In commemoration of Memorial Day, the Tulalip Tribes held memorial services at both Priest Point and Mission Beach cemeteries, to honor and remember the fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for this Nation’s freedom. The Tribe thanked the veterans, Gold Star Mothers and active duty members of the military for their service.
Tulalip Board member and Vietnam Veteran, Mel Sheldon, hosted the services and thanked the Honor Guards, veterans and families who prepared the cemetery for the memorial services.
“It’s heartfelt to see all the flags on bedsides of Veterans who served, especially for those who paid their life, the ultimate sacrifice,” Mel expressed.
Several Tulalip Veterans shared their experience with the community, recounting their days while on active duty. The services included roll call as well as a 21-gun salute at each cemetery. This year, the Tribe enlisted two Vietnam veterans as guest speakers for the memorial services.
Washington State Council President for the Vietnam Veterans of America, Francisco Ivarra, spoke to the Tulalip community about the important role of family during wartime.
“When we talk about a veteran we have to include his wife, girlfriend and family. It has to be inclusive, because when a Veteran comes home from war, combat and foreign lands, they are not the same person,” said Francisco. “For those of us who served, war will always be with us for the rest of our lives. That war filters down to our families. What we are feeling, going through and experiencing, so are our families. We fought the battle, but when we come home, they are also fighting the battle.”
President of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, John Shafer, served alongside Mel during Vietnam. John shared that there were over 42,000 aviators during the Vietnam War and made sure to take a moment to pay respect to Raymond Moses, a Tulalip Veteran who recently was laid to rest.
John also thanked the Tulalip Veterans and community members stating, “It is an honor to be here today with the Tulalip families and Veterans. [In the military,] Native American men and women have the highest participation role, in history. The Tulalip families stepped up for our country and I thank each of you for your service.”
Tulalip Honor Guard at Priest Point Cemetery. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
Tulalip veterans and their families, as well as the families of fallen soldiers, gathered at Priest Point and Mission Beach cemeteries Memorial Day, May 26, to remember the service men and women that gave their lives in the service of their country and to honor their sacrifice.
Natosha Gobin and her children, Aloisius, Katie, Kane, and KC, opened each Memorial Day service with a prayer in our traditional Lushootseed language. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
Tulalip Councilwoman Marie Zackuse said, “Today, we honor those that answered the call, when war came. Those that answered the call and made the ultimate sacrifice. We are grateful for what they did.
“We also are here to honor those ones that served and returned home,” she added. “Teat-mus always talks about going to war with his brother, and how he was killed right beside him. How hard that was for him.”
Veterans that spoke recalled their comrades and the loss of friends.
Cy Williams offers a tribute to friends he lost in the armed forces during the Vietnam War. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
Tulalip veteran Cy Williams said, “Of the 150 men in my unit that went to Vietnam, 26 of us returned. I buried a lot of my friends.”
Memorial Day is a day to honor and remember the sacrifice many families made for this country, as the mothers bore the sorrow of their child’s sacrifice. The names of Tulalip Gold Star Mothers were called in the roll call.
Tulalip Veteran Cy Hatch Jr. calls the roll at Priest Point Cemetery. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
As Tulalip Veteran, Cy Hatch, read the roll call of fallen soldiers, he announced that, “This day is also dedicated to the Mothers who have made the supreme sacrifice. They have suffered more than any of us can possibly imagine – our hands are raised up to these Gold Star Mothers.”
Tulalip Honor Guard at Priest Point Cemetery Memorial Day ceremony. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
The 10:00 a.m. Memorial Day service at Priest Point Cemetery was carried out by the Tulalip Honor Guard, who stood steadfast through the pouring rain to honor the Tulalip warriors past and present. The weather cleared up for the 11:00 a.m. service at Mission Beach Cemetery, and the Tulalip Honor Guard, again, carried out their task impeccably.
Colorguard Gene Zackuse, Joe Jones, and Art Contraro at Mission Beach Cemetery. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
A special thanks was offered to four Veterans in particular. Mike Addie, Art Contraro, Tony Gobin, and Richard Muir Jr. cleaned up the two cemeteries over the three weeks prior, along with the Tulalip Maintenance staff, in preparation for the day’s activities.
