Tulalip News

Revenue forecast for state increases by $368 million

Recovering economy, tax code changes boosting numbers

Washington’s top economic forecaster, Steve Lerch, says the slow-recovering economy and tax changes approved by the Legislature are expected to generate $368 million more revenue for state operations than he last predicted the state would collect by mid-2015.

The better financial outlook includes $123 million that is largely the result of tax code changes approved by lawmakers.

The overall gain to the state’s accounts means that most state workers are more likely to qualify for a 1 percent cost-of-living pay adjustment in July 2014. Most contracts for general government workers had a conditional 1 percent raise built in that would be triggered by how much next February’s forecast attributes higher general-fund revenues to increased economic activity.

“If we get any kind of positive in November (when the next forecast is scheduled), it’s likely that salary increase will be part of our budget. It’s a mathematical calculation,” state budget director David Schumacher said after Lerch announced the revenue forecast Wednesday during a meeting of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. “We’re very close.”

Said Tim Welch, spokesman for the Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents roughly 40,000 state and college employees: “It’s headed in the right direction, but we’ll have to wait and see until February 2014.”

Lawmakers who serve on the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council said the new revenue is good news but not enough to alter the way they must approach their 2013-15 supplemental budget plan during the next legislative session starting in January. The Legislature is under court order to improve funding for K-12 schools, and lawmakers still do not know if this year’s increased investment of almost $1 billion is enough to satisfy the state Supreme Court.

“My take is it’s a relatively small move, and it helps us have an ending fund balance that’s larger than 47 cents,” said House Appropriations chairman Ross Hunter, D-Medina. “I don’t think this creates a big opportunity to spend, or changes anything we were doing.”

Said Senate Ways and Means chairman Andy Hill, R-Redmond: “I think you just bank that money.”

In fact, the new money gives the state about $862.7 million in total general-fund reserves for the current budget.

Hunter did warn there is a litigation risk — involving two lawsuits going before the state Supreme Court next month — on state employee pensions. In a worst case, these could cost $1.3 billion, according to the state actuary.

In his forecast, Lerch said the economy is continuing to slowly improve since the Great Recession began more than five years ago. But he told the forecast council that the way forward has many risks.

He noted that job growth had been slower nationally in August and said forecasters in his office are “more than a little concerned about what is going on in the other Washington” — particularly with congressional votes yet to occur on a federal budget or to increase the federal government’s debt ceiling.

“Should either one of those things not happen, we know that will have a big impact on consumer confidence and on the economy,” Lerch said. “So that’s certainly a risk we’re watching. We’ve become a bit more concerned about housing affordability, and Europe is … still very weak.”

Lerch’s forecast included a prediction that revenues in the 2015-17 budget period also would be up by a total of $342 million. But he said $249 million of that was due to legislative action and the smaller share because of economic improvement.

Before adjourning their second special session June 29, lawmakers authorized about a dozen changes in tax law, including changes to a telephone tax and to the estate tax laws after state Supreme Court rulings opened unintended loopholes in those tax codes.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2013/09/19/2730646/revenue-forecast-for-state-increases.html#storylink=cpy

Northwest tribes gather at 60th annual convention

ATNI members discuss healthcare during Tuesday's convention. — ATNI members discuss healthcare during Tuesday’s convention.

By Camille Troxel, Coeur d’Alene Post Falls

Members representing 40 tribes from across the Northwest region are meeting this week at the Coeur d’ Alene Casino for the 60th Annual Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians Fall Convention. The convention allows the tribes to share tradition while finding a common ground for the future.

It’s a convention that’s still steeped in tradition 60 years after the ATNI was established. In 1953, leaders from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Spokane Tribe, Colville Tribe, Yakama Nation and Tulalip Tribe, held the first meeting of the ATNI to discuss the issues of income taxes and how to protect their tribal governments from being disbanded by the U.S. government through the Termination Act.

While the issues being discussed have changed since that initial meeting, the reasons behind joining together are still the same.

“Strength in numbers. That’s completely it,” explained Jamie Sijohn, ATNI Communications Manager. “They can pull together and find a solution for issues that effect them all.”

The founding leaders joined together to protect their rights and to preserve their culture, and in 2013 that’s still the driving force behind ATNI, but the topics of discussion have changed. Tribal members from the 40 tribes are discussing a range of issues during break away sessions. This year’s topics include healthcare, natural resources and megaloads, and inter-tribal trade.

