The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe will take full ownership of the Northwest’s premier Thoroughbred racing facility through purchase of Emerald Downs.
Tulalip News staff
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In a statement released today by the Tribe, Muckleshoot will add to their list of enterprises owned by the Tribe with the purchase of Emerald Downs. An agreement between the Tribe and the Northwest Racing Associates will transfer full ownership and operational control of Emerald Downs to the Tribe. The transaction will close within 90 days.
No price was mentioned in the statement. The Tribe has owned the land under Emerald Downs since 2002, when it purchased the 157-acre property for $70 million and became the property landlord. Northwest Racing Associates has operated the racetrack since its launch in 1996, replacing the long standing Longacres Racetrack, which closed in 1992.
“The Tribe’s long-standing support of the state’s thoroughbred racing industry continues with this transaction,” said Muckleshoot Tribal Council Chair Virginia Cross in the statement about the Tribe’s purchase. “It is the Tribe’s goal to keep the thoroughbred horse racing industry as a viable part of our state’s economy. Emerald Downs sits in the center of the Tribe’s historical homeland and this transaction makes it an important part of our economic development program.”
The Tribe has invested more than $11 million in purse enhancements since 2004. The Tribe plans to conduct an evaluation of the racetrack to strengthen the performance of Emerald Downs.
Northwest Racing Associates President Ron Crockett will stay on as a consultant to the Tribe to help with the transition. Plans to keep the current management team in place are underway.
“My goal has always been to preserve this important industry,” said Crockett in the statement. “I have accomplished that goal and this is now a good time for the Tribe to step in and bring Emerald Downs to the next level.”
The groups said the State Department should not have approved a temporary change.
Tribal and environmental groups have sued the U.S. State Department for approving a temporary plan by Enbridge Energy to expand the Alberta Clipper pipeline through Minnesota. File photo of construction on the Alberta Clipper in 2009.
Tribal and environmental groups have sued the U.S. State Department for approving a temporary plan by a Canadian pipeline company to increase the flow of heavy crude oil from Alberta into Minnesota before a federal environmental study is finished.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, alleges that the State Department violated the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws in approving the temporary increase in oil flow and in not releasing information about it. The suit seeks an injunction to halt the project.
“It is a blatant attempt to avoid the ongoing State Department review process,” Doug Hayes, staff attorney for Sierra Club, one of the groups behind the lawsuit, said on a conference call Wednesday. “It is an attempt to increase tar sands imports into the United States without any public scrutiny.”
The State Department said by e-mail that its policy is not to comment on litigation.
Enbridge Energy won Minnesota regulatory approval in August to complete a $200 million upgrade of its 1,000-mile Alberta Clipper pipeline, boosting its flow by adding pumping stations. The line carries heavy crude from the Alberta oil sands region across the state, supplying refineries across the Midwest.
Part of the upgrade is already finished, but the State Department hasn’t yet approved a presidential permit for Enbridge to legally increase cross-border oil shipments. That’s the same permit needed for TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline through Western states, on which the Obama administration has not yet acted.
In a move that angered climate and environmental activists, Calgary-based Enbridge got approval from the State Department in July to increase its cross-border oil flows on the Alberta Clipper line by shifting the crude into another, underused pipeline at the border.
The underused pipeline, known as Line 3, already has a presidential permit to operate at higher volumes. It also carries Canadian crude to Midwest refineries, but operates at a reduced flow for safety reasons. The 1960s-era Line 3 suffers from corrosion and has ruptured several times, and Enbridge has announced plans to rebuild it by 2017.
To make the cross-border switch, Enbridge recently replaced a 17.5-mile segment of Line 3 at the border — allowing it operate at high capacity — and installed valves linking it to the parallel Alberta Clipper Line. On only that border segment, the flows of the two lines are switched, strictly for legal reasons. After the crude oil enters the United States, valves send the oil back into the newer Alberta Clipper line.
The State Department decided that the switch was legal under Line 3’s existing permit.
The lawsuit was filed by Duluth-based environmental attorney Marc Fink on behalf of the White Earth Nation, Honor the Earth, Indigenous Environmental Network, Minnesota Conservation Foundation, MN350, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation.
The suit alleges the State Department violated federal law by approving the temporary border project before completing an environmental-impact statement on the Alberta Clipper upgrade. That environmental study is underway but likely won’t be completed for a year. Keystone XL also has been held up by an environmental study.
