Tulalip News

McAdory High School issues apology for ‘Trail of Tears’ banner held up at weekend football game

November 18, 2013 AL.com

MCCALLA, Alabama — McAdory High School has issued a public apology for a “Trail of Tears” banner that was held up during a weekend football game versus the Pinson Valley Indians.

The sign, which originally began making the internet rounds through a Tumblr blog post, reads:

“Hey Indians, get ready to leave in a Trial of Tears part 2”

On the McAdory High School website, Principal Tod Humphries said he accepts ” full responsibility that arrangements were not made to have the signs pre-approved before the ballgame.”

The person who is usually in charge of approving such signs, he said, is currently out on maternity leave.

The sign, said Humphries, “was not condoned by the school administration, the Jefferson County Board of Education or the community.”

Humphries then goes on to offer “sincere apologies to the Native American people and to anyone who was offended by the reference to an event that is a ‘stain’ on our nation’s past forever.”

Click here to read the full apology.

The Trail of Tears refers to the U.S. Government’s forcible removal of
Indians from areas in the Southeast to what is now Oklahoma. The move came during the 1830s as part of a push to remove all tribes east of the Mississippi to the west. The Trail encompassed the relocation of the Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and Choctaw nations.

About 1,070 Indians were transported from Ross’ Landing in Chattanooga to what is now Waterloo. Much of the 230-mile journey followed what is now U.S. 72.

From 1838 to 1839, as many as 20,000 Cherokee marched or rode in wagons or boats to Arkansas and Oklahoma. The route is known as the Trail of Tears because about 4,000 died on the trip.

Earlier today, BuzzFeed posted a story about the controversial banner on its website.

The banner and its message have also sparked conversation on Twitter:

Photo: Last night, this sign went up at a McAdory High School football game. I am absolutely disgusted that… http://t.co/4v6alGkeGt

— sunny b (@sunnybeezy_) November 18, 201

So the forced removal and deaths of thousands is ok to joke about now? Mcadory High School in Mcalla, Alabama. http://t.co/JKkgKZxc40

— IdleNoMoreSoNV (@IdleNoMoreSoNV) November 18, 2013

http://t.co/iOAZ4JtJdr very inappropriate reference to trail of tears at McAdory High School #backchannel #earlyrisers

— John (@JohnNavarra) November 18, 2013

Public Apology issued by McAdory High School

Monday, November 18, 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

On 11/15/2013 at a football game at McAdory High School, a sign was displayed that made reference to the “Trail of Tears” in which Native Americans were subjected to horrific atrocities. This was not condoned by the school administration, the Jefferson County Board of Education or the community. The person who would normally be responsible for approving such signs is out on maternity leave, and I take full responsibility that arrangements were not made to have the signs pre-approved before the ballgame. Please accept our sincere apologies to the Native American people and to anyone who was offended by the reference to an event that is a stain on our nation’s past forever.

In response to the “bust thru” sign used by McAdory High School during the Round 2 State Play-Off game versus Pinson Valley High School, all social studies and history teachers will re-teach and/or review units concerning Native American displacement following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Sincerely,

Tod Humphries

Fears Confirmed: Offshore Fracking A Toxic Mess

Center for Biological Diversity analysis reveals list of toxic chemicals in offshore fracking often dumped with wastewater into ocean.

Offshore oil drilling platform ‘Gail’ operated by Venoco, Inc. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

By Jacob Chamberlain, Mint Press News

Offshore hydraulic fracturing operations off the coast of California use highly toxic chemicals that are often released directly into water along the state’s coast, the Center for Biological Diversity revealed today, calling on the state’s Coastal Commission to halt fracking for oil and gas in state waters.

In an analysis sent by letter to the Commission ahead of a meeting this week in Newport Beach, The Center for Biological diversity pulls from data disclosed by oil companies and obtained from government documents that highlights seven risky chemicals used in “hundreds of recently revealed frack jobs in state waters” that directly violate the Coastal Act.

Multiple oil platforms, according to the research, are discharging wastewater directly into the Santa Barbara Channel, according to a government document, and other areas along the California Coast.

