Traditional club staff by Tulalip artist Richard “2 Doggs” Muir is decorated with a tuft of animal fur and a zigzag peyote stitch design. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Tulalip tribal artists, Richard “2 Doggs” Muir and David Fryberg, have begun work on a healing project for the families and students affected by the October 24 shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. The healing project will consist of a large beaded staff and a brass plaque that will serve as a memorial to the only survivor and four students who were shot and killed.
“The purpose of this is for family, friends, staff and teachers to come by and remember these kids in a good way. The families can bring something and hang it off the staff if they want to. The school can make something to hang off the staff. It just symbolizes that these kids’ innocence was taken,” said Muir.
Courtesy of Hibulb Cultural Center & Natural History Preserve
Muir, who is known for his bead work with the Native American peyote stitch, and Fryberg, who is known for his work in cedar weaving and hand drums, are reaching out to the victims’ families for input on the project’s design. Muir will be donating the beadwork that will feature a simple peyote stitch using beads to wrap around a large staff that will also feature an eagle claw atop the staff. Fryberg will be crafting the bronze plaque that will have a short healing message engraved on it.
“I want to talk to the families to ask them how do they want their kids represented in this. What would they want to see on this staff to represent their child. I would like to feature the kids’ names, either their first names or their full names, because this project is for them. It is a
symbolization of these kids, it is more than just their initials or full names, it is a symbolization of who these kids were as people, and what they brought to this world,” said Muir.
The idea for the project is loosely taken from the tradition of a journey stick or memory stick. Many Native
Tribal artist David Fryberg Sr. will make carve a healing message into a brass plaque that will accompany the beaded staff made by fellow artist Richard Muir. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
American tribes used staffs or large sticks as a way to memorialize a person or place. The staff is left in place and travelers are encouraged to leave a memento of personal value or representation as a memorial. The staff is from a pine tree, which symbolizes peace to many Native American tribes. The beadwork, which will feature over a 1,000 beads, will take nearly seven months to complete. Muir states the staff will be completed near the one-year anniversary date of the shooting.
“It is going to take me awhile to complete. I am going to have to set it down and set it aside because of the emotional transfer that comes with this type of work,” explains Muir about the traditional cultural practice in not crafting or completing tasks with negative thoughts. “My mind has to be in the right spot and clear of negative thoughts.”
A beaded staff spear by Richard “2 Doggs” Muir features the peyote stitch with intersecting design patterns. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
“I want this to be for anybody who wants to take a moment to remember these kids, because who knows what these kids would have accomplished if they hadn’t been tragically murdered. They could have been the ones who invented renewable energy or saved our natural resources. We will never know now,” said Muir.
The beaded staff and bronze plaque, once complete, will be gifted to the Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Staff will then decide where the items will be placed for students and visitors to access.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Tulalip member Robert “Wachadup” and Lisa Monger performed a traditional healing song during the interfaith prayer service, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2014, in Marysville, WA. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
MARYSVILLE – More than a hundred people attended an interfaith prayer service held in the Marysville-Pilchuck High School auditorium on Tuesday, February 24. The event, organized by Reverend Terry Kyllo with the St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Marysville, and Father Pat Twohy, director of the Rocky Mountain Mission for the Northwest Jesuits and who has a lengthy history of chaplain services in the Tulalip community, was designed to bring together the diverse cultures represented in the Tulalip/ Marysville communities during this time of healing.
The event was held on the four-month anniversary of the October 24 shooting at the high school where Tulalip tribal member Jaylen Fryberg killed four of his classmates leaving behind one survivor, 14-year-old Nate Hatch, also his relative. Killed were 15-year-old Andrew Fryberg, also related to the shooter, Zoe Galasso, Gia Soriano and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, all 14.
Faith leaders representing many traditions in and around Tulalip and Marysville including Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Baha’i and Unitarian welcomed Tulalip/ Marysville residents to a time of silence, prayer, encouraging words, and fellowship. Also in attendance were leaders from Tulalip Tribes, who offered a prayer of healing.
An interfaith prayer service was held for the Tulalip and Marysville Communities on the four-month anniversary of the Marysville- Pilchuck High School shooting, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Marysville, WA. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
“I know when tensions arise in the community and when there is fear that grabs hold, and there is some violence of some kind, that people have a really strong tendency to scapegoat people that they think are different than them,” said Rev. Kyllo about the idea around the interfaith service. “I started work with the recovery team and proposed in December that we might put on an interfaith service as a way to honor and celebrate the diversity of the community.”