One of the larger issues is the Native Vote, a grassroots movement that is working to get tribal members to register to vote, and to get polling locations on the reservations. Some states do not recognize tribal identification cards as official forms of ID, which blocks natives from registering to vote. Another goal of Native Vote is to provide members with information on candidates that align with the values and concerns of local tribes.

“We’re coming from very humble beginnings,” said ATNI Executive Director Teri Parr. “They continue to work hard to meet the challenges that we face.”

It’s these challenges that Joanna Meninick told the room to face when she addressed the crowd in her native language on Tuesday afternoon. Meninick, who is one of the longest attending members of ATNI, switched to English expressing heartbreak that she has to do so in order to be understood.

“Fight with your native language,” Meninick said, adding that the tribes won’t be heard if they speak the language of Washington, DC. She had one more call to action for her community following the three days of discussion and talk.

“Now do something,” said Meninick.

Who was the first Native Miss America?

Nina Davuluri was crowned the first Indian American Miss America this week.

But who was the first Native American Miss America?

Norma Smallwood, the first Native Miss America, wearing the title sash.(Photo courtesy of ICTMN, via the-american-history.blogspot.com) — Norma Smallwood, the first Native Miss America, wearing the title sash.
(Photo courtesy of ICTMN, via the-american-history.blogspot.com)

ICTMN has the story of Norma Smallwood’s reign.

By Jenna Cederberg, Buffalo Post

Norma Smallwood was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1906. She graduated from high school and earned the title of Miss Tulsa when she was 16 years old.

Smallwood was an art major at Oklahoma State College and was in her sophomore year of college when she captured the Miss America title in 1926.

During her year-long reign, Smallwood became a popular poster girl, and reportedly earned more than copy00,000, which, according to pbs.org, was more than Babe Ruth made that year.

Smallwood died in Tulsa in May of 1966. She was 57.

Both Smallwood and Davuluri came from relatively small towns, and were both firsts: Davuluri is the first Indian American to hold the title; and in 1926, Smallwood was the first Native woman (she was of Cherokee descent) to wear the crown.

And while Smallwood lived in a time when women marched in the streets for equality (American women had only been given the right to vote in 1920) Davuluri is being forced to fight to be accepted as an American woman. ICTMN wrote about the racial slurs that marred her win. Those racist comments referenced convenience stores and linked her to terrorism.

She shrugged off the racist backlash. “I have always viewed myself first and foremost American,” she said after being told about the comments in her first post-pageant press conference. “I have to rise above that.”

Marla Spivak: Why bees are disappearing

FILMED JUN 2013 • POSTED SEP 2013 • TEDGlobal 2013

Bees pollinate a third of our food supply — they don’t just make honey! — but colonies have been disappearing at alarming rates in many parts of the world due to the accumulated effects of parasitic mites, viral and bacterial diseases, and exposure to pesticides and herbicides. Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota professor of entomology and 2010 MacArthur Fellow, tries as much as possible to think like bees in her work to protect them. They’re “highly social and complex” creatures, she says, which fuels her interest and her research.

Spivak has developed a strain of bees, the Minnesota Hygienic line, that can detect when pupae are infected and kick them out of the nest, saving the rest of the hive. Now, Spivak is studying how bees collect propolis, or tree resins, in their hives to keep out dirt and microbes. She is also analyzing how flowers’ decline due to herbicides, pesticides and crop monoculture affect bees’ numbers and diversity. Spivak has been stung by thousands of bees in the course of her work.

View PDF’s that have lists of local native plants that are friendly for honey bees

Feedthebees.org

Pugetsoundbees.org

From Xerces.org PDFClick image to view PDF — From Xerces.org
Click image to view PDF

What is an Indian?

By STERLING HOLYWHITEMOUNTAIN

MTPR.ORG

September 18,2013

In the background of all issues involving American Indians is always the question of what is an Indian? While there are any number of groups in this country today who have complicated issues surrounding identity, there is no identity issue more complicated than that of American Indian identity. As an aside, you will notice I did not say no identity issue is more important. It’s difficult to call any American Indian issue in this country important in a standard social sense the way, say, African-American issues are important – there simply aren’t enough Indians in the country to warrant national media attention. When it comes to politics, numbers are, in a way, everything.