The letter states:

In the offshore context, fracking fluid is either discharged into the ocean or transported for onshore underground injection. When disposed of at sea, these chemicals enter the marine ecosystem. The Coastal Commission acknowledges that approximately half of the platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel discharge all or a portion of their wastewater directly to the ocean. This produced wastewater contains all of the chemicals injected originally into the fracked wells, with the addition of toxins gathered from the subsurface environment. These discharges of toxic chemicals directly contravene the requirements of the Coastal Act, which charges the Coastal Commission with the “protection against the spillage of . . . hazardous substances.”

“The Coastal Commission has the right and the responsibility to step in when oil companies use dangerous chemicals to frack California’s ocean waters,” said Emily Jeffers, a Center attorney. “Our beaches, our wildlife and our entire coastal ecosystem are at risk until the state reins in this dangerous practice.”

The research shows that at least one-third of chemicals used in offshore fracking operations “are suspected ecological hazards” and are suspected of “affecting the human developmental and nervous systems.”

The chemicals include X-Cide, which is “classified as a hazardous substance by the federal agency that manages cleanup at Superfund sites.”

“Because the risk of many of the harms from fracking cannot be eliminated, a complete prohibition on fracking is the best way to protect human health and the environment,” the letter states.

A recent report by the Associated Press showed that California coastal regulators were unaware until recently that offshore fracking was even occurring.

This article originally appeared in CommonDreams.

Ethanol: Clean Energy Or The Source Of New Environmental Concerns?

The agricultural industry has reaped the rewards of laws requiring ethanol cultivation, but now the environmental ramifications are causing second thoughts.

By Trisha Marczak Mint Press News

The impacts of ethanol on the nation’s wetlands and conservation sites are becoming more apparent, as farmers take over once-protected land to cultivate corn for the ever-growing ethanol industry — one initially intended to help the environment.

A report released by the Associated Press paints an entirely different picture.

Ethanol, which is derived from corn, is added in the nation’s gas supply in order to create a blend that offers renewable energy sources and a lighter impact on pollutant emissions. Yet the Associated Press report indicates that the cultivation of farmland needed to meet the nation’s ethanol requirements is contributing more to carbon emissions than previously thought — all the while affecting the environment through the use of fertilizers and wetland destruction.

According to the report, more than 5 million acres of land that had been designated for conservation purposes have been restructured for the production of ethanol. Throughout that process, natural habitats have been destroyed and fertilizers have been released, creating a new environmental issue of its own.

The 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard, signed into law by George W. Bush, required 18.15 billion gallons of ethanol production per year — it also required refineries purchase and blend ethanol into the nation’s gasoline supplies.

While Bush signed the standard into law, the Obama administration carried on with the pledge. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency is calling for a reduction to the standard’s production mandate — down to 13 billion gallons a year.

That’s at least a step in the right direction for those who are concerned about the impact the industry is having on area waterways, wetlands and conservation sites. Iowa, which is a hotbed for the ethanol industry, has seen the adverse effects on water systems, particularly related to nitrate contamination.

Utility Company Des Moines Water Works told the Associated Press that nitrate levels in area rivers have steadily increased, particularly in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, which serve as the source of drinking water for nearly 500,000 Iowans.

“This year, unfortunately the nitrate levels in both rivers were so high that it created an impossibility for us,” General Manager Bill Stowe told the Associated Press.

Yet for the agricultural industry, which has benefitted from the creation of the new business, the EPA guidelines would be bad news. Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen maintains that the ethanol industry is a boost to both farmers and the environment, claiming that ethanol is still a cleaner source of energy.

In response to the Associated Press story regarding the negative impacts of the industry on Iowa wetlands and conservation sites, Dineen’s organization released a statement, claiming the story was yet another attack on the industry.

NW books | Growing up on Tulalip Reservation; ‘Pig War’

Books of Seattle-area interest: “Tulalip, From My Heart,” “The Pig War” in paperback, “Larry Gets Lost in Prehistoric Times” and “Why Do I Sing.”

