Tulalip News

‘Snapshots in time’: Yurok Tribe receives grant for sea level rise research

Feb 22, 2014

To aid in the Yurok Tribe’s climate change research on Klamath River wetlands, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded the tribe part of a $1.5 million grant this week.

Environmental protection specialist Suzanne Marr — who previously ran the agency’s wetlands program — said the Yurok Tribe’s application came complete with successful research.

”It’s a very competitive program, and not easy to get funded,” Marr said. “The Yurok Tribe has a strong program, and has competed very well over the years.”

Wetlands specialist Bill Patterson of the tribe’s environmental program said the $135,000 award is the fourth two-year grant the tribe has received from the EPA program. Each grant, Patterson said, has funded a variety of wetlands research projects spanning nearly eight years and different regions of the Klamath River.

”What we’re trying to do is expand on the previous data that we’ve had that includes an inventory baseline of wetlands species and water quality parameters,” Patterson said. “This cycle we’re looking at specific species that may be threatened in the face of climate change impacts, in particular sea level rise.”

The research project will collect baseline data on the wildlife and conditions of coastal estuaries near the lower Klamath River, which Patterson said can be useful for future research.

”The inventories are very useful in that they’re snapshots in time,” Patterson said. “For something like sea level rise, if the estuary is going to be 6 feet underwater in 25 years, you can look back at how it was impacting them in 2014.”

Patterson said that while past research with the tribe’s fisheries program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services has focused on mapping, water quality and restoration efforts in both upper and lower regions of the Klamath, efforts to analyze sea level rise are critical due to its substantial effects on coastal estuaries.

”If you want to talk about the future of climate change, what you’re potentially going to see with sea level rise is increased salinity,” Patterson said. “The saltwater levels rise, and that can significantly change the plant community and the species that rely on that community.”

With wetlands disappearing at an alarming rate, Patterson emphasized the importance of assessing the local wildlife that rely heavily upon the fragile ecosystem.

”It’s a really rare habitat, because it’s in a coastal climate, and is significant to a lot of species,” Patterson said. “People often overlook these areas.”

The Environmental Protection Agency’s current wetlands program coordinator Leana Rosetti said it is important to help tribes and local governments protect and improve their wetland programs. The application period for next year’s grants are still open, she said.

”We encourage folks to develop plans to compete for grants to fund their own wetlands program,” Rosetti said. “The more applicants, the better.”

On the Web: For information on the EPA grant, visit water.epa.gov/grants_funding/wetlands/grantguidelines/index.cfm

Will Houston can be reached at 707-441-0504 or whouston@times-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter.com/Will_S_Houston.

Duluth School Board to vote on Ojibwe language immersion

A kindergarten Ojibwe immersion class, where students spend most of their day learning in the language native to the region, could be an option for a Duluth elementary school next year.

By: Jana Hollingsworth, Duluth News Tribune Feb 24, 2014

A kindergarten Ojibwe immersion class, where students spend most of their day learning in the language native to the region, could be an option for a Duluth elementary school next year.

The Duluth School Board will vote on adding such a program Tuesday.

“It’s a big move,” said Edye Howes, coordinator of the American Indian education program for the Duluth school district. “Historically, the Duluth American Indian community hasn’t had much trust in Duluth public schools. This would be a statement: Look what we’re willing to do to start strengthening and building a relationship.”

Shannon O’Nabigon beats a rhythm on the drum as she and other children sing “Weya Heya,” an Ojibwe counting song, in the Ojibwe Language Nest at the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2009. Teacher Gordon Jourdain is at right. From left are George Petersen, Eleanor Ness and Grace Russell. The Duluth school district will vote Tuesday on whether to add a kindergarten Ojibwe immersion class at one of the district’s elementary schools. (File / News Tribune)

Immersion programs, such as those for Spanish, have grown in popularity nationwide for their ability to develop cognitive skills, especially at a young age. Such programs also help to broaden a student’s worldview and the ability to think from another perspective, Howes said.

For a few years, the Duluth district has partnered with the University of Minnesota Duluth and its Enweyang Ojibwe Language Nest for young children, currently teaching those up to pre-K. Gordon Jourdain teaches that class, which also serves as a lab for students at UMD who plan to teach Ojibwe.

Immersion programs do more in helping with the achievement gap than anything else, Jourdain said.

“They are very successful in the Duluth public school system as a result of being exposed to multiple languages,” he said, noting that he hears from former parents on how past students are doing. “It’s the opportune time for brain development and language acquisition.”