Tulalip Honor Guard preparing for a 21 gun salute at the Mission Beach Cemetery on Memorial Day. (Left to Right) Gene Zackuse, Joe Jones, Art Contraro, Morris Alexander, David Fryberg Jr., Tony Gobin, Mike Gobin, Mike Addie, Richard Muir Jr., Steve Jones, Jackson Harvey, Bill McLean Jr. (Behind) Bill McLean III and Mike Dunn. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip NewsCy Hatch Jr. calls the roll at Mission Beach Cemetery. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip NewsTulalip Honor guard.Seated at the end of the line is World War II veteran Charlie “Red” Sheldon. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip NewsWorld War II veteran Stanley G. Jones Sr. recalls his time in the marines, being part of the first occupational forces in Nagasaki after the atomic bomb was dropped. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip NewsTulalip Honor Guard 21 Gun Salute at Priest Point CemeteryTulalip Vietnam veteran and Memorial Day master of ceremonies, Mel Sheldon Jr. At times throughout each service, Sheldon spoke of his time as an Army Helicopter Pilot, remembering many peers that never made it home. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
Gold Star Mothers (and fathers)
WWI
Alphonsus Bob and Julianne Bob
Elison James and Katrina Bagley
Korea
Walter Moses and Marya Moses
Joseph Charles Jr. and Nora Charles
Vietnam
Donald Campbell and Katherine Campbell
Larry Price and Elsie Price
Gus Smith and Toddy Smith
Tulalip Tribes − Priest Point Cemetery
UNKNOWN SOLDIER
CHARLES JR, JOSEPH
DAVIS, WILLIAM D.
GRAVES, WALTER
HATCH SR, CHARLES
HATCH SR, EZRA
JAMES SR, ELSON
LEWIS, CECIL
MOSES, WALTER
WILLIAMS, JESSIE
Tulalip Tribes − Mission Beach Cemetery
UNKNOWN SOLDIER
ADAMS, TOMMY
ADAMS, WALTER
ALEXANDER, JOSEPH G.
ALEXANDER, JOSEPH J.
ALEXANDER SR., WARREN
ARCHIE, ROBERT
ASHMAN SR, CHESTER
BAGLEY, ELMER
BAGLEY, RAYMOND
BAGGARLEY, JAY
BAGGARLEY, JUNIOR
BARTO, ROBERT
BEATTY, EDWARD
BLACKBIRD, JOSEPH
BOB, ALPHONSUS
BROWN SR. ELLIOTT
BROWN, FLOYD
BROWN, LAWRENCE F.
BROWN, ROBERT
BROWN, RONALD
BRUDEVOLD, JOSEPH
BURNS, JAMES
CAMPBELL, DONALD
CHARLES, ALVIN
CHARLES, LEO
CHARLES, WESLEY
CHARLEY JR, LAWRENCE
CHARLEY SR, LAWRENCE
CHEER SR, ARNOLD
CEPA, MARTIN
CLADOOSBY JR, ERNEST
CLADOOSBY SR, ERNEST
CLEARY, ROBERT CLIFFORD
COMENOTE, GEORGE
CONTRARO, GEORGE
COLE, JAMES
COY, JOSEPH
CRAFT, SR., WILLIAM RAY
CRAIG, GEORGE
CULTEE, HARRY
DELOS SANTOS, ARTURO
DOVER, GEORGE
DOVER, WILLIAM
DUNBAR, ERNEST
DUNN, HARRY
DUNN, JAMES
ENICK SR, GERALD JOHN
EYLE, PETE
FRYBERG, BYRON
FRYBERG, MYRON JAMES
FRYBERG, RAYMOND
GATES, PATRICK
GEORGE, JACK
GOBIN, BERNARD WILLIAM
GOBIN, EMERY
GOBIN, THOMAS JOSEPH
GRANT, CLAUDE
GRENIER, RICHARD
GRENIER JR, WILLIAM
HARRISON, ORVILLE
HATCH JR, ARTHUR
HATCH SR, CLARENCE
HATCH JR, CYRUS
HATCH, EZRA (ZANE)
HATCH, LAWRENCE (LARRY)
HATCH JR, LLOYD
HATCH SR, LLOYD
HATCH, VERLE
HATCH, WAYNE
HAWK, GORDON
HEGNES, HELMER
HENRY ALEX
HILLAIRE, PHIL
HILL SR, CHARLES
HILL, THEODORE
HOOD, AL
HOPKINS, ALFORD M.
