Tulalip News

After nearly 80 years, Native American story pole is coming home

The 37-foot story pole was originally carved by Tulalip Tribe leader and artist William Shelton. It stood in a park in Illinois for more than 70 years until weather and bugs forced it to be taken down. Now the Burke Museum is working to bring it home. (Photo courtesy Freeport Park District)

By Kiersten Throndsem, kimatv.com

SEATTLE – For more than 70 years a pole stood watch over a Boy Scout park in Freeport, Ill. This pole shared a story, carved in wood, of a Native American culture to those who visited the park until it was removed.

And, now the Burke Museum wants to bring this story pole – created by in the Northwest by Snohomish Tribe leader William Shelton — home.

“It’s an important pole for us because we don’t have a pole from that period,” said Robin Wright, with the Burke Museum. “William Shelton really initiated the totem pole carving for the Coast Salish.”

After being carved by Shelton, the 37-foot pole was sent to Illinois in 1935. There it stood in Krape Park until 2008 while weather and bugs led to its decay. The story pole was taken down five years ago and has remained in a warehouse ever since.

“The bottom of it where it went into the ground is completely rotten, and other portions of the pole need some loving care,” Wright said “It’s in pretty poor condition.”

Not sure what to do with the pole, the Freeport Park District contacted the Burke Museum to see if it might be interested in taking it. The museum is home to a large Northwest Coast collection and very familiar with works of Shelton and the Coast Salish culture.

However, getting the pole here is tricky and will cost thousands of dollars. To help offset some of those moving expenses, the museum turned online, to a crowd sourcing fundraiser in hopes of raising $7,500. The money will help pay for a truck and flatbed trailer to haul the pole across the country.

Shelton is recognized for carving a number of poles between 1910 and the 1930s, and this particular pole, Wright said, tells the same kind of story found on all his poles.

“The whale at the bottom and the eagle at the top” Wright said. “Whales are very important for the original story of the Tulalip Tribe. It goes back to a time when people were starving and whales would help herd the salmon up the stream so people could get food.”

The Burke Museum plans to work with representatives from the Tulalip Tribe, as well as Shelton’s family, who happen to live in Snohomish County, to interpret the pole once it arrives. It’s unknown how much it will cost to actually restore the pole, and it will need to be fumigated. The hope is to hire Tulalip carvers trained in story pole restoration.

Shelton’s pole will be tallest pole in the museum’s collection and will be mounted inside.

More information about the museum’s fundraising efforts can be found online.

Holiday Stress and Smoking

20 Quick Tips to Help You Manage Holiday Stress Smoke-Free

By Terry Martin, About.com

Fa-la-la-la-ugh! The holiday season is a stressful time of year for most people. For those of us who are working to quit smoking, the holidays can be especially challenging. Use these tips to help you manage holiday stress smoke-free:

1) Get Enough Rest

When we’re tired and run down, cravings to smoke will seem stronger while we feel less able to manage them. Get enough sleep at night, and take a power nap during the day if you can.

Getting Quality Sleep When Stressed

2) Reduce Caffeine

Many of us reach for a cup of coffee when we need an energy boost, but too much caffeine can leave us feeling jittery and stressed. Avoid extra cups of coffee to stay awake. Rest if you’re tired.

Is Caffeine Your Friend or Your Foe?

3) Drink Your Water

Not only is water a great craving-buster, it’s an essential ingredient in a healthy diet. Keep yourself well-hydrated and you’ll feel better in general, which will in turn help you manage holiday stress more easily.

Drinking Water to Maintain Good Health

4) Eat a Well-Balanced Diet

Enjoy holiday treats, but be sure to give your body the fuel it needs to function properly. Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, protein and complex carbohydrates will help keep you at your best, both physically and mentally.

Don’t Skip Breakfast!

5) Go For a Walk

Walking reduces stress and improves circulation. It also releases endorphins, the “feel good” hormone. So, when the urge to smoke strikes, head out for a quick walk around the block. You’ll come back refreshed and relaxed. If the weather is bad, use the treadmill or take a walk at an indoor mall.