At a recent School Board meeting, Superintendent Bill Gronseth said the program would be a good way to begin improving the American Indian graduation rate.

“Knowing that it’s one of the lowest of the subgroups,” he said, “it would go a long way to improving our future.”

Jourdain, from Ontario, spoke Ojibwe before he spoke English. He also has an Ojibwe-fluent classroom assistant so students can hear regular conversation.

He teaches through a different lens, he said, taking the kids outside to demonstrate words.

“It’s a good way for language development,” he said. “If you’re talking about snow and it’s falling on their nose, they will live what it is; they are living the language. I am not teaching about it.”

While Duluth has not yet proposed a school for the class, plans are for between 15 and 20 students. The district would hire either a licensed teacher who speaks Ojibwe fluently or one who speaks it as a first language. The plan would include an assistant who speaks the language and comes in regularly. The proposed program eventually would consist of one class for each grade, adding one grade per year. For the first year, the cost would be roughly $153,000, with most of the money paying for the cost of the teacher — which already is allocated to the school — and the assistant. The rest would come out of state integration funds.

Aside from time with specialists such as a physical education teacher, the class would be taught entirely in Ojibwe.

Because the Ojibwe language doesn’t include numerals, numbers would be spelled out with words for the subject of math, for example.

Lydia Shinkle sends her daughter to the UMD language nest. She said she’d drive her wherever they place a class if it’s approved, and she knows of other parents who would.

“She is part Native American, and it is important to me that she has that link to her culture,” Shinkle said of her daughter, Natalia. “It’s something you can’t find anywhere else … We’re losing the language every day, and it’s important to preserve it for the next generation so she can teach others around her.”

Finding one teacher won’t be difficult, said William Howes, coordinator of the Duluth school district’s Office of Education Equity. Between UMD and the College of St. Scholastica, and beyond the Twin Ports, many programs are committed to producing licensed Ojibwe teachers, he said. Finding six might not be as easy, but with a staggered approach there would be time, he said.

“Much has been done and has happened to indigenous languages, but they are still alive and viable,” William Howes said.

Places such as federal boarding schools forced generations of American Indians to assimilate to white culture and prevented them from speaking their native languages.

“Everything within Ojibwe culture and tradition is within our language, just like any culture,” William Howes said. “As we begin immersion, we want to begin with the language spoken here first.”

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe brings in more efficient incubator system

Feb 21, 2014 NWIFC.com

With the influx of chum salmon last fall, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe was able to take twice as many eggs as usual, up to 1.2 million.

In anticipation of the large run, natural resources director Paul McCollum brought in an idea from his time in fisheries in Alaska – a NOPAD incubator, a tower of six 4′ x 4′ x 15” aluminum trays that can accommodate up to 1.5 million eggs.

Little Boston Hatchery technician Jeff Fulton works with a tray of eggs in the new NOPAD incubator system. More photos can be found by clicking on this photo.

“The small tray incubation system, or Heath tray system, we have been using for decades can only hold up to 600,000 eggs in total,” McCollum said. “The NOPAD has only been around since the 1970s and is commonly used in Alaska. One of the NOPAD trays can hold 45 small Heath trays worth of eggs.”

The tribe is maxed out with the old system, McCollum said, so the NOPAD trays will help increase its chum production while using minimal additional water or floor space.

“Most of our chum will go into our raceways, as we’ve always done, but now we’ll have more to put in the net pens, which, in the end, will result in bigger fish at release.

“The survival rate is a little more beneficial with the NOPAD,” he added. “But our main focus is on increasing production for better returns.”

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For more information, contact Paul McCollum, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe natural resources director, at (360) 297-6237 or paulm@pgst.nsn.us; or Tiffany Royal, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission public information officer, at (360) 297-6546 or troyal@nwifc.org.

Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center, March Events

Check out all the exciting events scheduled for the month of March at the Hibulb Cultural Center!

Washington State Senators Propose Tax On Oil Train Shipments

Taylor Winkel, Northwest News Network

Powerful members of the Washington state Senate are on board with a plan to tax crude oil shipped into the state by rail.

The money raised would pay for oil spill response and clean up.

The proposed legislation would expand an existing barrel tax paid only by seaborne oil tankers.

Republican Sen. Doug Ericksen says extending the tax is fair.

“Every tanker coming into our refinery today pays a 5-cents-per-barrel tax that goes into oil spill prevention and response,” Ericksen says. “We believe we should apply that to rail cars coming in and we have a bi partisan bill that would apply the barrel tax to the rail cars also.”