The suit also alleges violations of the Administrative Procedures Act, which governs agency actions, and the Freedom of Information Act for not releasing information about the project. The suit further cites 19th-century treaties giving Indian tribes hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the region crossed by the Alberta Clipper pipeline.
Enbridge, which is not a defendant, said in a statement that it believes the State Department acted lawfully to approve the switch. It allows the company to temporarily meet customer demands using “existing permitted cross-border capacity,” but does not address long-term needs to transport North American oil to refineries, spokeswoman Lorraine Little said in an e-mail.
A wave of support offered in the wake of the MPHS shooting
Photo/Niki Cleary
By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News
Immediately following the MPHS shooting, crisis management teams from around the nation and local, mobilized. Cheri Lovre, Executive Director of the Crisis Management Institute was one of them. She specializes in helping communities deal with the aftermath of school shootings and similar tragedies. She spoke at a November 5th, trauma recovery working session between the Tulalip Tribes and the Marysville School District.
November 5th was the first day students at MPHS got back to a typical class schedule following the October 24th tragedy in which a Tulalip boy, Jaylen Fryberg, opened fire on his close friends in the cafeteria, killing 4 of them and himself. Lovre acknowledged that while it was the first regular school day, it will be a long time before anyone affected by the tragedy feels “normal.”
“I followed Jaylen’s schedule,” she said, explaining that she attended all of his scheduled classes. “We had kids in classes so they could see where the empty desks were, the rooms where Jaylen’s desk would be empty. That meant there were times during the day where I was a in a class with four empty desks.”
Acknowledging the loss and the range of emotions is important for teachers, students and even the community, Lovre explained. Right now, many people, adults and children, are still processing the event.
“The first day back we acknowledge it. We told the kids that we don’t have to move today. There was only one class that asked for a new seating chart. I’ve seen more chaos in schools where a child simply died in a car accident than we had in this school,” she said.
“They [the kids] need to see everything unchanged,” she described artifacts of the shooter as well as the victims, photos, school projects that might hang on the walls, even name tags that might be posted, “Taking it down is part of a process.”
For the first day back, the District had 30 grief counselors and therapy dogs at MPHS, and two grief counselors in each other district school. Counselors in the schools are just a piece of the total recovery effort, Lovre said. Much of the healing, or lack of healing will happen at home.
“Kids can only recover as much as the adults in their lives,” she pointed out. “We can’t expect our kids to behave in a way that is not modeled. I’ll say it again. Kids can only get as well as the adults around them.”
Providing overall community outreach and opportunities for the community to grieve and express emotions is one way to move forward after tragedy. The district, Lovre said, may look into greater outreach in order to help kids heal as much as possible.
“In other places one of the things we created were one-stop-shops where parents who needed counseling [also had access to other services],” she recalled. “IF a parent had an issue with food stamps, they could talk with someone at the school and deal with that issue at the same time.”
It’s important to provide wraparound services because as stress adds up, people are less able to deal with it. She also illustrated the types of behavior, including suicides, that current trauma might trigger. Trauma can also cause learning disabilities, which for a senior in their final year of high school, can derail their graduation goals.
“About 25% of your students have passing thoughts or have attempted suicide,” Lovre said. “Anytime the world is de-stabilized, it bumps those kids a little closer. You end up with kids sleeping in class because they can’t sleep at night, then they don’t have enough credits to graduate. The biochemistry of trauma leaves us on-edge, irritable and easily provoked.”
Every district deals with these issues differently. Lovre explained that the fact that Marysville School District is having the conversations so early, is a positive sign.
When asked about the mixed emotional reactions, Lovre said there is no right or wrong way to deal with the shooting. Some people will react with anger, some with grief, some will have no reaction at all, or will block out the violent act and focus on what came before. Still others will pass from one emotional reaction to another depending on the day, or even the moment. All are common reactions and none are abnormal.
“We often, particularly with a suicide or murder, get stuck on that moment and forget how that person lived. Part of my message is that we need to acknowledge that we lost someone in the fabric of our community. We need to acknowledge that we loved him. Some of you are conflicted about how you feel about him, you loved him but you cannot fathom the event that he did. It’s important that we say out loud that we have both feelings.”
Lovre continued, “There’s a difference between moving on and moving forward. I think it’s a wonderful thing that no one has vandalized the memorials to Jaylen. We are still in the honeymoon stage [of the crisis response]. But we’ll be tipping over that hill soon. The adults in your community will be moving to less tolerant places.