HORNE, ROMEY A.
HOWARD, SHERMAN
JAMES SR, CHARLES
JAMES, JOHNNY
JAMES MICHAEL
JAMES, WILLIAM
JIMICUM, JOSEPH
JIMICUM, LARRY
JOBEY, JAMES
JOE, LAWRENCE
JOHN, ALBERT
JOHNNY, MARTIN
JONES, BAYARD
JONES, CARL (POLY)
JONES, DARRYL
JONES, DENNIS (JERRY)
JONES JR, GEORGE
JONES, LEONARD (PENNY)
JONES JR, RALPH (BREEZER) DELNO
JONES SR., WILLIAM
JOSEPH, BERNARD
JOSEPH, HAROLD
KEOKUK, JOSEPH
KONA, ISSAC (IKE)
KONA SR, RONALD KEITH
LACY SR, CECIL D.
LAMONT JR, LEVI
LAMONT SR, LEVI
LECLAIRE, ROBERT
LECLAIRE, ALAN
LEDFORD SR, ALAN
LYLE, GALEN
LYLE, WILLIS
MADISON, FRANK
MATTA, ART
MCCOY, RICHARD R. (DICK)
MCDEVEITT, JAMES
MCKAY, JR. ARNOLD
MCLEAN, WILFORD
MCLEAN SR, WILLIAM
MILLER, JOE
MONGER, JAMES
MORRISON, DERYLE
MOSES JR, KENNETH
MOSES SR, KENNETH
MOSES, MORGAN
MOSES, RONALD EDWARD
MOSES SR, ROBERT
MYERS, ROBERT EARL
NAPEAHI, JR., WILLIAM
NAPOLEON, HENRY
NUCHOLS, JOHN
OLIVER, CHARLES (MANNY)
PABLO SR, LOUIE
PATRICK, DANIEL
PAUL, HAROLD
PERRY, WILFRED
PRICE, LARRY
PRICE, PAUL
PROUTY, WILL
PYOTT, KENNETH
REESE, WILLIE
REEVES SR, CONRAD
REEVES, GEORGE
REHDER, CARL
RENECKER SR, ROCKY
RETASKET, GARY
RICE, GEORGE
RIVERA, CARLOS
RIVERA, JOHN
ROSS, JOHN H.
RYNER, HOMER
SAM, ALFRED
SANDERS, REGINA
SCHEEHAGEN, EDWARD
SHELDON, FRANCIS
SHELDON JR., LAWRENCE
SHELDON SR., MELVIN
SHELDON, ROBERT (BOB)
SHELTON, ALOYSIUS
SHELTON, CLARENCE
SHELTON, REUBEN
SHELTON, WILLIAM “BILL”
SMITH JR, GUS
SMITH, RUSSELL
SNEATLUM SR, CHARLES
SPENCER JR, RICHARD
STEVE, WILFRED
TAYLOR, CURTIS
TAYLOR JR, DALLAS
THOMAS, LOUIS
TOM, HARRY R.
TORY, JAMES
UPCHURCH, O. C.
