Shoni and Jude made a stop in Tulalip for some ball time with their fans.
Ron Iukes, Tulalip’s Youth Services Specialist, preps the kids for the Schimmel’s arrival. Photo by Monica Brown
By Monica Brown, Tulalip News writer
TULALIP, Wa- Sisters, Shoni and Jude Shimmel, who are known for bringing “rez ball” to college basketball courts, are touring Indian country this summer before they head back to the University of Louisville for fall quarter. During their tour the duo planned a visit to Tulalip Reservation’s, Don Hatch Gym. Shoni and Jude came to meet their fans and motivate the Tulalip kids into dedicating more passion when playing basketball, or any sport in general.
Kids and fans alike packed the gym on Saturday August 17th to meet the famous Shimmel sisters and practice with them. Fans donned their Native pride shirts, with backs that read, “Shimmel Showtime”. A reference that recalls the memory of the “Shimmel Show”, a nationally televised game from this past year in which Louisville Cardinals beat the Tennessee Lady Vols 86 to 78, and the Schimmel sisters scored a combined 39 points throughout the game which was dubbed “Shimmel Show” by ESPN.
Schimmel Showtime event gave Tulalip youngsters to meet and learn from sisters Jude and Shoni, mom Ceci on far right.
The Shimmel sisters have been named the “Umatilla Thrilla” because they come from the Umatilla Reservation in Pendleton, Oregon and demonstrate the “rez ball” technique in their play. Rez ball, not something you would normally see in use on professional courts, is a playing style where the players are more aggressive, they move at a fast, consistent tempo to complete quick scoring and maintain an assertive defense.
Shoni and her father Rick directed kids as they ran lines during the practice portion of the event. Photo by Monica BrownPhoto by Monica BrownKids were given tips from Shoni about how to improve their form as they practiced making baskets. Photo by Monica Brown
Tulalip − For the second year the Hibulb Cultural Center in Tulalip held an open house for the anniversary celebration Saturday, August 17th. After a 20 year dream, and more than ten years of planning, the long awaited museum opened in 2011. This year, the emphasis of the anniversary was funding the Hibulb natural history preserve.
“We are not a profit driven operation. In fact we make very little money. Most of the museum operations are funded from donations or through grants, instead of tribal hard dollars,” explained Mytyl Hernandez, Hibulb’s marketing and membership manager.
Attendees could wander through the vendors or sit in on any number of cultural seminars held throughout the day. The museum had items for sale in the seminars as well, and held a raffle for Hibulb merchandise.
The day’s events began by remembering the late Henry “Hank” Gobin, former museum director, who passed away earlier this year. The completion of Tulalip’s own natural history preserve was his dream since he began his work in revitalizing the culture at Tulalip.
For more information on the Hibulb Cultural Center visit www.hibulbculturalcenter.org.
Upon entering Finance Park, students are given an identity complete with a salary, a family, pets, and a debit card, to learn how to juggle their finances in “real world” situations. Photo/Andrew Gobin.
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
Students from the Tulalip Tribes Summer Youth Program spent the day in Finance Park at Junior Achievement World in Auburn, on Thursday, August 15th. The day at the park is the culmination of a two-week educational JA (Junior Achievement) camp at Tulalip. The camp is unique to the tribes as it targets what Tulalip students are calling their “18 money,” the trust fund per capita that the tribe sets aside for them until they graduate. The Tulalip camp focuses on the trust fund, and teaches how to make that money go further.
“Junior Achievement is actually a k-12 curriculum,” explains Gary Hauff, regional director for Junior Achievement. “Typically we go into schools and offer education programs for class credit. For the tribes, we are trying something different. The summer camp is unique to Tulalip, geared towards teaching personal finance responsibility and budgeting agendas.”
“At JA we work with the youth to plant the seeds of financial responsibility and stability,” added Sue Elkin, manager at JA World.
Finance Park is designed as a virtual city where students can practice being adults, and put into action what they learned at camp. Arriving at JA World, the students are given an identity complete with a salary, a family, pets, and a debit card. Students then buy or rent a house or apartment, purchase a car that adequately fit the demands of their virtual life, collect and pay their bills, and even make time for vacations. Along with projected costs, kids learn to deal with unexpected costs that arise in everyday life. Students tour the park, collecting bills and shopping, and making the dreaded stop at the chance station, where they draw cards that may result in an unlucky additional cost to their budget, such as taking their pet to the vet.