“We start getting into disillusionment, ‘I thought this was a good community, but I guess it’s not.’ Then we get into real anger, blame, and mistrust. Eventually it starts to come back up but it’s not [a straight line], there are dips. But, eventually, the days get better as a community, a family and for each person.”
Keep reading the See-Yaht-Sub and Tulalip News for updates on crisis relief efforts, where to receive counseling and how to help the Tulalip and Marysville communities move forward from tragedy.
Tulalip tribal members and Marysville Pilchuck High School alumni releases lanterns for the victims of the Oct. 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Nearly 100 community members released 400 lanterns during the vigil. (Photo/ Natosha Gobin)
Tulalip community fills the evening sky with prayers for MP victims
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Nearly 100 supporters in the Tulalip community, along with Marysville-Pilchuck alumni, gathered at the Tulalip Boom City site on November 7, to send up a message of support through the use of 400 lanterns for the victims of the October 24 Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting.
Eliza Davis and Alex Jimenez, who organized the event, reached out to fellow Boom City stand owners for lanterns and received a total of 400. Hearing about the event, firework wholesalers Anthony Paul, owner of Native Works, and Mark Brown, owner of R Brown (Great Grizzly Fireworks), also pitched in to donate lanterns. A mini fireworks show followed the event hosted by Boom City stand owners Chris Joseph, Junior Zackuse and Nathaniel Zackuse.
Tulalip tribal member Katie Hotts releases a lantern for the victims of the Oct. 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hotts was among 100 other community members who released 400 lanterns during the vigil. (Photo/ Natosha Gobin)
“We just wanted to send up prayers for all the victims, families, our communities and our youth,” said Davis, a Native American Liasion at Quil Ceda & Tulalip Elmentary for the Marysville School District. “In the past my family has used lanterns to send up prayers and messages for our loved ones who have passed on and it really was a healing experience for us. We had a lot of people in grief with heavy hearts come out and by the end of the event I could hear laughter and see smiles, so it turned out perfect.”
Natosha Gobin, who attended the event, said, “Prayers were shared and lanterns were sent above and filled the sky. Some slowly floated up and some quickly went into the air. They all seemed to follow the same path, which from Tulalip, looked as if they were headed straight to Harborview where Andrew Fryberg was surround by his family.”
Tulalip tribal members and Marysville Pilchuck High School alumni releases lanterns for the victims of the Oct. 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Nearly 100 community members released 400 lanterns during the vigil. (Photo/ Natosha Gobin)Tulalip tribal members KC Hotts and Kane Hotts wait to release a lantern for victims of the Oct. 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Nearly 100 community members released 400 lanterns during the vigil. (Photo/ Natosha Gobin)
A young Tulalip tribal member releases a lantern for the victims affected by the October 24 Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Photo by Natosha Gobin
Brandi N. Montreuil:360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip community holds surprise homecoming for victim of MP shooting
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Amid chants of welcome home, 14-year-old Nate Hatch received a surprise homecoming from more than 200 friends and family in the Tulalip community when he arrived home to the Tulalip Indian Reservation on November 6. That morning Hatch was released from Harborview Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized after receiving a gunshot wound to the jaw during the October 24, Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting.
One of five students hit when fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg opened fire during lunch inside the MP cafeteria. Hatch is the only survivor of four who were hospitalized. Gia Soriano, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, and Andrew Fryberg died from their injuries after being hospitalized. Zoe Galasso died at the scene along with Jaylen, who died from a self-inflicted wound.
Barely visible inside a black Tulalip Police vehicle, Nate Hatch waves to well-wishers on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014 on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Over 200 community members lined the corner of 27th Ave Ne and Marine Drive to chant welcome home as he was driven past. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Hatch was barely visible inside a black Tulalip Police vehicle shortly before 1:00 p.m. when he drove pass greeters who lined the corner of 27th Ave NE and Marine Drive. Supporters braved gusts of wind and rain for more than an hour to make sure they were there to welcome him home. Students and staff from the Marysville Tulalip Campus, which is the site of Heritage High School and Quil Ceda Elementary School, were also on-site to welcome him.
Managing a slight smile and wave as he past greeters, Hatch took to social media later that evening to tweet, “It’s good to be home.”
In a statement issued by the family following his release, a request for privacy and condolences were issued.
