Tulalip News

38th District Rep John McCoy transitions to senate

By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News

A Tulalip Tribal member and Washington State Legislator, John McCoy has had a significant impact on the reservation simply by being successful. He was elected to serve in the House of Representatives in 2003, and was one of two Native American Representatives in Washington State. On November 27^th, 2013, McCoy was unanimously selected by the Snohomish County Council to fill a Senate position left vacant by Senator Nick Harper’s resignation.

“John has always been a mover and shaker,” said Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon. “He’s helped change the way the legislature views Native Americans and has paved the way for our young men and women to follow in his footsteps. He’s brought hope that in the near future we’ll see the face of state politics change to reflect importance of tribes, both as economic drivers in the state and as an important part of the history and culture of this land.”

His resonance with tribes is part of what got McCoy elected, but what’s kept him in office, and made him the frontrunner for the senate seat is his dedication to the everyman.

“My priorities haven’t changed,” said John. “My priorities have always been elders, children and the working adult. During this last interim I worked a lot on migrant, low income and mental health housing. I’ll continue that work. There are dental access issues that I’ll be working on.

“I’ll continue working hard for the 38^th Legislative District, Snohomish County and Washington State as a whole,” continued McCoy. “WSU (Washington State University) is coming to Everett, so that’s another thing I’ll be working on. There are some environmental things I’ll be working on. Again, whatever is best for the district, the county and the state, it’s the same stuff, different chamber.”

Tulalip Board of Director and Business Committee Chairman Glen Gobin described McCoy’s appointment by saying McCoy is simply the best man for the job.

“Congratulations to John,” said Gobin. “John has stayed very active and involved, not just the legislative district he is elected to, but all across the state as well as this nation. John also has served, unofficially, as an ambassador for Washington State Tribes, helping to educate those he serves with, and his constituency, about Native American issues as well as misperceptions about Native Americans. John’s commitment to serve the people is reflected in the vote from the Snohomish County Council. I am proud of John. He is well suited to do the work that is needed, and I know well he will do a great job.”

For those who haven’t thought about State governance since high school civics class, McCoy described the differences between the House of Representatives and the State Senate.

“There aren’t as many senators. Each district has two representatives and one senator, 98 representatives and 49 senators,” he explained. “The representatives serve two-year terms and senators serve four-year terms. The house side gets through processes faster, the senate is designed to be more constrained. The Washington State Legislative House cranks out between 3,000 and 5,000 bills a session. Consequently, some are good and some are not. The Senate is more pragmatic and selective, they work the issues more. That’s by design.”

That pragmatism is a good fit for McCoy who believes his popularity in politics are a result of being honest and caring, but blunt.

“I don’t beat around the bush,” said McCoy, “I had a couple meetings this morning with some folks who wanted money. I said, ‘I support your issues, but I don’t know that we can get you money this year.’ It’s about being up front with people and letting them know where you stand. I can’t make everybody happy, but at least they can understand why I can’t make them happy. They generally feel good as long as they know where they stand.”

When the term for his Senate seat ends, McCoy plans to run for election.

“This is a natural step for me,” he said.

Lawyers Bring Fresh Lawsuit on Sale of Hopi Masks

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press

The Native American Hopi tribe took a Paris auction house to court Tuesday to try to block the upcoming sale of 32 sacred tribal masks, arguing they are “bitterly opposed” to the use as merchandise of sacred objects that represent their ancestral spirits.

The Katsinam masks are scheduled for sale at the Drouot auction house on Dec. 9 and 11, alongside an altar from the Zuni tribe that used to belong to late Hollywood star Vincent Price, and other Native American frescoes and dolls.

Advocates for the Hopis argue that selling the sacred Katsinam masks as commercial art is illegal because the masks are like tombs and represent their ancestors’ spirits. The tribe nurtures and feed the masks as if they are the living dead. The objects are surreal faces made from wood, leather, horse hair and feathers and painted in vivid pigments of red, blue, yellow and orange.

In April, a Paris court ruled that such sales are legal in France, and Drouot sold off around 70 Hopi masks despite vocal protests and criticism from actor Robert Redford and the U.S. government. The U.S., unlike France, possesses laws which robustly protect indigenous peoples.

Tribal lawyers filed a new lawsuit over the new sale, and a Paris court held a hearing in the case Tuesday. The judge will issue a verdict Friday, three days before the first sale.

