Jerry Dale Kline (Cope) June 2, 1959 – Feb. 15, 2013
Jerry passed away on February 15, 2013 at the young age of 53 at Harborview Medical Center due to injuries from a serious bicycle accident. Jerry was born June 2, 1959 in Port Angeles, WA to Dale and Leona Cope.
Jerry was an enrolled member of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe in Blyn, WA. Jerry went to school in Lowell, Snohomish and Lake Stevens. He worked as a roofer, and in construction all of his life.
Jerry led a very full life and loved his family and friends. He lived most of his entire life in Snohomish. Everyone he touched has a treasured memory which they will carry with them throughout their life.
He is survived by his mother, Leona; special love of his life, Annette Houde; son, Jeremy Cope; brothers, Ken (Marcy) Kline; Wayne (Shannon) Cope; sisters, Theresa (Sony) Lehmen, Deborah Hutsell, Renee (Ken) Hoerath, Donnita (Darren) Petersen; two grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other family.
A Celebration of Life reception will be held on Saturday, March 9, 2013 from 2-5 p.m. at the Snohomish North Depot, 1011 Maple Ave., Snohomish, WA. A second celebration will be held on June 2, 2013 from 1-4 p.m. at the Red Cedar Hall of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Blyn, WA.
Contributions can be made in his name to Tulalip Boys and Girls Club, 7707 36th Ave NW, Tulalip, WA.
Charmaine Louise Harrison – Fleming, 60, passed away March 3, 2013 at her daughter’s home.
She was born November 12, 1952 in Everett to Orville and Violet Harrison. She worked as a Pit Boss at the Tulalip Casino for eight years, and later she worked as a Gaming Commissioner at the Tulalip Tribes.
She is survived by her parents, Glen and Lee Parks; her daughter, Gina Harrison (Thesesus James); son, Alex Salinas (Lanadan, Amber); siblings, Teresa (Jerry), Les (Tracy), Lori (Eddy), Angie, Lora, George, Roman, Port, Bernie (Chris), Dee Dee; special grandson and caregiver, Josh, and eight other grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; special friends Carol Waugh, Carol Hunter, and Rhonda Gobin; her special aunt, Betty; and numerous other relatives and friends.
Visitation will be held Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. at Schaefer-Shipman with an Interfaith service following at 6:00 p.m. at the Tulalip Gym. Funeral Services will be held Friday, March 8, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. at the Tulalip Gym followed by burial at Mission Beach Cemetery.
Everett Mall seems to be back on steadier financial footing after receiving an investment from a California firm with ties to former NBA great Magic Johnson.
Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds has agreed to help recapitalize Everett Mall and The Commons shopping center in Federal Way, the company said Wednesday. The amount of money being invested was not disclosed. Both malls are owned in part by Steadfast Companies, which defaulted on a $98 million Everett Mall loan last March. Irvine, Calif.-based Steadfast owns two-thirds of Everett Mall.
“We are confident that the infusion of capital at this critical time for both regional malls will help them achieve their potential,” Bobby Turner, Canyon-Johnson CEO, said in a statement. “These are exceptional retail assets.”
Canyon-Johnson is a joint venture between Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star. The private equity firm has invested $4 billion in urban revitalization projects over the past decade.
In 2004, Steadfast paid $50 million to buy Everett Mall after the mall’s previous owner, Titanic Associates, defaulted on a loan in 2000. Steadfast quickly pumped more than $30 million into renovation and expansion, overseeing the addition of Regal Cinemas Stadium 16 theaters and attracting Best Buy and TJ Maxx to the outer mall’s buildings.
Last summer, Lisa Whitney, Steadfast vice president, acknowledged the mall had not been “immune to the proliferation of retailer downsizing, bankruptcies and the subsequent vacancies that have occurred industry wide” since the 2008 economic downturn.
Everett Mall has struggled to keep one of its large anchor storefronts filled. Late last year, the mall began construction to accommodate Burlington Coat Factory in the spot previously occupied by Steve & Barry’s and, before that, by Mervyn’s. Both retailers closed due to bankruptcy. Burlington Coat Factory will open this fall.
The renovation for Burlington Coat Factory was made possible by the investment from Canyon-Johnson, a spokeswoman for the investment firm wrote in an email Wednesday. However, the agreement between the two was not finalized until recently. Party City and ULTA Cosmetics also are opening retail stores in Everett Mall as part of the Canyon-Johnson project.
