Tulalip News

Burn Ban Lifted in King County; Stage 1 Ban Continues for Pierce and Snohomish Counties

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

SEATTLE – The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is lifting the air quality burn ban in King County, effective 1 p.m., January 16, 2013. A Stage 1 burn ban remains in effect for Pierce, and Snohomish counties until further notice.

“We’re lifting the ban in King County because air pollution levels there have improved,” said Dr. Phil Swartzendruber, agency forecaster. “Based on historic patterns, it’s unlikely they’ll reach trigger levels in the next few days.”

Dr. Swartzendruber added, “Pollution levels in Pierce and Snohomish counties remain MODERATE, and the forecast suggests they would worsen in the next few days without a burn ban. The Stage 1 burn ban needs to remain in place for these counties.”

“Looking ahead, calm, cold, and clear weather conditions will likely continue through the weekend, so ongoing cooperation with the burn ban will help keep our air healthy,” he said. “We encourage everyone who doesn’t rely on wood heat to use instead their home’s cleaner source of heat until weather conditions change.”

The Clean Air Agency will continue to closely monitor the air quality and weather situation.

During a Stage 1 burn ban:

No burning is allowed in fireplaces or uncertified wood stoves. Residents should rely instead on their home’s other, cleaner source of heat (such as their furnace or electric baseboard heaters) for a few days until air quality improves, the public health risk diminishes and the ban is cancelled.
No outdoor fires are allowed. This includes recreational fires such as bonfires, campfires and the use of fire pits and chimineas.
Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.

It is OK to use natural gas, propane, pellet and EPA-certified wood stoves or inserts during a Stage 1 burn ban.

The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

For more information:

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is an air quality management agency serving King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Created as a result of the 1967 Washington Clean Air Act, the agency protects public health by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, educating individuals and businesses about clean-air choices and sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality.

Finding the artist within

Art and Crafts Specialist, Astrid is displaying a final creation of a eagle hat that kids are making like tribal member Tauveiy Chrismay. — Astrid Holt-Marshall, Arts & Crafts Specialist for the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, is creating eagle hats with club member Tauveiy Chrismay.

By Jeannie Briones, Tulalip News staff

TULALIP, Wash. – Art is a broad spectrum of stimulating activities that help kids to grow and expand their minds. Since October 2012, the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club has been offering, “Let Your Art Out,” an art program that is open to all club members, every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Astrid Holt-Marshall, Art & Crafts Specialist for the Club, organized the program with the intent of providing a safe place where club members, families, and friends can gather to experience a wide range of intriguing art projects together.

“I love the kid’s energy,” said Astrid. “It’s nice to be able to teach them how to use the materials, and they can take off from there. They show me new things and it’s totally cool and it helps them with their self esteem.”

Every Saturday club members can enjoy a meal and participate in a themed art project. The kids have participated in a wide range of projects such as, coloring and designing tiles, working with clay, ceramics, paper mache, expressive art, woodcrafting, and painting, along with cultural arts like making dream catchers, weaving, and creating cedar plank masks. The kids also learn basic skills like cooking and sewing.

“It’s inspiring. I can teach my little cousins how to make clay sculptures,” said tribal member Tauveiy Chrismay.

Astrid is always looking for new ideas, like having the kids participate in making theatre costumes. Astrid encourages participants to volunteer their creative ideas, because she feels they can all learn from each other.

What makes Astrid’s job rewarding is when students want to give back by volunteering their time and assisting other kids with their art projects. The Club is open for members to join the community of artists in motion.

For information on the program and to volunteer, please contact Astrid Holt-Marshall at the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, 360-716-3400.

Jeannie Briones: 360-716-4188; jbriones@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Big Tobacco: Corporate Insight and the Red Road

By Charles Kaider, Indian Country Today Media Network, http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

A recent study by the economist John Dunham on behalf of the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) attempted to show that untaxed packs of cigarettes were acquired on a one to one basis for every taxable pack of cigarettes purchased by New York State citizens. Conclusions reached by this report included the assertion that New York State failed to do enough “…to further close down an obvious avenue of tax avoidance,” i.e., Native American businesses which were circumventing established state tax schemes. The report immediately drew news outlet headlines.

Mr. Dunham’s policy group counts Big Tobacco among its clientele.

