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The new Healthy Hearts, Healthy Minds Project is looking for participants! If you are interested or would like to know more about the project please call (360)716-4896.
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
It was the first day of my fifth grade year, but I was not going to be in class. At 5:00 a.m. while my classmates slept, waiting to start yet another year of school, I had already had breakfast and bundled up for the opening of the Silver (Coho) Salmon run. We made a beach seine set, right around a school of Silvers. I had never seen so many fish. We had 1500 fish in that set, and one lone chum for good measure. Growing up, this was my life. My summers were spent beach seining and roundhauling as much as I could. Each year, I would miss the first week of school, which always seemed to coincide with the start of the Silver run. And as the fishing seasons continued into November, the weather worsened, and I would beg to go fishing with dad. It is a way of life for my family, for many families, at Tulalip and all along the Puget Sound. For many, it was a living.
Tulalip fisherman Clyde Williams recalls early fishing in the 40s and 50s.
“We moved to the beach the day after school got out. We would buy our shoes at the commissary; everyone had Navy shoes. We were beach seining. We lived on the beach. Next to me was Stan, Bernie, and the Cheers. When we were fishing, if there was something wrong with our net we’d have to stretch it out at low tide and rehang it.
Just about everybody around here had a smoke house, back when we lived down there at the big house. We fished all day to fill the smoke house. That’s when everybody stayed at the big house. All the women would butcher fish all day long, we’d have to go out there as kids and pack wood in for the smokehouse, and we were the ones that had to keep the fire up. They’d always tell us ‘don’t you pile too much wood on you’ll burn the smokehouse down.’ We tended fires all day, we had to go check the fire every hour, make sure it was still burning. Even all night we’d have to go out there. They’d leave it in there for two days, and that was enough.
Fishing really took off. Everybody was catching fish, and then we went further out, changing from seining, to gillnetting, to roundhauling. Wes Charles and Chuck James brought the gillnetting to Tulalip. They were the first ones. A lot of people don’t know that anymore. Roundhauling was really something different. Bernie and Herman were the first ones to go out there; they roundhauled by hand for years before they did it with power. All of those guys used to get two or three hundred kings in a set. There was a state gillnetter that used to shoot at us. Other state boats tried to ram our boats and run up our nets chopping them all up.”
Tulalip fisherman Stan Jones remembers fishing growing up in the 40s and 50s, and the struggle that grew through the 60s as the state began enforcing new laws, leading up to the Boldt Decision. Stan stepped away from fishing serving 44 years on Tulalip Tribal Council and was a key player during the Boldt Decision.
“Dad always had a net in the back of the house, in the back room. He hung his nets in there, sewed every mesh out of linen. Once when he was out I went in and tried to sew his net; he came home and cut all my work out and redid it. We just had short nets, dad stayed on shore or up in the river.
When dad was sick, me and my brother Junior, we’d take the boat out and fish. Once up in the river we had about 25 or 30 Kings.
We couldn’t fish during the day, so we fished at night. The state fisheries officer John LaPlant, he used to come by and harass us. ‘If you’re gonna be here, put some lights on your boat,’ he’d say. Then the other rule was we couldn’t be more than 600 hundred feet offshore, so we just had little short nets. They were always coming by to see how far we stretched our nets out. If they thought you were too far, they arrest you right off the boat, and let your boat and net go adrift.”
Growing up, I heard these stories constantly. I almost feel like I was there, like I knew John LaPlant. I grew up in a post war era. Playing in the backyard there were many parts to boats and old fishing equipment, old corks scattered from hanging nets, and there was the old smokehouse. Grandpa used to smoke fish, not like the old days. Fishing and smoking fish though, that’s when the stories came out.
I learned the shores of Tulalip by the fishing landmarks and family grounds. Dad always says things like, “Run this end of the net up there into Roy Henry’s grounds.”
I didn’t know then, but I was learning about who we were, who we are, and the struggle to protect that. Dad would point out places on the shoreline, telling some fish stories. Even if we weren’t fishing, maybe driving around Tacoma or up across Deception Pass, Dad was always telling fishing stories. If grandpa was with us we had twice the stories. Amidst the stories, there was talk about the regulations and the law, and the fish wars. Today, I realize that the life I live fishing, like many others, was hard fought to protect. It is so much more as well. It is our identity, it defined our parents and grandparents, and it is our way of life.
By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News
At 32, Deshawn Joseph has already lived the life of an addict, cleaned up and is currently father to three children and founder of In Your TeePee, a small art and apparel business dedicated to giving back.
“In your TeePee is a reflection of what’s in your closet, but not just your closet, your home, your people, where you live and what you represent. I want to follow my culture and bring back pride in the Indian Community through exposure of art, political awareness and philanthropy. I want to give these teachings to the youth, show them that there are bigger and brighter things than just this reservation and your own family. I want to show that our people are resilient, we’re strong, creative and we have passion.