Source: Seattle Times

“Tulalip, From My Heart” by Harriette Shelton Dover (University of Washington Press, $50). In this hardcover book, Dover describes her life growing up on the Tulalip Reservation. She highlights the troubles the Tulalip Tribes encountered as they resettled, moving from their villages to the bayside reservation. Once there, the tribes faced hunger, poverty and persecution. Dover, born on the reservation in 1904, was the first Indian woman to serve on the Tulalip Board of Directors.

“The Pig War” by Mike Vouri (Discover Your Northwest, $18.95). New in paperback: Vouri tells the story of a sequence of events in the San Juans during 1859, when a shot pig almost led to war between Great Britain and the U.S. This new edition includes additional photos, maps and illustrations. Vouri is the chief of interpretation and a historian for the San Juan Island National Historic Park. He lives on San Juan Island.

“Larry Gets Lost in Prehistoric Times: From Dinosaurs to the Stone Age” by Andrew Fox and John Skewes, illustrated by Skewes (Sasquatch, $16.99). For ages 4-9: Larry, a dog who famously got lost in Seattle, now time-travels to learn about dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and Homo sapiens in this picture book. Both authors live in Seattle.

“Why Do I Sing: Animal Songs of the Pacific Northwest” by Jennifer Blomgren, illustrated by Andrea Gabriel (Sasquatch, $16.99). For ages 4-8: With rhyming verse and beautiful paintings, the book celebrates the Northwest’s noisy natural inhabitants, from the “long, low voices” of fin whales to the bugles of a Roosevelt bull elk. Blomgren lives in Port Townsend and Gabriel lives in Bellingham.

Elwha River sees largest run of Chinook in decades

Source: The Seattle Times

The largest run of Chinook salmon in decades returned to the Elwha River this fall, according to officials with the Olympic National Park.

PORT ANGELES, Wash. — The largest run of Chinook salmon in decades returned to the Elwha River this fall, according to officials with the Olympic National Park.

Fish are streaming into stretches of the Elwha River and its tributaries that were formerly blocked by the Elwha Dam, park officials said Friday on its website.

The Elwha Dam, one of two dams on the river, stood for nearly a century before it came down in 2012.

Removal of the remaining 210-foot tall Glines Canyon Dam resumed last month after nearly a year hold to give officials time to fix problems at new water-treatment facilities built as part of the $325 million river restoration project.

During a one-day survey in September, biologists counted 1,741 adult Chinook and mapped 763 reds between the remnants of the Glines Canyon Dam and the river mouth. About 75 percent of those were spotted upstream of the former Elwha Dam site, park officials said.

The biologists navigated over 13 miles of the Elwha River and tributaries, walking and snorkeling to find living and dead salmon along the river from Glines Canyon Dam to the river mouth. They also surveyed lower portions of three river tributaries, including Indian Creek, Hughes Creek, and Little River.

Results from the survey indicate this year’s Chinook return is one of the strongest since 1992, according to park officials.

Dam removal is scheduled to be complete in 2014.

With the two dams removed, the glacier-fed Elwha River is expected to flow freely as it courses from the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Salmon and other fish that mature in the ocean and return to rivers to spawn will once again have access to more than 70 miles of spawning and rearing habitat, much of it within the protected boundaries of Olympic National Park.

Five Division I Basketball Squads Go Turquoise as Tribute to Natives

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Five college basketball teams from four schools will wear turquoise uniforms as a tribute to Natives for Native American Heritage Month. The men’s basketball squads from Oregon State, New Mexico, and Florida State will wear the stylish garb provided by Nike N7, as will both the men’s and women’s teams from the University of Nevada.

“The annual Nike N7 game has had a significant impact on the Oregon State community,” said Craig Robinson, head coach at Oregon State, the school which started the tradition in 2010. “When we first talked about this idea four years ago, we had a unique opportunity with a very special player, Joe Burton, who represented his tribe as the first member to earn a full athletic scholarship with a major university. I’m excited to see other schools embracing the idea because there are so many athletes who will benefit from the awareness we’re creating to provide opportunities for Native American and Aboriginal kids to play sports and be active.”