A sociology mentor of mine would reference the adage “lies, damn lies and statistics” in class. Although the Dunham study may have taken some liberties with the raw data, the point it was trying to make was made; the problem is that New York cigarette taxes are too high. This conclusion was also reached by Jonathan Taylor in 2008 in an economic impact study commissioned by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. Taylor wrote presciently, “taxes diminish the losers by more than the winners gain.”

Instead of sticking to these revealed economic maxims, the Dunham report illuminated the real agenda at hand, stigmatizing Indian country businesses in New York, as well as in “other states with Native American reservations.” The now cliché tie-in between “organized crime, drug gangs, human trafficking and terrorism” and untaxed cigarette sales is established mid-report. The report hopefully offers “there are some immediate steps that New York should be taking…to enforce existing laws pertaining to Native Americans that could reap significant benefits.”

Only policy wonks will believe these pat answers after reading them. Ask the New York State Police how effective baton-swinging tactics are with non combatives, as that agency prepares to settle a 1997 brutality lawsuit in Onondaga Territory stemming from a raid on ceremonial tobacco-burning Onkwehonweh (Original People). Lionizing whole reservations and stirring a new generation of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) to action is one byproduct of such hyperbole. It may be easy to start that fire, but it is much harder to put out thereafter.

Political highway theatre might be one way of thinking about grass roots pushback to thinly veiled coercion. The roads and power lines and pipelines routed through sovereign territories may have been expediently planned back in the day as convenient usage of restricted land. Now, each conveyance is an exploitable resource and exposed pressure point. It is possible that bluster has an even deeper response from threatened Onkwehonweh populations. Establishing new businesses under Indian Title land ownership, closer to metropolitan consumers, would further alter the landscape of commercialism. On-premises Indian smoke shop sales take on a whole new meaning when conducted from RV’s in Times Square.

To date, the satisfaction of reservation businesses has been just to stay open in many cases. Many such entrepreneurial efforts die on the vine without mainstream financing opportunities due to collateral recovery obstacles by lenders. If that is not enough evidence of the implications of doing business on sovereign reservations, then I do not know what is. Yet, this original status is often trivialized.

There is also a political element to the latest study. John Dunham has a recent track record of working with Republican Party candidates on both regional, as well as national levels, including former presidential candidate Texas Governor Rick Perry and former Connecticut Senate candidate / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive Linda McMahon.

In classic style, deriding New York State tax impotence also poorly lights the halo of rising Democratic Party star, Governor Andrew Cuomo. It should be noted that Andrew’s father, former Governor Mario Cuomo, developed the experience that New York State government has called upon to assist with Onkwehonweh socio-economic issues, for more than a quarter-century. This in-house counsel surely lends itself to the current occupant of the Governor’s Mansion to avoid thinking that he can bludgeon these factors to solution. The recognition of complex problems is vital to any executive seasoning. Look before you leap.

New York citizens are also voters, as well as tax payers. They are not the enemy of Onkwehonweh commerce. In fact, they support it with every visit to reservation areas, voting with their feet. They understand that relationship quite well, as well as why they have that personal choice.

On the other hand, anti-sovereign activists such as the Central New York-based Upstate Citizens for Equity (UCE) relish the substance of this report. This group has sought the dissolution of Onkwehonweh businesses by brute force. The desire of such an agenda hinges on the complicity of followers to not think critically and make broad assumptions of fact.
Meanwhile, high cigarette taxes direct many citizens down reservation roads, where they are met by waiting friends. Friendships that last a lifetime.

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 Tribe, and now resides in Kanienkeh.

A Passion for Eagles Takes Flight in Volunteers

Story and photos by US Forest Service Kelly Sprute

Everett, Wash., Jan. 16, 2013—It isn’t an easy job: standing six long hours in rain, sleet, hail, sun and snow every weekend starting in December through January. Armed with binoculars, spotting scopes and a love for bald eagles they greet and teach thousands of people who pilgrimage to Skagit River for a glimpse of eagles roosting in trees and eating fish along the banks. And these Eagle Watcher volunteers do it for free.

Eagle Watchers are stationed at three locations along the Skagit River on the North Cascades Highway: Howard Miller Steelhead Park near Rockport, Wash., nature viewing area at milepost 100 and the Marblemount Fish Hatchery.

The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and North Cascades Institute created the program in 1992 to control crowding that disrupted the birds and caused traffic problems on the highway according to Tanya Kitterman. The Forest Service Eagle Watcher coordinator said the Skagit River watershed boasts one of the largest wintering populations of bald eagles in the continental United States.

