Brothers Tony and Mike Gobin of the Tulalip Honor Guard present the colors at the Veterans Luncheon. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News Reporter
Veterans and their families packed the Longhouse at the Hibulb Cultural Center & Natural History Preserve on Monday, November 11th. The event hosted by Hibulb staff, which was open to all veterans in the Tulalip community, featured a lunch incorporating traditional foods in addition to an honoring and healing ceremony. Veterans that spoke reminded those in attendance about the sacrifices made by soldiers and their families, emphasizing the importance of remembering the cost of the world we live in.
With the presentation of the colors by the Tulalip Honor Guard, the Veterans Day celebration began. Each veteran was thanked with a blanket, introducing themselves while taking a moment to speak about their service. Some listed their rank and various wars and theaters, while others spoke about what Veterans Day means to them.
Tulalip Tribal veteran Ray Moses telling war stories at the healing ceremony. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
“It’s important to remember the veterans and to thank them,” said Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon, a Vietnam veteran. He referred to the ill tempers and bad attitudes that Americans had towards the Vietnam War, and in turn, how poorly returning soldiers were treated. “Today is a day to honor the sacrifice made. When war came you raised your hand, and we thank you for your service.”
“It is important to remember the families and their sacrifice,” said veteran, David Ventura. “They had to sacrifice time with their sons and brothers, and many times a life shared. Mothers, fathers, wives, brothers and sisters all had to live with the uncertainty of someone they loved dearly, for the service they gave to this nation.”
Korean War veteran Ray Moses spoke about the horrors of war.
“When I was in Korea,” he began, “my brother was killed right along side me. That moment was the most helpless feeling I have ever experienced. I couldn’t cry; I couldn’t get mad. All I could do was keep fighting. I had to. The worst memories I have are about death.”
Richard Muir Jr. holds a beading seminar for Veterans Day at Hibulb. He is demonstrating the technique called Peyote Stitch. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
He paused a moment. “Why do I tell you these things? People these days say, ‘we don’t want to hear that, those old things.’ And I tell them, without those old things all these new things wouldn’t be here.”
Hibulb staff served a lunch of fry bread and hamburger stew, along with traditional foods including mushrooms, nettle tea, and black moss pudding, which in our culture is a medicine for calming the spirit and mind.
Jessica Talevich inspects a healthy brain with organ lady, Shawneri Guzman. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News Reporter
Tulalip − The unsettling foreign smell of formaldehyde and isopropyl alcohol wafted from a table at the front of the room, lined with bottles, cans, jars of waste and toxins, and trays of human organs. Those who attended the CEDAR group meeting November 7th were disgustingly captivated by the uncanny presentation. Inside Out tells the gruesome truths of substance abuse, dispelling the misconceptions and myths society has about substances. Thursday’s show was unique, highlighting the effects of specific drugs.
Commonly referred to as the Organ Lady show, Inside Out begins with a glass of vodka and a raw egg. Shawneri Guzman, one of five Organ Ladies, cracks the egg into the glass for all to see, then sets it aside. From behind jars of tar and phlegm, Guzman picks up a set of human lungs, kicking the show into high gear as the audience leans in for a better look. She describes the different parts and facts about these lungs, which are grey and small, but they are healthy. Next she shows the lungs of a tobacco smoker, a marijuana smoker, and a heroin smoker, each looking progressively larger, shredded, and more black.
Bonnie and Bryce Juneau looking at a heart with a Gortex valve. Valve damage was due to heroin use. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
“The goal is to show healthy organs in comparison to damaged organs in order to help people understand what their choices are leading to, and hopefully help them make a change in their life,” said Guzman, an ER nurse at Providence Medical Center who sees people with these conditions on a daily basis.
The show continues with the heart, kidneys, liver, a tongue, and brains. Each specimen comes with a story, which Guzman tells while weaving in facts about drugs and how they are different and more dangerous today than they were ten, twenty, thirty years ago.