The other three schools have their own connection to America’s Native population. Florida State works with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which permits FSU to use its tribal name for sports teams. Nevada is the alma mater of Tahnee Robinson, Northern Cheyenne, who was the first Native player drafted by the WNBA and is a Nike N7 Ambassador. The University of New Mexico has ties to the numerous Pueblos and Nations in the state, as well as to the Notah Begay III Foundation, which is also a Nike N7 partner.

The dates on which the teams will wear the special uniforms are as follows:

Nov. 17: Florida State (M)

Nov. 22: Nevada (M)

Nov. 26: Oregon State (M)

Nov. 29: Nevada (W)

Nov. 30: New Mexico (M)

Feds Reach Out to Natives on Climate Change at Tribal Nations Conference

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Building on the participation of tribes announced in President Barack Obama’s recent executive order laying out a plan to deal with climate change, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) announced that it too would partner with the administration.

As the White House Tribal Nations Conference wrapped up, NCAI announced measures to work directly with the federal government to address climate change effects in Indian country.

Several federal officials noted the severe impacts that climate change has had on American Indians and Alaska Natives, the NCAI said in a release. During the conference, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Obama and others spoke directly to those issues in Indian country and about how the government can work with tribal leaders to best address these challenges.

Jewell set the tone for ongoing cooperation, the NCAI said in its statement, by speaking “of the ongoing dialogues we need to have as we work together toward tribal self-determination and self-governance and promoting prosperous and resilient tribal nations.”

Obama, having named Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Karen Diver and Northwest (Alaska) Arctic Borough Mayor Reggie Joule to the new State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, reiterated his commitment to working with tribes on the issues.

“The health of tribal nations depends on the health of tribal lands. So it falls on all of us to protect the extraordinary beauty of those lands for future generations,” he said at the Tribal Nations Conference. “And already, many of your lands have felt the impacts of a changing climate, including more extreme flooding and droughts. That’s why, as part of the Climate Action Plan I announced this year, my administration is partnering with you to identify where your lands are vulnerable to climate change, how we can make them more resilient.”

Obama referred to tribes extensively in the seven-point plan, which he issued on November 1. Many tribes already have action plans in place, since they have been forced to deal early on with the ramifications of a rapidly changing environment.

The NCAI also noted tribal references from Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, who talked about the more than 30 Alaska Native villages “facing imminent threats from rising seas levels,” as well as the ways in which climate change has hindered hydroelectric and other energy projects. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy asked tribal leaders to “help us explain why climate change must be addressed now and why it is our responsibility” to combat it for seventh generation and beyond, the NCAI said.

“It is critically important that tribal leaders are at the table because too often, Native voices are left out of federal conversations around mitigating the effects of climate change,” the NCAI said in its statement. “Indian country faces some of the most difficult challenges stemming from climate change because of the remote location of many tribal lands and, particularly in Alaska, the dependence on the land and animals for subsistence living. NCAI applauds the Administration for this effort and is hopeful that by working together, government-to-government, tribal communities will have the tools necessary to address climate change.”

Nine Tribes to Receive $7 Million From Department of Energy for Wind, Biomass, Solar Projects

Ernesto Moniz, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Nine tribes will receive a total of more than $7 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for clean-energy projects, the agency announced on November 14.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe in Idaho, the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in Tribal Government in Fort Yukon, Alaska, the Forest County Potawatomi Community in Milwaukee, Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Wisconsin, the Seneca Nation of Indians in Irving, New York, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe Growth Fund in Ignacio, Colorado, the Tonto Apache Tribe of Payson, Arizona, the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council in Minnesota and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska will use their respective funds to develop a variety of alternative energy sources involving wind, biomass and solar power.

The DOE highlighted the awards during the 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference as a way to help American Indian and Alaska Native tribes use clean energy to save money, increase energy security and promote economic development.