“Canyon-Johnson has a great track record of investing in urban retail centers, and we look forward to delivering results that will achieve a complete repositioning of these two properties that have enormous upside potential,” Steadfast Chairman and CEO Rod Emery said in a statement.
This is the second time Canyon-Johnson has worked with Steadfast. The two firms first teamed in 2010 to remodel and reposition the Brea Plaza Shopping Center in southern California.
“With Canyon-Johnson’s involvement, we have the resources to bring new shopping, dining and entertainment options to both properties” Steadfast’s Emery said in a statement.
Steadfast had not returned requests for additional information.
Immigrants and advocates on a multicity bus tour across the state calling for immigration reform hold a rally Wednesday at Casa Latina in Seattle. Lupe Sanchez, at right, from Yakima cheers with the crowd. Photo: Mark Harrison/The Seattle Times
With important victories on same-sex marriage, the gay-rights movement here in Washington and across the country is bringing new energy and momentum to another thorny social issue: immigration.
By Lornet Turnbull, Seattle Times staff reporter
After the November election, gay-rights advocates — victorious in their fight for same-sex marriage in Washington — began planning their next strategic move.
Over the past decade they had landed other important victories, from outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to winning domestic partnership benefits for gays.
Now lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocates here in Washington and across the country are bringing new energy and momentum to another thorny social issue: immigration.
In a way, their involvement is one of reciprocity — an acknowledgment of the broad support by immigrants of same-sex marriage last November. But it also reflects the overlap of two big political movements with shared constituents, whose struggles have often been cast in terms of human and civil rights.
An estimated 5 percent of undocumented immigrants are believed to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, and tens of thousands of gay Americans have foreign-born partners.
“What we know is that marriage equality and anti-discrimination do not meet all the needs of our diverse community — that one of our most vulnerable communities is the immigrant community,” said Josh Friedes, longtime spokesman for Equal Rights Washington, a gay-rights advocacy group.
“We are committed to the idea that no aspect of the LGBT community be left behind.”
While gay-rights organizations in the past have been involved in the long-debated effort to fix the nation’s immigration laws, the intensity of their engagement on all levels this year is unprecedented.
Here in Washington state, most major gay-rights groups have a seat at the Washington Immigration Reform Roundtable — a loosely formed coalition of religious, labor and social-justice groups working to influence the outcome of the immigration-policy overhaul under way in Congress.
Rich Stolz, executive director of OneAmerica, one of the state’s largest immigrant-advocacy groups and a lead organization on the Roundtable, said the gay-rights groups bring an important perspective, as well as broad grass-roots support and advocacy to the decades-long conversation around immigration.
“There are so many parallels and crossovers in the LGBT and immigrant movements,” said Kris Hermanns, executive director of the Pride Foundation.
“The way we worked together around marriage equity deepened the understanding and trust in the relationship.”
In Maryland last November, for example, exit polls showed that LGBT voters overwhelmingly supported a ballot measure to allow undocumented immigrants to access in-state tuition and state financial aid, while Latino voters backed a same-sex marriage measure.
Both passed.
“We’re seeing a significant alliance between the two communities that will not just be helpful for immigration reform, but that will hopefully continue beyond that,” said Steve Ralls, spokesman for Immigration Equality, a national group that focuses on LGBT immigration issues.
A lot at stake
But this isn’t just about payback.
In the first major rewrite of the nation’s immigration laws in a generation, the gay-rights movement also has a lot at stake.
An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 same-sex couples would benefit directly from changes in the immigration laws to allow gay Americans to sponsor their foreign-born partners for lawful residency — a benefit now enjoyed only by straight couples.
And of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., about 600,000 are LGBT, including an untold number of young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
“We are keenly aware that many LGBT undocumented people come to America out of necessity and are being penalized for simply trying to survive and live with the dignity we here take for granted,” Friedes said.
And gay-rights advocates are bringing more than just momentum — they’ve also put money on the table.
A coalition of three dozen national advocacy groups, including the Pride Foundation and the Gay City Health Project, established a $100,000 fund to help young LGBT undocumented immigrants pay the application fees for a federal program, which grants them relief from deportation and issues them a work permit.
Carlos Padilla, an undocumented immigrant student and sophomore at Seattle Central Community College, has been advocating for immigration changes since he was a sophomore in high school.
