Anthropologist Franz Boas didn’t mean to spark a century-long argument. Traveling through the icy wastes of Baffin Island in northern Canada during the 1880s, Boas simply wanted to study the life of the local Inuit people, joining their sleigh rides, trading caribou skins and learning their folklore. As he wrote proudly to his fiancee, “I am now truly like an Eskimo. . . . I scarcely eat any European foodstuffs any longer but am living entirely on seal meat.” He was particularly intrigued by their language, noting the elaborate terms used to describe the frozen landscape: “aqilokoq” for “softly falling snow” and “piegnartoq” for “the snow [that is] good for driving sled,” to name just two.
Mentioning his observations in the introduction to his 1911 book “Handbook of American Indian Languages,” he ignited the claim that Eskimos have dozens, or even hundreds, of words for snow. Although the idea continues to capture public imagination, most linguists considered it an urban legend, born of sloppy scholarship and journalistic exaggeration. Some have even gone as far as to name it the Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax. The latest evidence, however, suggests that Boas was right all along.
This debate has rumbled on partly because of a grammatical peculiarity of the Eskimo family of languages. Boas studied Inuit, one of the two main branches; the other is Yupik. Each has spawned many dialects, but uniting the family is a feature known as polysynthesis, which allows speakers to encode a huge amount of information in one word by plugging various suffixes onto a base word.
For example, a single term might encompass a whole sentence in English: In Siberian Yupik, the base “angyagh” (boat) becomes “angyaghllangyugtuqlu” to mean “what’s more, he wants a bigger boat.” This makes compiling dictionaries particularly difficult: Do two terms that use the same base but a different ending really represent two common idioms within a language, or is the difference simply a speaker’s descriptive flourish? Both are possible, and vocabulary lists could quickly snowball if an outsider were to confuse the two — a criticism often leveled at Boas and his disciples.
Yet Igor Krupnik, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in Washington, believes that Boas was careful to include only words representing meaningful distinctions. Taking the same care with their own work, Krupnik and others charted the vocabulary of about 10 Inuit and Yupik dialects and concluded that they indeed have many more words for snow than English does.
Central Siberian Yupik has 40 such terms, while the Inuit dialect spoken in Canada’s Nunavik region has at least 53, including “matsaaruti,” for wet snow that can be used to ice a sleigh’s runners, and “pukak,” for the crystalline powder snow that looks like salt.
For many of these dialects, the vocabulary associated with sea ice is even richer. In the Inupiaq dialect of Wales, Alaska, Krupnik documented about 70 terms for ice that mark such distinctions as: “utuqaq,” ice that lasts year after year; “siguliaksraq,” the patchwork layer of crystals that forms as the sea begins to freeze; and “auniq,” ice that is filled with holes, like Swiss cheese.
The biological father: Dusten Brown claimed the right to his daughter under the Indian child Welfare Act, which claims to preserve parental rights and tribal sanctity.
When Matt and Melanie Capobianco watched the birth of their adoptive daughter in 2009, they had no idea their love for this little girl would put them at the center of a decades-old national debate with racial, cultural and political overtones.
But that’s exactly where the James Island couple have found themselves after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed this month to take up their long-running custody battle with 3-year-old Veronica’s biological father, Dusten Brown, a Cherokee Indian.
The decision, which surprised many legal scholars, marks the first time in more than two decades that the high court has taken up a case involving the Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 federal law aimed at preserving American Indian families, tribes and their heritage.
Among other things, the act gives American Indian parents preference in custody disputes involving Native American children.
South Carolina courts cited the act in forcing the Capobiancos in late 2011 to turn over Veronica to Brown, who was a stranger to the child.
He returned home to Oklahoma with Veronica, and the Capobiancos haven’t seen her since.
Oral arguments are expected as soon as April, and the case is being closely watched by a variety of groups with a stake in its outcome — tribal groups, adoption agencies and attorneys, Indian law and constitutional-rights experts. It has the potential to affect the way thousands of adoptions are handled each year and alter the playing field for Native American groups from coast-to-coast.
Predicting the way the high court will rule is always a dicey proposition. But the speed with which the court grabbed the case leads many observers to suspect that the justices intend to make a bold statement on this contentious subject. After all, the high court hears only about 1 percent of the roughly 10,000 cases submitted for its consideration each year.
But the justices’ aim remains a mystery.
“I’m a little bit perplexed by this,” said Lorie M. Graham, a professor and Indian law scholar at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. “You would really have to look long and hard to find ambiguity in this legislation. There is not a lot of room for interpretation here.”