VAN PELT, LEONARD
WALKER, GEORGE
WARBUS, JOSEPH
WELLS, WALTER
WILLIAMS, BENJAMIN
WILLIAMS SR, BERNARD
WILLIAMS JR, CHARLES
WILLIAMS SR, CHARLES
WILLIAMS, CHRIS
WILLIAMS JR, EDWARD
WILLIAMS SR, EDWARD
WILLIAMS SR, GEORGE
WILLIAMS, JOSEPH
WILLIAMS, KENNETH
WILLIAMS, LEONARD
WILLIAMS, MARVIN (SPUD)
WILLIAMS, RANDOLPH
WILLIAMS, RANDOLPH (RANDY)
WILLIAMS SR, RICHARD
WILLIAMS STEVE
WOLD, SEVERIN (SAM)
Andrew Gobin is a staff reporter with the Tulalip News See-Yaht-Sub, a publication of the Tulalip Tribes Communications Department. Email: agobin@tulalipnews.com Phone: (360) 716.4188
Officially, Memorial Day is a day on which war dead are honored. Unofficially, it’s a universal day of remembrance for all who have passed on. Many Americans will visit cemeteries over this holiday weekend in order to offer prayers, respect and honor to the graves of warriors and non-warriors alike.
Americans take great care in honoring their dead with fine monuments marking their lives and impact they have made on the world. To express anything other than respect for these sites would be considered downright un-American. The ancestors of Native peoples, however, are frequently not afforded this most basic level of humanity. Our dead often rest in mounds or sites that are marked with far more subtle methods than stone markers.
“There are cemeteries in Europe that are as old as our Native burial mounds here in the U.S. The only difference is that they have headstones with last names that can still be found in the immediate community,” said Kim Wesler, former director of the Wickliffe Mounds site in Kentucky.
The Ohio River Water Walk is the third Nibi walk lead by a group of Anishinabe grandmothers who pray for the water and raise awareness about the pollution that plagues this element that is essential to life. They began the walk in Pittsburgh on April 22, Earth Day, and are concluding their journey on Memorial Day near Wickliffe Mounds, a gesture that sends a poignant, potent message in both time and place.
Once a notorious example of racial disregard for Native burial sites, Wickliffe Mounds now stands as a tribute to what can be accomplished by tribal and mainstream collaboration in reclaiming the sacred.
The Nibi Walkers traveled 981 miles from the source to the mouth of the Ohio River, the most polluted river in America in efforts to reconnect people with the sacred element essential to life. Completing the journey at Wickliffe Mounds has an added bonus of underscoring the treasured graves of Native ancestors that have too often been disrespected and desecrated by mainstream America.
On this Memorial Day in Kentucky, commemorations will include ceremony not only for the war dead of the U.S., but for the many warrior and non-warrior Native ancestors, perhaps killed in defense of their homelands.
Sharon Day, Ojibwe, leader of the walk noted that the Ohio River valley is home to many sacred sites and burial mounds. “It is sad to see such a sacred area treated so badly by pollution and disregard for the ancestors who lie here,” she said.
Sharon Day, Ojibwe, begins the first leg of the day of Nibi Walk along the Ohio River in Cincinnati. (Mary Annette Pember)
Looting of Native graves by amateur and professional collectors in search of artifacts was not an uncommon practice in this region. According to historians with the Ancient Trail of Ohio, hundreds of mounds in Ohio alone have also been destroyed by farming and development.
For generations, Wickliffe Mounds exemplified disrespect for Native sacred places and burial sites.
The modern story of Wickliffe Mounds began in 1932 when Fain King, the owner of the site opened a number of burial mounds on his property, unearthing the bones of hundreds of men, women and children from the Mississippian culture. According to the Kentucky Parks Service, they were likely buried around 1200 A.D. in the large settlement located on a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. King created a roadside tourist attraction from his find. He dubbed it “The Ancient Buried City,” where he offered paying customers a close up view of the remains. After removing the tops of the mounds, he built walkways over the graves where ancestors lay interred with pottery and other items. One of the opened mounds offered for public view contained the remains of many infants. The operation continued until 1983 when it was given to the Murray State University of Kentucky. Murray State operated the site until 2004 when Kentucky State Parks took over, making Wickliffe Mounds the 11th Kentucky state historical site.
Wesler, archaeologist and current director of the Remote Sensing Center at Murray State, was charged by the university with taking over the site in 1983. Although he had little knowledge at the time of the cultural concerns of Native peoples regarding treatment of remains, he knew immediately that the bones needed to be taken off display. “I got a crash course in Native American cultural awareness,” he recalled.