But Padilla said it wasn’t until his freshman year in college that he felt he could also disclose that he is gay.
He not only sees the parallels between the two communities, he lives them.
In his presentations before students and others, he said, “I’d talk about being gay and get these blank stares. Now when I talk about it in terms of human rights, being able to have equality, it makes sense to people. People are now connecting the dots and seeing the connections.
“LGBT people and undocumented people are fighting for acknowledgment and acceptance in society.”
Political dogfight
While bipartisan, the effort to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws is expected to be a political dogfight, with the centerpiece of any legislation likely to include legalization for undocumented immigrants.
Any measure is also expected to include provisions to ease immigration restrictions on highly skilled workers; beef up border security and clear up immigration backlogs to allow family members to be reunited.
Immigration benefits for gay couples have been included in proposals set forth by President Obama, with some Democrats and gay-rights advocates — including those on the Washington Immigration Reform Roundtable — also pushing for them to be included.
But some Republicans have warned that provision could derail or at least hang up legislation that already promises to be divisive.
That same concern has also been raised by some of the more conservative faith-based groups at the Roundtable, which fretted over signing a letter to the Washington congressional delegation that listed benefits for LGBT families among the provisions they want to see in an overhaul bill.
Stolz of OneAmerica said the list of provisions are ones that the group overall could support, though, given the political sensitivity, “We understood that not everyone is prepared to sign onto the letter at this time.”
The U.N. Security Council has voted unanimously for tough new sanctions to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test, a move that sparked a furious Pyongyang to threaten a nuclear strike against the United States.
North Koreans attend a rally in support of a statement given on Tuesday by a spokesman for the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army vowing to cancel the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War as well as boasting of the North’s ownership of “lighter and smaller nukes” and its ability to execute “surgical strikes” meant to unify the divided Korean Peninsula, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Thursday. Photo: Jon Chol Jin/AP
By Edith M. Lederer and Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS —The U.N. Security Council has voted unanimously for tough new sanctions to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test, a move that sparked a furious Pyongyang to threaten a nuclear strike against the United States.
The vote Thursday by the U.N.’s most powerful body on a resolution drafted by North Korea’s closest ally, China, and the United States sends a powerful message to North Korea that the international community condemns its ballistic missile and nuclear tests – and its repeated violation of Security Council resolutions.
The new sanctions are aimed at making it more difficult for North Korea to finance and obtain material for its weapons programs.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
North Korea vowed on Thursday to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, amplifying its threatening rhetoric as U.N. diplomats voted on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.
An unidentified spokesman for Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry said the North will exercise its right for “a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors” because Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against the North.
Although North Korea boasts of nuclear bombs and pre-emptive strikes, it is not thought to have mastered the ability to produce a warhead small enough to put on a missile capable of reaching the U.S. It is believed to have enough nuclear fuel, however, for several crude nuclear devices.
Such inflammatory rhetoric is common from North Korea, and especially so in recent days. North Korea is angry over the possible sanctions and over upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills. At a mass rally in Pyongyang on Thursday, tens of thousands of North Koreans protested the U.S.-South Korean war drills and sanctions.
Army Gen. Kang Pyo Yong told the crowd that North Korea is ready to fire long-range nuclear-armed missiles at Washington.
“Intercontinental ballistic missiles and various other missiles, which have already set their striking targets, are now armed with lighter, smaller and diversified nuclear warheads and are placed on a standby status,” Kang said. “When we shell (the missiles), Washington, which is the stronghold of evils, …. will be engulfed in a sea of fire.”
The U.N. Security Council was considering a fourth round of sanctions against Pyongyang in a fresh attempt to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The resolution was drafted by the United States and China, North Korea’s closest ally. The council’s agreement to put the resolution to a vote just 48 hours later signaled that it would almost certainly have the support of all 15 council members.
The statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
It accused the U.S. of leading efforts to slap sanctions on North Korea. The statement said the new sanctions would only advance the timing for North Korea to fulfill previous vows to take “powerful second and third countermeasures” against its enemies. It hasn’t elaborated on those measures.
The statement said North Korea “strongly warns the U.N. Security Council not to make another big blunder like the one in the past when it earned the inveterate grudge of the Korean nation by acting as a war servant for the U.S. in 1950.”