The Hopis’ French lawyer, Pierre Servan-Schreiber, remains optimistic that this time the judge will rule in their favor. His argument highlights an existing French law which prevents the sale of tombs, and gives these objects a special, protected status.

“The Hopis are saying that not everything can be sold and bought. The day that there are no more Katsinam masks, the Hopi tribe will exist no more,” Servan-Schreiber argued in court.

“It’s a cause worth fighting for. And like all good causes, you need to keep fighting. The Hopis have been massacred, slaughtered, pillaged and for years deprived of what was theirs, and at some point this has to change,” Servan-Schreiber said.

The tribe has said it believes the masks, which date back to the late 19th and early 20th century, were taken from a northern Arizona reservation in the early 20th century. Curiosity about one of the oldest indigenous tribes whose territory is now surrounded by the U.S. state first led collectors and researchers there.

“The Katsinam (masks) represent cultural heritage, objects of tribal and ceremonial rites. It’s the Hopis’ collective property — they have never belonged to anyone, have no commercial value,” said Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, in a statement.

Drouot auction house disagrees.

“These are extremely beautiful artifacts. They belong to a private collector and have not been stolen. The fact this collector wishes to sell them here in Paris shows that the city is seen as the world leader in the sale of primitive art,” Eric Geneste of the Drouot auction house said, recalling that in the April sale, the 70 masks sold for some $1.2 million.

The lawyer for Eve auction house that’s selling the masks, Corinne Matouk, compared the objects to sacred Qurans or Bibles that have been sold legally.

“Sacred objects from the big monotheistic religions have been sold at auction in the same way. In no way do I question the value they have for the Hopi tribe. This is about the law … Why are we giving them a special status?” asked Matouk.

In addition to the 32 Hopi masks, Drouot will sell a Zuni altar taken from a private temple from the New Mexico-based tribal community, as well as three two-meter (6 ½ -foot) Native American frescoes. The only other existing frescoes of this type are exhibited in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

It is unclear if the Zunis altar is also considered too sacred to sell, and the tribe wasn’t available for comment.

Monroe Warshaw, an art collector from New York, who bought two Hopi masks for around 28,000 euros ($36,500) in April, first said in an interview with The Associated Press that he didn’t believe the masks had been stolen from the Hopis and had refused to return them.

“How did they steal them? Did some antique dealer go into their house at night and steal them?”

But subsequently Warshaw had a change of heart. He visited the Hopi community after his comments created a backlash and he reportedly received hate mail. He returned the masks to the tribe in September, saying that his visit made him see that the masks did indeed have a special meaning for the tribespeople.

The Associated Press is not transmitting images of the objects because the Hopi have long kept the items out of public view and consider it sacrilegious for any images of the objects to appear.

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Thomas Adamson can be followed at https://twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

Sports Local athletes make all conference teams

Source: Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — Athletes from Marysville Getchell and Marysville-Pilchuck high schools have been named to the Wesco 3A North All Conference teams.