“The heroin on the street today is 60% to 70% pure, thirty years ago it was more like 20%. This means you can become addicted the first time, you can overdose the first time, you can die the first time. Today, heroin is commonly cut with horse tranquilizers, which is why so many people that use heroin look like zombies, they are essentially numbing their brain,” Guzman explained.
She continued to unveil brains, picking up slices that resembled Swiss cheese. Brains riddled with holes from heroin, meth, and marijuana, coupled with neural scans showing severe cognitive impairment illustrate a sobering reality. The damage shown in these brains is irreversible.
Guzman pointed out the misconceptions of drug use, such as smoking heroin is less addictive and less harmful than injection. If anything, smoking heroin is more harmful because of the drastic effect on the lungs.
It is important to know that second and third-hand marijuana exposure can cause you to test positive for THC, the chemical that comes from marijuana. Guzman referred to her experience in the ER, how many people come in after having tested positive for THC, and not knowing why it happened.
Bonnie Juneau hold up a pair of lungs ravaged by marijuana smoke. This 19 year old boy and had smoked everyday for five years. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
She explained, “We don’t realize how much our immediate environment affects us on a daily basis. Exposure to smoke is one example of how your surroundings affect your life. Even though you aren’t smoking, your body still feels the effects and it will show up on a test.” She noted that, “due to fertilizer and pesticides, marijuana today has more THC than what our parents would have smoked, meaning the effects and damage are both more drastic, and we are seeing more people test positive having only been exposed to third-hand smoke, which is the residue left on clothes, hair, furniture, and inside the car.”
As the show came to an end, Guzman picked up the egg floating in a glass of vodka. The vodka cooked the egg white in less than 90 minutes.
“Our brains do not stop maturing until we are about 25,” explained Guzman. “The egg white is immature protein, similar to a teen’s brain and other organs.”
She pointed out a liver from a 17 year-old girl that had drank since she was 13. It was hard and looked like a sponge in the middle.
Afterwards, people could put on gloves and examine the organs themselves, making the effects of substance abuse a tangible experience. Guzman continued to explain how these symptoms of organ damage manifest in living people, describing the signs to look for if you suspect someone is abusing substances. Awareness and understanding are crucial aspects in preventing addiction.
5th annual Taste of Tulalip combines traditional foods with daring culinary expression
Bravo’s Top Chef Kristen Kish (Right) shown with an audience member, hosts a cooking demonstration at the Taste of Tulalip. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News Reporter
Tulalip, WA − “I’m surrounded by artists; artist wine makers, artist chefs, artist celebrity chefs. All of whom have such a lust, such passion for food,” said Chef Perry Mascitti at the opening reception for the 5th annual Taste of Tulalip, November 8th. The weekend culinary event, which sells out every year, hosted returning celebrity Chef Carla Hall, Bravo’s Top Chef Champion Kristen Kish, and renowned food anthropologist, chef, and Kiowa tribal member, Dr. Lois Frank. This year’s focus was more on the menu in an effort to redefine the event, and the Tulalip brand.
Lisa Severn, director of food and beverage at the resort, said, “It is a culinary event encompassing both food and wine. We want to define Tulalip as a culinary destination, bringing quality and passion to our brand, setting us apart from our competitors.”
Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
The Taste, as it’s called, is so much more than a wine event, a fact that was brought to the forefront in this year’s preparations as Dr. Frank worked with resort cooking staff for more than six months developing menu ideas inspired by the historic foods of this region. Such indigenous foods were incorporated into each dish served at Friday’s six course reception dinner, as well as those offered at the grand tasting on Saturday. The use of indigenous mushrooms, huckleberries, salmon, shellfish, pumpkin and squash, and indigenous red and yellow corn gave each plate a taste that is truly unique to this region. Branching out into Indian country as a whole, even lamb and buffalo were used as Native meats.
Each year, the Taste welcomes mainly Washington wineries to showcase their finest products, for two reasons. First, these wines are specific to this area, similar to the foods, as each grape will taste different depending on the ground it is planted in. You are essentially drinking the flavors of the northwest infused in each wine. The second is that Tulalip Resort believes in buying local and supporting local businesses.
Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
They have the food, they have the drink, but it is really the skill and passion that defines a culinary experience. In order to prove their skill, chefs and sommeliers from around the Pacific Northwest teamed up for the Rock n’ Roll cooking challenge, where they were given a basket of unknown ingredients. They had to create a dish and select a wine to pair it with. A challenge to understand the relationship between food and drink, three teams were judged by the hosting chefs.
In addition to the fanfare, cooking demonstrations and tastings of elite wines and craft beers brought a level of quality to the Taste that puts Tulalips on the map. Kristen Kish held a cooking demonstration, preparing lobster. Kish stressed the fact that you should cook with your hands. For example, a pinch as a measurement should be between your thumb and three fingers, meaning that the amount of ingredients used will be specific to each chef, adding an identity to each dish. Fielding questions by Tulalip’s Chef Perry and celebrity Chef Carla Hall, Kish shared other tricks of the trade along the way.
Limited edition Taste of Tulalip Bottle featuring a design by Tulalip artist Jason Gobin. Each year the Taste selects a Tulalip artist to design a theme, this year being on of Tulalip’s origin stories, the story of the two killer whale brothers, les deux frères. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
The effort in defining the Taste as a culinary experience is exceptional, even in philanthropy. The Taste sponsors a charity each year. This year Fare Start was selected, a charity that assists at risk adults with culinary training. Every aspect of the Taste goes towards an emphasis on the culinary experience.
Redefining the Taste, and Tulalip, as a culinary destination also showcases the diverse options Tulalip offers guests on a regular basis. Although the event focuses on Tulalip hospitality, the Taste of Tulalip has remained one of the top ten grossing weekends in terms of casino revenue since the resort opened.
The weekend concluded with what was called a Native American brunch, where Dr. Frank led an expedition into the traditional foods of Native America; a legacy that will continue at the resort.
Severn was very pleased with the event, saying, “It was a successful weekend that defined Tulalip as a culinary destination, hosting the premier culinary event in the Northwest.”
No, they’re not shots. Blackberry Sirloin skewers with a caramelized onion, floated in a glaze were among the first hors d’oeuvres offered at Friday’s reception dinner. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
Performers hired for the grand taste (left and below) dressed as grape vines welcomed arriving guests, coming to life for moments at a time, finding walls to cling to. When not moving you would not have known these were performers. The vine below stood 10 feet high on stilts and crutches, giving them 4 “vines” to walk with. Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
“There are two ways of spreading light. To be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton
TULALIP – Every year the Potlatch Fund recognizes Native Americans who personify leadership in five areas. Each of the awards is named after a tribal leader who exemplifies what it takes to change the world: The Antone Minthorn Economic Devlopment Award, the Pearl Capoeman-Baller Civic Participation award, the Billy Frank, Jr., Natural Resources Protection award; the Patricia Whitefoot Education Award and the Fran James Cultural Preservation Award. This year, Tulalip’s own Vice-Chairwoman Deborah Parker was among the recognized. She spoke about the experience in a recent interview.
Asked about the award, Parker first spoke about Quinault leader Pearl Capoeman-Baller.
“I’ve known Pearl for years,” she said. “She’s a woman who doesn’t really sit down, she doesn’t rest. She’s a woman who’s always wanted change and works hard to make that change happen. She’s a lady who is all about action and justice.
“To receive an award in the spirit of her work is a complete honor. And as a leader, Pearl embodies that balance of home, work and responsibility. She’s a mother, a grandmother, and a community member who works at the local, state and federal level and she brings all of that together. As an elder she is not on council anymore, but you still see her at conferences helping and motivating the younger generation to not be idle. She’s still working hard and not taking no for an answer.”
“There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you.” – Maya Angelou
Although she’s made impacts in many areas, Parker points to her work to make sure that provisions to protect Native American’s from non-natives were included in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
“It’s not just women, it’s also men who are very emotional about the passage of this bill,” elaborated Parker. “If I was just carrying legislation it would be easy to say thank you and good bye. I used my story, there was no hypothetical here. They had to look me in the face, someone who is a survivor. Being a female tribal leader was another source of strength. People in D.C. had to look at me and say, ‘No, we’re not going to support you or other Native women.’