Kyllo reached out to Father Twohy, whom he had never met, about hosting an interfaith service. “I walked up to him and I said, ‘Father Twohy, I want to do an interfaith service because we are all human and some of us don’t know that.’ He immediately said, ‘Amen brother. I am with you, give me a call.’ So we began working on the service.”
Throughout the service faith leaders shared words of encouragement before offering a prayer. Afterwards each faith leader would place a candle on table creating a circle of light meant to represent the community.
“It has been a real testing time for our community and you have all been a part of that,” Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said to attendees. “I can tell you that I am so proud to live in a community like Tulalip/ Marysville. We really take care of one another.”
Marysville School District Superintendent Dr Becky Berg lists schools and communities around the globe who have experienced the same tragedy. A moment of silence was held for each one during an interfaith prayer service, Tuesday, Feb. 24,2015, in Marysville, WA. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Echoing his sentiments Tulalip Tribes vice-chairman Les Parks spoke about Tulalip and Marysville’s continual support of one another. “When the mayor stands at my side here, to me it is a symbol of Marysville and the Tulalip people coming together as one community, and Dr. Berg represents all the students in the Marysville School District. To me it is important to remember why we are here. Four months ago this tragedy hit us and we lost four lives to a heinous crime, and we lost the shooter as well. We haven’t come to ask why this happened, because we will never understand why or what caused this to transpire. What we are going to do is share. We are going to cry together, grieve, heal and pray together. We are all in this together.”
Before the service concluded, a moment of silence was held for schools and communities around the world who have experienced the same type of tragedy.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring and Tulalip Tribes vice-chairman Les Parks speak about the two communities coming together to support one another following the shooting at the school on October 24, at an interfaith prayer service held, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Marysville, WA. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Three candle were lit during the interfaith prayer service held in the MPHS auditorium, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Marysville, WA. The candles symbolize the Tulalip, Marysville and the Marysville School District who have come together to support one another following the shooting. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Rev. Terry Kyllo, who organized the Feb. 24 interfaith prayer service, offers a prayer of healing during the event, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Marysville, WA. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip Tribal member Natosha Gobin offered a prayer of healing for the communities in Lushootseed, the traditional language of the Snohomish people during interfaith prayer service held, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Marysville, WA. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
The Marysville Getchell Choir performed two songs throughout the interfaith prayer service held, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Marysville, WA. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Jim Baker, Marysville School District finance director, hears input on the Marylsville-Pilchuck cafteria during a community meeting held, Monday, Dec. 11, 2014, at Cedarcrest Middle School. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
MARYSVILLE – “Our community has been shaken, shaken very hard by the events of October 24,” said new Recovery Directory Mary Schoenfeldt for the Marysville School District during a community meeting held on December 11, at Cedarcrest Middle School.
The meeting featured two topic agendas. For the first hour parents learned how to help their children process grief during the holidays. The remainder of the meeting focused on the future of the Marysville-Pilchuck High School cafeteria. Parents were able to voice their opinions during mini breakout sessions on what the school district should do to move forward.
The cafeteria was the location where 15-year-old Tulalip tribal member, Jaylen Fryberg, shot six students, killing five including himself. Since the October 24 incident the cafeteria has remained closed out of respect for students and the victims of the shooting. Now the school district is holding surveys asking the Marysville/Tulalip communities what they would like the future of the cafeteria to entail.
Before the breakout sessions, Schoenfeldt spoke to parents about depression and warning signs to look for in their children as the process of grief continues. “Your children will have a loss of concentration leading to short tempers or quick tempers. Watch for signs of grieving and depression in your children as suicide can become an issue.”
Schoenfeldt explained that students might have a hard time coping with the range of emotions that they are experiencing and may not know how to begin a conversation about how they are feeling. Many parents discussed the apprehension their children feel while at the school and trying to settle back into a routine. One mother expressed that her daughter texts frequently throughout the day as a way to cope and that she does not want to eat lunch at the school.
Marysville School District held a community meeting on Monday, Dec. 11, 2014, at Cedarcrest Middle School to hear community input on future of MPHS cafeteria. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
“Acknowledge that you are also having a hard time coping with your feelings. Acknowledging it with your child helps to make it a topic for discussion. Be available emotionally to your kids to listen to them,” said Schoenfeldt.