Oil train traffic across the Northwest has rapidly increased since 2012. Trains are carrying crude oil from wells on the northern plains to refineries in Northwest Washington and a marine terminal in Clatskanie, Ore.

At least half a dozen more crude oil receiving terminals are on the drawing boards in Western Oregon and Washington.

Puyallup Tribe tracking sea star wasting in South Sound

George Stearns, shellfish biologist for the Puyallup Tribe, inspects a sick sea star caught in the tribe’s crab monitoring study.

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

As part of their regular monitoring of crab populations the Puyallup Tribe of Indians is tracking the impact of a mysterious ailment that is decimating sea stars.

An outbreak of sea star wasting syndrome was first noticed early last fall in British Columbia. The syndrome starts as small lesions and eventually the infected sea stars disintegrate. Since the syndrome was first noticed, it quickly spread throughout the Salish Sea and along the Pacific coast.

While there have been documented outbreaks before of the syndrome, nothing on this scale has ever been recorded. There is no known cause.

The tribe started regular crab surveys in April 2013. “Since then, we started seeing a lot of sea star by-catch,” said George Stearns, shellfish biologist for the tribe. “One pot near the north point of Vashon Island was literally full of sea stars.”

The tribe regularly monitors eight stations between the north end of Vashon Island and the Tacoma Narrows. Each station includes nine crab pots.

George Stearns (right) and David Winfrey, shellfish biologists for the Puyallup Tribe, count and measure crab caught in a monitoring study in southern Puget Sound.

During the tribe’s early surveys, the sea star population seemed healthy. But, Puyallup tribal scientists recorded a sharp die-off in October. “We saw one monitoring site go from four sea stars per pot in April to 12 in September to zero all together in October,” Stearns said. “We went from catching over 100 sea stars to none within a month at that site.”

“Across the entire area we’re monitoring, we’re seeing a massive decrease in sea star bycatch,” Stearns said. “Some of the sea stars we are finding are literally melting in front of us.”

When a diseased sea star does catch a ride on a tribal crab pot, it deflates quickly. Within a few minutes, a normally rigid sea star will be hanging on the pot like a wet rag.

The main focus of the crab monitoring work by the tribe is to pinpoint exactly when the crab in the tribe’s harvest area molt, or shed their shells.

“Crabbing during the middle of molting, which makes them soft and vulnerable, can increase the handling mortality,” Stearns said. “Its a common practice to shut down harvest during the molt. But, we’ve only had a general idea of when that occurs down here.”

The data collected will also help the fisheries managers put together a more complete picture of crab populations in the South Sound. “We GPS the locations so we’re at the same spots and put the pots in for the same length of time,” Stearns said. “So, we know we’re comparing apples to apples each month.”

Sea star immediately after being caught. Photo by George Stearns.

Sea star five minutes after being caught. Photo by George Stearns.

Chairman Melvin R. Sheldon: NMAI’s Meet Native America Series

Melvin R. Sheldon, Chairman, Board of Directors of the Tulalip Tribes, during the first White House Tribal Nations Conference, November 2009. Washington, D.C.

Dennis Zotigh, ICTMN, 2/22/14

In the interview series Meet Native America, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian invites tribal leaders, cultural figures, and other interesting and accomplished Native individuals to introduce themselves and say a little about their lives and work. Together, their responses illustrate the diversity of the indigenous communities of the Western Hemisphere, as well as their shared concerns, and offer insights beyond what’s in the news to the ideas and experiences of Native peoples today.

Please introduce yourself with your name and title.

Melvin R. Sheldon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tulalip Tribes.

Where is your nation located?

Tulalip, Washington, is about 35 minutes north of Seattle, next to Interstate 5. The closest city outside the reservation is Marysville, Washington.

Where are your people originally from?

We are the successor of interest to Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish, and other allied tribes and bands signatory to the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. We lived from the mountains down to the salt waters of the Coast Salish Sea.

What is a significant point in history from the Tulalip Tribes that you would like to share?

Recently Northwest tribes remembered the Judge Boldt decision of 1974. This decision recognizing treaty fishing rights redefined and reconnected a way of life for Tulalip people. Our tribal men and women are proud to be salmon fishing people.

How is your national government set up?

We have a constitution and bylaws adopted in 1936. Our governing body is composed of a seven-member Board of Directors. The board is a legislative body that creates laws that govern our reservation.

Is there a functional, traditional entity of leadership in addition to your modern government system?

As in many tribes, our elders have a strong voice in tribal affairs. Their history and traditional values keep us grounded as we move forward and face the challenges of a growing tribe with outside competing values.