“The birds flock to the Skagit River for three reasons: the abundance of food, the river has good flows for spawning and it doesn’t ice over,” Kitterman said. Each year it takes 45 volunteers run the program, but most are eager to return, so she usually only needs to recruit about five people. All it takes to be an Eagle Watcher is enthusiasm about eagles and be an adult. “I bring the canopies, scopes, tri-pods and binoculars and they run with it. Their passion for the eagles is contagious,” Kitterman said.

The Forest Service trains volunteers about eagle biology and how they fit into the Skagit River ecosystem, readying volunteers for a multitude of questions: “How long do they live? How big is their wingspan? How much do they weigh? Why is the female bigger than the male? Where are they from?”

Harry Ota, a retired US army colonel who lives in Mt. Vernon, Wash., is a 20-year veteran Eagle Watcher. “It beats getting cabin fever,” he said. He still gets ready for the season every year by digging out his reference books and reviewing old videos.

“The eagles that arrive here are frozen out of their territory and food source up north and follow the salmon traveling south. It is amazing how nature works together. As one spawning route ends, another begins and the eagles move to follow,” Ota said. They are hungry when they arrive on the Skagit. “You’ve heard the saying about eating like a bird. Well, eagles are very voracious eaters and eat about a pound of meat a day. That is like us eating 40 quarter-pounders,” Ota said.

The years of observing these birds have given Ota insight into the eagle’s behavior.

He has noticed that some have become attuned to the presence of human activity. Although most will fly away from their meal when a boat drifts down river, some eagles just stop, guard their salmon, watch the boat pass and continue eating.

“Eagles are incredible animals with personalities. They have a favorite perch they return to, just like we do. Some watch the world go by, others fight over food, and a rare few perform flybys worthy of jet fighters over the bridge near the Howard Miller Steelhead Park,” Ota said.

In 2000 he got to help trap, tag and release eagles along the Skagit River for a Washington State wildlife research study. “Holding an eagle in my hands was an experience of a lifetime,” Ota said. They tagged 23 eagles and tracked them for five years. “The study discovered the eagles came from up north in the Yukon and were flying down the coast to northern California or east across the Cascades following the Yakima River,” he said.

One of Ota’s favorite stories is of the eagles’ resiliency and recovery. “In the 1950s there was an estimated 412 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. The bird was later listed as an endangered species. By the 1990s the eagle’s population had rebounded to an estimated 115,000 and was later removed from the endangered and threatened list in 2007,” he said. But Ota said what keeps him coming back every year is seeing peoples’ face light up when they view an eagle through the scope for the first time. “It is wonderful,” he said.

You can view the bald eagles each weekend until the end of January. Learn more about the Eagle Watcher program or contact Tanya Kitterman at 360-856-5700.

The Idle No More Movement for Dummies (or, ‘What The Heck Are All These Indians Acting All Indian-Ey About?’)

Gyasi Ross, Indian Country Today Media Network, indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

INTRODUCTION

Lately, Native people have taken to the streets malls in demonstrations of Public Indian-ness (“PI”) that surpasses the sheer volume of activism of even Alcatraz and the Longest Walk. There’s a heapum big amount of PI going on right now! Many people, non-Native and Native alike, are wondering what the heck is going with their local Native population and how this so-called #IdleNoMore Movement managed to get the usually muffled Natives restless enough to be Indian in public. I mean, like Chris Rock said, he hasn’t ever even met two Indians at the same time. He’s seen “polar bears riding a tricycle” but he’s “never seen an Indian family just chillin’ out at Red Lobster.”

Yet, now people can’t seem to get away from us.

And that’s cool—but isn’t that what pow-wows and November is for? People (non-Native and Native alike) can only take so much PI, right? Is that what the Idle No More Movement is—an extended Native American Heritage Month, where non-Natives have to act like they’re fascinated by Native culture?

In a word, no. It is much more. Please consider this a fairly exhaustive explanation of the Idle No More Movement, what it is not and what it is. If for some reason you cannot read the next 1000 or so brilliant words, I can be summed up thusly: the Idle No More Movement is not a new movement. Instead, it is the latest incarnation of the sustained Indigenous Resistance to the rape, pillage and exploitation of this continent and its women that has existed since 1492. It is not the Occupy Movement, although there are some similarities. It is not only about Canada and it is not only about Native people. Finally, and probably most importantly, it (and we) are not going away anytime soon. So get used to it (and us).