North Korea demanded the U.N. Security Council immediately dismantle the American-led U.N. Command that’s based in Seoul and move to end the state of war that exists on the Korean Peninsula, which continues six decades after fighting stopped because an armistice, not a peace treaty, ended the war.
In anticipation of the resolution’s adoption, North Korea earlier in the week threatened to cancel the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War.
North Korean threats have become more common as tensions have escalated following a rocket launch by Pyongyang in December and its third nuclear test on Feb. 12. Both acts defied three Security Council resolutions that bar North Korea from testing or using nuclear or ballistic missile technology and from importing or exporting material for these programs.
U.S. U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said the proposed resolution would impose some of the strongest sanctions ever ordered by the United Nations.
The final version of the draft resolution, released Wednesday, identified three individuals, one corporation and one organization that would be added to the U.N. sanctions list if the measure is approved.
The targets include top officials at a company that is the country’s primary arms dealer and main exporter of ballistic missile-related equipment, and a national organization responsible for research and development of missiles and probably nuclear weapons.
The success of a new round of sanctions could depend on enforcement by China, where most of the companies and banks that North Korea is believed to work with are based.
The United States and other nations worry that North Korea’s third nuclear test pushed it closer to its goal of gaining nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. The international community has condemned the regime’s nuclear and missile efforts as threats to regional security and a drain on the resources that could go to North Korea’s largely destitute people.
The draft resolution condemns the latest nuclear test “in the strongest terms” for violating and flagrantly disregarding council resolutions, bans further ballistic missile launches, nuclear tests “or any other provocation,” and demands that North Korea return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. It also condemns all of North Korea’s ongoing nuclear activities, including its uranium enrichment.
But the proposed resolution stresses the council’s commitment “to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution” and urged a resumption of six-party talks with the aim of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula “in a peaceful manner.”
The proposed resolution would make it significantly harder for North Korea to move around the funds it needs to carry out its illicit programs and strengthen existing sanctions and the inspection of suspect cargo bound to and from the country. It would also ban countries from exporting specific luxury goods to the North, including yachts, luxury automobiles, racing cars, and jewelry with semi-precious and precious stones and precious metals.
According to the draft, all countries would now be required to freeze financial transactions or services that could contribute to North Korea’s nuclear or missile programs.
To get around financial sanctions, North Koreans have been carrying around large suitcases filled with cash to move illicit funds. The draft resolution expresses concern that these bulk cash transfers may be used to evade sanctions. It clarifies that the freeze on financial transactions and services that could violate sanctions applies to all cash transfers as well as the cash couriers.
The proposed resolution also bans all countries from providing public financial support for trade deals, such as granting export credits, guarantees or insurance, if the assistance could contribute to the North’s nuclear or missile programs.
It includes what a senior diplomat called unprecedented new travel sanctions that would require countries to expel agents working for sanctioned North Korean companies.
The draft also requires states to inspect suspect cargo on their territory and prevent any vessel that refuses an inspection from entering their ports. And a new aviation measure calls on states to deny aircraft permission to take off, land or fly over their territory if illicit cargo is suspected to be aboard.
—
Lederer reported from the United Nations. Foster Klug in Seoul contributed to this report.
I have recently become aware that a book entitledThe Militarization of Indian Country (MSU Press – Makwa Enewed series) by ICTMN contributor Winona LaDuke will be published in 2013. The Anishinaabe visionary has authored/co-authored more than ten titles to date. Her critical eye this time focuses on a cutting edge subject, typified by modern American military drones currently flying surveillance over Indian Country and foreign “tribal” lands alike.
The United States historical emphasis of tribal dislocation to so-called federal reservations is an important aspect of the military institutional model. It remains an exercise in control.
Although the word “reservation” is mostly associated with North American Indian communities, it also serves to describe military “proving grounds” that preceded the modern bases we know by name today. Even the term “going off the reservation” alludes to a wider circumstance than just someone who went on a three day bender. It typically describes philosophical loss, a change of life decision, or leaving home, so to speak.
The dualism of Turtle Island and the military by now intertwines itself through all native communities. As LaDuke illustrates, American armed forces are disproportionally filled out by minority status groups, the highest proportion being composed of Native Americans (or Alaskan Islanders), who voluntarily serve despite compelling reasons why they might not do so. The exemption by birthright, unless one waives that avenue through enlistment, begins that rationale. The Mohawk traditional leader Tom Porter (Sakokwenionkwas) maintained that perspective during the Vietnam War, putting it to test as he conscientiously avoided American military service in the late 1960’s.