How are elected leaders chosen?

Each year board members are elected by popular vote. We have three-year terms on a staggered schedule. Each year at General Council, executive offices are chosen by those present; the chairman, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer are elected on that day for the next year.

How often does the Board of Directors meet?

The Tulalip board meets once a month to conduct official business as mandated by our constitution. We have committee meetings throughout the week as we oversee our business and service needs.

What responsibilities do you have as a leader?

As chairman I preside over monthly meetings and the General Council. Further duties include representing our tribe at meetings of all levels and being principal spokesperson.

How did your life experience prepare you to lead your tribe?

Learning to listen became a major foundation as I entered leadership. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!

Who inspired you as a mentor?

Tulalip has been gifted with great leadership through the years. There are many of our past leaders who left behind a legacy, and they have become mentor examples. I thank them and raise my hands to our past leaders.

Approximately how many members are in the Tulalip Tribes?

Today we have just over 4,300 tribal members.

What are the criteria to become a member of Tulalip?

We have a residency requirement for membership.

Is your language still spoken on your homelands? If so, what percentage of your people would you estimate are fluent speakers?

Our language, Lushootseed, was almost lost, but through several key elders and tribal support we were able to revive our language. Today we teach our young ones Lushootseed.

What economic enterprises do the Tulalip Tribes own?

Tulalip Tribes were only the second Indian nation to establish a federally recognized city, Quil Ceda Village. Our business park and municipality form a bustling, growing commercial center. At the center is the Tulalip Resort Casino (TRC), with a hotel and conference center. Further tribal businesses include two gas stations, two liquor/cigarette stores, and Tulalip Data Service/Cablevision operation. Tulalip—which includes the tribal government, Quil Ceda Village, and the TRC—directly employs 4,500 team members.

To read the full interview, visit the NMAI series here.

Cedarville Shooter Was Under FBI Probe Over Missing $50,000 in Federal Tribal Grants

FacebookCherie Lash Rhoades, 44, who allegedly gunned down three relatives and a tribal administrator at Cedarville Rancheria tribal headquarters near Alturas, California, on February 20. — Facebook
Cherie Lash Rhoades, 44, who allegedly gunned down three relatives and a tribal administrator at Cedarville Rancheria tribal headquarters near Alturas, California, on February 20.

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Shooter Cherie Lash Rhoades was being investigated by the FBI for over $50,000 in missing grant money meant for the Cedarville Rancheria Tribe when she gunned down her brother, niece, nephew and a tribal administrator, the Associated Press reported on February 21.

The 35-member federally recognized tribe in the northeastern corner of California, right near the Oregon and Nevada borders, has been devastated by the shooting during an eviction hearing in which Rhoades allegedly pulled out a gun and began “systematically shooting individuals,” Alturas police chief Ken Barnes told theNew York Daily News. Five people fell to her bullets, four of them dying. Running out of ammunition, Rhoades grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen and began stabbing a sixth person, police and witnesses said. She was apprehended outside the building, clutching the knife, after a blood-covered witness ran down the block and summoned police.

Rhoades had recently been ousted as the tribal council chairwoman, and the hearing was under way to evict her and her 24-year-old son from tribal lands, according to accounts. At the hearing she killed her brother, 50-year-old Rurik Daniel Davis, who the current tribal leader; her niece, 19-year-old Angel Moonstar Penn; and her nephew, 30-year-old Glenn Philip Calonicco, Modoc County police said in a statement on Friday February 21.

Also shot dead was Shelia Lynn Russo, 47, a tribal administrator who oversaw evictions. Her mother, Linda Stubblefield, told the AP that Russo had mentioned being concerned about the potential for violence in her line of work. Russo was the mother of two teenagers.

The two wounded women were sisters and were flown to hospitals in Redding. Police told the AP that one was critically injured and the other was awake and talking to investigators.

The tribe’s leadership has been decimated, the town’s mayor said.

“They pretty much lost their leadership yesterday,” Alturas Mayor John Dederick told theLos Angeles Times.

The shots reverberated all the way to Washington, D.C., where the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) issued a statement of condolence and support.

“A great sorrow stretches across Indian Country for the heartbreaking tragedy in the Cedarville Rancheria community,” said NCAI President Brian Cladoosby. “I know that the country is joining us in prayer for the victims, their families, and the tribe as they gather their strength to walk together during this time.”

The NCAI also noted the frequency of gun rampages of late.