Marysville Getchell All-Conference Recognition

Cross Country

Honorable Mention

Cameron Wagstaff

Tennis

All Conference Doubles Team

Tristan Hasseler and Ryan Clausen

Girls Soccer

First-team All Conference

Kelsee Crenshaw

Marina Wika

Carley Wika

Second-team All Conference

Balie Weikel

Matti Nortone

Honorable Mention

Gabby Crenshaw

Ashlei Ryan

Tori Lentz

Football

First-team Defense and Offense

Kaleb Seymer

First-team Defense

Jacob Bisenius

First-team Offense

Nate Eshete

Second-team Defense, Offense and Kick Return

Wil Owens

Second-team Defense

John Clark

Jordan Russell-Robins

Nick Hoffman

Second-team Offense

Tanner Wilcoxson

Taylor Koellmer

Second-team Punter

Collin Montez

Honorable Mention

Tyler Gamble

Devun Palphrey

Austin Miller

Francisco Juarez

Austin Bradshaw

Kody Williams

Swim and Dive

First-team All Conference

Brooke Wherley

Marysville-Pilchuck All-Conference Recognition

Girls Soccer

First-team All Conference

Amanda Klep

Mackenzie Nolte

Makenna Stadum

Bianca Acuario

Cassandra LaBrake

Megan Owens

Second-team All Conference

Emily Dunston

Jessica Moskowitz

Brittany Anderson

Girls Volleyball

Second-team All Conference

Marley Reynolds

Football

First-team All Conference — Kicker

Ryan Spiva

First-team All Conference Defense

Alex Gray

Drew Hatch

Dante Fields

Nic Alonso

First-team All Conference — Returner, Second-team Offense

Chris Jones

First-team All Conference Offense

Austin Schimke

Jake Luton

Austin Joyner

Cory Davise

Second-team All Conference Defense

Cody Parks

Bryce Vitcovich

TJ Rosten

Second-team All Conference Offense

Corbin Ferry

Ricky Jacobsen

Killian Page

Honorable Mention

Juan Ventura

Kyle Durich

Deion Stell

Swim and Dive

All Conference 200 IM, 110 Breast, 200 IM Relay and 200 FR Relay

Melody Coleman

All Conference 100 Fly, 200 IM Relay and 200 FR Relay

Abby Magee

All Conference 200 IM Relay and 200 FR Relay

Madison Rossnagle

All Conference 200 FR Relay

Madison Pfeil

All Conference 200 IM Relay

Rebekah Pusateri

Lessons of Our Land Curriculum Launched During Heritage Month

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Learning about Native history and culture doesn’t need to be relegated to one month of the year. Though the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) thought Native American Heritage Month would be a good time to release its Native American land curriculum website for pre-K and K-12 classrooms.

“The launch of this website in November coincides with National Native American Heritage Month and the approach of Thanksgiving—for many public school teachers, the only time during the school year they will discuss Native American history in their classroom,” said ILTF President Cris Stainbrook in a November 18 press release. “We would invite all of them to look through the curriculum and choose at least one grade-appropriate lesson to replace the old worn out story of the Pilgrims, and perhaps think about adding one other lesson the week after Thanksgiving.”

The Lessons of Our Land curriculum is designed to be incorporated into a number of subjects and is adaptable to include the history and culture of a region’s Indian nations. The curriculum has so far been successfully implemented in 105 tribal schools, public schools and colleges in eight states.

Lessons of Our Land’s components meet state standards in many core areas, such as history, art, civics, mathematics, science, geography and language arts. To see what lessons are available, visit LessonsofOurLand.org.

Feinstein Insists Carcieri Fix Address Her Opposition to Tribal Gaming

Gale Courey Toensing, ICTMN

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) continued her battle against Indian gaming in testimony before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs recently, expanding her opposition to off reservation gaming to include federal recognition of additional California tribes, new casinos in other states, the Interior Department’s statutory authority over gaming and land issues and more.

Feinstein was among five panelists testifying at a SCIA oversight hearing Nov. 20, called “Carcieri: Bringing Certainty to Trust Land Acquisitions.” The other were Interior Department Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn, of the National Congress of American Indians Executive Director Jacqueline Johnson-Pata, Marshall Pierite, the chair of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and co-chairman of the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) Carcieri Task Force, and Diane Dillon, of the Napa County Board of Supervisors.

In her opening remarks, SCIA Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) talked about the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934 as an effort to restore some of the 90 million-plus acres of indigenous land taken during the “failed policies” of the 19th century. Since 1934 the federal government has taken approximately 10 million acres of land into trust , Cantwell said, adding that less than one percent of it has been for gaming.

But a 2009 Supreme Court ruling put a halt to 75 years of Indian land restoration. February 24, 2014, will mark the fifth anniversary of the high court’s ruling in Carcieri v. Salazar, an anti-Indian sovereignty decision that curbed the Interior Secretary’s authority to take land into trust for tribes recognized after 1934 when the IRA was enacted, creating a loss of economic opportunity, stalled infrastructure projects and increased litigation, Cantwell said. So far a “clean Carcieri fix” that would clarify the Secretary’s authority to take land into trust for all federally recognized tribes has eluded congressional action. The IRA was enacted 54 years before the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act – and had nothing to do with gaming, but Feinstein continues to conflate trust land with gaming. “[A]ny Carcieri fix must address concerns about tribal gaming,” she told the committee.

Feinstein noted that “there are more than 100 federally recognized tribes in California” and warned that “many more” tribes will seek recognition — and casinos — in the near future. “But what really sets California apart is the scale of the tribal gaming industry,” she said. She seemed to complain about the success of the state’s 70 Indian gaming facilities in generating $6.78 billion in revenue 2010 — “more than twice that of any other state. By that measure, it is approaching the size of the gaming industry in Nevada, which is valued at just over copy0 billion,” she said.