Following a brief Q&A with Schoenfeldt, parents were then invited to share their thoughts regarding the status of the cafeteria, which was built in 1970. The school district is seeking state funding to help rebuild the cafeteria.
Students temporarily are eating in the gym. “Right now we are just talking, where do we want the kids to eat? It can’t keep being at the gym forever,” said Dr. Becky Berg, Marysville School District Superintendent.
To decide if the cafeteria should be completely torn down or remodeled, the district had the community participate in a Thoughtexchange survey on the district’s website. “The intent is to get all our voice to the table and also include the students’ voices,” said Berg. The survey, which closed December 12, will be presented to the board.
“The intent of tonight, at this point, is to use these breakout sessions for those who haven’t been online yet and discuss possibilities that we haven’t considered,” said Berg.
Many participants expressed they would like to see the cafeteria radically changed in appearance so it would not be such a visible reminder of the October 24 event. Other suggestions included building in a new location, building in a contingency area or simply tearing it down.
The district is currently reviewing the surveys and waiting for funding approval. Berg remarked that while changes will take some time, it is being fast tracked for the students. “This will not be an overnight process. We are all first timers at this and hopefully last timers at this. Let’s keep talking and supporting each other.”
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Marysville School Board members, MSD Native American Liaisons, Denny Hurtado of WA Office of Native Education and Dr. Kyle Kinoshita the Ex. Dir. of Learning and Teaching, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, following the passing of Since Time Immemorial curriculum in MSD schools. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
MSD adopts Since Time Immemorial curriculum during regular board meeting
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
MARYSVILLE – The work to correct history began long before the Marysville School Board met on December 8, to vote on adopting accurate tribal history and culture via the Since Time Immemorial curriculum into their district schools. The idea was first introduced by then newly elected Rep., John McCoy (D-Tulalip), in HB 1495 on January 26, 2005. The bill proposed requiring school districts to offer tribal history and culture along with Washington State and United States history curriculum. It passed 78-18 in the House on March 9, 2005. However, since then school districts have lagged in offering accurate tribal history on the 29 federally recognized tribes located in Washington state. On December 8, MSD decided to unanimously pass adopting the Since Time Immemorial curriculum as part of required curriculum in all their schools.
“This is awesome. This is a big district and to have a school board adopt it means a lot to us at the Native Office of Education, us as Indian people, and the people who created it. This is a great thing, because they are saying how important it is to start teaching about our history and our culture,” said Denny Hurtado, the outgoing Director of Washington Office of Native Education, following the vote.
STI is the result of partnership between the State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, private and public agencies and several of the 29 federal recognized tribes in Washington state. The curriculum provides a basic framework of Indian history and understanding of sovereignty for grades k-12. Aligned with the Common Core standards for English, language and art, STI lessons can be adapted by teachers to reflect the specific histories of tribes in their local area.
Denny Hurtado, outgoing WA Office of Native Education Director speaks to Marysville School Board, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, on developing Since Time Immemorial curriculum. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Teachers Shana Brown from the Seattle School District who is of Yakima dependency, Jerry Price, a middle school teacher with the Yelm School District and Elese Washines, an educator in the Yakima Nation Tribal schools, developed the curriculum under the leadership of Hurtado. STI was designed not just for non-Native students, but also for Native students. Its purpose, explained Hurtado to MSD board members, is to breakdown Native American stereotypes and misconceptions and to build bridges between tribal communities and non-Native communities.
“All they [students] know about us is what they learned in school, which is very little, and what you see on TV, which is not true, and what you read about during Columbus Day and Halloween,” Hurtado said before the vote. “I didn’t want this curriculum to seem like it was just an Indian thing. This was a true partnership to develop something good for our school to use. The purpose is to build bridges between our community and your community. That is a big point for us Indian people, because we have a lot of mistrust of the education system because our first experience of education was the military boarding schools.”
Over 1,000 teachers have received STI training by the Washington State Office of Native Education and 30 percent of school districts in Washington are using STI curriculum in some shape or form. Montana, Oregon and Alaska have also adopted STI curriculum in their school districts, and currently the Seattle School Board is looking into implementing it into their schools.
Tulalip member and MSD Native Liaison Eliza Davis speaks to Marysville School Board members, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, on the importance of accurate tribal history in school curriculum. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Matt Remle, a Lakota Native from the Standing Rock Reservation and Native American Liaison with MSD, who was present for the voting, said the change was long overdue. Fellow liaison, Eliza Davis, Tulalip tribal member, said the history of her own Tribe was lacking during her high school education.