A case in point is that of the most recent controversy surrounding the Washington Football Team’s name – notice that in all this talk, and there’s a lot of talk, all you have to do is Google the team’s name – notice the only Indian that has made any kind of national public appearance anyone has paid attention to is the man team owner Dan Snyder trotted out to defend the name. And notice what is going on when so-called Chief Dodson is telling the nation that not only is the name ok with him, but that people in his community use the term regularly when greeting each other. Here we have an example of the inside being mistaken for the outside, and that age-old fallacy of one Indian’s opinion being mistaken for every that of every Indian.

The US has a long history of mistaking one Indian for every Indian – all it takes is one look at the history of Federal-Indian policy to see this. For example, during the allotment era in the late 1800s the idea was to civilize tribal members on reservations by turning them into farmers – even if the reservation where they were located was entirely unsuitable for farming. This policy of course was enacted by Congressional members who had little to no experience with Indian Country, but who nonetheless had near absolute power over tribes – a power that was finally solidified with the 1903 Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock US Supreme Court ruling. What did the ruling say? That Congress had plenary power over tribes. What does plenary power mean? The Oxford English Dictionary defines plenary as such: full, complete, or perfect; not deficient in any element or respect; absolute. The Lonewolf case, even though it was a case regarding the allotment of a single tribe’s lands on the southern plains, gave Congress total and final power over all tribal affairs, placing tribes under a kind of political Sword of Damocles, and along with it the unending threat of Congressional action without tribal consent.

Consider the ideas of blood, and blood quantum, the ideas we use today in large part to define who is and is not an American Indian, don’t have tribal origins – they originate in Europe, hundreds of years before contact in North America. As early as the 1200s the British were using ideas of blood to limit the political and social rights of people who were deemed less than so-called “full-blood” – and they carried that idea to the new continent, where they began implementing ideas of blood to penalize people who married either an Indian or an African-American, and to limit a person’s ability to testify in court or vote according to whether or not they were considered to be of so-called mixed-blood. Tribes on this continent traditionally identified membership most simply by who was or was not living with and participating in the community. That is, if you lived with the people, you were part of the people. These ideas of blood eventually extended to limiting the land ownership rights of Indians on reservations during the allotment era, to such a degree that in some cases over 2/3 of a tribe was not allotted land on their respective reservations because they didn’t meet so-called blood quantum criteria – a US established criteria, of course, that made it much easier to justify selling land that was “left-over” to non-Indians, thus splitting up land ownership on reservations between tribal members and non-Indians.

So how is it I got to talking about blood? Because one of Snyder’s contentions for the validity of so-called Chief Dodson’s opinion was that he is a “full-blooded” Inuit chief. The suggestion of course is that blood alone makes you an Indian – never mind particular cultural knowledge, and definitely never mind speaking an indigenous language – the only thing that matters here is blood. This idea of Indian blood is so prevalent that any number of intelligent contemporary Americans have taken this idea of Indian blood at face value, as if there is some intrinsic value in the blood itself. But when we turn this idea around, things fall apart pretty fast, don’t they? Because while there are plenty of people in Montana with so-called Irish blood, how much knowledge of Irish culture has this blood brought with it? If this blood thing isn’t making much sense to you at this point, don’t worry, you’re not alone, it’s never made any sense to me either.

Finally, to return to a point I made earlier about so-called Chief Dodson’s statement regarding Indians use of the team’s name as a kind of friendly greeting – I have never once seen it happen in my life. While the term “skin” is not uncommon among Indian who are friends, the point is that it’s a term used by insiders among each other. In other words, I would love for Dan Snyder to walk into any social gathering place on any reservation or reserve in North America and say, What’s up, Redskins? I’m absolutely positive things would turn out just fine.

I’m Sterling HolyWhiteMountain, thanks for listening

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Sterling HolyWhiteMountain

Feds Award $90 Million to Enhance Native Law Enforcement Programs

Source: Native News Network

CELILO VILLAGE, OREGON – The Department of Justice Wednesday announced the awarding of 192 grants to 110 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designated non-profits.

The grants will provide more than $90 million to enhance law enforcement practices and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts in nine purpose areas including public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs. The awards are made through the department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, a single application for tribal-specific grant programs.

Associate Attorney General Tony West and Office of Justice Programs Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason made the announcement during a meeting of northwest tribal leaders with the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee’s Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS) in Celilo Village, Oregon.

“These programs take a community based and comprehensive approach to the root causes and consequences of crime, as well as target areas of possible intervention and treatment,”

said Associate Attorney General West.