Walking for Your Mind and Spirit

6) Don’t Forget Support

The support forum here at About.com Smoking Cessation is a thriving, active community of people who are working to quit smoking. Stop in for some tips and encouragement to help you manage the holiday season smoke-free. You may sign in as a guest to browse and read posts from other quitters, or register (free) to post messages of your own.

Smoking Cessation Support Forum

7) Breathe!

Deep breathing is a quick way to reduce stress. Breathe in through your nose for a count of three and exhale through your mouth for a count of three. Repeat this for a few minutes, and the tension in your body will begin to fall away.

Deep Breathing for Nicotine Withdrawal

8) Schedule Time For Yourself

While you’re running around taking care of holiday tasks, be sure to schedule a little me time daily. Take a hot bath or spend a half hour in a quiet corner with a good book (or both!). Choose activities that replenish your energy and renew your spirit. Avoid a piling on of stress and you’ll find it easier to manage your holidays without reaching for a cigarette.

The Value of Rewards When You Quit Smoking

9) Have a Cup of Tea

It only takes a few minutes with a cup of tea and honey to feel the stress of the day begin to slip away. Choose herbal teas rather than those with caffeine. It’s a quick and easy way to rejuvenate yourself.

Top 5 Herbal Teas

10) Focus on Today

Use a daily list to help you organize tasks. Don’t overwhelm yourself by looking at the whole picture: Keep things simple and in the present moments of the day you have in front of you. You’ll be more efficient and less stressed.

The Power of Now

11) Don’t Strive for Perfection

We are often our own worst critics. You’re working hard to quit smoking, so give yourself permission to loosen your expectations a little for this holiday season. In other words, don’t try to do it all. Think instead in terms of what is good enough rather than stressing over every detail.

10 Telltale Traits of a Perfectionist

12) Take a Mini Mental Vacation

Close your eyes and create a place in your mind that you can visualize when you need to slow down and relax. Return to the same imaginary location every time so that it becomes familiar and comfortable. As you settle in, focus on your breathing, and slow it down gradually. Breathe deeply in and out for 3 to 5 minutes.

The Benefits of Meditation for Stress Management

13) Delegate

Enlist the help of others to complete holiday tasks. Involve family members and friends; they’re usually happy to help if asked.

Time Management for Holiday Stress Relief

14) Minimize and Simplify

It’s so easy to take too much on this time of year. Make a list of things you’d like to accomplish and prioritize them. Decide what things must be done, and what things could be let go if need be. Sometimes less is more!

How to Simplify Your Holiday Party

15) Avoid Financial Stress

Don’t threaten your smobriety with worries about money. Make a holiday budget and stick to it.

7 Tips for Holiday Budgeting

16) Remember Why You Quit Smoking

Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture during the holiday season. The reasons you quit smoking are as valid today as they were the day you quit. Take 5 minutes and refresh your memory by reading your list of reasons.

Why Should I Quit Smoking?

17) Acknowledge Your Grief

If you get the holiday blues, take steps to acknowledge and manage your feelings. Denial only makes holiday depression worse.

When Grief Comes Home for the Holidays

18) Call a Friend

Take a few minutes to connect with someone you care about. Your spirits will be lifted, and chances are you’ll lift theirs too.

How and Why You Should Maintain Friendships

19) Count Your Blessings

Spend some time reflecting on all of the things in your life that you’re grateful for. It’s a simple, yet powerful way to pull out of a slump and renew yourself.

The Gifts of Smoke-Free Living

20) Practice Makes Perfect

Smoking cessation is a process of gradual release over time. The associations we’ve built up between smoking and the activities in our lives over the years must be changed, one by one. And the only way to do that is by simply living life, day in and day out, smoke-free. Navigating the holidays minus the cigarettes is a necessary part of the journey.

Deciphering the Urge to Smoke

While this first smoke-free holiday season may feel uncomfortable or downright difficult at times, you’re working to cement new habits in place. Keep your focus and meet the challenges that come along with confidence. You can do this, and you’ll thank yourself when the holidays are behind you and you’re still smoke-free.

Have a great, smoke-free holiday season!