#IDLENOMORE MOVEMENT: WHAT IT IS ABOUT

“The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the blood of our ancestors.”

Chief Plenty Coups, Apsaalooke

“…you have come here; you are taking my land from me; you are killing off our game, so it is hard for us to live.”

Tasunke Witko (Crazy Horse), Oglala Lakota

As the above quotes display, the Indigenous Resistance to the raping and pillaging of the Earth is not new. Likewise, Indigenous peoples’ efforts to protect the mothers of our Nations—the women—are not new either. The Idle No More Movement is simply the latest chapter in that resistance.

It’s About: PROTECTING THE EARTH. Idle No More is an inherently grassroots and localized movement, informed by the founders, but with local flair.

Photo art by Steven Paul Judd

First and foremost, the Idle No More Movement is about protecting the Earth for all people from the carnivorous and capitalistic spirit that wants to exploit and extract every last bit of resources from the land. Therefore, anybody who cares about this Earth should be interested in the Idle No More Movement. The engineers were Nina Wilson, Sheelah Mclean, Sylvia McAdam and Jessica Gordon. It was a response to Canada’s Bill C-45, which overhauled the Navigable Waters Protection Act and removed protections for many waters that go through First Nations. Changing the Act literally moves the emphasis of the protection—it morphs from protecting the waterways to protecting the navigation on those waterways. Now, instead of 30-some thousand lakes being protected under the old Act, only 97 lakes will be protected. As Canadian Parliament Member Kirsty Duncan eloquently states, “The days when Canadians take an endless abundance of fresh water for granted are numbered…”

These mobilized Native people wanted to ensure that children two, three and twelve generations from now would have clean water. The children who will benefit from the Native mobilization are not just Native children—it’s for all children. Lakes and rivers tend to be either clean or dirty for Native and non-Native children alike.

It’s not a Native thing or a white thing, it’s an Indigenous worldview thing. It’s a “protect the Earth” thing. For those transfixed on race, you’re missing the point. The Idle No More Movement simply wants kids of all colors and ethnicities to have clean drinking water. It’s also not a “Canada” or “United States” thing. Multinational corporations do not care about borders and neither should we. Despite legislation to intended to prevent pollution, corporations pollute freely with almost complete impunity and our children are the ones who suffer. We likewise should not care about borders—we are mobilizing on both sides because we understand that what we do affects one another.

We will continue to aggressively organize and be Idle No More about the attempts to destroy our sacred lands, whether its Keystone XL Pipeline or Tar Sands Mining in Canada. We will be Idle No More on SSA Marine’s attempts to create a deep-water shipping terminal for water and air poisoning dirty coal in the Lummi waters near Puget Sound, WA or any disrespect to our lands.

We’re not going anywhere, we’re not going to be silent, we’re Idle No More !

It’s About: PROTECTING WOMEN. Similar to the sustained, capitalistic effort to exploit and pillage the Earth, the carnivorous, capitalistic nature has also exploited and abused women since the founding of both America & Canada. That is something else about which Indigenous people have vowed to be Idle No More. America’s first marriage and property laws, or ‘coverture,’ stipulated that married women did not have separate legal existences from their husbands. Indeed, a married woman was a dependent and could not generally own her own property or control her own earnings. “…once she married she became a legal nonentity. Her husband not only assumed her legal privileges and duties but certain rights to her property as well.” (Women, Family, and Community in Colonial America: Two Perspectives, Linda E. Speth, Alison Duncan Hirsch, Pg. 8.)

And that was for privileged white women. Obviously for Native women, Black women and any women of any other color who were unfortunate enough to live in the United States, it was much worse.

Deborah Parker speaking about Violence Against Women Act at Seattle Idle No More rally. Image courtesy Alex Garland Photography

That pattern of condescension and indeed hatred for women has continued until the present. From the case Bradley v. State which affirmed a man’s “right” to “moderately” beat his wife to the Indian Health Service’s pattern of forced tubal ligations of Native women, the United States has shown a consistent trajectory of hatred and destruction for Native women.