“The CTAS programs are critical tools to help reverse unacceptably high rates of crime in Indian country, and they are a product of the shared commitment by the Department of Justice and tribal nations to strengthen and sustain healthy communities today and for future generations.”

“The Department of Justice has a responsibility to make sure its resources are not only available but accessible to tribes in a manner that they have defined and envisioned to meet the needs of their communities,”

said Assistant Attorney General Mason.

“As we have shown over the last four years, the Department of Justice takes this responsibility very seriously.”

The department developed CTAS through its Office of Community Oriented Policing, Office of Justice Programs and Office on Violence against Women, and administered the first round of consolidated grants in September 2010.

Over the past four years, it has awarded 989 grants totaling more than $437 million. Information about the consolidated solicitation is available at www.Justice.gov.

A fact sheet on CTAS is available here.

Thirty US Attorneys from districts that include Indian country or one or more federally recognized tribes serve on the NAIS. The NAIS focuses exclusively on Indian country issues, both criminal and civil, and is responsible for making policy recommendations to the Attorney General regarding public safety and legal issues.

Next month, the Justice Department will hold its annual consultation on violence against native women on October 31, in Bismarck, North Dakota. In addition, an Interdepartmental Tribal Justice, Safety and Wellness Session will be held in Bismarck on October 29-30. It will include an important listening session with tribal leaders to obtain their views on the Department grants, as well as valuable training and technical assistance.

Today’s announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

Award List by State

Alaska

Akiachak Native Community
$299,447

Aleut Community of St. Paul Island
$600,000

Bristol Bay Native Association, Inc
$582,054

Iliamna Village Council
$149,561

Kenaitze Indian Tribe
$534,304

Maniilaq Association
$958,252

Native Village of Barrow
$2,940,730

Native Village of Kwinhagak
$149,163

Native Village of Old Harbor
$578,154

Nome Eskimo Community
$697,595

Qagan Tayagungin Tribe
$61,762

Southcentral Foundation
$850,000

Sun’ ‘aq Tribe of Kodiak
$384,657

Traditional Council of Togiak
$442,320

Arizona

Hualapai Detention and Rehabilitation Center
$764,298

Navajo Division of Public Safety
$673,348

Pascua Yaqui Tribe
$605,494

Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community
$1,027,981

SanCarlos Apache Tribe
$223,314

Tohono O’odham Nation
$645,725

California

Bishop Indian Tribal Council
$300,000

Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria
$299,966

Hoopa Valley Tribe
$1,379,961

Hopland Band of Pomo Indians
$300,000

Round Valley Indian Tribes
$300,000

Shingle Springs Rancheria
$465,906

Two Feathers Native American Family Services
$399,525

Yurok Tribe
$924,999

Colorado

Southern Ute Indian Tribe
$417,554

Florida

Seminole Tribe of Florida
$320,298

Idaho

Coeur D’Alene Tribe
$1,356,626

Nez Perce Tribe
$1,262,805

Kansas

Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
$777,096

Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri
$222,799

Louisiana

Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
$725,224

Maine

Aroostook Band of Micmacs
$499,696

Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
$899,954

Penobscot Nation
$281,099

Michigan

Bay Mills Indian Community
$282,657

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
$862,037

Hannahville Indian Community
$305,475

Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
$295,742

Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians
$138,353

Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan
$1,112,111

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
$478,356

Minnesota

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
$727,056

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
$4,994,283

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
$751,379

Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
$1,293,218

The Prairie Island Indian Community
$66,411

White Earth Reservation Tribal Council
$278,000

Mississippi

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
$691,000

Montana

Chippewa Cree Tribe
$1,094,574

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
$721,266

North Carolina

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
$891,216

North Dakota

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
$854,084

Nebraska

Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
$803,339

Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
$1,279,108

New Mexico

Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, Inc. PeaceKeepers
$1,300,000