Fish consumption rate keys pollution laws

Jim Camden And Becky Kramer, The Spokesman Review

OLYMPIA – Legislators grappled Thursday with a seemingly small question that has a big impact on Washington’s pollution laws: How much fish do people eat?

The answer will affect water pollution standards on many state waterways and the companies that must meet those standards because some of the pollution ends up in fish. How much fish people eat can determine the risk for some cancers and other diseases.

The question is more complicated than it sounds, Kelly Susewind of the Department of Ecology told the Senate Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee. Some groups, particularly Native Americans, eat more fish than others, and some people don’t eat any. Fish that spend their entire lives in a polluted river like the Spokane pick up more pollution than salmon, which are born in fresh water, live in salt water for much of their lives, then return to fresh water. Salmon that spend most of their lives in the Puget Sound can have as much as five times the polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, a known carcinogen, as salmon that spawn in coastal streams and live most of their lives in the Pacific.

So a person who only eats the highly touted Copper River salmon, which comes from Alaska and is only available a short time each year, would have less risk than someone who eats salmon from Puget Sound? asked Committee Chairman Doug Erickson, R-Ferndale. Yes, Susewind said, but the standards aren’t being set to take that into account.

There is no statewide study of how much fish people eat and where it comes from, so the department is primarily using studies of tribes that primarily eat locally caught fish, he said.

Recent surveys indicate people on the Colville Confederated Tribes reservation eat about 400 grams of fish a day, Gary Passmore, the tribes’ environmental trust director, said Wednesday at a conference in Spokane. Rates are similar for tribal and nontribal members.

Current state pollution standards assume people eat 6.5 grams of fish per day. That’s a piece about the size of a saltine cracker, said Sen. Marilyn Chase, D-Shoreline. The department is considering the effects of assuming they eat 125 grams, about a quarter pound; 175 grams, about a third of a pound; or 225 grams, about a half pound, and estimating the potential increase in cancers.

Some senators worried businesses that currently meet pollution levels set to a consumption of 6.5 grams per day could struggle to reduce their pollution levels at those higher rates. Erickson said the higher rates would put Washington at a “competitive disadvantage with South Carolina for manufacturing” – a not-so-veiled reference to fears that Boeing would build new factories or move existing ones to that state if fish consumption rates get set too high. South Carolina’s estimate is 17.5 grams per day, but each state’s geography, waterways and consumption patterns are different, Susewind said.

But Chase said the state should set standards that protect future generations: “I’m offended to think we would hold our water-quality standards hostage to manufacturers.”

Boeing isn’t the only company closely watching the fish consumption rate debate. Inland Empire Paper Co., which is owned by the same company that owns The Spokesman-Review, spokesman.com and KHQ-TV, could also be affected by a higher rate. So could Spokane city and county, which struggle with PCB pollution in wastewater and storm runoff.

There’s no proposed legislation yet for new standards. At Wednesday’s conference in Spokane, Rick Eichstaedt, attorney for Spokane Riverkeeper, said the state has a history of continued delay on more accurate fish consumption rates, which he called a civil rights and environmental justice issue.

“It’s not OK to force a higher cancer rate on Native Americans, persons of color or the poor,” who eat more fish than the general public, he said.

An alliance of environmental groups and commercial fishing interests filed a federal lawsuit last month to force the federal government to make the state update its consumption rates and comply with the Clean Water Act. That puts more pressure on the EPA to get involved if the Legislature continues to delay.

Puyallup Tribe tracking salmon making their way to newly restored habitat

Eric Marks, salmon biologist for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, conducts a spawning survey downstream from a new logjam.

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

The Puyallup Tribe of Indians is already finding salmon using newly restored habitat on the Clearwater River.

“Its great to see salmon using the habitat so soon after the completion of the project,” said Russ Ladley, resource protection manager for the Puyallup Tribe. “In a few months, the offspring of these fish we’re seeing migrate and spawn in the Clearwater will be able to use this habitat to rear and find food.”

So far this year, the tribe has counted more than 100 chinook and 250 coho in about a mile of restored river.