Today, we are very pleased to announce that nine tribes have been selected to receive over $7 million to further deploy clean energy projects,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in his remarks before the conference. “A couple of examples in those awards, wind power for tribal government buildings at Seneca Nation in New York, energy efficiency upgrades to reduce energy use by 40 percent in Alaska. There are nine tribes that will have these efficiencies. And that addresses this question of mitigation, reducing carbon pollution.”

“American Indian and Alaska Native tribes host a wide range of untapped energy resources that can help build a sustainable energy future for their local communities,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in a statement announcing the awards. “Responsible development of these clean energy resources will help cut energy waste and fight the harmful effects of carbon pollution—strengthening energy security of tribal nations throughout the country.”

In remarks at the Tribal Nations Conference, Moniz said the government planned to work more closely with American Indians on developing energy sources.

“We are looking forward to establishing and advancing a subgroup of the White House Council on Native American Affairs, to really focus on energy development, energy deployment in Indian country,” he said. “I think, working together, with us and agriculture, EPA and other cabinet colleagues, we really want to harness the energy potential in Indian country—conventional energy, renewable energy—to expedite clean energy deployment and electrification. That is something that we will get together on and try to advance promptly.”

While Indian country officially takes up just two percent of the land known as the United States, that territory holds a good five percent of all U.S. renewable energy resources, the DOE noted.

The grants are part of an ongoing push to invest in tribal clean energy projects that began in 2002. The DOE’s Tribal Energy Program has put about $42 million into 175 such projects, providing financial and technical assistance as well along with its Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs. Other grants were announced earlier this year to other tribes.

The initiative also includes technical assistance.

Moniz said the DOE intends to continue and expand on these efforts.

“From community solar projects in New Mexico and Colorado, to the commercial scale wind projects in Maine, small biomass projects in Wisconsin, DOE is working with 20 tribes and Alaskan Native villages to empower leaders with tools and resources needed to lead energy development that can foster self-sufficiency, sustainability, and economic growth,” he told the tribal leaders at the conference. “At the Department of Energy I have certainly made it a priority to raise our game with state, local governments, tribes. We believe, in the end, a national policy needs to build from tribal, state, local, and regional policies and activity.”

Marysville YMCA hosts ‘Military Family Night’ Nov. 16

By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — The Marysville Family YMCA is extending Veterans Day into the weekend following Nov. 11, by hosting its “Military Family Night” from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, as part of the YMCA of Snohomish County’s “Military Family Month” in November.

Allison Hoot, youth and family coordinator for the Marysville Family YMCA, explained that the Y building will be open to military families only during those two hours, and that military identification will be required to enter.

“We’ll be hosting a sit-down dinner, where families will be waited on and pampered,” said Hoot, who touted the door prizes and other games offered by the event. “After dinner, the Y will be open for family swimming, dodgeball and basketball.”

Hoot added that area Girl Scouts will be providing crafts for families to do together as well, while community businesses have donated gift cards and baskets for door prizes.

“The Marysville, Arlington and Lake Stevens area houses so many service members, and a lot of those families have at least one parent deployed,” Hoot said. “This annual event gives all of our local military families time to enjoy just being together.”

“The Y encourages everyone to recognize the sacrifices that military members and their families make in service to our country,” said Scott Washburn, president and CEO of the YMCA of Snohomish County. “Residents of Snohomish County can also show support for military personnel by getting involved with their local YMCA or other organizations that help military families here in our community.”

Military Family Month was first established by the Armed Services YMCA and recognized by former First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1993, before President Barack Obama proclaimed November as Military Family Month on Oct. 30, 2009, calling on “all Americans to honor military families, through private actions and public service, for the tremendous contributions they make in the support of our service members and our nation.”

For more information on the Marysville Family YMCA’s Military Family Night, call Hoot at 360-651-1607.

Tulalip Husky and Cougar fans show their colors

Photos by Monica Brown

TULALIP Wash. – Fridays are usually reserved for Seahawks Blue Friday but this Friday, Tulalip Admin employees decided to sport their Husky or Cougar attire instead.

Click photos to view larger image.