Mescalero Apache Tribe
$450,000

Pueblo of Acoma
$1,324,996

Pueblo of Isleta
$753,858

Pueblo of Jemez
$671,194

Pueblo of Laguna
$401,348

Santa Clara Pueblo
$748,203

Zuni Tribe
$1,416,266

Nevada

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
$1,129,000

Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California
$684,200

New York

Oneida Indian Nation
$223,769

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
$515,000

Oklahoma

Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
$1,357,873

Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
$765,000

Cherokee Nation
$845,664

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
$628,227

Citizen Potawatomi Nation
$1,265,758

Kaw Nation
$1,100,571

Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
$848,234

Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
$296,104

Muscogee (Creek) Nation
$3,734,853

Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma
$1,049,844

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
$1,489,068

The Chickasaw Nation
$1,734,022

Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
$295,342

Wyandotte Nation
$867,061

Oregon

Burns Paiute Tribe
$350,494

Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians
$298,017

Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon
$695,466

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
$1,150,000

Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation
$1,671,142

South Carolina

Catawba Indian Nation
$499,639

South Dakota

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
$262,977

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation
$156,003

Wiconi Wawokiya Inc
$1,354,000

Washington

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
$496,488

ConfederatedTribes of the Chehalis Reservation
$1,125,991

Cowlitz Indian Tribe Total $711,000

Kalispel Tribe of Indians Total $981,540

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
$1,032,932

Puyallup Tribal Council
$2,586,479

Quileute Tribe
$784,446

Spokane Tribe of Indians
$1,060,999

Squaxin Island Tribe
$824,445

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
$1,049,379

Tulalip Tribes of Washington
$2,068,058

Wisconsin

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
$348,095

Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
$1,076,105

Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
$591,049

Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
$269,000

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
$251,006

St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority
$571,030

Grand Total
$90,382,567

He’s 12, He’s Fast and He’s an All American

By Jack McNeel, Indian Country Today Media Network

Few people can say they’re All American athletes by their twelfth birthday.

Xavier Guillory has taken it one step further with his second title in a national track and field competition. Two years ago in Wichita, and this year in Greensboro, North Carolina, Xavier, a Nez Perce tribal member, achieved All American status.

The 12 year-old competed in the U.S.A. Track and Field Junior Olympic National Championships which were held in late July in Greensboro. Xavier qualified to race in three events at the National Championships: 400 meters, 800 meters, and 1500 meters. Brackets are broken down into two-year age levels and he competed in the 11-12 age bracket.

The country is divided into 16 regions and athletes must qualify as one of the top five finishers in their events at regional competitions to be eligible to compete at the National Championships where only the top eight in each event earn All-American status. About 8500 track athletes from around the country compete in regional events and even qualifying for nationals is a major accomplishment.

In the regional tournament held earlier this year in Seattle, Xavier set a new club and personal best time of 2:18 in the 800 meters, running for the Mercury Track Club of Spokane. “He ran an incredible race and everything came together,” said his father, Raphael Guillory. “Last year his fastest time was around 2.25.”

Xavier with his parents (Photo courtesy the Guillory family)

But during the Nationals, running conditions were not optimal at race time. Temperatures were hovering in the 80’s and humidity was high. Then, just before the 800 meter race was to start, a lightning storm hit. The runners were taken to the lockers to sit and wait until the storm passed and they remained there for nearly three hours.

One good thing came from this unexpected delay. It gave the kids a chance to get acquainted. Xavier later told his dad that one of the things he enjoyed most about the Nationals was getting to know the kids he was competing against.

When the race finally did start, it ended in a tight finish. “It was a pack coming around that last 100 meters,” Raphael recalled. “As they sprinted for the goal they kind of thinned out. There was only about three seconds between first and eighth place finishers.” Xavier finished 8th, but just over two seconds behind the winner.

So how did Xavier feel about the national meet? “Even though I’m experienced there, there’s still that feeling it’s my first year. I’m nervous, just thinking about the races the whole time. It’s fun but you also have to get serious about it. The thing I have trouble thinking about is competing with national athletes.”

He also ran in the 400 and 1500 meter finals. His finishes weren’t quite as high, finishing 35th of 52 runners in the 400 and finishing 14th of 41 runners in the 1500, but Xavier was competing with the nations’ best junior runners.

“It’s a lot of training; a lot of discipline,” Xavier added. “All the hours you put in for a short amount of time for a race, but you need it.”

He hopes and plans to return next year where he will move up a class to the youth division. But for right now, it’s football season. Fortunately the two sports don’t overlap. “There’s the side of me that wants to take track,” he says. He’s a running back in football and says this year he’ll also play cornerback, “and kick returner and punt returner,” he adds.

His family also stresses education. “Xavier has done very well. He’s really strong in science and reading and writing,” Raphael says. He’s now moving into middle school and they have him in a summer math program just to keep his chops up mathematically and to give him that added confidence.