The project was managed by the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group (SPSSEG).

Last summer a total of 18 large and small engineered logjams were installed in the Clearwater River about two miles up from where it joins the White River. Placement of these log jams will reconnect flows to a network of 11 existing side channels, dissipate floods, and increase instream structure and cover in the river.

“Adding the wood and instream structure to the river will encourage the river to move and create habitat in a way it always had,” said Kristin Williamson, SPSSEG project manager.

The Puyallup Tribe conducts extensive spawning surveys throughout the Clearwater for chinook, coho and pink salmon. Data from spawning surveys help natural managers assess the success of habitat projects. Fisheries managers also use the data to help build future salmon fisheries.

“Spawning surveys are a simple and essential tool for managing salmon,” Ladley said. “Nothing beats getting out on the water and counting fish.”

Just downstream from the project site the tribe also recently built a new juvenile chinook acclimation pond. The Puyallup Tribe annually transfers as many as 800,000 juvenile spring chinook from either a state or Muckleshoot tribal hatchery and raises them in several acclimation ponds in the upper White.

“Coho and chinook populations in the White River have demonstrated an encouraging upward trend over the past 15 years. Hopefully this project and other similar efforts will allow this trend to continue and extend to other species such as steelhead that that have not responded favorably,” Ladley said. “The best way to bring them back is to repair what habitat we can and protect what they have left.”

Secretary Jewell Signs Historic Agreement with Citizen Potawatomi Nation to Spur Investment, Economic Activity in Indian Country

Tribal leasing regulations remove roadblocks to economic development, represent another step furthering tribal self-determination

Source: U.S. Department of the Interior

SHAWNEE, Okla. – As part of President Obama’s commitment to self-determination of tribal nations, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today joined Citizen Potawatomi Nation Chairman John Barrett to formally approve tribal leasing regulations that will help spur investment and commercial development on the nation’s trust lands in central Oklahoma.

“The Citizen Potawatomi Nation now has the authority to decide how it wants to do business on its lands, making it easier for families to do things like buy and build houses or open businesses in the communities where they have lived for generations,” said Secretary Jewell, who also serves as chair of the White House Council on Native American Affairs. “Today’s action encourages economic development on Indian lands, generating investment, new jobs and revenues. I applaud Chairman Barrett and Vice-Chairman Linda Capps for their leadership on this initiative and look forward to working with other tribes across the nation to maintain tribal sovereignty and promote tribal self-determination and self-government.”

Today’s signing ceremony comes on the heels of the 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference, when leaders from all 566 federally recognized tribes are invited to Washington, D.C. to interact directly with the President and senior cabinet and administration officials. The conference – the fifth for the Obama Administration – continues to build on the President’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with Indian Country.

The Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act (HEARTH Act), signed by President Obama in July 2012, restores the authority of federally recognized tribes to develop and implement their own laws governing the long-term leasing of Indian lands for residential, business and other purposes. Upon one-time approval of these tribal regulations by the Department of the Interior, tribes have the authority to process land leases without Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) approval, greatly expediting the approval of leases for homes and small businesses in Indian Country.

“We are thankful to Secretary Jewell, Assistant Secretary Washburn and their team at the Department of Interior for their efforts in implementing the Hearth Act and approving the Citizen Potawatomi Nation business leasing regulations,” said Chairman Barrett. “This is a step in the right direction for tribal self-governance and will empower tribal governments to take greater control of their land. CPN has created a thriving economy of retail and tourism developments and we look forward to working with other businesses to spur business and commercial development in Oklahoma.”

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a traditionally Algonquian-speaking Eastern Woodlands tribe has more than 30,000 enrolled tribal members, of whom more than 10,000 live in the state of Oklahoma.

“Increased economic opportunity is the best way to raise the standards of living for tribal members. Today’s formal approval of leasing regulations for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation will pave the way for just that,” said Congressman Tom Cole, who attended the ceremony and was a cosponsor of the HEARTH Act. “This is not only beneficial for tribal governments, but the entire state of Oklahoma will feel the positive impact of increased economic activity. I am grateful to Secretary Jewell, Assistant Secretary Washburn and the Interior Department for their tireless efforts in helping tribes use their own lands.”