Congress’s recent failure to pass the Violence Against Women Act—specifically because Republicans did not want tribal law enforcement to be able to prosecute non-Native sexual deviants—is a continuation of that exploitation of our women. Similar to the “clean water” discussion, above, the protections afforded by the Violence Against Women Act protected women of all colors—not just Native women. Conversely, Congress’s failure to act on the Violence Against Women Act hurts all women. Strong Native women leaders like Deborah Parker and others are advocating for safety and reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act for all women, not just a few.

It’s not a Native thing.

It’s a “NO women, of ANY color, should have to worry about getting raped” thing.

It’s a “NO women, of ANY color, should get beaten and battered” thing.

Those who are transfixed by race, again, are missing the point.

And we will continue to organize and be Idle No More about this attack on the women within our communities, as well as all communities. That is not new and it’s also not just about Native people.

We’re not going anywhere, we’re not going to be silent, we’re #IdleNoMore !

It’s Not an OCCUPY MOVEMENT. The Occupy Movement was powerful and necessary—yet the foundation was frankly not strong enough to sustain. Occupy was about a slowed-down economy and a lot of folks who were, unfortunately, out of work from that slowdown. As the economy began to improve in 2012 and also, significantly, the weather got colder, the Occupy Movement got noticeably weaker. As the economy got stronger, the sheer amounts at the Occupy events got smaller. Now, it looms very strong in everyone’s psyche, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not; Occupy emboldened the Idle No More Movement, just like Syria, Egypt and Libya emboldened the Idle No More Movement. Absolutely. Still, Idle No More is NOT Occupy for these reasons:

The Primary Reason #IdleNoMore is Not Occupy—Native economies are NOT getting any better. In many of our communities, there is 70% PLUS unemployment—more than a simple “boom and bust” economic upturn can fix. There are structural problems that will prevent a quick-fix, and therefore most Indigenous Idle No More will not have an economic incentive to stop their activism.

#2 Reason #IdleNoMore is Not Occupy—We’re Native… Hello? You’re not going to scare us off with the cold weather. My friends have literally texted me pictures of sisters and brothers in Alberta and Saskatchewan standing outside with #IdleNoMore signs in -35 degree weather; I have spoken at events where it is freezing and brothers and sisters are outside in t-shirts.

If we’re mobilizing 2,000, 2,500 people at an event in the freezing cold in January, just imagine how that number is going to multiply when it’s 65, 70 degrees outside.

#3 Reason #IdleNoMore is Not Occupy—Occupy was snapshot response to a 3 year economic downturn. #IdleNoMore is a continued response to more than 500 years of destroying the Earth and exploiting women. The foundation on which we’re building is literally centuries of resistance.

Finally, it’s not Occupy because we are surrounding our advocacy around the specific substantive areas that were discussed earlier—protecting the environment and protecting Native women via the Violence Against Women Act. Yes, like Occupy, this is grassroots—the people are fluid and definitely can change. Indeed, the specific subjects that we choose to organize around certainly could change in the future—whatever we need to be Idle No More about. Still, for now fighting against gratuitous exploitation of our lands and fighting against violence against women are areas where good organization can make a difference.

CONCLUSION

This has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. Native people did begin this movement—energized by Chief Spence’s sacrifice and sparked by the Four Founders’ initiative. Yet this movement belongs to anybodywho wants to stand up for the Earth and women and also make a positive change in the community. That means that non-Natives are certainly welcome. We need non-Natives involved to save this Earth, to give our children and grandchildren the same quality of life that we have enjoyed. It’s about clean water. It’s about clean air. It’s about safety for all women. It’s about making a positive change in our communities. Critics seem to be so caught up on race; yet even racists want their children to have clean water just like non-racists. Right? Well, we want racists (and NON-racists, of course) to have kids with clean water too. Oh, and we don’t want them to get raped or beaten either.

Not too unreasonable, is it?

Here’s a little music and video to close this piece. It’s a project that we (Rock Paper Jet Productions, LLC) did with rapper and producer Brother Ali. Coincidentally, it doesn’t mention race—it mentions wanting to make the world slightly better. And when it comes down to it, that what the Idle No More Movement is about.

“I want to pass this planet to my son

A little better than it was when they handed it to me…”

Peace.

7 Questions with John McCoy, Washington State Representative

Richard Walker, http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com – January 16, 2013

John McCoy, a citizen of the Tulalip Tribes in Tulalip, Washington, was elected November 6 to a sixth term in the Washington state House of Representatives. A Democrat, he represents the 38^th District, which includes the Tulalip Tribes reservation, 40 miles north of Seattle.