“We appreciate all the amazing support we have received from the community. We are grateful for the top-notch care Nate received from the team at Harborview Medical Center. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the families who have been affected by this horrific tragedy. Please allow us the privacy we need to continue on the road of recovery. Thank you.”
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip tribal member Zee Jimicum, Native American liaison with the Marysville School District, was among the 200 supporters who welcomed Nate home. Jimicum’s son, a freshman at MP, described how as a mother she understood the pain Nate’s family is going through.
“The grief is overwhelming and as a mother my heart has ached from the moment I heard the news. I gladly participated in Nate’s homecoming as another way to help support our community. As the anticipation built with every update we got about Nate’s arrival, I found my emotions welling up inside me. I was excited for Nate, excited that he was stable enough to leave the hospital. As great as that is, I know being home is just a baby step towards the spiritual, physical, emotional and physiological healing he will need. Participating in Nate’s homecoming was more than being just another person lining Marive Drive, I felt blessed to be a part of it all because it was part of the healing process for me,” said Jimicum.
Nate continues to recover from his wounds and since his return home uses social media to express his grief over the incident and thanks for community support.
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Marysville Pilchuck High School staff are working to get back on track with regular class schedules following the tragic shooting on October 24. While grief counselors are still on hand to help students cope with the aftermath, they are turning to the community for help in ensuring students feel comfortable at the school. Family and community members are encouraged to pay a visit to the campus, whether it is to talk or just be a safe, adult presence.
“We are in need of parent, family and community member volunteers to be on campus, to help out in the lunchroom and front offices where the counseling continues. It’s good for the students to see familiar faces, even to just come eat lunch with them,” said Matt Remle, Native American liaison for MPHS.
“Some kids may be angry or depressed, or both. Staff understands that everyone grieves differently. It’s going to take time and I don’t think you can put a timeline on grieving.”
Remle goes on to explain that while increased adult presence is helpful during a crisis, it’s valued all year long. “It’s always good to have community members and tribal members and leaders visit the school, to bring a bit of Tulalip to the campus.”
If you’d like to volunteer, volunteer packets can be picked up at the MPHS front office. For more information on the Marysville School District, visit www.msvl.k12.wa.us.
An arial view of a coal mine on public land near Gillette, Wyoming. The state has made efforts to promote coal exports and sway opponents near potential export sites Oregon and Washington. | credit: Katie Campbell
The Wyoming Governor invited 25 members of eight Northwest tribes on an all-expenses paid tour of coal operations.
The tour happened last week, and only one tribe participated.
The Wyoming government hosted three visitors from the Pacific Northwest, according to the Casper Star-Tribune: Alice Dietz of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council, Gary Archer of the Kelso, Washington, City Council and Gary MacWilliams of the Nooksack Tribe.
The tour was the latest in the Wyoming government’s efforts to promote coal as good for the economy and not as environmentally dirty as its critics in the Northwest might think. The governor and representatives of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority have also visited proposed sites for coal export facilities in the Northwest.
With more coal in the ground than the U.S. needs or wants, particularly in light of new clean air regulations that phase out coal plants, the future of the Powder River Basin’s coal industry depends on exports. Several projects have been proposed in Oregon and Washington to receive coal from Montana and Wyoming by rail, transfer it to ships and send it to Asia.
Most tribes in Oregon and Washington oppose coal exports, in part because of concerns about what coal dust and marine shipping would mean for their tribal fishing grounds. Tribes’ treaty fishing rights give them unique power to halt coal export projects.
Most refused the offer, and the tour itself didn’t appear to change any minds. Those who attended were either already in favor of coal exports or remained unswayed. But it was impressive to some. Here’s a quote from the Star-Tribune article:
“We had a prime rib dinner last night,” marveled Gary Archer, a city councilman from Kelso, Washington, a town neighboring one of the proposed ports. “These guys got it made up here. They got everything they need, except public perception.”
Coincidentally, the tour happened the same week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its starkest warning yet, essentially saying if we’re going to have a shot at curbing climate change, the fossil fuels currently in the ground need to stay there.
The Makah Nation’s new commercial fishing dock is 120 feet long, has two lanes, five offloading terminals, and an ice machine capable of holding 110 tons of ice, and is designed to withstand a 9.0 earthquake and a 15-foot tsunami wave.
“It’s going to be a huge plus to have all the catch come in at one dock,” dock manager Michael Lawrence said on the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission website. “We’ve invited a flotilla of boats to tie up at the new facility as part of the celebration.”