“I soon learned that when you define the past as family, you take it personally,” he remarked about those early conversations with tribal peoples whose ancestors are interred in the mounds.
The road to reburial was not easy in those early days for a traditionally trained archaeologist like Wesler. “The archaeological establishment was strictly anti-reburial in those days,” he recalls. One of his colleagues threatened to sue him if he went through with reburial efforts. He was threatened with legal action from a tribe upset about not being involved in consultations. Many community members also expressed anger over the reburial efforts and the decision to remove remains from public display. “The bones were on display for over 60 years. People grew up seeing them and wanted their children to see them. It was sort of a tradition here,” he said.
Chickasaw Nation Lieutenant Governor Jefferson Keel, with Kylo Prince, who is Lakota/Ojibwe from Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba, and Thomas Pearce, of the American Indian Movement of Indiana and Kentucky at an honoring ceremony to rebury ancestral remains at Wickliffe Mounds.
As he worked to make contacts and build relationships with the Native community, Wesler took the bones off display and replaced them with plastic replicas. The plastic bones served as placeholders, he said, as he struggled to strike a compromise among stakeholders.
The plastic replicas and walkways over the gravesites remained until 2011 when the Chickasaw Nation assisted in reburying the remains. The Oklahoma Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes determined that since the Chickasaw were the closest living descendants of the Wickliffe ancestors they should lead reburial efforts.
During the 2012 ceremony celebrating the reburial of over 400 ancestors from the mounds, Jefferson Keel, Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation noted in his speech that in the past, Wickliffe was a place of desecration. Certainly no Native person would have wanted to visit such a place. Carla Hildebrand, manager of the site that is now owned and operated by the Kentucky State Parks Service, recalled Keel’s words.
“He spoke positively about the growing cooperative relationship between tribes and mainstream officials that allowed the reburial to happen. He said, ‘Now we can move forward,’” she recalled.
The story of Wickliffe Mounds is profound according to Hildebrand. She reports that numbers of Native groups such as the Nibi Walkers now stop in to pay their respects. “I’m happy that the mounds are getting the respect and attention due them,” she said.
“I’m grateful I got to keep those promises made to Native people along the way,” Wesler said.
The history of Wickliffe Mounds reflects a slowly maturing societal opinion regarding Native burial sites, noted Wesler.
Hildebrand noted that in recent years many people expressed discomfort about having the plastic bone replicas on display. “People’s sensibilities are maturing, we are seeing a change in attitudes. People from differing backgrounds would tell us they thought even the plastic replicas were disrespectful,” she said.
Unfortunately, however, modern farming, graveling and urban sprawl continue to take a toll on sacred sites, according to the Ancient Trail of Ohio website. Following are three examples in a long list of ongoing battles between developers and preservationists over protecting sacred sites.
Wal-Mart has a history of destroying sacred sites. They have built or attempted to build stores on burial mounds in Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, California, and Hawaii. In 2004, Wal-Mart opened a store in Mexico City within view of the 2000-year-old pyramids of Teotihuacan despite protests by local residents.
The owner of Wingra Redi-Mix in Wisconsin wants to destroy a bird effigy mound on his property in order to get at copy million worth of gravel buried beneath. The mound, part of the Ward Mounds, have been called the “Heart of the homelands of the Ho-Chunk Nation.” Effigy mounds in Wisconsin were built as long ago as 700 BC.
The Wingra Redi-Mix Quarry has been bulldozed as close to the bird effigy mound as possible. Wingra Redi-Mix seeks to destroy the mound to reap the copy0 million of sand and gravel. The mounds on the property are protected by a burial site protection act. (WisconsinMounds.com)
A magnetic survey done in 2005 revealed the Junction Group below the surface.
Sharon Day is pondering the significance of finishing her 981-mile journey along the Ohio River near Wickliffe Mounds. Seeing the destruction of the water, earth and sacred sites along the way brings home a message from a long ago Shawnee leader, Tecumseh, who called on people to unite and take action to protect the earth.
“….soon the trees will be cut down to fence in the land. Soon their broad roads will pass over the graves of your fathers and, the place of their rest will be blotted out forever. The annihilation of our race is at hand unless we unite in common cause.”