“In Your TeePee isn’t just about pride,” Joseph continued. “It’s about being humble, in a conducive manner for our youth. It’s a group of people working together, all native based and working for a brighter future. I started this with the free promotion of art. I’m not wealthy, I’m a full-time deckhand just trying to make it work, but I want to give back.”
Although Joseph is the founder and provides the vision behind In Your TeePee, the company is run more like a co-operative for artists.
“I know artists out there who are very talented, but may not have the time, money or ability to promote themselves. I’m currently working with five artists at this time, all Native American. I don’t necessarily want to be the front line person. Multiple people have stepped forward to say, ‘I like what you’re doing.’ It’s so exciting. Chad Charlie, a comedian with Rez2Rez, wants to be the face of In Your TeePee. I have four categories: Apparel, Art, Music and Community. We also want to give back to the community through public speaking. We’re against drugs, gangs and want to prevent suicide. This isn’t just for me, this is for our people.”
In Your TeePee has featured artwork by Toni Jo Gobin (Tulalip), Clint Cambell (Ojibwe), Daniel Mayotte (Red Lake Band of Chippewa), and Aaron Hamilton (Yakama).
“I’m not an artist,” Joseph confessed. “I want to say I’m the creative mind behind the art. The people who do my art, I give them an idea and let them do the art their way. I never did art, I’ve tried, but I just don’t have that touch with my hands, but I can image it in my mind.”
Although his only storefronts are Facebook and a booth at tribal gatherings, Joseph has big dreams for expanding the brand.
“I have ideas for Zumies and Pac Sun. These stores aren’t necessarily Native, but they do carry political t-shirts. If I could get a shirt into Zumies, that could really solidify us. For now I’m strictly on-line and doing Native American gatherings.”
Joseph’s dream for In Your TeePee started years ago; he credits his family, especially his children Jaylen (13), Caleb (11) and Tamiah (9), with motivating him to launch.
“Native American’s are just like a star quilt. Each generation is stitched to the next. My grandmother is Loretta James. My mom’s father is Douglas Jefferson from Lummi. My mom is Carmen Burke, she’s always interested me in my art, dancing and fashion. That’s where I started this love of fashion. And just me being a father, I want my children in the best position to succeed. I’ve turned my life around and hopefully my children can see that their father is leading by example.”
For more information about In Your TeePee find it on Facebook or email inyourteepee@gmail.com. If you’d like to share your business with the community, please contact the See-Yaht-Sub at editor@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov.
Shelbi Hatch is a senior in the Secondary Options and Alternative Resources high school program in Marysville.
By Gale Fiege, The Herald
Question: What does Marysville School District’s high school program called SOAR stand for?
Answer: I guess it’s Secondary Options and Alternative Resources. All I know is that SOAR has been a good fit for me. I previously went to Heritage and Marysville Pilchuck high schools. I am trying hard to make the best of the fine instruction offered by my SOAR teachers. I like the way they teach and that they know how I learn.
The program allows me some flexibility in my day. My health requires that I sleep in, so I start later and I think better when I am fully awake. Our program is like a one-room school. We are close.
Q: So where are you going to college next year?
A: I plan to start at Everett Community College. My goal, though, is the University of Hawaii. I hope to study psychology, perhaps to become a school counselor or a therapist. I love to study people, even now.
Q: Your teachers describe you as being confident, curious, hard-working, inclusive, insightful, mature, an excellent student, a good writer and a leader. What do you think about that?
A: Wow. I don’t know what to say. I am just focused on my goals to finish high school, go to college and bring something back to my community on the reservation. So many people are on drugs. I want to come back to help people deal with issues. My community is my passion.
My education has been a struggle for me. I am not going to lie. It’s been tough. Now I am seeing the bigger picture. I am determined. I know I am the only person who can make it happen.
Q: Your teachers also mentioned a project in which you studied what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder among Civil War veterans. How was that?
A: It was interesting. PTSD back then was termed a broken heart. People were prescribed alcohol. So much different than now. What I think about war is that we really need to consider the people who we are sending to fight.
Q: What is your favorite part about school?
A: I love to write and I have since elementary school. It’s my way to express myself. I guess I like to do research, too.
Q: Why Hawaii for university?
A: This fall I attended an education conference for native people that was held in South Dakota. Some of the participants were native Hawaiians. They are friendly, laid back, happy and family oriented. No drama. I like that.
Q: Do you do any volunteer work?
A: I have enjoyed helping with reading at Quil Ceda Elementary School, where my folks work. It’s been tough lately to fit it in because of college application essays and that stuff.
Q: Along with your high school work, you also are taking a college class, correct?
A:: Yes, my cousin Natosha Gobin teaches Lushootseed, our native Coast Salish language, and I have been taking the college-level class that she offers. In class, I also learn more about the culture, history and traditions of our Tulalip Tribes. Lushootseed is important to our culture. If people like me don’t work to carry it on, who will?
My grandparents, Bernie and Patti Gobin, taught me to know who I am and where I come from, and that is very important to me. The oral history and the morality tales, which I grew up hearing as bedtime stories, have to be carried on. I know my family lineage back to before the boarding school days, when, as children, my elders were taken away from their families.