“We get a real look at life, and what the costs are,” said Bradley Fryberg. “Here [Finance Park] I make $48,000 a year, I have no kids, I’m single, 30, and have an apartment and a sports car.”
Some students juggled two or three kids and drove mini vans.
“Junior Achievement teaches us to be responsible with our money,” said Bryce Juneau Jr. who is planning on saving his trust money until after college.
Students learn about stocks and bonds, compound interest accounts, the risks associated with both of those, and the possible gains they offer.
“Just as life is multi-faceted, we at JA are diversifying,” explained Elkin. “We used to be strictly business oriented, then last year we started branching out into the sciences and other fields. This year we worked to incorporate art and music into the program.”
Tulalip Tribal Member, Israel Simpson, and his winning shoe design. Photo/Andrew Gobin
This included a little fun competition working with shoe designs and a special appearance by Native shoe designer Louie Gong.
Gong spoke to the students about his designs and the work it entails. He provided shoe forms called “mockups” for the kids to express their creative talent on. The shoes were then voted on and the student with the winning shoe design received tickets to a Mariners game.
Tulalip’s Israel Simpson designed the winning pair of shoes. “I just picked up the pens and kept going. Inspired from my auntie, always saying, draw what you feel.”
The camp encourages education, both in the completion of high school and in pursuing higher education. This is important, because many do not realize that should they not complete high school or get their G.E.D., they with not get their trust per capita until they are 21.
Many different post high school options are explained including trade schools, community colleges, universities, online degrees, and entrepreneurship.
Newly built fences below the hatchery dam and fish ladder prevent sea lions from going upstream, while allowing salmon to pass through. Photo/Andrew Gobin
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
Tulalip−Though marauding sea lions have been a constant nuisance to hatchery operations, it is now apparent they stand to threaten the success of hatchery runs as they have become more aggressive, pushing further upstream into holding areas for returning salmon. Through a series of upgrades to the facilities at the Bernie ‘Kai Kai’ Gobin Hatchery at Tulalip, changes are being made to optimize salmon returns.
Newly built sea lion fences at Battle Creek and below the hatchery dam and fish ladder prevent sea lions from going up stream, while allowing salmon to pass through.
“At low tide, the sea lions are belly-crawling up Battle Creek and taking females out of the holding area,” said Jesse Rude, hatchery assistant manager. “We can’t have a shortage of eggs, otherwise we have no fish to hatch.” Rude further noted that, “these fences are first of their kind. No other system like it is known to be used, or in existence.”
At the damn, a small pond with a barricade of rocks sits below the fish ladder, behind the new fence. This allows the salmon to get behind the fence where they are protected, while keeping the salmon from going upstream too early; another new technique the hatchery is trying. “Incidentally, this is good for the fishermen too, keeps the fish out in the bay to be caught,” noted Rude.
At the top of the ladder, a mechanized holding pen and fish lift are installed. The lift looks similar to a car elevator from a parking garage, and can lift comparable weight loads. This allows the salmon to be pulled out and processed more quickly than pitching fish by hand.
The last major upgrades were the installation of birdnetting, to keep birds from getting an easy meal in the lower ponds and creeks, and the new larger pond at the hatchery.
“With the larger pond, we are able to do a lot more Chinook,” said Rude, referring to larger quantities of eggs, and later smolt, that the pond can hold relative to the area needed to have a productive salmon hatch.
“Last year we hatched 1.5 million Coho, and we released a record 1.3 million fish.” Typically, the rate of survival is 50% to 60%; meaning only half of what is hatched actually gets released.
Ironically, the upgrades from 2005 and 2006 led to the record-breaking release of Coho. The snow built up on the birdnetting, breaking the nets and dragging the support posts, and the Jersey barriers that anchored them, into the fish ponds.
“We had to move all of the fish up to the new larger pond,” Rude explained. As a result, the Coho run was over-wintered, meaning they were more mature than normal when released.
They were free of predation back up in the pond as well. Rude said, “the otters are like rats in the ponds. They are everywhere and they eat the fish. The last couple of years we’ve had to hire predator control to manage the otters.”