The Makah Nation celebrated the opening of the $3.8 million dock with a blessing and ribbon cutting on October 10. The old dock had become unstable, and the Nation expedited its replacement – obtaining permits, demolishing the old dock and completing the new dock in less than a year.
“It is estimated more than 50 percent of the Makah Nation relies on income from fishing in some way and the dock construction has meant not only some jobs during construction, but a lasting improvement to the community that will pay for itself rapidly,” the NWIFC website reported.
Makah contributed $10.5 million toward the project.
A $1.1 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant will assist with the second phase of the project: an oil spill prevention and response dock that will extend beyond the current structure. Emergency response is critical in this area, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean.
Every year, oil tankers, fuel barges and large commercial cargo, fish-processing and passenger vessels make about 3,000 transits into the Strait bound for Washington ports. From 1999-2014, an emergency tug stationed at Neah Bay assisted 49 ships either completely disabled or with reduced maneuvering ability.
Having a specific structure for the oil spill response vessels, including the emergency tug, will allow all the response vessels to be located in one place and will expedite their deployment, NWIFC reported. A crane on the completed dock is already allocated for industrial lifting to assist in oil spill equipment deployment.
“The crane can lift 10 tons and it was mostly with oil spill response in mind,” Lawrence said.
By Kara Briggs-Campbell, Tulalip News Guest Writer
Weeks and months after the tragic events of Oct. 24, many Tulalip youth are likely to still be grappling with deep feelings and complex emotions associated with grief, experts say.
The key for adults and even peers will be keeping a lifeline of connection with tribal youth as they move from feelings of shock and trauma to grief and loss.
“The hardest part with teens is that their developmental task in normal times is to push away from their parents,” said Alison Bowen, Family Healing Program Coordinator for the Tulalip Tribes. “It’s like, ‘Love you, mom. Gotta go.’ Yet even as they are pushing you away, the challenge is how to reconnect with them in this time of trauma.”
Sudden behavioral changes are one of the signs that an adolescent or teen is struggling emotionally. These shifts can include examples such as, a youth, who usually rises early to get ready for school, suddenly doesn’t care; An outgoing kid isolates herself or himself; A teen detaches from his or her friends.
“If all of sudden any kind of big change happens that is what you want to watch for,” Bowen said.
The people most likely to notice such changes are friends of the same age group. That’s why specialists say the best thing now is to let the kids be together, whether they are playing basketball, making art, talking or even sitting still together.
A major concern is if a youth is thinking a lot about death, or meditating on a past hurt, or unable to think about anything but the recent losses of life.
“It is important to listen and do what you can to encourage the person to get help,” said Dr. Richard McKeon, Branch Chief of the Center for Mental Health Services.
For the very most vulnerable, the concern is preventing youth suicide—knowing that among American Indians aged 10 to 24 suicide rates are higher than in the same age group among other races.
“It is important not to be frightened to ask the question whether someone is thinking about suicide,” he said. “The research shows that if you ask a youth and they say no, they aren’t going to start thinking about suicide because you asked.”
“But if someone appears to be depressed or hopeless, it is important to ask the question and not to panic if the answer is yes,” McKeon said. “For a person who is in trauma and potentially thinking about suicide it is essential that make a connection with someone.”
One way a teen could support a friend is by helping them to make contact with a trusted adult. Sometimes that adult is a parent or a favorite aunt, uncle or grandparent. Other times it may be the Native liaison at school or a staffer at the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club. Ultimately the youth might need mental health counseling, but in the immediate term, a trusted adult can make all the difference in the world.
“We know in the days ahead we are going to have more kids dealing with grief and anger and more kids who are anxious and scared,” Bowen said.
The best ways a friend can help now are to be available, to listen respectfully as the person who is sad or in trauma pour out their feelings, or sit quietly if they just want company.
“It’s hard that we’re asking people to take care of the youth when everyone’s hearts are so heavy,” Bowen said. “That’s why it can’t only be a family looking after their own kids, it has to be all of us pitching in to help.”
Where can I call for help?