Marcia Zug, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and an expert in American Indian law, agreed. But that doesn’t mean the court isn’t looking toward change, she said.
“The Supreme Court doesn’t take up cases just to affirm them,” she said.
Zug said she believes South Carolina courts ruled correctly, and she can find no legal basis for the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case. She fears the high court is looking to dismantle the Indian Child Welfare Act, which she said many consider to be the most important piece of American Indian legislation ever passed.
“It strikes me that the Supreme Court is looking for a way to overthrow (the act), and I really don’t see how they can do that,” she said.
Tribal groups have similar fears, and they worry that the court is preparing to roll back protections put into place to keep outsiders from legally stealing children from their tribes through coercive adoptions and deceit.
The law aims to preserve parental rights and tribal sanctity, placing a child first with blood relatives and, in their absence, with a tribe member.
“We are very concerned,” said Terry Cross, executive director of the Oregon-based National Indian Child Welfare Association. “We don’t want to go back to those times when those deceptive practices were the norm and people felt like they could take our children away in this manner.”
Others say the law is complicated, confusing and applied differently from state to state and from tribe to tribe. They argue that a Supreme Court review is much needed and would likely result in clearer guidelines for all to follow, potentially avoiding the heartache and drama surrounding Veronica’s case.
“What we are looking for is some clarity, not necessarily a dismantling of the act,” said Washington state attorney Mark Demaray, immediate past president of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, which has submitted briefs in the Veronica case. “We need to know what the rules of the game are.”
Divisive decisions
Before Veronica was born in September 2009 in Oklahoma, her biological parents canceled their engagement and went separate ways. Brown, an Army soldier, acknowledged paternity in text messages to the mother, but did not give her financial support.
The Capobiancos, who had been through seven failed attempts at in vitro fertilization, met Veronica’s mother through an adoption agency, developed a close relationship with her and adopted the baby at birth. The mother is not an American Indian.
Brown filed for paternity and custody after learning of the adoption four months later, and, as an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, argued his case under the Indian Child Welfare Act.
A Charleston County family court judge sided with Brown, and the Capobiancos were forced to surrender the girl to him on New Year’s Eve 2011. The couple then appealed that decision, but failed to win over the state Supreme Court, which upheld the family court ruling by a 3-2 vote in July.
The justices said they ruled with “a heavy heart,” but they were bound by law to give Brown an edge. Though Brown did not support the girl’s mother during pregnancy, his rights as a parent should not be stripped, the court confirmed.
The rulings have fueled strong feelings on both sides.
The Capobiancos’ supporters argue that the courts overlooked Veronica’s best interests, split a loving family and ignored the wishes of Veronica’s birth mother just because Brown is an Indian.
Johnston Moore, a founding member of the Coalition for the Protection of Indian Children & Families, had this to say in an opinion piece published in The Oklahoman, “It was the unfair exploitation of the law’s loopholes that gave rights to a biological father who would have had no rights under state law, resulting in an innocent little girl’s world being turned upside down in an instant.”
Brown’s supporters say the law was fairly applied, helping to reunite Veronica — dubbed “Little Star” by the Cherokee — with her loving father and preserve their culture. They are hoping the high court will do nothing to change that.
“Cherokee Nation believes that ICWA is one of the most important federal laws for the continued existence of tribes,” said Chrissi Nimmo Ross, assistant attorney general for the Cherokee Nation. “The Cherokee Nation is hopeful that the Supreme Court has accepted this case to confirm the lower court decisions and reaffirm the importance of ICWA at the federal level.”
Wide interest
The case and its emotional underpinnings have attracted widespread national attention as it moves through the courts.
The Capobiancos have appeared on the Dr. Phil show, and their story has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications. They also reportedly have fielded offers from Oprah Winfrey’s network, CNN and People magazine to chronicle their legal journey.
For now, however, the couple is keeping a low profile and declining interviews on the advice of their attorneys before the Supreme Court hearing.
Family spokeswoman Jessica Munday would say only that “they are hopeful, and it lies in the hands of the court now.”
The couple has some heavy legal hitters on their side, including Washington, D.C., attorney Lisa Blatt. Blatt has won 29 of the 30 cases she has argued before the Supreme Court. Washingtonian Magazine named Blatt a “superstar” lawyer and one of the “100 Most Powerful Women in Washington.”
Paul Clement, U.S. solicitor general from 2005-08, is working on behalf of the guardian ad litem in the case and has filed a brief in support of returning Veronica to the Capobiancos.