When asked about the success of over-wintering and potential continuation, Rude said they would be trying similar methods with all of their runs this year.
Other upgrades include expanded feed and storage facilities, covered or shaded ponds, a concrete fish weir put in at Battle Creek, and expanding and repairing the birdnetting for all hatchery creeks and ponds.
Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center is celebrating two years of sharing Coast Salish culture and highlighting the stories, people, art and history of Tulalip.
Saturday, August 17, 10 am to 5pm. Included in the activities are carving, beading and flute music demonstrations, storytelling, craft activities, a salmon lunch and a special performance by the Tulalip Lushootseed Language Camp students.
Community members work together, hauling in fishing nets. Photo/Niki Cleary
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
“Let ‘er go!” a traditional fisherman’s call was heard from the beach as Glen Gobin sets his seine net at Spee-Bi-Dah, Saturday, August 10th.
For the eighth year, The Tulalip Tribes hosted the Spee-Bi-Dah community beach seine day. The annual event honors a time when families lived on the beach through the summer months to fish salmon, as well as teaches about traditional fishing methods and maintains Tulalip’s presence in the area. Today, Spee-Bi-Dah remains prime fishing grounds.
Tulalip tribal member Cecilia Gobin using a splash pole, a technique that drives fish into the net. Photo/Andrew Gobin
Gobin made six beach seine sets at Spee-Bi-Dah, along with his crew and those that eagerly jumped on the boat to help set the net. At the end of the day, five kings (Chinook salmon) were caught, ranging from 15lbs up to 24.5lbs. About 20 or so humpies (Pink salmon) were caught as well.
Beach seining is vital in keeping Tulalip’s history alive. Seining was one of many traditional fishing methods used by the tribes that comprise the present day Tulalip Tribes. The Spee-Bi-Dah beach seine event brings the community together, and those that know, teach others who want to learn about seining and our people’s history.
“I haven’t been here in years,” said tribal elder and former tribal fisherman, Phil Contraro, who spent the day watching each set, enjoying the company of old friends. “I really enjoyed the day.”
Tulalip Tribal member Tony Hatch cooks clams on the beach. Salmon and oysters were also on the menu. Photo/Mike Sarich
Many children were interested in the happenings, anxiously waiting to see what each set would bring in. The big-ticket item was getting to ride on the boat while making the set. There were a lot of new kids this year at Spee-Bi-Dah, though there were the regulars that couldn’t wait to get on the boat and try their hand using the splash pole, a technique that drives fish into the net.
The now annual gatherings originally were a three-day youth camp, first organized in 1998 by Don Hatch Jr. through the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club. Kids that attended camped on the beach, learning the history and having fun, but not actually fishing. Beach seining was included in 2003, which drew a greater interest in the camp in 2004.
“I remember camping on the beach, staying all weekend.” said Kyle Cullum, former employee at the Tulalip Boy and Girls Club. “But we didn’t fish until the last few years of camp.”
“I went to check out the camp and Penoke [Don Hatch] says to me, ‘we should have this be a community event,’” recalls former councilman Les Parks, who pushed to make it a community event in 2005. The vision for Tulalip to resume fishing at Spee-Bi-Dah had strong support from the tribal council. Today, he is proud to have championed the first community Spee-Bi-Dah event. “It’s vitally important for our community to come together like that, and just be together. To enjoy each other’s company and work together.
“As a child, I remember community clam bakes down below the long house. I’d like to see us come together at more community events.” said Parks, commenting on the lack of community events in recent years. “We have bingo, and Spee-Bi-Dah. Aside from those, there seems to be few other positive annual community events.”
Photo/Mike Sarich
Saturday’s event, along with the fishing, featured a seafood feast. Cy Fryberg Sr. cooked fish over a fire that morning at the beach. Oysters were grilled over the fire, and crab was boiled. Tony Hatch and his sons, Skyler and Drew, fired beach rocks to bake clams.
Every year, the Lushootseed Language Department and Youth Services offer activities to the kids, including face painting, water floaties, and beach toys. Great fun was had by all as people visited with friends and family, reminiscing of ‘the old days.’