She also complained about what she calls “reservation shopping” by tribes in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Oregon and advocated for local decision-making input on casinos, based on a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) argument. “I strongly believe that local governments must have the ability to influence the terms and conditions of the development of new casinos, especially because many communities simply do not want new casinos in their backyard,” Feinstein said.

She lobbied for passage of her Tribal Gaming Eligibility Act, which she re-introduced this year.

Senator Feinstein’s New Bill: ‘It’s a Travesty’

Indian gaming experts reacted strongly. Michael Anderson (Muscogee Nation), owner of Anderson Indian Law, said Feinstein was out of sync with the facts on the ground. “I think the Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn did an excellent job presenting the administration’s perspective on the limited number of gaming applications that are actually at issue in that there have been about 1500 applications approved during the Obama administration and around 20 have been gaming applications. So it’s a very marginal issue in terms of the overall land into trust program,” Anderson said.

He said the senator “grossly exaggerated” the potential impact of new “Two Part” land into trust decisions — those application seeking trust status for land acquired after IGRA was enacted in October 1988. “Although the two or three that have been approved by the administration have been extremely controversial the idea that there’s going to be some kind of avalanche of new applications is overblown.”

Feinstein largely aimed her opposition on Indian gaming in general, Anderson said. “I’d be very concerned that there would be any traction to amending the IGRA with respect to fee to trust or Carcieri decisions so I hope the administration and the Congress would remain committed to a clean Carcieri fix — I believe any compromise involving IGRA would be a dirty fix,” Anderson said

Tom Rodgers, a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation and owner of Carlyle Consulting, warned against history repeating itself. “History should inform the present not imprison. The ancestral history of California is one of extermination and genocide toward Native Americans,” Rodgers said. “Now the modern day politics of economic exclusion is the preferred method.”

5 More Native American Visionaries in Washington State

Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network

As the holidays kick in and people start looking ahead to the coming year, it is only fitting to acknowledge the leaders who will take Indian country into the future. Last month we brought you five Native leaders who are protecting rights, exercising sovereignty, building intercultural bridges and meeting future energy needs, among other accomplishments.

Now we bring five more who are rocking the world with their forward thinking, their innovation and their sense of social justice. With 29 of the 566 federally recognized indigenous nations located in what is now Washington State, the Evergreen State is a hotbed of visionary ideas.

1. Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Tribe: Political and Environmental Leader

Brian Cladoosby

The Swinomish Tribe chairman and recently elected president of the National Congress of American Indians has been at the forefront of calls to study and adapt to climate change, especially in Indian Country. During his chairmanship of the Swinomish, Cladoosby developed an initiative to determine how climate change may affect coastal communities, assess the possible impacts and develop an action plan, including coastal protection measures and development code changes.

Cladoosby collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey to launch the Canoe Journey Water Quality Project. Canoes participating in the journey carry probes that collect information on water temperature, salinity, pH levels, dissolved oxygen and turbidity in the Salish Sea. The data is used to identify and map possible sources of water quality degradation.

Under Cladoosby’s leadership the Swinomish have reclaimed lands, including environmentally sensitive lands and tidelands, lost during the allotment era or by executive order—Kiket Island in 2009, and this year more than 250 acres that had been removed from the reservation by the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant.

The Swinomish Police Department is the first tribal police department in Washington state to earn state accreditation, giving it the same authority as municipal departments to enforce state law.

“A visionary dedicated to serving the needs of his people, Brian brings together a strong focus on environmental stewardship, productive dialogue, and spiritual connectedness,” Ecotrust wrote of Cladoosby in bestowing its 2012 Indigenous Leadership Award.

2. Tracy Rector, Seminole/Choctaw: Taking the Art of Storytelling Digital

Tracy Rector (Photo: Lou Karsen)

Rector’s Longhouse Media is using new media to give voice to a young generation of indigenous storytellers.

Longhouse Media teaches digital filmmaking and media skills to indigenous youth to foment self-expression, cultural preservation and social change. Since 2003, Native youth have created more than 20 short films that have screened on television and in national and international film festivals.

Native youth worked on the award-winning feature-length documentary March Point, which chronicles the journey of two young men as they investigate the impact of oil refineries on their community. Other films explored the significance of the canoe in the Coast Salish way of life, the impacts of domestic violence, the dangers of drug abuse among young people and the importance of leading by example, the negative affects of spreading rumors, the connection between eating healthily and living healthy, and hip-hop music and dance as a way of staying sober and making healthy choices.