“Tragedies like this know no boundaries of ethnicity, government, or religion and they are happening far too frequently,” the NCAI said. “Our hearts are heavy as we lift up the families affected by this senseless act of violence.”

Alturas Police Chief Ken Barnes told the Associated Press that young children had been inside the building and on the property, which is in a residential area, during the shooting.

Rhoades was charged on suspicion of homicide, attempted murder, child endangerment and brandishing a weapon, the AP said. She was moved to “an undisclosed location” because Russo’s husband works at the county jail.

“This is like nothing I have had to deal with in my 25 years of being with the city of Alturas,” Barnes told theDaily News. “It’s just tragic.”

Steve Madison, Pacific Northwest Native Design at Hibulb, Feb 22

Steve Madison will be at the Hibulb Cultural Center on Saturday, February 22, at 1 p.m. for our Culture Series event. He will demonstrate Pacific Northwest Native Design.

Weekend fun: Geese, treasures, dance, kids snowboarding, more

Mike Benbow / For The HeraldThe Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival is this weekend. — Mike Benbow / For The Herald
The Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival is this weekend.

Source: The Herald

Birds on parade: The Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival is Saturday and Sunday in and around Stanwood and Camano Island with free talks, walks, bus tours and activities for kids. Head to the headquarters, 27130 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. Get more info in our story here.

Treasure hunt: While you’re in the Stanwood area go hunting for a “clue ball” at the Great Northwest Glass Quest on Saturday and Sunday. Pick up a brochure at A Guilded Gallery, 8700 271st NW, Stanwood, and head out to hunt. If you find one of the plastic balls return it to the location found inside the ball and you’ll receive a limited edition glass art ball. For more info, go here.

A sweet show: “I Love to Dance: A studio performance of original and solo works” will be performed at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at The Dance School of Everett in the former Betty Spooner ballet studio, upstairs at 2821 Rockefeller Ave. You can see the hourlong performances for a suggested donation of $5 that includes dessert. Call 425-259-6861 to reserve a seat. Get more info in our story here.

Films: The Everett Film Festival is Friday and Saturday at the Everett Performing Arts Center. The festival initially was considered a women’s festival. Though it continues to celebrate the strength, humor and diversity of women through film, it now has a wider view and welcomes men and women to submit their films. Get the details in our story here.

Author: Hear Maria Semple, author of “Where’d You Go Bernadette,” speak at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave. The book is an Everett Reads book pick.

Got a clue? Get one in Langley for the 30th annual Mystery Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. The plot? A handsome stranger turns up dead after claiming to be the long-lost heir to a Whidbey estate. Pick up a map and ticket at the Langley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center at 208 Anthes St. The Coroner’s Report will be given at 1 p.m. Saturday and the solution will be announced and prizes awarded at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Langley Middle School’s auditorium. Get more info here.

Symphony for kids: The Cascade Symphony Orchestra’s annual children’s concert, “Paddington Bear’s First Concert,” is at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N. Call 425-275-9595 for tickets. Cellist Stephen Leou, 11, will perform the 1st movement of Haydn’s C Major Cello Concerto. Children also can enjoy the “instrument petting zoo” in the lobby beginning at 2 p.m., where they can test out various instruments.

Author: Bill Dietrich, an author who focuses on environmental issues, will speak about forest concerns at 10 a.m. Saturday at Rockport State Park, 51095 Highway 20, Rockport. The talk will be followed by a guided tour of the park’s trails.

Kids snowboarding: Kids between 3 and 6 years old can try out snowboarding on Saturday and Sunday at Stevens Pass. The boards and the terrain are designed for young kids. Get more info here.

Zeros: The Flying Heritage Collection in Everett will officially open a new display to the public Friday. The collection will have three Japanese Zeros on display. One is in flying condition while two are still undergoing restoration. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Get more info here.

More planes: Learn about the aviation history of Troy, Ohio, and the Waco Aircraft Company and its history of producing excellent wood and fabric aircraft parts. The talk is from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Flying Heritage Collection. Get more info here.

Gardening: Learn pruning tips, with a focus on fruit plants and flowering shrubs, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Coldwell Banker Bain’s meeting room, 108 Fifth Ave., Edmonds. The event is presented by the Edmonds Floretum Garden Club. Everyone is invited to attend the event. It’s free, although donations are welcome. Call 425-774-4991 with questions.

Service: Historian and actress Tames Alan will appear in a free program at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Everett Public Library, 2702 Hoyt Ave. Alan will reveal the colorful culture of servants at Edwardian estates like Downton Abbey. Get more info here.