Q: We understand a recent science lesson on ocean acidification called you to action.
A: We all need to understand and work to prevent pollution in our waters. It’s a very personal issue for me. The Coast Salish people have always depended on seafood. We fish. If I ever have children, I want them to be able to go to Mission Beach to fish.
A group of Tulalip Heritage players guard assistant coach Cyrus Fryberg Jr. (center) during a drill at a recent practice. The Hawks are motivated to get to the state tournament in Spokane after falling just one game short last year.
By Aaron Lommers, The Herald
TULALIP — To understand the success the Tulalip Heritage boys basketball team is having this season, one first must understand the heartbreak that came before it.
Facing Taholah, a team Tulalip Heritage had beaten by 20 earlier in the season, the Hawks fell 57-45 in last year’s tri-district tournament. The Chitwhins advanced to state, while the Hawks season came to an abrupt end.
“It crushed them to lose that game, especially to a fellow tribal school,” Tulalip Heritage head coach Marlin Fryberg said.
The loss didn’t sit well with Fryberg either, who was forced to evaluate how it had happened.
“That changed the tone for me as the coach,” Fryberg said. “As head coach, I will take that (loss) as my responsibility. All summer long it weighed on them because they really wanted to go to Spokane and coming one game short I told them, ‘I own that. That’s my fault for not having you ready and I’ll never put you in that same situation ever again.'”
Of course Fryberg’s promise was two-sided. He has demanded more from his players at practice this season and redefined each player’s role on the team to eliminate any misunderstanding of their responsibilities.
Fryberg’s expectations of his players extend further than the basketball court. He expects them to maintain their grades in order to stay eligible and behave in the classroom.
“I think the success we’ve had is attributed to a lot of the dedication they have given to the discipline we’re demanding,” Fryberg said. “It gets down to the point where if they are tardy for school I’ll make them run. They’ll pay for it here because in life you’ve got to be disciplined.”
Grades have been a problem for Tulalip Heritage teams in the past, but not with this group. Fryberg said they’re all performing in the classroom — which has helped the Hawks perform on the court.
Fryberg’s squad has opened the season 12-1 and earned the No. 5 ranking in the state in the season’s first AP poll.
The only team to beat the Hawks this season is the team directly above them in the poll, No. 4 Lummi. The Blackhawks rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to win the matchup of the then-unbeaten teams on Jan. 7. Lummi has since lost to Neah Bay, joining the Hawks, and every other 1B team in the state, with at least one loss.
Dating back to last season, the past three meetings with the Blackhawks have all been decided by three points or less.
“We’re right with them,” Fryberg said. “Mentally, we kind of fell apart a little bit and that’s what cost us the game.
The Hawks missed crucial free throws down the stretch that allowed Lummi to comeback and win a game that sophomore forward Robert Miles said they should have never lost.
“It really motivates us because we knew we should have had that game,” Miles said. “Even their crowd, they told us that they stole one from us and that we deserved to win it. That’s going to be a big motivator for us.”
The two teams renew their rivalry tonight, this time on the Hawks’ turf. With three meetings between the two schools in the regular season, Fryberg said the Hawks have to win to have a chance at a league championship.
“If we don’t win, they’re going to win the league,” Fryberg said. “It’s very important.”
“The first game is the important game,” Fryberg added. “That’ll tell you mentally as a ballplayer what you have to do. Or, if you’re on the losing side such as us, than we have to work harder. If you win that game, you’re kind of in the driver’s seat because you play three games. If you get one more out of the two, the way we’ve been running, you’re going to be first in the league.”
The game also brings large crowds many of the players aren’t used to playing in front of. Fryberg expects a similar sized crowd tonight.
“This is a rivalry between tribes that goes way back,” Fryberg said. “There are a lot of people. The (game) in Lummi was the biggest crowd ever up there in high school. And it went right down to the wire. It was great.”
The rivalry between the two schools is made stronger by the fact that many of the players play with each other or against each other in different tribal tournaments.
They’re all friends,” Fryberg said. It makes it a bigger rivalry when they come together.”
Senior Keanu Hamilton, one of the Hawks’ leading scorers, said the team will have to work even harder if it expects to avenge the earlier loss to the Blackhawks.
“If we worked that hard (before the first Lummi game), than we’ve got to work harder,” Hamilton said. “It’s going to be a big game. They’re our rivals and they’re coming here. We almost had them there. It’s going to be huge here.”
Tonight’s game is just another step toward the Hawks ultimate goal of competing for the state championship at Spokane Arena in early March. The Hawks’ consistent effort the first 13 games of the season has put them in a position where that goal seems attainable.
Fryberg has been involved with basketball for the better part of his life, but advancing to the state tournament is something that eluded him as a player.
Hamilton doesn’t want to have that same regret.
“Coach is always talking about how he can never raise his hand and say that he’s been there,” he said. “I want to raise my hand and say that I’ve been there.”
Upcoming events for February 2014. hibulbculturalcenter.org