On the other side, Washington, D.C., lawyer Charles Rothfeld is representing Brown and the Cherokee Nation. Rothfeld has worked on more than 200 cases that have gone before the high court, and the National Law Journal last year named him “one of the leading members of the Supreme Court bar.”
Charleston lawyer Shannon Jones, Brown’s local counsel, said Rothfeld also has law students from Yale University working on the case. He is founder and co-director of the Yale Law School’s Supreme Court Clinic, among the largest appellate advocacy programs in the nation.
A tough call
Zug, the USC law professor, said the case should have never reached this point. Had Veronica’s Indian heritage been properly considered from the start, the adoption likely never would have gotten to the point it did, she said.
“There shouldn’t have been this emotional heartbreak,” Zug said.
Yet here we are.
The Capobiancos have said they have been emotionally devastated by the loss of the daughter that became the center of their world.
Brown’s lawyer has said he too has been victimized, vilified for asserting his parental rights and rattled by the venom directed at him.
The Indian Child Welfare Act has been reviewed only once at the highest level. In 1989, Justice William Brennan’s ruling sided with Mississippi’s Choctaw tribe, which challenged an adoption of twins.
In a recent television interview with Charlie Rose, Justice Antonin Scalia, who joined with the majority in 1989, described the case as among the toughest of his career.
Now, Scalia will get another opportunity to weigh in on the law with a court that has a different makeup and, perhaps, a different perspective, said William B. Allen, emeritus professor of political science philosophy at Michigan State University and former chairman of U.S. Commission on Civil Rights under President Ronald Reagan.
Allen, who has been critical of the Indian Child Welfare Act, said the case carries the potential for the court to weigh the constitutional implications of the law and manner in which it is applied. But he is not surprised that the justices have sidestepped the issue for so long.
“I appreciate and understand the court’s reluctance to open this area because federal Indian law is an ugly morass and a big black hole in our law,” he said. “The court has probably wisely decided to stay away from it before now.”
“Building Bridges” is the first in a new series of monthly columns to appear in the North County Outlook and written in rotation by leaders of the City of Marysville, Tulalip Tribes and Marysville School District. The purpose of these columns is to highlight various facets of successful partnerships that have become a hallmark of relations between our governments and respective communities, for the mutual benefit of all. Our sincere thanks to the North County Outlook and Editor Beckye Randall for graciously agreeing to provide us with this great platform for sharing our stories with the public.
A growing community such as Marysville that looks to pride itself on being a welcoming, more prosperous and livable city, is one that learns to celebrate our differences and leverage them to become our strengths.
I established the City of Marysville Diversity Advisory Committee, now into its third year, to build on that ideal. The Committee advises me on policy matters involving the community’s cultural and ethnic differences, and prioritizes issues concerning diversity and inclusion to ensure that the diverse character of our city is represented in decision-making processes.
Marysville has a lot to gain by becoming a more diverse, inclusive community that values diversity. In our community and business partnerships, and outreach with citizens, we recognize that diversity is an asset essential for innovation. It is more than just the right thing to do; diversity will enrich our community.
Both Tulalip Tribes and Marysville School District have been key partners in this endeavor, and they have provided their wisdom, key staff members and resources to the Committee since day one. In addition to the Tribes and District, the Committee is composed of community leaders from various ethnic populations, advocates for people with physical or mental differences, the business community, churches and location organization. I am indebted to the Committee for its tireless work and to the excellent support that is receives.
Bringing these diverse voices to the table is helping to ensure that as more people from ethnic populations and people with disabilities become active in positions of community leadership at levels more reflective of our broader population, the greater community will view these diverse populations as respected, valued members of the community. Committee Chair Marvetta Toler was a catalyst for making this Committee a reality, and her leadership has been indispensible, culminating in her nomination as first recipient of my Leader in Diversity Award in 2012.
Marysville is a growingly diverse community. Two major social-economic forces have changed the face of the Marysville area for the better. The influx of sailors and families stationed at Naval Station Everett have added a diverse character to the community, and the economic revival of the Tulalip Tribes and strong partnership the City and the Tribes have forged has laid a foundation for prosperity for both communities
Additionally, we have seen increases in our Hispanic, African-American and Russian/Ukraine communities, as evidenced in 2010 Census data. For illustrative purposes, consider that Marysville’s Hispanic and Latino population increased rapidly from 1,222 in 2000 to 6,178 in 2010 or as a percentage, from 4:8% of Marysville population in 2000 to 10.3% in 2010.