He’s an important voice and a builder of bridges of understanding about the state’s First Peoples. The hallmark of his fifth term was a bill that establishes a procedure for states to cede jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters on tribal lands to federal and tribal governments. This year, he’s chairman of the Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee; vice chairman of the Environment Committee; and member of the Education Committee.

He also is chairman of the executive committee of the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators; there are 79 Native legislators in 18 states. He is the former general manager of the Tulalip Tribes’ Quil Ceda Village.

McCoy, who along with Jeff Morris [D-Anacortes] are the only two self-identified American Indians in the state legislature, recently talked to Indian Country Today Media Network about his expectations for 2013.

Sales tax revenues are up, but overall revenues are nowhere near where we need them to be. Where’s the money going to come from to fully fund education and meet the state’s other needs without implementing a state income tax?

Everything is on the table. We’re discussing, right now, what can we accomplish as a legislative body and what items are we going to need to take to the voters of Washington. You know, the voters, they’ve sent a mixed message. They keep voting for the supermajority vote of two-thirds [of the Legislature] to pass any tax issue, but they turn around and tell them that they want all these services. Well, those services have to be paid for. So their message is we want all these services, but we don’t want to have to pay for it. There needs to be some reality set in with the voters, that if they want all these things they’ve got to pay for it because we can’t print money.

Will the Legislature be proposing some funding measures?

More than likely, I don’t know. Because of the makeup of the Senate now, we’re going to have to step back and review what we’ve been working on for the last year to figure out what we can and can’t do.

There are some brilliant young leaders in Indian country in Washington state. How do we get more Native people to run for state office and the Legislature?

I struggle with that almost every day. We need more bright young leaders. Because of the lack of resources, they in essence have had to stay home and take care of the community at home. But now that a majority of the tribes have resources, that they’re taking care of their own, now they need to understand that if they’re to be more successful, they’re going to have to start working with surrounding communities to accomplish things that they need to. In essence, we can’t live in a vacuum anymore, the vacuum of the reservation. You have to expand because you might say you’re outgrowing the reservation. If you’re going to outgrow it, then you have to work with surrounding communities. Standing around and thumping your chest over sovereignty – no, it’s the art of negotiation now: What is it that we can do to co-exist that is a win-win situation for everybody in the community. Tulalip’s done a pretty good job of that, but like everything else, it needs constant nurturing.

It seems too that if there were more Native people in the Legislature and mainstream politics, it probably would do a lot to improve the understanding of the culture and people as well. Wouldn’t it help build relationships?

Yes, I strongly believe that.

Was there anything that came out of the last session that gives you hope for the future, either in bipartisanship or the Legislature’s ability to work things out?

As horrible as last session was, I was able to get the retrocession process revamped. The previous process, which I used to take Tulalip through in ’96, that process was cumbersome. It was difficult to get through … I streamlined it. The first session of the biennium, there were all kinds of crazy things happening to that bill. I talked to the speaker, the majority leader, the governor. … The governor appointed a task force, which I chaired, and I convinced the Legislature to apply for and get that process qualified as a [Continuing Legal Education course], and they did.

We went through the education process, of what retrocession really is. We only needed three sessions [and] when we reintroduced the legislation, it sailed right on through. Again, it was about education, getting everyone to understand what retrocession really is – It’s Indians having jurisdiction over Indians within the boundaries of the reservation. Don’t read anything into it, that’s all it means.

What legislation of import do you see coming up in the next session?

I’m introducing a heavy lift bill to allow tribes to compact for their own tribal schools in the state. A heavy lift bill is a bill that is going to generate a lot of controversy. Once again, I have a lot of education to do.

How did that issue evolve?

A few tribes came to me and said they wanted it. They actually got excited about the charter school initiative, because they wanted their own schools. Well, the charter school process is cumbersome for tribes, not that it couldn’t work, it was just going to be cumbersome, and I had this bill in the works before the language for the initiative was done. The reason for the bill is that some tribes were successful in negotiating with their local school districts to create their own school which is actually in current law. The problem is, unilateral action can be taken and a couple tribes had their school districts tear up the memorandums unilaterally, so it undid everything that they had been working so hard on. So they wanted certainty. So, in working with the tribes and a couple of national organizations, we think we have a bill the tribes and the state can agree to. Another bill I’m working on which almost got passed in last session – it got caught up in the budget morass – is having the state recognize the fourth Friday of the month of November as Native American Day.