“I graduated from Marysville-Pilchuck High School. I remember in Washington State history we watched the movie “Appaloosa.” That is what I remember of Washington State history. I don’t remember learning a whole lot about our Indian people or about Tulalip Tribes. I support the curriculum 100 percent. It is so important for our kids, all of our kids, and the whole community to understand the true history of all Washington Tribes, and also the history of Tulalip, Marysville, and what Tulalip does for this community as a whole. I think adopting this curriculum is the right direction.”
“I am excited for this day. I am excited about this and I am ready to approve this. We should have had this a long time ago,” said MSD board member Chris Nation right before the unanimous vote.
For more information on STI, please visit the website www.indian-ed.org.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Tulalip tribal members and Marysville Pilchuck High School alumni releases lanterns for the victims of the Oct. 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Nearly 100 community members released 400 lanterns during the vigil. (Photo/ Natosha Gobin)
Tulalip community fills the evening sky with prayers for MP victims
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Nearly 100 supporters in the Tulalip community, along with Marysville-Pilchuck alumni, gathered at the Tulalip Boom City site on November 7, to send up a message of support through the use of 400 lanterns for the victims of the October 24 Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting.
Eliza Davis and Alex Jimenez, who organized the event, reached out to fellow Boom City stand owners for lanterns and received a total of 400. Hearing about the event, firework wholesalers Anthony Paul, owner of Native Works, and Mark Brown, owner of R Brown (Great Grizzly Fireworks), also pitched in to donate lanterns. A mini fireworks show followed the event hosted by Boom City stand owners Chris Joseph, Junior Zackuse and Nathaniel Zackuse.
Tulalip tribal member Katie Hotts releases a lantern for the victims of the Oct. 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hotts was among 100 other community members who released 400 lanterns during the vigil. (Photo/ Natosha Gobin)
“We just wanted to send up prayers for all the victims, families, our communities and our youth,” said Davis, a Native American Liasion at Quil Ceda & Tulalip Elmentary for the Marysville School District. “In the past my family has used lanterns to send up prayers and messages for our loved ones who have passed on and it really was a healing experience for us. We had a lot of people in grief with heavy hearts come out and by the end of the event I could hear laughter and see smiles, so it turned out perfect.”
Natosha Gobin, who attended the event, said, “Prayers were shared and lanterns were sent above and filled the sky. Some slowly floated up and some quickly went into the air. They all seemed to follow the same path, which from Tulalip, looked as if they were headed straight to Harborview where Andrew Fryberg was surround by his family.”
Tulalip tribal members and Marysville Pilchuck High School alumni releases lanterns for the victims of the Oct. 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Nearly 100 community members released 400 lanterns during the vigil. (Photo/ Natosha Gobin)Tulalip tribal members KC Hotts and Kane Hotts wait to release a lantern for victims of the Oct. 24 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Nearly 100 community members released 400 lanterns during the vigil. (Photo/ Natosha Gobin)
A young Tulalip tribal member releases a lantern for the victims affected by the October 24 Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Photo by Natosha Gobin
Brandi N. Montreuil:360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip community holds surprise homecoming for victim of MP shooting
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Amid chants of welcome home, 14-year-old Nate Hatch received a surprise homecoming from more than 200 friends and family in the Tulalip community when he arrived home to the Tulalip Indian Reservation on November 6. That morning Hatch was released from Harborview Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized after receiving a gunshot wound to the jaw during the October 24, Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting.
One of five students hit when fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg opened fire during lunch inside the MP cafeteria. Hatch is the only survivor of four who were hospitalized. Gia Soriano, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, and Andrew Fryberg died from their injuries after being hospitalized. Zoe Galasso died at the scene along with Jaylen, who died from a self-inflicted wound.
Barely visible inside a black Tulalip Police vehicle, Nate Hatch waves to well-wishers on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014 on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Over 200 community members lined the corner of 27th Ave Ne and Marine Drive to chant welcome home as he was driven past. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Hatch was barely visible inside a black Tulalip Police vehicle shortly before 1:00 p.m. when he drove pass greeters who lined the corner of 27th Ave NE and Marine Drive. Supporters braved gusts of wind and rain for more than an hour to make sure they were there to welcome him home. Students and staff from the Marysville Tulalip Campus, which is the site of Heritage High School and Quil Ceda Elementary School, were also on-site to welcome him.