The signing, which took place at the Potawatomi National Cultural Heritage Center in Shawnee, is the sixth tribal leasing ordinance approved by the Department of the Interior under the HEARTH Act. Previous pacts were signed with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (February 1, 2013); Pueblo of Sandia (March 14, 2013); Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians (April 11, 2013); Ak-Chin Indian Community (November 10, 2013); and Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians (November 10, 2013). Additional tribal leasing authority applications are under review.

Today’s ceremony comes almost a year after Interior issued new regulations to complement the HEARTH Act by streamlining the department’s leasing approval process. The final regulations, issued November 27, 2012, capped the overhaul of antiquated BIA regulations for leasing 56 million surface acres that the federal government holds in trust for Indian tribes and individuals.

The new regulations fundamentally change the way the BIA does business, providing clarity by identifying specific processes – with enforceable timelines – through which the BIA must review leases. The regulation also establishes separate, simplified processes for residential, business, and renewable energy development, rather than using a “one-size fits all” approach that treats a lease for a single family home the same as a lease for a large wind energy project.

“The very essence of self-determination is that it should be the tribe that decides how its lands may be used for the good of its members, and that is what the HEARTH Act and Interior’s comprehensive reform of Indian land leasing regulations does,” said Assistant Secretary Washburn. “These parallel efforts have a real impact for individuals and families who want to own a home or build a business. These initiatives help strengthen self-reliance and secure the well-being of future generations.”

Tulalip Youth Group weekly meetings

Tulalip College Center Winter Classes begin January 6

Local Native American says Native American Month doesn’t go far enough

November is Native American MonthCredit Photo from Native American Month Webpage — November is Native American Month
Credit Photo from Native American Month Webpage

WFBO.org

November 25, 2013

By Eileen Buckley

The month of November has been declared Native American Month, a time set aside to recognize the significant contributions of America’s first citizens. But as WBFO’s Eileen Buckley reports, one local Native American says it is not enough in dealing with the current struggles of those living on native territories.

“We live in a time where we are still struggling to assert our autonomy and our distinction. It’s one thing to say we want to honor our heritage, but we are still here,” said John Kane, radio host of Let’s Talk Native in Buffalo.

Kane is often outspoken on Native American issues. While Kane applauds the federal government and President Obama for declaring November Native American Month, he tells WBFO News the “level of invisibility” for Native people continues to exist. He points to the federal government probes of Native American cigarette sales as one example.

“The Tonawanda Seneca Chiefs retail facility, who got charged for purchasing cigarettes for the smoke shop out there in a sting that was set up in Kansas City. There is an attempt the state and federal officials to use anti-organized crime bills and anti-terrorism laws to criminalize the very things we do on our territories,” said Kane. “This is the stuff that I think people have to understand.”

But it’s important to note that this past June federal officials announced that after three years of litigation, lawsuits by several Native American cigarette retailers to stop a federal law seeking to restrict internet sales of cigarettes and sales to children, was dismissed by a federal judge.

In a news released issued by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Buffalo, dated June 12, 2013, U.S. William Hochul stated “With the end of this litigation, the federal government can now begin to enforce the full breadth and scope of the PACT Act and help insure that our nation’s children are protected from the sales of cigarettes to minors,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “The PACT Act will also allow for the proper tax revenues to be collected on the sales of cigarettes by each state, revenues which will be used to finance additional health programs to combat the devastating health effects felt by Americans due to the availability of cheap cigarettes.”

Still Kane accuses underlying racism against Native Americans. He said they are treated only as a “relative of the past”. Kane notes while debates over the use of the word Redskins for professional and high school sports teams remains important, it doesn’t go far enough in preventing stereotypes.

“That’s why people put us on the side of a football helmet. There were two high schools, this past week — two separate high schools who cited the ‘Trail of Tears’ as a way to make a comment against a team that they were playing that were called the Indians. One of them said ‘Hey Indians, get ready to leave on a Trail of Tears'”, said Kane.