Community members enjoyed a fun-filled day of fishing, face painting, playing, eating and visiting with family and friends. Photo/Niki Cleary
Tulalip artists tap into the world of skateboard art
Skate decks and trucker hats, by Tulalip tribal member Ty Juvinel. Photo/Kim Kalliber
By Kim Kalliber, Tulalip News
Growing up on the Tulalip Reservation in the 70s, skateboarding wasn’t a thing. Of course there wasn’t a lot of cement around the rez in those days either. But that time is changing and Native Americans are taking the skateboarding world by storm, with sleek designs and styles that reflect their Native culture.
As a kid, my mother, Tulalip tribal member Sherrill Guydelkon (Williams), made a daily trek in her old VW bug to Bellingham, where she attended college. My brother and I would happily tag along when we could to skate the campus, making use of any small inclines and stairwells that got in our path.
Exhibit photo of Tracy Nelson, La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians. Founder of Full Blood Skates, 2008. Photo/Kim Kalliber
As a teen in the 80s I moved to the city and discovered the world of skateboarders. It was the punk scene, and man was it cool. We wore leather jackets, had colored hair, we listened to bands like Circle Jerks and Bad Brains and skateboards were the mode of transportation. Skaters kept to empty lots and were continuously kicked off city streets. I remember a slew of ‘No Skateboarding Allowed’ signs posted around businesses and sidewalks – followed by a storm of ‘Skateboarding Is Not A Crime’ stickers. Remember those?
I am now in my 40s and my boyfriend and I still have a decent collection of skateboards. One of my best friends has an entire wall in his very “grown-up” house dedicated to skateboards. Skateboarding’s not just a fad, it’s a way of life, something you never outgrow. No longer strictly associated with rebellious youth and kept to empty swimming pools and vacant lots, it’s a mainstream sport, with skate parks sprouting up across the nation.
When you think of skateboarding, it’s not just a board with wheels; it embraces a wide style of art, design, fashion and music. And skaters should be taken seriously. You don’t just pick up a board one day and begin gliding jumps and riding rails. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of devotion. Skateboarding is an art form, a lifestyle and a sport.
Most people are aware that in the 60s skateboarding became huge in California, where boards were used as something to keep surfers moving during down times and flat waters, but what they don’t know is that skateboarding has a history with Indigenous peoples as well. Early skating can be traced to Native Hawaiian surfers, and to this day, Native Americans turn to skateboarding, not only to keep youth engaged in sports and stay fit, but as a means to convey their cultural identity.
The Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center is celebrating this identity with a temporary exhibit. Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America, organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, highlights the exciting world of Native American skateboarding.
The exhibit, on display through October 13th 2013, features vintage and contemporary skate decks, art and photos. You can also view rare video footage of skaters, including James & Richard Tavarez of the famed Zephyr surf team, which led to the Dogtown Z-Boys skate team, and the 4 Wheel Warpony team at the All Nations Skate Competition.
Exhibit photo of a man on a pap holua, Hawaii, 1937. Hawaiians also “surfed” on land using long, narrow papa holua, or sled, made from two wooden runners held together by woven matting or crossbars. Photo/Kim Kalliber
But it’s the stories that accompany these classic images that really get the blood pumping – you can practically hear the grinding of wheels. From early Hawaiians that “surfed” the land on longboards, to kids in the 80s, skating in their basements and backyard ramps on reservations across the U.S., to modern day concrete warriors, skating and filming in national competitions and operating their own design companies.
Local artist Louie Gong, a Nooksack tribal member, known for his bold designs on shoes and skateboards was in attendance at the exhibit’s opening reception on August 9th, showing his 2010 handmade Dog Deck. Louie uses a utilitarian style, utilizing resources found in the environment to create things that are useful in everyday life, as an art form and educational tool.
“Every design has a story behind it and represents values and personal style. And with every piece, I think, how am I going to use this as a teaching tool?” explained Gong. Keeping this in consideration, Gong created the Dog Deck, which is a rez dog design. “I started thinking about what it means to grow up in a tribal community, and I remembered the rez dogs. These dogs roam around in packs and usually don’t have one particular owner, yet they survive. Generally we think of them in a negative light, but when I really reflected on the rez dogs in my community, after I was an adult, the characteristics they exhibited are actually positive. I try to show kids that rez dogs are cool; they’re resilient. And if it wasn’t for the fact that some of our ancestors displayed that same positive resilience, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to stand here in this room and talk about these things and express our self-determination.”