“We believe in Native youth telling their own stories about life, culture, and community, and understand the power of this process to change peoples’ lives,” said Rector, who was appointed this year to the City of Seattle Arts Commission, writing on her website.

3. Matika Wilbur, Tulalip/Swinomish: Erasing Stereotypes, Photo by Photo

Courtesy of Matika Wilbur

Wilbur’s Project 562 is changing the way the world sees America’s First Peoples. One year into a three-year project photographing Native America, it is already spawning exhibits. Last June she participated in a prestigious TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference in Seattle, speaking about “Surviving Disappearance, Re-Imagining & Humanizing Native Peoples.”

Wilbur is traveling across the U.S. by car and RV with her Mamiya film camera and Canon EOS 7D, with the mission to photograph people from every indigenous nation in America—peoples and cultures that are not only alive but also are thriving, a force in American life.

“People understand that we survived, but the stereotypes remain,” Wilbur said in an interview. She said her goal is to “build cultural bridges, abandon stereotypes, and renew and inspire our national legacy” and to reveal the enduring richness and complex variety of Native America.

“Our goal is to unveil the true essence of contemporary Native issues, the beauty of Native culture, the magnitude of tradition, and expose her vitality,” Wilbur states on her website.

The number 562 represents the number of indigenous nations that were federally recognized when she began developing the project; there are now 566. “The number 562 is a ‘jumping-off point,’ if you will,” she said, adding that she intends to include people from non-recognized Nations as well.

The project is funded by donations generated mostly by a Kickstarter campaign. When completed, the work will comprise a book, exhibitions, lecture series, website and a curriculum.

It’s the fourth major project by the social documentarian. Previously Wilbur photographed Coast Salish elders for the exhibit “We Are One People.” She put Native people in contemporary settings for the exhibit “We Emerge,” and photographed young Native people expressing their identities in modern ways in “Save the Indian and Kill The Man.”

Matika Wilbur: Indian Enough Photography Exhibit Opens in Ohio

4. Fawn Sharp, Quinault: Taking Tribes Global

Fawn Sharp

Sharp has turned the Quinault Nation presidency into a bully pulpit on national and international issues. She has called for the seating of representatives of indigenous nations at the U.N.; doing so will foster dialogue to “eliminate violence against indigenous nations caused by rampant development which pollute lands and waters and force Indigenous Peoples out of their territories.”

Sharp also called for establishment of a permanent indigenous body with authority to promote and monitor the rights of indigenous peoples; for an international conference on violence against indigenous women and children; and for U.N. members to formalize government-to-government negotiations between them and indigenous governments as a principal method for conflict resolution.

The federal government’s shutdown also came in her sights.

“Those who are responsible for this mismanagement will be held to account come election time,” she vowed at the time.

Sharp is a lawyer who serves as president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and regional vice president of the National Congress of American Indians.

“I spent many hours away from home and from my family carefully cultivating key relationships to build a positive, strong and respectable reputation for the Quinault Indian Nation,” she wrote this year in the Quinault newspaper, The Nugguam. “Developing such political muscle has opened doors for us that otherwise would not be open, giving us the credibility we need to … protect sovereignty, protect the environment, secure funding and open international trade opportunities.”

5. Gil Calac, Paiute: Getting Veterans Their Due

Gil Calac (Photo courtesy Valerie Calac)

A Vietnam War veteran living on the Yakama Reservation, Calac’s tireless campaign is winning official recognition of, and starting the healing process for, his fellow Vietnam veterans.

When U.S. military personnel came home from Vietnam, many with injuries and memories that still haunt them decades later, there was no welcome.

“They were not treated like heroes as those who returned from Korea and World War II,” said Washington State Rep. Norm Johnson, R-Toppenish. “Instead, they were portrayed as baby killers, warmongers and other things.… That had a traumatic effect on these soldiers that is still painful to these days as many of them refuse to talk about their experiences.”

Calac’s efforts this year led to the adoption of State House Bill 1319, which establishes March 30 of every year as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” in Washington state. The bill, introduced by Johnson and co-sponsored by 38 state House members, was unanimously approved by the House and Senate.

Thanks to Calec, all public buildings and schools are required to fly the POW/MIA flag every March 30.