Kane places blames much of the mainstream media saying they ignore Native American voices and fail to write and broadcast about what is really happening within their Native American territories.

Montana tribes will be the first to own a hydroelectric dam

High Country News

Nov 25, 2013

by Sarah Jane Keller

Most of the people who run Kerr Dam on northwest Montana’s Flathead Reservation sit hundreds of miles away, and some are even across the country, in the offices of Pennsylvania Power and Light.

But that’s likely to change in 2015, when the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have the option to buy the dam, thereby becoming the country’s first tribal hydroelectric owners and operators. Rocky Mountain Power Company built the 205-foot-tall impoundment on the Flathead River, four miles downstream of Flathead Lake, against the will of many tribal members in 1938. Gaining control of Kerr Dam will have significant economic and cultural benefits for the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille – the three tribes of the Flathead Reservation.

It’s also given tribal member Daniel Howlett the chance to come home. When he left the Flathead Valley to study business and renewable energy management in Denver, he never expected to have a career on the reservation. Now, he’s a power-marketing coordinator for his tribe’s new energy company, which plans to offer 1.1 million megawatt hours of electricity from the dam annually, enough to power roughly 79,000 homes each year.

The Confederated Tribes already run the reservation’s utility company, have a top-notch natural resources department, and oversee the first tribally administered wilderness in the United States. Obtaining the dam will be another major step in self-determination, probably with impacts far beyond Montana.

Other tribes, such as the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon and the Seneca Nation in New York, are vying for full or majority ownership of hydroelectric dams on their land. They are keeping track of the Kerr Dam purchase, which will shape outside perceptions of tribal energy development. “I think a lot of eyes across the nation, and certainly Indian Country, will appreciate the milestone significance of this achievement,” says Pat Smith, a former attorney for the Salish and Kootenai.

Senate Passes Resolution Honoring Native American Heritage Month

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

On November 21, the Senate passed a resolution introduced by Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to honor the Nation’s first Americans during Native American Heritage Month.

The resolution passed the Senate on November 20.

“The contributions that American Indians have made to the foundation of the United States are significant and continue today,” Cantwell said. “From influencing the documents that founded our Nation to serving in World War II as code talkers, American Indians have helped shape the face of our Nation.”

Cantwell was joined in introducing Senate Resolution 305 by 24 bi-partisan colleagues, including Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mark Begich (D-AK), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Michael Crapo (R-ID), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), John Hoeven (R-ND), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Harry Reid (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Thune (R-SD), Mark Udall (D-CO), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The resolution recognizes the month of November 2013 as Native American Heritage Month; along with the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day in accordance with the Native American Heritage Day Act of 2009; and urges the people of the United States to observe National Native American Heritage Month and Native American Heritage Day with appropriate programs and activities according to an SCIA release.

“Since time immemorial, American Indians have occupied the lands we now know as the United States. To date, the federal government recognizes 566 distinct tribal nations across the country. While these Indian tribes share many attributes, each tribe is unique. The contributions that American Indians have made to the foundation of the United States are significant and continue today. From influencing the documents that founded our Nation to serving in World War II as code talkers, American Indians have helped shape the face of our Nation. It is fitting that we are honoring the code talkers this week with a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, as Native Americans have served in the military at a higher rate per capita than any other group in the country,” Cantwell said in her floor speech.

“Native American heroes played a significant role in World War II. Among them was Charles Chibitty of the Comanche Nation, who aided the successful landing at Normandy and the capture of an enemy flag in a French village, for which he was recognized by the French government. The code talkers came from many tribes, including the Navajo, who played a crucial role in the Pacific. The Choctaw, Sioux, Assiniboine, Apache, Hopi, Mohawk and many other tribes gave this Nation their dedication, determination and courage. They will never be forgotten.

“As we celebrate National Native American Heritage Month, I encourage my colleagues to take some time and think about the federal government’s responsibilities to our first people. I ask my colleagues to support this resolution designating November 2013 as National Native American Heritage Month and November 29 of this year as Native American Heritage Day, and I encourage all Americans to recognize the important contributions American Indians have made to this great Nation,” she concluded