All too often, building an inclusive community does not emerge as a priority until a negative incident or series of problems erupts that require response from the City, resulting in time spent undoing damage and building community. That wasn’t the case in Marysville. We took a proactive approach, confident that a handful of key community leaders would step up and work together to bring the rest of the community along.
Committee members spent a year developing a vision and mission, and zeroing in on areas where they believed diversity actions could have the most impact. Beyond government and education, they chose business/workforce, outreach and engagement, arts and culture, partnerships with community stakeholders, law and justice, and children and families.
The Committee’s activities culminated in January 2012 with a Diversity Two-Year Work Plan. This thought-provoking document serves as a set of priorities, goals and recommendations designed to educate, enrich, promote, strengthen and enhance the social fabric of Marysville, and keep the inclusiveness dialogue going. Here are a few of their achievements, and projects in the works:
Added a prominently displayed translation tool on our city website.
Developed brochures about the Diversity Committee’s work in English, Spanish and Russian/Ukraine.
Delivering 20-minute community outreach diversity presentations to various groups, and seeking out other groups to present the message.
Participating in roundtable Race Conversations through the School District Superintendant’s diversity work via the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
City airing blocks of daily Native American programming provided by the Tulalip Tribes and shown regularly on our community cable access channels.
Working with Leadership Snohomish County to produce a diversity video.
Exploring the concept for a multicultural fair to be held in September in Comeford Park, and working jointly with the Marysville Arts Coalition to develop a Diversity Arts Contest tied into the fair.
Our vision is that Marysville will be a welcoming and inclusive community that recognizes and honors diversity and is free from prejudice, harassment, bigotry and hate; strives to achieve equality of opportunities for all residents, and creates a harmonious environment.
The City of Marysville, working with Tribes, School District and other key partners, is committed to being a community that takes pride in our ethnic diversity, creates an environment where differences are valued, and builds on the sense of belonging and quality of life we have come to share.
The Indian Education Parent Committee meeting will be held tomorrow evening in the 1st Floor Training Room of the Tulalip Administration Buildin, beginning with a light dinner at 5:00 p.m.
A brief tentative agenda is as follows, there will be a full agenda at the meeting:
I. Announcements: Liaison/Advocate School Reports
II. Superintendent Search Process – Chris Nation, Wendy Fryberg and Wayne Robertson
SEATTLE, WA – To protect the public from unhealthy levels of air pollution, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has issued burn bans for King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. The bans are designed to reduce public exposure to harmful wood smoke pollution from indoor and outdoor burning.
Wood smoke is a growing health concern nationally and increasing attention is paid to the health impacts from short- and long-term exposure to the fine particles and other pollutants it contains. Recent studies have tied wood smoke exposure to health effects such as aggravated asthma, increased heart attacks, acute bronchitis and chronic lung disease.
Locally, high levels of wood smoke pollution violate the federal Clean Air Act in the greater Tacoma area. Within this area, known as the Tacoma-Pierce County Smoke Reduction Zone, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is implementing robust new enforcement and assistance programs recommended by the community to clean up the air.
Fine particle pollution levels are monitored daily by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency at more than a dozen locations in four counties, including three sites inside the Smoke Reduction Zone. The figure below shows daily accumulation of fine particles as measured by a device known as a “Federal Reference Method sampler.” The sampler inhales approximately twice as much air as the average adult over the course of a 24-hour period.
Burn ban24-hour fine particle pollution build-up on air quality filters (from left to right): 1) new filter; 2) good air quality; 3) air quality deemed “unhealthy for sensitive groups” (i.e., burn ban conditions).
The “Stage 2” burn ban will remain in effect as long as air quality conditions remain poor. Until then, no burning is allowed in any wood-burning fireplaces, stoves or fireplace inserts. Use of pellet stoves and all outdoor burning is also prohibited.
Residents should instead temporarily rely on their home’s non-wood source of heat.
Updated air quality information and current burn ban status are available through the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency at www.pscleanair.org or (800)552-3565.
STAGE 1 BURN BAN IN EFFECT FOR KING, PIERCE & SNOHOMISH COUNTIES
Please rely on your home’s cleaner source of heat until air quality improves.
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is lowering the air quality burn ban to a Stage 1 in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties effective at 1 PM on January 15, 2013. The ban remains in effect until further notice.
“Air pollution levels throughout the region have dropped, likely due to clouds and warmer temperatures,” said Dr. Phil Swartzendruber, agency forecaster. “The drop in pollution could also be due to the help of our communities following the burn ban.”
Dr. Swartzendruber added, “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 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).
Embassy of Tribal Nations
1516 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 466-7767
Published on Jan 10, 2013
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has released the following statement in support of the First Nations of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) efforts to hold the Canadian government accountable to its commitment to consultation.