Managing a slight smile and wave as he past greeters, Hatch took to social media later that evening to tweet, “It’s good to be home.”
In a statement issued by the family following his release, a request for privacy and condolences were issued.
“We appreciate all the amazing support we have received from the community. We are grateful for the top-notch care Nate received from the team at Harborview Medical Center. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the families who have been affected by this horrific tragedy. Please allow us the privacy we need to continue on the road of recovery. Thank you.”
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip tribal member Zee Jimicum, Native American liaison with the Marysville School District, was among the 200 supporters who welcomed Nate home. Jimicum’s son, a freshman at MP, described how as a mother she understood the pain Nate’s family is going through.
“The grief is overwhelming and as a mother my heart has ached from the moment I heard the news. I gladly participated in Nate’s homecoming as another way to help support our community. As the anticipation built with every update we got about Nate’s arrival, I found my emotions welling up inside me. I was excited for Nate, excited that he was stable enough to leave the hospital. As great as that is, I know being home is just a baby step towards the spiritual, physical, emotional and physiological healing he will need. Participating in Nate’s homecoming was more than being just another person lining Marive Drive, I felt blessed to be a part of it all because it was part of the healing process for me,” said Jimicum.
Nate continues to recover from his wounds and since his return home uses social media to express his grief over the incident and thanks for community support.
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Tulalip Tribal members and Tulalip community members line the street waiting to welcome Nate Hatch home, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hatch was shot in the jaw during the Oct. 24, 2014 Marysville-Pilchuck High school shooting by fellow classmate and friend Jaylen Fryberg. (Tulalip News Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Marysville Pilchuck High School staff are working to get back on track with regular class schedules following the tragic shooting on October 24. While grief counselors are still on hand to help students cope with the aftermath, they are turning to the community for help in ensuring students feel comfortable at the school. Family and community members are encouraged to pay a visit to the campus, whether it is to talk or just be a safe, adult presence.
“We are in need of parent, family and community member volunteers to be on campus, to help out in the lunchroom and front offices where the counseling continues. It’s good for the students to see familiar faces, even to just come eat lunch with them,” said Matt Remle, Native American liaison for MPHS.
“Some kids may be angry or depressed, or both. Staff understands that everyone grieves differently. It’s going to take time and I don’t think you can put a timeline on grieving.”
Remle goes on to explain that while increased adult presence is helpful during a crisis, it’s valued all year long. “It’s always good to have community members and tribal members and leaders visit the school, to bring a bit of Tulalip to the campus.”
If you’d like to volunteer, volunteer packets can be picked up at the MPHS front office. For more information on the Marysville School District, visit www.msvl.k12.wa.us.
Tammy Weaver of Marysville was asked to bring her service dog, Gracie, to help comfort students returning to MP high
Hundreds of people cheering, holding candles and flashing heart signs lined the road leading to a shooting-scarred Washington state high school Monday morning, delivering an uplifting welcome to students searching for normalcy.
The buses rolled up to Marysville Pilchuck High School 10 days after freshman Jaylen Fryberg invited friends to sit with him at lunch and then shot five of them — mortally wounding three — before committing suicide.
Three hundred to 400 alumni and 50 to 80 police officers greeted the students in the gymnasium as they came off buses, said Rob Lowry, the school’s co-principal. “The first thing they noticed was there were lines of first responders there,” Lowry said — a decision intended to send a message of security and safety.
And it wasn’t just the students who came together. Residents flocked to the school with signs that read, “We stand with you,” and chanted “Tomahawk!” — the school’s athletic nickname. A U.S. flag was hung over the road from a fire truck, and parents and alumni decorated the outside school walls with signs of welcome.
After days of tearful gatherings and vigils, many students on buses wore smiles as they watched supporters make heart signs with their hands. Some of the teens flashed the same sign back.
“Today was a good day in Marysville,” said Becky Berg, superintendent of the Marysville schools, who said she was “thrilled” that as many as 90 percent of students chose to return to campus Monday. “It’s always a good day when our kids are together.”
There were no classes. Instead, students attended an assembly and then milled around.
“It was a wonderful way to come back to school,” said Miles Holden, 15, a sophomore. “It helped to be in a room full of people who are going through the same thing as you.”
The cafeteria was closed, its eventual fate up to the school district.
“It was eerie looking at the cafeteria but good to come together,” Miles said.