Memorial Day will be observed on Monday, May 26 this year. The Tulalip Veterans Department has been working hard to prepare for the ceremonies, cleaning up the cemeteries and placing flags.
Mike Addie, Tony Gobin, and Richard Muir have been working at Priest Point and Mission Beach cemeteries, cleaning up gravesites and doing a bit of landscaping.
“We work on all of the graves, not just the veterans. We want all of the families to be well represented that way,” said Richard Muir.
The three veterans have been working for a few weeks, and will be finished for this weekend’s activities in observance of Memorial Day. Services will be Monday, May 26, 10:00 a.m. at the Priest Point cemetery and 11:00 a.m. at the Mission Beach cemetery.
Andrew Gobin is a reporter with the See-Yaht-Sub, a publication of the Tulalip Tribes Communications Department. Email: agobin@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov Phone: (360) 716.4188
Memorial Day is the day set aside to honor men and women who have fallen while serving in the U.S. military.
Its origins date back to the Civil War, when it was known as Decoration Day. The solemn holiday has been observed on the last Monday in May since 1971.
Here are some of the events occurring in Snohomish County in honor of the holiday:
Edmonds: The Edmonds Memorial Cemetery is hosting a Memorial Day Observance at 11 a.m. Monday between 100th Avenue W and 15th Street SW. The one-hour event is set to feature a presentation by Tom Hallums, member of the VFW Post No. 8870 and a Korean War veteran. Program includes refreshments, a rifle salute and self-guided tours of the cemetery. Seating is limited and people are encouraged to bring their own folding chairs. For more information, contact Dale Hoggins, Cemetery Board member at 425-776-1543.
Everett: Flowers will be placed at gravesites by the Snohomish County Centeral Memorial Committee at 11 a.m. Monday at Evergreen Cemetery, 4504 Broadway, Everett. This year’s service is dedicated to Vietnam veterans. A luncheon is planned from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Fleet Reserve Association Branch 170, 6802 Beverly Blvd., Everett. Meatloaf is on the menu. Cost $5.
Everett: Pearl Harbor survivor Ray Wans plans to give a speech about his experience at 11 a.m. today at the Grace Lutheran Church, 8401 Holly Drive. The event serves as a Memorial Day remembrance and a barbecue follows the service.
Everett: The Flying Heritage Collection plans to host its second annual Tankfest Northwest at 10 a.m. Monday at Paine Field, 3407 109th St. SW. There will be tanks, artillery, treats and activities for children. Cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth. Veterans enter free.
Lynnwood: 11 a.m. Monday, Lynnwood Veterans Park at 44th Avenue W and 194th Street SW. There will be bagpipes music and a flag ceremony. Event organized by the VFW Post No. 1040. More information at 425-774-7416
Marysville: American Legion Post 178 of Marysville is hosting its annual Memorial Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday, Marysville cemetery, 8801 State Ave. with speakers and honor guard. After the service, the legion hosts an open house with a light lunch from noon to 2 p.m. at 119 Cedar Ave, in Marysville. Both events are free. There will be also a display of 230 veteran’s burial flags done by legion members, cemetery staff and community partners all weekend. For more information, call the cemetery at 360-659-5762, 360-722-7825 or go to americanlegion178wa.cfsites.org.
Mukilteo: A brief Memorial Day ceremony is planned for 11 a.m. Monday at Pioneer Cemetery, 513 Webster St.
A selection of patriotic music will be performed by the MPC Brass under the direction of Rob Coe. Members of VFW Post 2100, under the command of Donald Wischmann, will present and retire the colors. Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine is scheduled to offer remarks. Master of ceremonies Christopher Summitt, an expert on the history of the cemetery, will dress as pioneer Jacob Fowler, one the first people to be buried in the cemetery in 1892. The free event is sponsored by the Mukilteo Historical Society.
Stanwood: Frank H. Hancock American Legion Post 92 plans to hold its Memorial Day Observance at 11 a.m. Monday at Anderson Cemetery, 7370-7816 Pioneer Highway, Stanwood.