“When we got back I told him to just be a kid; play with your sisters, go to the store, run around, hang out,” Raphael said. “Then football is mentioned and he’s going out[side] with his football. The kid’s a motor. I tell him to chill out and he just doesn’t know,” Raphael laughs.

NCAI Applauds President’s Nominations of Diane Humetewa and John Tuchi for Federal District Court Judge in Arizona;

Confirmation will make Humetewa First American Indian Woman Federal Judge

Source: The National Congress of American Indians

Washington, DC – The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has endorsed President Obama’s nomination of Diane J. Humetewa from the Hopi Tribe to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the District of Arizona. Senator John McCain of Arizona is credited with recommending the nomination. Upon confirmation, Humetewa will be the first American Indian woman in history to serve as a federal judge. Humetewa served as the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona from 2007 to 2009 under President George W. Bush.

NCAI also endorsed the President’s nomination of John Joseph Tuchi to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the District of Arizona. Tuchi’s service as Tribal Liaison from 2009-2012 demonstrated his knowledge of federal Indian law and his commitment to the critical role of tribes in the American family of governments. His nomination has the strong support of tribes in Arizona.

“These nominations are a significant step forward for Indian Country. Diane Humetewa is highly qualified and has been recognized and nominated for important federal positions by both Present Obama and President Bush. John Tuchi is highly qualified and has a strong record of upholding the trust responsibility to tribal nations. NCAI endorses the President’s nominations and we urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm them both,” said NCAI President Jefferson Keel.

“This also represents a great step forward for the federal courts. For many years we have stressed the importance of including Native Americans in the federal judiciary. Senator McCain should be applauded for recommending the nomination of Ms. Humetewa,” added Keel. “We have also underscored the need for all federal judges to understand federal Indian law. Mr. Tuchi has a firsthand understanding of the importance of federal Indian law, an asset that is far too rare among federal judges.”

NCAI First Vice Present Juana Majel also praised the nomination of Humetewa. “In 2013 we have witnessed the passage of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization that included extraordinarily important protections for Native women. With the nomination of Diane Humetewa to be the first Native woman to be a federal judge, 2013 is truly a landmark year for Native women.”

Biographies provided by the White House:

Diane J. Humetewa: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona

Diane J. Humetewa currently serves as Special Advisor to the President and Special Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at Arizona State University. She is also a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. From 2009 to 2011, Humetewa was Of Counsel with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP. She worked in the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Arizona from 1996 to 2009, serving as Senior Litigation Counsel from 2001 to 2007 and as the United States Attorney from 2007 to 2009. During her tenure in the United States Attorney’s Office, Humetewa also served as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General from 1996 to 1998. From 1993 to 1996, she was Deputy Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Humetewa received her J.D. in 1993 from Arizona State University College of Law and her B.S. in 1987 from Arizona State University. She is a member of the Hopi Indian Tribe and, from 2002 to 2007, was an Appellate Court Judge for the Hopi Tribe Appellate Court.

John Joseph Tuchi: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona

John Joseph Tuchi has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Arizona since 1998. He currently serves as Chief Assistant United States Attorney in the office and has previously served as Interim United States Attorney in 2009, Senior Litigation Counsel and Tribal Liaison from 2009 to 2012, and as Chief of the Criminal Division from 2006 to 2009. Tuchi also worked as an associate at the law firm of Brown & Bain, P.A. from 1995 to 1998. He began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge William C. Canby of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Tuchi received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1994 from Arizona State University College of Law, his M.S. in 1989 from the University of Arizona, and his B.S. in 1987 from West Virginia University.

10th Anniversary Block Party

The Comcast Arena is turning ten! To celebrate this milestone, Global Spectrum, management for the Comcast Arena at Everett, is throwing a 10th Anniversary Block Party and everyone is invited!

For just the third time in the building’s history, Hewitt Avenue will be closed off to accommodate the day’s festivities. The celebration begins with the Bubble Run 5K at 9 am with an anticipated attendance of 4,000 participants. After the race, the party begins!

From 11 am to 5 pm, guests can expect great music from local bands, delicious food and beverages from food truck vendors, and interactive games the whole family can enjoy. The night continues when the Everett Silvertips take to the ice at 7 pm for their season opener vs. Prince George.

The Block Party is one of the first events slated for the upcoming year that will celebrate the building’s 10th Anniversary.