At the end of the day, some of the students stopped to look at a fence that has been turned into a memorial for the victims: Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, Zoe Galasso and Gia Soriano, the 14-year-olds who were killed, and Nate Hatch, 14, and Andrew Fryberg, 15, who remain hospitalized.
“The hardest thing was to see the fence. It just reminds you that everyone was happy at one point and how many people are struggling,” said Michael Strope, 17, a junior. “It was intimidating to come back. Today was about readjusting. I am not completely better, but it started the healing process. “
Police still haven’t revealed what motivated Fryberg to ambush the teens, two of whom were his cousins. The shooter was popular and had recently been voted the school’s “homecoming prince,” and many students were friends with both him and the victims. Fryberg was a member of the Tulalip Tribes, which said it had been targeted by threats that had some kids fearful to return to school.
Keith Red Elk, whose daughter Jessica is a senior, said he hoped the turnout would help the kids face their fears. “We are here to show them it is OK to come back,” he said.
Deborah Parker, a member of the tribal council whose son is a senior at the school, said: “I drove my son to school, and he seemed to be a little bit nervous, but we worked hard as a family to watch over him.
“Those were his friends. Those were his relatives,” Parker said. “So coming back to school today was a slow-moving process. Once we drove up and saw all of the cheers, it became emotional.”
Afterward, representatives of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut — where a gunman killed 20 pupils and six staff members in 2012 — passed on to the school district and to the Tulalip Tribes a Native American dreamcatcher plaque that it received from Columbine High School, the scene of a similar massacre in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999.
SOFIA JARAMILLO FOR NBC NEWS
Representativs from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, passed on a memorial Native American dreamcatcher plaque to the Marysville School District on Monday.
Stephanie Hope Smith, a member of the Newtown Rotary Club, said the plaque “is more than just a dreamcatcher. It is made of love, compassion and hope.”
“It is our hope that you should never have to pass it on,” Smith said.
M. Alex Johnson of NBC News contributed to this report.
Genna Martin / The Herald Pumpkins with the names of the victims and shooter of the Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting carved into them sit along the south fence of the school, which has become a growing memorial. The shooter, Jaylen Freyberg, and victims Zoe Galasso and Gia Soriano have died. Andrew Freyberg and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit are in critical condition and Nate Hatch is in satisfactory condition.
MARYSVILLE — Eventually, there will be some answers.
Hundreds of pages of investigative records will become public. They will reveal what detectives believe happened in the days and weeks leading up to the burst of violence Friday in a high school cafeteria.
Finding answers could take a year. It could take two.
As emotions and judgments pick up speed following Friday’s deadly shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School, the clock slows down for investigators.
Each witness. Each bullet fragment. Each text message.
The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, or SMART, the county-wide cadre of homicide investigators, is in charge of finding the truth.
The team was requested because of the scope and complexity of the investigation. Two Marysville detectives are part of that team.
Detectives owe it to the victims and their families to release only accurate information and to do the investigation the right way, Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said Wednesday. A large volume of information — unverified and frequently coming from anonymous sources — already is in circulation.
“We only want to release facts that have been verified through the investigative process,” Ireton said. “A tweet is not fact.”
Detectives have reasons for not revealing details before the investigation is complete.
“We have to protect the integrity of the case,” sheriff’s detective Brad Walvatne, a member of SMART, said Wednesday. “We don’t want to poison a witness’ memory. We want to know what they specifically know.”
Investigators are responsible for “weeding through the rumors to get to the actual facts,” he said.
That takes time.
Previous SMART investigations have shown a meticulous level of detail, pulling together witness interviews, footprint analysis, medication prescriptions, dental records, three-dimensional digital maps, ballistics, crime-scene log-in sheets and more.
Forensic test results alone can take months to come back from labs. Victims and witnesses may need to be interviewed more than once. The interviews will have to be transcribed and proofed. Detectives will have to detail how they were able to find evidence on a cellphone or computer.
“We’re not going to rush. We want to be thorough. We want to be fair and impartial,” Walvatne said.
That doesn’t change if a suspect is dead, he said.
“We could still find out why this happened if we can’t speak to the person who did it,” Walvatne said.
The homicide detective has been with the sheriff’s office for 15 years. He has been part of SMART since 2009. He’s been involved in complex investigations, such as the murder of a Monroe corrections officer which required interviewing dozens of inmates and corrections officers. The team also investigated the killing of six people in Skagit County, including a sheriff’s deputy.