Diabetes Day today at Tulalip Health Clinic from 9:30 – 3:30

By Monica Brown Tulalip News writer

Janurary 16, 2013

TULALIP, Wash-

The event began today with and opening prayer and is scheduled to run until 3:30 p.m. Breakfast was served with the intention to inform about healthy options for people either with diabetes or wanting to ward off diabetes. Tribal member Hank Gobin gave a informative speech about diabetic care.

Lunch will be served from noon to 1:30pm. Clinic staff will be offering comprehensive Diabetic Services for all Tulalip Tribal members and authorized patients of the Karen I Fryberg Tulalip Health Clinic.

Breakfast for Diabetes Day, fresh fruit, oatmeal, greek yogurt, eggs and tea. — Breakfast for Diabetes Day, fresh fruit, otameal, greek yogurt, eggs and tea.

Diabetes Day at Tulalip Health Clinic today

Burn bans continue for Snohomish County, Tulalip & Stillaguamish tribes

Source: Arlington Times

January 15, 2013 · 1:36 PM

Snohomish County is one of three counties in which the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has lowered the air quality burn ban to Stage 1 until further notice.

“Air pollution levels throughout the region have dropped, likely due to clouds and warmer temperatures,” said Dr. Phil Swartzendruber, forecaster for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. “The drop in pollution could also be due to the help of our communities following the burn ban. Calm, cold and clear weather conditions are likely to continue over the next few days, so ongoing cooperation with the burn ban will help keep our air healthy.”

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency will continue to closely monitor the air quality and weather situation.

During a Stage 1 burn ban:

• No burning is allowed in fireplaces or uncertified wood stoves. Residents should rely instead on their homes’ other, cleaner sources of heat, such as their furnaces or electric baseboard heaters, for a few days until air quality improves, the public health risk diminishes and the ban is cancelled.

• No outdoor fires are allowed. This includes recreational fires such as bonfires, campfires, and the use of fire pits and chimineas.

• Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.

• It is okay to use natural gas, propane, pellet and EPA-certified wood stoves or inserts during a Stage 1 burn ban.

The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit their time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children and adults older than 65 years.

The Tulalip and Stillaguamish tribes are likewise among the six Native American reservations on which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 will continue a burn ban on all outdoor burning until further notice, due to stagnant air conditions that are forecast to prevail over the next few days.

This burn ban applies to all outdoor and agricultural burning, including camping and recreational fires within reservation boundaries. Ceremonial and traditional fires are exempt from the outdoor burn ban.

The EPA also requests that reservation residents reduce all sources of air pollution, including excess driving and idling of vehicles, and the use of wood stoves and fireplaces, unless it is their only source of heat.

Air pollution can have significant health impacts. Cooperation from the community will help people who are at risk during this period. Those most at risk are children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with difficulty breathing, and with heart and lung problems. Those at risk should avoid outdoor exercise and minimize their exposure to outdoor pollution as much as possible.

Please call 1-800-424-4EPA and ask for the Federal Air Rules for Reservations Hotline, or visit the FARR website for the current burn status at www.epa.gov/region10/farr/burnbans.html.

Nominate a Local Senior for Valentine’s Day Friendship and Cheer

SEATTLE, Jan. 16, 2013

Do you know a senior who will be home alone this Valentine’s Day? You are invited to nominate him or her to receive a free Valentine’s dinner at home with gifts and companionship. This contest is the brainchild of Emeritus Senior Living, the nation’s largest assisted living and memory care provider. One local senior from every city where an Emeritus community is located (See below for list of cities within WA) will be chosen as the recipient from among those nominated by the public.

“At the time of year, it’s important to extend caring and friendship to the senior generation,” said Jayne Sallerson, Executive Vice President at Emeritus. “For those who have lost spouses, Valentine’s Day can be a sad occasion that contributes to feelings of loneliness. Family and friends may live far away, and perhaps physical challenges limit their ability to get out into the greater community. We hope to brighten the day for one of these seniors through festivities and friendship.”

Bringing Valentine’s Day festivities to a local senior is part of the philosophy of Emeritus’ assurance that seniors are living “safely somewhere.”