Interested vendors should call 425.322.2626 for further information.

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Pink salmon return to Nisqually River in record numbers

By John Dodge, The Olympian

Pink salmon, Puget Sound’s smallest, most short-lived and most abundant of five native salmon species, are returning in record numbers to the Nisqually River.

There are so many of these 3- to 7-pound fish stacking up in the river, it conjures up the old saying: “They’re so thick, you could walk across the river on their backs.”

They aren’t quite that thick, but they are pulsing upstream to spawn in numbers that boggle the mind. More than 700,000 pinks are expected to enter the river this year out of an estimated Puget Sound run size of 6.2 million fish.

Flash back 10 years and tribal biologists were hard-pressed to find pink salmon in the river at all.

What gives? The first phrase out of the mouths of fish biologists is: “good ocean survival.” But that’s a catch-all phrase that might not tell the whole story.

A little more about a pink salmon’s life history: A pink salmon migrates to saltwater shortly after it emerges from the gravel as a fry salmon. They quickly make their way through Puget Sound to ocean waters.

They live only two years, returning to spawn in odd-numbered years. By comparison, the four other species of Pacific Northwest native salmon – chinook, coho, sockeye and chum – live three years or more in fresh and salt water.

So pink salmon live the simplest of lives – less time exposed to pollution, predators and harvesters.

And they eat pretty low on the food chain. Their diets consist of things like zooplankton and small, abundant marine crustaceans, said tribal salmon-enhancement manager Bill St. Jean.

So while marine scientists puzzle about why the more prized salmon such as coho and chinook experience disturbingly low survival rates in Puget Sound, the pink salmon seem to be growing in abundance and geographic reach.

“Their ocean survival has been phenomenal, but their simple life history may be playing a role in the increase,” Nisqually tribal natural resources manager David Troutt said. “Meanwhile the more complex species in Puget Sound are struggling. It’s a potential indicator that Puget Sound is becoming a simpler ecosystem, which should be a source of concern.”

While Nisqually sport and tribal fishers are taking a small share of the large pink run, the vast majority of the fish are being passed upstream to spawn. A tribal fish weir was installed in the river primarily to sort through chinook salmon to keep hatchery chinook from swimming upstream to interfere with naturally spawning chinook. But it has been dominated by pink salmon the past two weeks.

“We’re passing 200-plus pinks upstream every 10-20 minutes,” said Tom Friedrich, an intern with the Nisqually River Foundation, and part of the crew working at the fish weir near the tank crossing on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

An occasional chinook salmon is found mingling with the pinks. However, it appears the chinook are waiting for the pinks to move upstream first, Troutt said.

The chinook might have to wait. As of Wednesday morning, more than 90,000 pinks had passed upstream, and they show no sign of letting up.

The 2013 pink run on the Nisqually is the source of extra work at the in-river fish trap, but no one seems to complain.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s really fun to see all these fish,” St. Jean said, pointing at the mature male pinks distinguished by their humped backs, thus the nickname humpy.

The pink salmon, which die in the river shortly after spawning, are also returning valuable marine nutrients to the river watershed.

“I think we’re all glad to see the increased numbers of pink salmon,” said Lance Winecka, executive director of the South Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, a nonprofit working on habitat restoration projects. “They are a source of marine nutrients that South Sound river systems have been short on for several decades.”

In addition, the pink fry moving out of the river into saltwater in the spring provide food for young coho salmon, Troutt said.

Roy Wells, a tribal fish commissioner with a long history around the river, said he can’t remember seeing healthy pink salmon runs on the Nisqually since the 1970s. Tribal elders talk about prolific runs 60-70 years ago, St. Jean said.

“My mom used to fry them up – they’re good to eat,” Wells said. But first, she would trim the hump off the backs of males because they are full of fat, Wells said.

Wells on Tuesday hauled about 400 pounds of pink salmon to a cannery on Yelm Highway operated by Faith Harvest Helpers, a faith-based nonprofit that cans pink salmon for shipment overseas with other food and medical supplies to disaster-stricken countries,

“We hope to do a whole lot of pinks this year,” said Richard Norton, the faith group’s vice president.

Troutt said tribal officials are starting to talk about new ways to utilize pinks if they keep coming back in big numbers every other year.

Caviar anyone?

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2013/09/19/2730648/pink-salmon-return-to-nisqually.html#storylink=cpy