Walvatne declined to discuss investigative details of the Marysville school shooting. Instead, he explained that in a complex case multiple detectives are put in charge of various aspects, such as crime scene processing and coordinating witness interviews.
The team has detectives who specialize in three-dimensional mapping, trajectory analysis, computer forensics and witness interviews. They share the workload and brief each other on what they uncover.
“There is nothing more important going on. The detectives need to be given the time and space to do it thoroughly and professionally, which is what they are doing now,” Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe said.
Typically, the team is called in to run investigations into officer-involved shootings or in-custody deaths. Roe reviews the team’s cases.
Roe was part of a meeting Tuesday that involved dozens of investigators. They all are working on their own piece of the case.
“This is time-consuming, painstaking, detailed work,” Roe said. “They need to take the time to get the facts.”
Instant access to information and 24-hour news cycles have created an expectation for detectives to finish their case and make everything public right away, and that’s not possible, said John Turner, a retired police chief who served in Marysville in the late 1980s and early 2000s.
“There’s a reason police don’t disseminate all of the information,” said Turner, who also led departments in Snohomish and Mountlake Terrace. “There are valid, justifiable reasons for not doing it. Facts that are known to the police (but) are not known to the public help the police investigate, whether it’s interviewing, interrogation, polygraphs, all of that.”
In addition, this investigation adds a layer of cultural complexity, Turner said. The shooter and some of the victims are Tulalip tribal members.
Turner was a police chief in Snohomish in 2011 when a troubled 15-year-old student stabbed two Snohomish High School classmates. Both victims survived.
That investigation took months, and was complicated in part because police had to gather psychological reports and account for witness stories that changed over time.
In Seattle, police have had to investigate several mass shootings over the years, including one at Seattle Pacific University in June, said Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, department spokesman. The SPU shooting is still an active investigation.
In general, violence in public settings generates more fear and concern, he said. People need answers they can rely upon.
“So there’s this added responsibility for us to really make sure that we take our time and ensure every possible lead is followed up, every last scrap of evidence is collected and gathered, and every last witness is tracked down and interviewed,” he said.
Roe on Wednesday said he hopes people use the time waiting for answers to supporting victims of Friday’s violence.
“This is the time to focus on what we should — the kids, the school, the community,” he said.
As of Wednesday, victims Andrew Fryberg, 15, and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, were in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the head. Nate Hatch, 14, who was shot in the jaw, was in satisfactory condition. Both boys are at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Shaylee is at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.
Zoe Raine Galasso and Gia Soriano, both 14, were killed. A family funeral for Zoe is set for this weekend.
She is survived by her parents, Michael and Michelle, and brother, Rayden. Zoe was a loving girl, who “spread her happiness and delight in new experiences everywhere,” her obituary said.
A traditional two-day funeral for shooter Jaylen Fryberg, 15, will conclude with his burial today.
MARYSVILLE, Wash, – As parents arrived at Marysville-Pilchuck High School Tuesday, they shared hugs and their heartache.
Paula Dalcour was one of the hundreds of parents who attended a Tuesday night meeting.
“This is the third city I have lived in where there was a school shooting,” said Dalcour.
The shooting that happened on campus Friday proved painful for Dalcour’s 10th grader.
“My son went to middle school with some of the kids so it is difficult for him,” she said.
Jaylen Fryberg is accused of shooting five classmates and killing two of them before taking his own life. The 15-year-old was a member of the Tulalip tribe.
Tulalip tribe Chairman Herman Williams Sr. admitted it has been difficult to talk about what happened.
“I’m really traumatized by this. I backed away and had my Vice Chairman speak for me,” said Williams. “Now I have to get out and really carry out my duties.”
Williams said he plans to reach out to the families with a connection to the tragedy.
Police are pressing on with their investigation.
“I truly never have been more proud or more heartbroken than this past Friday,” said Marysville Police Chief Rick Smith.
Chief Smith said 125 law enforcement professionals arrived at the shooting scene within minutes.
There were two standing ovations during the meeting, one for first responders and one for teachers.
Parents were able to ask questions and were given a list of tips on how to talk with their kids.
Classes are scheduled to resume at Marysville Pilchuck High on Monday. Superintendent, Dr. Becky Berg, said it will not be business as usual. The school is still examining how to approach the difficult day, but a decision was made to close the cafeteria where the shooting happened.