Historically, sovereign nations cannot be drafted into foreign armies. The United States and Britain warred over impressed (conscripted) sailors for that very cause during the War of 1812. It took a deliberate act by the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy in 1941 that declared war on Germany to allow Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) to fight alongside American soldiers in the Allied armed forces. There is a reason why this had to be done. Sovereignty is an exclusive political status.
The contribution to American defense has indisputably been earned proudly by Onkwehonweh (original people), dating back to its beginnings in the American Revolution. The Oneida Indian Nation participation within that conflict is historically portrayed in the forthcoming major motion picture release, First Allies. Sweat and blood were the shares that American Indians paid into a usurping system, even from the beginning, to maintain their own existence.
Yet, these facts seem set aside, when I see the famed “military industrial establishment” fantasia of that culture they are aping, inspired by Onkwehonweh achievement. Apaches live on as Soviet-busting, fortress-like AH-64 attack helicopters, while Kiowas are lithe, stealthy observation helicopters that could still sting when they had to, carrying officers and forward observers over the front lines of Vietnam. This trend of tribal labeling of military equipment began after World War Two, although airborne infantry parachutists began yelling “Geronimo” once they exited their aircraft, since 1940.
Thus, when modern American democracy now brings domestic security measures to current levels within Indian Country, I have to take pause to grasp this. Under Barack Obama, the 44th Rahnatakaias or “destroyer of towns” as his elected office is known by the Haudenosaunee, unprecedented federal contesting of sovereign Indian nations is underway.
United States citizens are now able to be targeted for airborne drone strikes based on their individual level of agitation, or possibly resistance, to their own country’s agenda. Where does that leave those living along the proverbial Red Road, a population that has been targeted all along? Will that Red Road be scorched by smoking missile impact craters? Remember, airspace was never covered in any treaty language. Is this a violation of Turtle Island airspace? Onkwehonweh have never been consulted pertaining to this matter.
The United States military developed Fusion Intelligence Centers in Iraq in 2003 to combat the fledgling insurgency there, a major development in organizing information while under the gun. Now, the same approach is being brought to bear in northern New York under the name of the Northern Border Intelligence Center and championed by United States Homeland Security, in general interdiction efforts against the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation on the Akwesasne Territory.
Some local Mohawk military veterans feel the attention of drone surveillance overhead is but the latest of attempts to control the free will of a sovereign people; unremoved from their original land status. To them, the harsh weather is their ally, as is the remote location of the community. No one wants this land more than we do, for our unborn grandchildren and our own way of life, they have told me.
Prior to the Revolutionary War outcome, Onkwehonweh populations were the only ones then-called Americans. That implication seems lost on current federal policy managers.
Charles Kader (Turtle Clan) was born in Erie, Pennsylvania to a World War Two veteran. He attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, earning degrees in Communication and Library Science, as well as Mercyhurst College where he earned a graduate degree in the Administration of Justice. He has worked across Indian country, from the Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana (where he married his wife) to the Saint Regis Mohawk
Sgt. Delshayne John speaks fluent Navajo, serves as a communications Marine and credits his decision to serve in the military to his upbringing on the Navajo reservation in Fort Defiance, Ariz., and the influence of his grandfather, Jimmie M. Begay. Begay served as a Navajo code talker during World War II. Photo by Sgt. Ray Lewis/Marine Forces Reserve/DoD/Dvidshub.net
Cpl. Nana Dannsaappiah, DoD, Indian Country Today Media Network
What makes Sgt. Delshayne John stand out from his fellow Marines at Marine Corps Support Facility New Orleans isn’t the fact that he rose through the ranks to be meritoriously promoted to sergeant in less than three years.
It isn’t that he is only on his first tour and already works directly for a three-star general. It isn’t that the 21-year-old, 175 pounds packed into a lean 6-foot-2 inch frame, is an experienced rodeo rider, basketball and football player, wrestler and cross country virtuoso.
What makes John different is his Native American heritage. His two great granduncles or as he refers to them, grandfathers, Leonard Begay and Jimmie M. Begay, served as Navajo code talkers during World War II.