Tulalip tribal member James Madison, one of eight tribal member artists who contributed to the exhibit, explained what it means for these traditional Coast Salish artists to step outside of their routine and join the ranks of graffiti artists. When Mytyl Hernandez, Marketing, and Tessa Campbell, Curator, from Hibulb, approached the Tulalip team of artists and asked them to design skateboards, James recalls his initial reaction was, “Skateboards?! We’re busy carving totem poles.” But recognizing the value in this work, not just as a means to reach out to native youth, but to show that Tulalip artists continue to evolve and move forward
Artists James Madison, Tulalip, (left) and Louie Gong, Nooksack. Photo/Kim Kalliber
in their craft, they dove right in, creating 10 decks, a handful of trucker hats and a mammoth graffiti wall.
“The artwork that we do, we put our stories in them and we teach our kids, and show who we are as people,” said Madison. “We can go anywhere and people know who Tulalip is; they know because of our art and they know because of our culture.”
Tulalip artists involved in the exhibit are Steve Madison, James Madison, Joe Gobin, Mike Gobin, Mitch Matta, Trudy Particio, Doug Seneca and Ty Juvinel. And who would have thought that these traditional Native artists would be rattle canning stencils and tagging skulls on graffiti walls? Skating really does bring out the cool kid in everyone.
For more information on the Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center, visit www.hibulbculturalcenter.org.
Native boards on display at the exhibit. Left to right: Spirit Feather, by Traci Rabbit, Cherokee Nation, for Native Skates, 2008. Apache Mountain Spirit Dancer, by Joe Yazzie, Navajo, for Native Skates, 2008. Legacy, by Bunky Echo-Hawk, Yakama/Pawnee for Native Skates 2007. Photo/Kim Kalliber
Graffiti wall created by Tulalip tribal artists. Photo/Kim Kalliber
Tulalip, Washington — The “Red Rocker”, Sammy Hagar, will be making a first, much anticipated appearance at the Tulalip Resort Casino Amphitheatre on Thursday, August 15. A multi-platinum, outgoing, bombastic front man of hard rock champions Van Halen, Hagar is a member in good standing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He will be releasing his first solo album in five years on September 24, 2013. Hagar has enlisted three legendary musicians – Toby Keith, Mickey Hart and Taj Mahal – to round out the final three tracks of the album to be titled: “Sammy Hagar and Friends.”Son of a steel worker and onetime professional boxer, Hagar burst on the scene as the lead vocalist of Montrose, whose “Rock Candy” has gone on to become a certified rock classic. After a string of eight solo albums, culminating with the million-sellers “Standing Hampton,” “Three Lock Box” and “V.O.A.,” and hundreds of sold out concert appearances across the country, Hagar joined Van Halen in 1985. He took the band to unprecedented heights, including four consecutive No. 1 albums. Sammy also thrived as a solo artist, with his band the Waboritas, and returned to Van Halen to lead a triumphant 2004 reunion tour. He has played with a succession of genius guitar players, from Ronnie Montrose and Neal Schon, to Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani from his current group, Chickenfoot, which also features former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.Following Hagar’s concert, the rest of the summer line-up:
Sunday, August 18: Melissa Etheridge
Rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, winner of an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Double Grammy Winner.Sunday, August 25: Foreigner
This British-American band is one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time. Mick Jones and Lou Gramm were just inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Saturday, September 7: Doobie Brothers & America
The Doobie Brothers have been inducted into the Vocal Hall of Fame with hits like “Listen to the Music”; Grammy winners America has charted No. 1 hits like “A Horse with No Name” and “Sister Golden Hair”.
Tulalip Resort also offers guest room/up close ticket packages. Both reserved seating and general admission concert tickets are available and can be purchased in person at the Tulalip Resort Casino Rewards Club box office located on the casino floor, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Unless otherwise noted, the doors open at 5pm and concerts start at 7pm for all shows. All concert dates and times are subject to change. Guests must be 21 and over to attend.
In the Pacific Northwest, many treaty Indian tribes hold First Salmon Ceremonies and Blessings of the Fleet to honor the salmon that sustain them, and protect the fishermen who procure it. This video shows some of the traditions practiced by the Swinomish, Lummi, Upper Skagit, Tulalip and Stillaguamish tribes.