On Friday January 11, 2013, AFN will host a meeting of a delegation coordinated by AFN and Prime Minister Stephen Harper and members of his Cabinet. The meeting comes after AFN and First Nations have called for improved nation-to-nation consultations following legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament in December 2012, Bill C-45; Jobs and Growth Act, 2012. AFN and First Nations expressed opposition prior to and following the passage of Bill C-45, which fails to respect the Treaties and rights of First Nations.
“NCAI supports AFN and the rights of Canada’s First Nations to nation-to-nation consultation and calls on the Canadian Government to uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, of which Canada and the United States have both adopted. As stated in the Declaration, and has been proven time and time again, consultations between indigenous peoples including tribal nations and the governments of North America, are essential to crafting a vision for a shared future,” said Jefferson Keel, President of NCAI, the United States’ oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native advocacy organization.
“We stand united as the tribal nations of North America, as a family of first peoples and first governments of this land, and we stand united to protect our rights. There may be a border separating Canada and the United States, however as first Nations of North America we are not separate, and we will not be divided. And nor should we be divided in our nation-to-nation relationships,” continued Keel.
“Tribal nations of the United States have recently engaged in extensive and improved nation-to-nation consultations as a result of the Obama Administration’s commitment to upholding the U.S. President’s Executive Order on Consultation. These consultations have resulted in strong tribal nations, and a stronger America. We look forward to hearing from AFN the results of tomorrow’s discussions with Prime Minister Steven Harper and the Canadian Government. We stand ready to support AFN and the First Nations of Canada as they take important action to protect the rights, lands, and resources of First Nations and people,” Keel concluded.
Providing culturally sensitive diabetes health care to promote the overall well-being of our people
Join the Karen I Fryberg Tulalip Health Clinic staff on Wednesday, January 16 for Diabetes Day 2013.
The event is schedule for 9:20 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., and will being 8:00 a.m. with an opening prayer and song. Lunch will be served at noon.
Clinic staff will be offering comprehensive Diabetic Services for all Tulalip Tribal members and authorized patients of the Karen I Fryberg Tulalip Health Clinic.
(Marysville, WA) – Last year, volunteers at the free tax preparation center organized by United Way of Snohomish County helped 347 customers file their taxes and brought back $516,974 in refunds. That money gave a boost to the local economy, built up savings and helped people pay off credit card debt.
This year, the free tax preparation center in Marysville will be located at Goodwill’s Marysville Job Training and Education Center on 9315 State Ave. The site will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3.pm from January 22 to April 15.
This service is available for households earning $51,000 or less.
The Marysville site is one of six sites being opened by United Way throughout Snohomish County. The others will be in Everett, Lynnwood and Monroe. All of the sites will be staffed by United Way volunteer tax preparers.
In 2012, 2,511 Snohomish County working families had their taxes prepared for free at a United Way Tax Preparation Site, saving an estimated $414,315 in tax preparation fees. United Way customers had an average refund of $1,700, which amounted to nearly $4.28 million in refunds (including $1.25 million in Earned Income Tax Credits).
Over the past six years, United Way volunteers have prepared 9,181 tax returns worth more than $15 million in refunds for Snohomish County working families.
This year’s sponsors and partners include The Boeing Company, the Washington State Department of Commerce, Moss Adams, LLP, Goodwill, the Walmart Foundation, and the Internal Revenue Service.
What You Should Bring
Although no appointment is necessary, people should bring a picture ID; social security card or tax identification number for everyone on the return; W2s or other income statements from all employers, any 1099 forms; the name, address and tax ID number for your child care provider; records of student loan payments; record of payments for educational expenses such as college tuition; mortgage interest and property tax statements; a bank account number to receive your refund via direct deposit; last year’s tax return – if you have it; and if you’re filing jointly, both spouses must be present to file electronically.
TULALIP, Wash. – To shape the minds of the next generation of leaders, is to first start by setting a good example of what moral values encompass and many other life skills.
If you are interested in taking the time to make a difference and become a mentor, Tulalip Boys & Girls Club staff are looking for volunteers willing to help children grow and flourish in life.
Anyone over the age of 16 can sign up to become a mentor. The Club requires that volunteers have a valid ID and pass a standard background check. Kids under the age of 18 will need a parent or guardian to sign a consent form.
Mentors will be working with kids ranging from five to eighteen years of age and the minimum requirement is one hour per week, any day Monday through Saturday. For more information, please contact the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club at 360-716-3400.