“What that means is we believe it is crucial for seniors to live in environments that enhance their well-being, whether they reside with us or somewhere else. That is why we would like to offer this special occasion on Valentine’s Day,” explains Sallerson.

To suggest a senior, please email contest@emeritus.com and provide:

His or her name, contact information, and city and state.
Your contact information.
A brief explanation of why you are nominating this person.

Submissions are due by Thursday, Feb. 7.

For information on the location and services at each Emeritus community, visit www.emeritus.com.

Emeritus community city locations

Bellevue, Bellingham,

College place,

Ellensburg, Everett,

Federal way,

Kenmore, Kirkland,

Lynnwood,

Moses Lake,

Ocean shores,

Poulsbo, Puyallup,

Renton, Richland,

Silverdale, Snohomish, Spokane,

Vancouver,

Walla Walla,

Yakima

MicroGREEN Polymers and Stillaguamish Tribe Announce Strategic Investment

Stillaguamish to Invest $5 Million to Enhance MicroGREEN Polymers’ Strategic Growth Plans. MicroGREEN to Provide Stillaguamish with Environmentally Responsible Packaging

ARLINGTON, Wash., Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ —

MicroGREEN Polymers, Inc. (MicroGREEN) today announced that the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians has made a strategic investment of $5 million in MicroGREEN. This round of funding, the first closing in a $20 million round, will enable MicroGREEN to expand its commercial production capabilities to produce a wide range of environmentally responsible cups and trays for consumer use. The Stillaguamish Tribe will also use MicroGREEN’s cups in their Angel of the Winds Casino and other businesses.

“We are very excited to have the Stillaguamish Tribe as both an investor and customer,” said Tom Malone , president and chief executive officer of MicroGREEN Polymers, Inc. “Our sustainability ethos resonated with the Stillaguamish Tribe, and while we have investment from venture capital and corporate strategic funds, including Waste Management and WRF Capital, we have refocused our funding efforts toward other like-minded Tribes.”

Koran Andrews , CEO of the Stillaguamish Tribal Enterprise Corporation commented, “We first approached MicroGREEN about purchasing their InCycle^TM cup for use in our casino but immediately recognized how the InCycle products could be a strategic fit in our sustainability and economic diversification goals. We are committed to a strategy of diversifying our investment portfolio into enterprises whose goals, values and products align with those of our people, protecting our planet for generations to come while also contributing to the economic health of the Tribe.”

“There’s a convergence of sustainability and economic return at MicroGREEN,” Malone said. “Our technology allows us to use less plastic to produce high quality products. The recycled content and recyclability of InCycle products, coupled with their lightweight nature means that we are creating some of the greenest packaging products available, while having the advantage of being a low cost producer. Our investors are excited to see us developing products for airlines, food processors and quick serve restaurants which address a $25 billion market.”

“MicroGREEN has a breakthrough technology with fantastic traction across a number of packaging applications,” said Andrews. “They are truly an innovative player in packaging; reducing waste while lowering cost and improving product performance. We see a huge opportunity for growth both in supplying Native American owned casinos and convenience stores as well as broadly across the economy.

MicroGREEN is an innovative plastics company that uses its patented Ad-air® technology to create its own InCycle brand of insulating and temperature resistant cups, trays and other items are made from expanded, recycled PET (recycled water bottles). The production process makes PET lightweight without using chemical blowing agents, and because the plastic is not chemically altered, it can be recycled at the end of its life. The technology lowers the raw material cost and reduces the weight of plastic products while improving functionality. By using recycled content and insuring that InCycle products are recyclable, MicroGREEN is contributing to the groundswell of support for #1 PET resin, the most widely recycled plastic in the world.

MicroGREEN’s commercial production facility in Arlington, Washington has the design capacity to convert at least 20 million pounds of PET per year. Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert commented, “MicroGREEN currently employs 45 people and expects to significantly expand its workforce to handle demand over the next 12 months. Arlington is thrilled to be home to MicroGREEN.”

Recently MicroGREEN was awarded a Silver prize by prestigious DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation as well as a Silver prize for manufacturing by the Green Washington Award. The company was also named to the 2012 Washington Green 50 list. MicroGREEN has also been recognized by the Wall Street Journal’s Innovation Awards as well as awards from Green Washington and Washington Manufacturing in previous years.

SOURCE MicroGREEN Polymers, Inc.

http://www.microgreeninc.com/