John, who speaks fluent Navajo, serves as a communications Marine and credits his decision to serve in the military to his upbringing on the Navajo reservation in Fort Defiance, Ariz., and the influence of one specific grandfather, Jimmie M. Begay.
“My dad left when I was three and he (Jimmie M. Begay) has always been there for me so he has been the father figure in my life,” said John.
There is always something to do
Traditional Navajo houses made of wooden poles, tree bark and mud, called hogans, and trailers sparsely populated the valley overlooked by mountains. There were no amusement parks or shopping malls, just families engaged in their daily chores and livestock roaming the plains.
In one trailer, John, his three younger brothers and his sister lived with their mother – no electricity and no running water. His grandfather and grandmother lived in the next house down the road.
In the absence of John’s father, Begay took it upon himself to groom John into a respectable young man, filled with the Navajo traditional values and able to take care of his mom and siblings as the man of the house.
John described his grandfather as very stern. Granddad’s rules: you don’t sleep in, you rise before the sun, you run towards the east every morning, pray and come back.
“You can’t be lazy,” he said the old veteran used to insist. “There is always something to do.”
Even after John completed his chores, sitting back and relaxing in the house wasn’t an option. Begay pushed him to go outside and play with his siblings or find something productive to do.
Begay trained his grandson to do many things, from fixing cars to taming horses.
John remembers when he got his first horse. Several wild horses roamed the reservation. The rule was whoever caught them, kept them. As John explained it, the problem was not with catching the horses but taming them. Begay caught a wild horse and domesticated her, and when she had a baby, Begay gave the foal to John.
“He taught me how to do it then he said ‘here’s your horse, now break it,’” John said.
“I just never felt like I could be bored with him, no matter what we were doing he always had something to teach me,” he added.
The two bonded over chores and many of the reservation activities: hunting, branding cows, feeding the family animals, rodeo, etc.
As John grew older and the responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings became greater, so did the stress. He couldn’t show any weakness or emotional vulnerability as the man of the house – not to his younger brothers and sister – but he knew he could always confide in his grandfather.
“We got pretty good about reading each other,” said John. “Anytime I needed somebody to talk to, he was always there for me so he was like my shoulder to lean on.”
I envied him
In 1942, the Marine Corps began recruiting and training Navajos for code talking because they spoke an unwritten language, unintelligible to anyone except another Navajo. Navajo Marines developed and memorized codes which, it is believed, the Japanese never cracked. They became America’s answer to the Japanese interception and decryption of indispensable messages during World War II.
Begay served in the war as a code talker and it was his stories about serving in the military that opened John up to a world outside the reservation and the Marine Corps.
“What really got me is the bond that he built with a lot of different people and that he got to travel,” said John. “I just saw what kind of person it made him and I envied him and wanted to be like him.”
Begay passed away in 2006. John was still a teenager coming of age, 15 years old.
His grandfather had always hinted that he wanted John to join the Marines but never pushed him, John said. In his last days, Begay finally admitted to John that he wanted him to join, but he encouraged him to pursue whatever he was passionate about.
“That just kind of sealed it for me,” John said about his decision to enlist.
John graduated Navajo Prep High School in New Mexico in 2009. He left for the Marine Corps that same year.
The legacy continues …
Marine Corps recruit training has a reputation of being physically challenging. John, whose active youth read like an ironman competition – wrestling, playing basketball, football, running track, wrangling cows and riding bulls – was prepared for the physical aspect. It was the emotional isolation he wrestled with.
“The hardest part was being away from my family,” he said. “It was the first time I left the reservation.”
He earned his eagle, globe and anchor and became a Marine Jan. 19, 2010, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
The newly minted Marine’s first duty station was Marine Forces Reserve headquarters in New Orleans, where his fellow Marines say his grandfather would be proud.
“No doubt his grandfather would be proud of him, very proud,” said Cpl. Travis Ortega who works with John in the MARFORRES G-6 Communications and Electronics Division, and was with him in boot camp, Marine Combat Training and communications school.
Pfc. John arrived in 2010 and was placed at the G-6 service desk, the first stop for troubleshooting information technology systems. He made it his mission to stand out, and eventually, callers were requesting John by name. He also worked in several other sections of the G-6, earning a reputation as the go-to-guy wherever he worked.