“Some did,” she continued. “Some said they couldn’t support tribes taking jurisdiction, some were blatantly racist and said they couldn’t believe a non-tribal man would rape a Native American woman. But, what I don’t think anyone imagined is the support. There was so much support from non-tribal women. Native America hasn’t seen that in the past, non-natives supporting legislation to support Native people.”
“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.” – Helen Keller
Undeniably a role model across the nation, Parker was quiet, embarrassed even, when she talked about her notoriety.
“For the women who come out and say, ‘You’re my hero,’ and every time I receive an award, I feel honored. I accept it on behalf of those women who were murdered, for those women who don’t have a voice. Not just women, I want to acknowledge the young boys and men who have been abused. They need closure too, but where do they get it? Guys don’t stand around the lunch room and talk about sexual abuse because of that stigma surrounding it.”
Family and community continually inspire Parker to keep working.
“My children are 100% supportive. They get to hear my phone calls, they hear the conversations, they hear me fighting for our rights. It’s been a blessing, but being away from my family is the hardest part. If someone asks what it’s like to be a modern day warrior, you give up a lot in the process. My family sacrificed birthdays, holidays, they really put aside everything so we could get this [VAWA] passed.”
“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart
The Violence Against Women Act including the tribal provisions were approved. Parker explained that although we won the battle, the war’s not over.
“I just have to remind myself to keep going,” she said. “There’s so much work to be done. It’s not just me. There are a lot of amazing tribal leaders who pitch in.”
Parker explained that one of the most important ways to take care of her people is to be in the room where decisions are made. For tribal leaders a trip to Washington D.C. isn’t a vacation, it’s a battleground of constant negotiation, education and efforts to dispel stereotypes about Native Americans.
“If you don’t go, if your face isn’t there, you don’t have a voice,” Parker emphasized. “It’s not what you look like, it’s what you represent. If you are not at the table, you’re not included.”
“Everyone has inside her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t’ know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish and what your potential is!” – Anne Frank
In closing, Parker exuded hope for the future.
“I feel incredible honored that young girls are inspired to share their voice, to come out with their abuse because I have. I feel honored because they can come out and speak their truth and find healing, not just one, but hundreds and thousands. It is worth it.
“If women can find strength through my words, I’m definitely not going to stop,” she stated. “If I can assist others to create protections for those little children who don’t have a voice, those are giant steps. I never dreamed this could happen in my time.”
After the culvert was restored. Photo by Brett Shattuck
Natural Resources department seeks out important streams that are in need of restoration.
By Monica Brown, Tulalip News Writer
TULALIP, Wa. -In an effort to boost salmon populations and abide by treaty rights, the state of Washington has been court ordered to fix problem culverts, which prevent salmon from accessing integral streams. Tulalip’s Natural Resources department has been helping the State’s effort by repairing one culvert per year for the last few years. Greenwood creek in the Warm Beach community, the most recent culvert repaired by Natural Resources, was found to be an important stream for juvenile salmon and acts as a nursery prior to entering the ocean.
“We try to repair one a year or every other year. It’s something we do when we have time on the side,” said Brett Shattuck of Tulalip’s Natural Resources. Brett works as a forest and fish biologist, a position that doesn’t center on stream restoration. Together as a department though, they research and find vital streams that require repair yet fall out of state jurisdiction which would require the state to repair according to the court order. While the state owns and is responsible for 1,521 culvert barriers, they have been court ordered to only repair just fewer than 1,000 of those within the next 17 years, a feat which the state implies that they do not have enough funds for in order to complete on time.
Brett includes that, “because most streams on the reservation are either naturally non-salmon bearing, or are utilized for hatchery operations and do not have wild salmon access for that reason,” they look beyond the reservation boundaries to find nearby, integral streams in need of repair that would otherwise be ignored. “These streams are really important to fish and a lot of them have degraded,” explained Brett. There are streams that contain salmon on the reservation including Quilceda Creek, Sturgeon Creek and Coho Creek, but these streams already have, or are in the planning stages, of being repaired by Natural Resources.
