful message expressed to the youth by Gyasi Ross was “It gets greater later.”
“We come from a faithful people,” expressed Ross to the tribal youth. “We come from people who have genetically coded DNA that says, ‘It gets greater later.’ We don’t give up. We don’t ever give up. That’s not what we do. Every single one of you come from that strong, enriched lineage of perseverance and resilience. That DNA is still within you, that blood is still within you that makes you strong. That makes you willing to work by faith and realize ‘It gets greater later’.”
This message wasn’t planned, but hit home with all and was repeated throughout the conference. Alison Bowen, Family Haven Program Manager and co-coordinator of the conference, hopes that every single tribal youth takes this message to heart. “It becomes greater later. Each and every one of you has a purpose. You are all needed and loved.”
This is an ongoing article.
Contact Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
May 13, 2015 Tulalip See-Yaht-Sub
May 6, 2015 Tulalip See-Yaht-Sub
Tulalip Boys & Girls Club Youth Sports
The Tulalip Boys & Girls Club flag football team the Chargers, ages 5 to 6, took on their first opponent on April 18, with a game against the Saints from the Everett Boys & Girls Club. No score was kept but the Chargers kept the Saints on their toes and performed beyond expectations. Great Job Chargers!
Six spots are still available on the Chargers team. Head coach is Deyamonta Diaz and assistant coach is Selena Frajman. Practices are every Thursday, 4:30 -5:30 p.m., and Friday 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Tulalip Boys & Girls Club features five flag football team, one t-ball, one coach pitch and two volleyball teams.
Flag football coaches are Michael Hunter, Aletha Tatge, James Madison, Jay Fryberg and Issac Elliot. T-ball coach is Charlita Davis with Gregory Moses coaching for coach and pitch. Jamie Orth and Becca Marteney coach volleyball.
If you are interested in having your child join any of the available teams, please contact Tori Torolova at 360-716-3400.