“If you need something done, he is the guy to go to,” said Ortega. “No matter if he’s never heard of it or seen it before, he’ll find a way and figure it out for you.”
When MARFORRES moved its headquarters from New Orleans proper to Algiers, La., in 2011, John was added to the team in charge of setting up communication equipment for the new building.
After consistently proving himself a valuable asset during his young career, he was selected for a highly-coveted but demanding position to work directly for the MARFORRES and MARFORNORTH commander, Lt. Gen. Steven Hummer, and his staff.
In August 2012, Hurricane Isaac hit New Orleans and Marines had the option of voluntarily evacuating. At the same time, Hummer’s MARFORNORTH was tasked with supporting the Republican National Convention, so the general remained in New Orleans. John stayed back also – to make sure the general and his staff had all means available to communicate.
Personnel were shorthanded, the general needed updates, video teleconferences had to be set up and broken equipment needed fixing. John tackled the issues by day, and stood watch outside the general’s office at night.
“When you have generals on deck, nobody is not going to not stand post,” he said.
For his actions during the hurricane, John received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Those who knew him and worked with him weren’t surprised.
“You can always rely on Sgt. John to provide excellent results,” said Master Sgt. Esteban Garcia, who supervises John. “He is very reliable and has initiative.”
As far as John’s motivations, it’s simple: honor his grandfather and ancestors by being the best Marine he can be.
“I’m really proud of the legacy that my ancestors set for me and I just hope that I can amount to a fraction of what they were,” John said.
For now he sits at his desk, answering questions for an interview, typing away at an email, his phone is ringing, and an officer is walking towards him with a concerned look on his face. Some might get frustrated or muddle through the demanding scene, but to John, it’s just another day at the office. He remains calm, answers the phone and addresses the officer, who tells him that the general’s computer needs urgent fixing. Off he runs to assess the situation.
John, who plans on serving at least 20 years in the Marines, is calculating his next move to become a Marine Corps Special Operations Command critical skills operator or a Marine security guard assigned to protect embassies around the globe.
It wouldn’t be hard for a Marine like John to do so. His physical fitness is top-notch and he has earned a reputation which is all his own.
John says his current repute is because he finds something positive everyday and puts his best foot forward even when the situation is not ideal.
Those who know him say that he is just being John, paying his respects to his grandfather and the proud historical legacy of the Navajo code talkers.
The long-running battle over the Washington Redskins name gets a restart today, Thursday, March 7, when a group of Native Americans goes before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in Washington, D.C, to argue that the franchise should lose their federal trademark protection, based on a law that prohibits registered names that disparaging, scandalous, contemptuous or disreputable.
Leading the move against the use of the term redskins is Susan Shown Harjo, who has spent nearly a third of her life fighting the use of the nickname.
According to CBSDC and the Associated Press, Redskins general manager Bruce Allen said last month that it is “ludicrous” to think that the team is “trying to upset anybody” with its nickname, which many Native Americans consider to be offensive.
That’s beside the point, Harjo told CBSDC/AP. She’s never suggested that the Redskins deliberately set out to offend anyone. But that doesn’t mean that people aren’t offended.
“It’s just like a drive-by shooting,” Harjo said Wednesday. “They’re trying to make money, and not caring who is injured in the process — or if anyone is injured in the process. I don’t think they wake up or go to sleep dreaming of ways to hurt Native people. I think they wake up and go to sleep thinking of ways to make money — off hurting Native people.”
Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washinton, D.C. (mitsitamcafe.com)
Indian Country Today Media Network Staff
The best dining option on the National Mall is Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian, according to a review of all dining options on Capital Hill by Jennifer Steinhauer of The New York Times.
Steinhauer tells visitors to avoid food at the newly constructed Capitol Visitor Center, “and head to the National Museum of the American Indian, which has the best food on the Mall.”
Mitsitam Native Foods Café is no stranger to praise. Last summer, it was honored by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington with a Rammy Award on June 24. It was the first museum restaurant to receive a Rammy nomination. The eatery also recently put out an award-winning cookbook.
The Zagat-rated restaurant showcases a refined, seasonal menu of foods that have been grown, raised and harvested in North and South America for thousands of years, from Peruvian ceviche to pork tacos. Mitsitam means “let’s eat” in the Piscataway and Delaware languages, and the café stays true to its Native focus, drawing on tribal culinary traditions.
Jerry Dale Kline (Cope)