Greenwood Creek is located in the Port Susan watershed, and as a tidal stream, it is similar to an estuary where salt water tides flow in and mix with the out flowing fresh water. During salmon monitoring of one small portion of Greenwood Creek, it has been recorded to support over 700 salmon in various species. Brett explains, “most of the fish come from the Stillaguamish River and they come in here to avoid predators, to have refuge and to find food.” The stream, mainly utilized for salmon rearing also provides an extra half mile of stream for Silver and Coho spawning.
Many streams located within development areas have degraded environmentally and structurally. Stream area diminishes due to roads, invasive plants change habitat and inaccessible culverts prevent salmon from traveling further upstream. When a stream is developed, a culvert is placed in the stream to modify it so that it can be crossed over. As per Washington Department of Transportation’s data, many streams statewide are important to salmon spawning and rearing but overtime have become inhospitable; 1,960 out the 3,200 culverts statewide have been identified as fish barriers.
The Natural Resources department has restored this and previous streams through grant funding. The $50,000 in grant funding was obtained from Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) to replace the preexisting culvert with one that is more functional and to excavate in order to restore 250ft of the stream. While Snohomish County did not provide funds they did provide in-kind services and materials to the project which match the grant fund in cost from PCSRF.
Before the culvert was restored. Photo by Brett Shattuck
Albuquerque, NM (October 30, 2012) – The National Indian Gaming Association honored Tulalip Tribes Vice Chairwoman Deborah Parker at the 15th Annual Sovereignty Awards Banquet on Tuesday with their prestigious John G. Kieffer Memorial Award.
The award recognizes a selfless dedication to advancing the lives of Indian peoples socially and economically, building self-sufficiency through gaming enterprises, and being an advocate for Indian self-determination.
Deborah Parker demonstrated tremendous leadership this year by helping Indian country push through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA guarantees sweeping changes in the way violent offenders on tribal lands are brought to justice and held accountable for crimes against native women. Vice-Chairwoman Parker became a leading Native voice in support of VAWA and with great courage stepped forward with her own personal story amid heightened Congressional debate about violence against women.
NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr. said at the banquet, “We honor this leader from the Tulalip Tribes who devoted her life to improving the well being of women, Native women, her people, her community and Indian country. The historical impact of what Deborah Parker has accomplished will be told for many generations as a true woman warrior. Through her work, she has upheld tribal sovereignty. Vice Chairwoman Parker’s determination of telling her story has inspired many beyond her tribe and the nation. She has increased awareness and given back a sense of pride to Native women, and we thank her for her devoted service.”
Prior to her election as Vice-Chairwoman, Deborah Parker served as a legislative policy analyst in the Office of Governmental Affairs from 2005-2012 for the Tulalip Tribes, where she worked with the State of Washington on behalf of the Tulalip Tribes by providing quality analysis of issues most pertinent to the exercise of sovereignty and tribal governance.
Deborah Parker also served as Director of the Residential Healing School of the Tseil-Waututh Nation in Canada, and in the Treaty Taskforce Office of the Lummi Nation. As a passionate advocate for improved education for tribal members, and a belief in the inherent right of all Native Americans to expect and receive a quality education, one that is free from racial or cultural bias, Deborah is focused on educational reform, which includes developing curriculum that is a true reflection of an Indigenous ethics and knowledge system.
She is a graduate of the University of Washington and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Ethnic Studies and Sociology.
The John G. Kieffer award is presented at NIGA’s Mid-Year Conference each year. The award is named in honor of former Spokane Tribes Vice-Chairman John G. Kieffer, known nationally for his work on Indian gaming issues and was a founding member of the National Indian Gaming Association.
The award is presented annually at the National Indian Gaming Association’s Mid-Year Conference, this year hosted by the Sandia Resort and Casino located on the Sandia Pueblo in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