The veteran’s compelling testimony moved legislators to act quickly on the bill. At a hearing before the Senate Committee on Governmental Operations, Calac said that Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day would help veterans “put away our guilt, the shame, the grief and despair,” and heal from the animosity veterans faced when they returned home.

Calac hopes to see Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day established nationwide.

Six vie for state House seat vacated by McCoy

Democratic precinct officers will select three names Dec. 10 to forward to the county council.

By Jerry Cornfield, Herald writer

EVERETT — A small crowd of Democrats is lining up for a chance to fill John McCoy’s seat in the state House, with a decision anticipated next week.

Six people are reportedly seeking the job which opened up following McCoy’s Nov. 27 appointment to the state Senate. He’s taking former state Sen. Nick Harper’s place.

June Robinson, Jennifer Smolen, Ed Triezenberg, Kelly Wright, David Simpson and Ray Miller are working to corral support from Democratic precinct committee officers, who will meet Dec. 10 to vote on their top three choices for the post. That meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Labor Temple in Everett.

Names of those nominees will be sent to the Snohomish County Council which will select the new lawmaker, possibly the next day.

Whoever gets the gig will serve in 2014 as representative for the 38th Legislative District which includes Everett, Tulalip and part of Marysville. To keep the $42,106-a-year job, they will need to run and win a full two-year term in next fall’s election.

Robinson is an Everett resident whose career has centered on managing community health and affordable housing programs. She lost races for Everett City Council in 2011 and 2012.

This fall she had been seeking appointment to a vacant council seat when Harper resigned and set off the process now culminating in the filling of McCoy’s House seat. She ended her pursuit of the council position to try to secure the legislative job.

Smolen, of Marysville, worked as an aide to state Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, in the 2011 legislative session and then for Snohomish County Councilwoman Stephanie Wright until early last year.

She also is a veteran, having served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve, including a combat tour in Iraq in 2004 and 2005.

Wright, of Marysville, is a former aide in the state House and one-time Marysville mayoral candidate. He made a bid for the Senate seat and finished behind McCoy and Rep. Mike Sells in balloting by precinct committee officers.

He has said he’s only interested in serving as a caretaker of the House seat for the 2014 session and would not run for a full term in 2014.

Triezenberg, of Tulalip, is a former lobbyist for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters and presently works for the Carpenters Union.

He told precinct committee officers in a Nov. 12 email that Republicans will target this seat next year and he possesses the “competence, experience and electability” required to keep it a Democratic seat. He said he would run for the seat in the 2014 election regardless of the outcome of the appointment process.

Simpson, of Everett, served on the Everett City Council from 1998 through 2001 and briefly as an appointed state legislator.

In 2004, he was appointed to fill a vacant House seat but then lost it that fall when Sells won the election.

Miller, of Marysville, a certified veterans services officer, and founder and president of the nonprofit veteran assistance group, Vets Place Northwest-Welcome Home. He also is vice-chairman of the 38th Legislative District Democrats.

Chief Seattle Club First Thursday Art Walk and Christmas Bazaar, Dec 5-6

Chief Seattle Club invites you to our First Thursday Art Walk and Christmas Bazaar on Thursday, December 5, and Friday, December 6, from 3:00-8:00 p.m. each day.

Get your holiday shopping done early and support small business by buying from our Native vendors who will feature handmade arts and crafts, jewelry and more. We’ll have a bake sale and Indian tacos by Off the Rez.We are proud to observe and comply with the Federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act.

Chief Seattle Club

410 2nd Ave Ext So., Seattle, Washington 98104

Puyallup Tribe, city working toward cemetery solution

By LARRY LARUE larry.larue@thenewstribune.com

December 2, 2013 The News Tribune

Ryan Conway grew up across the street from the Indian Willard Cemetery in Puyallup, visiting ancestral graves and living in what was then called the “Blue House.”

Today, the Blue House is Blue Sky Landscape Services and Conway, for the past six years, has been the caretaker in that cemetery, which dates back more than 200 years.

“I tell people I treat each grave as if it were your mother’s,” Conway said. “That way anyone who comes to visit a family member can see every grave site has been treated the same, with respect.”

Early last month, Conway was working and found, between the cemetery fence and Valley Avenue, a flurry of red-flagged stakes.

“It was the first I knew that there was work scheduled,” Conway said.

It was also the first the Puyallup Tribe had heard of the city’s plan to trench the road for new sewer and water lines for two new businesses across Valley Avenue.