To report an emergency dial 911
National Suicide Prevention Line: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Snohomish County Crisis Line: 1-800-584-3578
Crisis TEXT Line: Text “Listen” to 741-741
24 Hour Crisis Line: 1-866-427-4747
TEENLINK: 1-866-833-6546
Tulalip Tribes Behavioral Health Family Services: 360-716-4400
Tulalip Tribes Mental Wellness Director Sherry Guzman: 360-716-4305
A letter of hope to Tulalip tribal youth from a survivor from the Red Lake Nation
Justin Jourdain was a ninth grader when he witnessed the school shooting at Red Lake High School. A Red Lake tribal member, Justin was friends with classmates who died and others who were injured. Now a Red Lake Nation police officer with a family of his own, Justin wanted to travel to Tulalip to meet with and encourage tribal youth in person, but his work schedule got in the way. So Justin has written an open letter to Tulalip youth and provided it to the See-Yaht-Sub.
Justin Jourdain and son. Photo courtesy of Justin Jourdain
Boozhoo! This is the way we greet each other in my tribe, the Red Lake Nation in Northern Minnesota.
You may not realize it right now, but everything will get better with time.
If you witnessed this tragic event or you were at school that day, you will always remember, as I do those terrifying moments. But in a few weeks and then a few months, it will get easier. You will gain perspective from having lived through this traumatic time in your Tribe’s history. Believe me, surviving can change your life for the better, if you let it.
In the days after the Red Lake School shooting, survivors from Columbine High School met with my classmates and me. The contact with the others who had the same experience gave me the courage to hope again for the future, though I lived with the memory very strongly until 2008 when I graduated from high school, and that helped me to find closure.
I know firsthand how important it is to meet people who share this still unusual experience. That inspired me to go to reach out to other students at schools where this has happened. I feel that it helps just to meet and spend time with someone who knows what this experience felt like. It is important to the healing process to feel that someone knows what it was like. In time, you may have the opportunity to help someone else heal, though it is always my hope that nothing like this ever happen again.
Healing will be a long process, but you will get better. You will remember for the rest of your life. For me nine year later, I can still remember that day as if it were yesterday. But I’ve learned to deal with the pain and continue living. You will learn to cope as I have.
Today I am married and I have a six-year-old son. For the last four years I have worked in law enforcement for my tribal police. I am 25 years old.
In 2005, I was freshman in high school and I couldn’t conceive of all the good things ahead. But stick in the back of your mind that the rest of your life is waiting for you to live it. Believe that things will get better as you let go of the pain and move forward in your life.
An oceanography institute announced today (Monday) that trace amounts of radioactivity from Fukushima have been detected off the West Coast. This stems from the 2011 nuclear plant accident in Japan.
Radiation experts say the very low levels of radioactivity measured do not pose a health threat here.
The post-earthquake and tsunami nuke plant accident spilled a large amount of radioactive contamination into the Pacific three years ago. Oceanographers projected that it would take until this year for highly diluted traces to reach the West Coast of North America. And a recent research cruise from Dutch Harbor, Alaska to Eureka, California detected the front edge of the plume multiple times between 100 and 1,000 miles offshore. Ken Buesseler is a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
“The levels offshore still are quite low. So by that I mean they are a couple units of these Becquerels per cubic meter, something that is about a thousand times less than a drinking water standard,” he said.
Buesseler said he is reluctant to “trivialize” any amount of radiation, but says he personally has no concerns about swimming, boating or eating fish from local waters.
Since the start of this year, Buesseler’s lab has also tested about 50 seawater samples collected at the shore by concerned coastal residents from California to Alaska. All of those results have come up negative. This sampling was paid for through crowdfunding as part of an ongoing “citizen science” monitoring project initiated by Buesseler.
A parallel but independent monitoring effort run through the radiation health lab at Oregon State University found no detectable traces of Fukushima radiation in seawater samples collected earlier this year in near shore waters along the Pacific Northwest coast.
Scientists tracking the plume from Japan look for a short-lived cesium isotope, cesium-134, that serves as the “fingerprint” of Fukushima contamination.
For context, radioecologist Delvan Neville at OSU said it helps to know that the cesium-134 levels reported by the Woods Hole researcher are “much less than the natural background radiation in seawater.” In an interview, Neville was certain the low levels of Fukushima-derived isotopes detected in the northeastern Pacific do not pose an environmental or human health radiological threat.
Buesseler is scheduled to present his findings Thursday during the annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Vancouver, Canada.
The results Buesseler reported corroborate detections of cesium-134 in seawater far offshore from Vancouver Island starting last year. Scientists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Health Canada and the University of Victoria are collaborating on a monitoring effort that also includes fish sampling.