Why did that horrify tribe elders and others?

“We don’t know the boundaries of the cemetery, because it dates back to the early 1800s, maybe earlier,” tribe archaeologist Brandon Reynon said. “We do know it extends well beyond the fenced area.”

Fearing ancestral remains might be disturbed, the tribe notified the city, pointing out laws and agreements that required Puyallup to notify the tribe before beginning any onsite construction. City planners were stunned.

“The city was aware of the tribal cemetery but we were unaware until two weeks ago of contention that the area of the cemetery included a larger area outside the fence,” said Tom Utterback, the city director of development services.

A stop order was issued for all work in front of the cemetery.

“That cemetery is sacred to us, it’s where our families are,” tribal Police Chief Joe Duenas said. “I remember visiting it as a boy. It’s an active cemetery – I buried my mother, Jody Wright, there last year.”

The first concern of the tribe, then the city and construction company, Trammell Crow, was not to disturb human remains.

“The developer has hired a Seattle archaeologist and he’s working out there,” Utterback said. “We heartily go along with this. We want to know the issues out there.”

Reynon, representing the tribe, will also be part of the cultural assessment of the dig.

One question raised by all this is how did the paved road, in the 1100 block of Valley Avenue, come to cross land that was part of the tribal graveyard? No one involved is certain.

Neither the city nor the tribe was sure whether the fence surrounding the 1.27-acre cemetery or the road came first. The road was built by Pierce County – Utterback believes that was in the 1930s or 1940s – and Puyallup annexed the land in the 1990s.

There are gravestones in the cemetery dating back to the mid-1800s, but that wasn’t when burials first occurred there.

“There are sites without stones, where families couldn’t afford one,” Conway said. “There are stones with entire family’s names on them, covering multiple sites. There’s no way to tell how many are buried within the fences.”

And no certainty on how far beyond those fences grave sites might exist.

It’s no surprise that history never recorded such information. Though the tribe simply calls it Willard Cemetery, it has been known on state and county records as the Firwood Cemetery, the Firwood Indian Cemetery and the Firwood (Willard) Cemetery.

The land is owned by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

When the city was in the permitting process 18 months ago, Utterback said environmental reports were sent to two representatives of the tribe. Tribal attorney Lisa A. Brautigam said that was the critical mistake.

“Two individuals involved with water quality and fisheries did receive the state environmental checklist but they are in individual departments not even located at the Tribal Government Headquarters,” she said. “And they only deal with fisheries and water quality issues.”

Archaeologist Reynon shook his head.

“If we had known about the issue, we would have worked with them on alternatives,” he said. “And we should have known. Now, we’d like to go back to the beginning.”

Utterback does not disagree, but insists there was never an intent to keep the tribe in the dark.

“If we were doing it again, we’d do it differently,” Utterback said. “We didn’t realize we should have sent it to others. We thought it would be shared by those we did send it to.”

For now, work in front of the cemetery has halted, and the city and tribe will have meetings this week to discuss alternatives.

“We’re not obstructionists. This is a matter of respect,” said Tribal Council member Lawrence LaPointe. “These are our ancestors, our families.”

Larry LaRue: 253-597-8638 larry.larue@thenewstribune.com

Second Cobell payment won’t be mailed out before Christmas

Source: Indianz.com

The second payment from the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement won’t be going out before Christmas as anticipated.

A notice on IndianTrust.Com says the payments are expected in early 2014. The Interior Department is still verifying who is eligible.

“The Settlement Agreement approved by Congress and the Courts requires identification of all Trust Administration Class Members and calculation of their respective pro rata shares by the Department of the Interior before The Garden City Group, the Claims Administrator for the Cobell Settlement, can mail Trust Administration Class payments,” the notice states. “That work is ongoing and is nearly complete.”

“Thus, if the class membership is finally determined in December, the payments can then be made in the first quarter of 2014 barring any unexpected issues,” the notice continues.

The delay will put a damper on holiday spending in Indian Country. The first payment of $1,000 went out just before Christmas in 2012.

A total of 327,957 beneficiaries qualified for the historical accounting portion of the settlement, according to information presented during a conference call in May

The second payment covers the trust administration portion of the settlement. This class is turning out to be a much larger group of people — approximately 470,000 beneficiaries.

The minimum payment for the trust administration class is $800. But many people will receive more, based on the level of activity in their Individual Indian Money (IIM) account.