Courtesy Hoopa Valley Tribe Chairperson Danielle Vigil-Masten and Tribal Council members took Bureau of Reclamation officials and Supervisor Ryan Sundberg on a boat down the Trinity River in Hoopa.
Dropping water levels and rising temperatures in the persistent California drought have tribal members concerned about a fish kill—and, some say, fish are already dying.
The Hoopa Tribe is pressing for a release of water from the Trinity River, which feeds the Klamath. Hundreds of tribal members from the northern coast of California, along with river conservationists, traveled to the state seat in Sacramento on August 19 to urge officials to reconsider their decision to stop pre-emptive water releases.
Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa Valley tribal members joined with people from the Klamath Justice Coalition, coming by the busload, according to the Times-Standard.
It was the second attempt at confronting officials to try and get the message across. On August 11 others showed up in Redding, California, at a press conference on wildfires to ask U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell directly to authorize such a move.
Tribal members are looking for a release of Trinity River water out of Lewiston Dam, they said in a release. The Trinity is the Klamath River’s main tributary. They are worried about a fish kill on the scale of one that occurred in 2002, also for lack of water and a too-high temperature. Tens of thousands of otherwise healthy fish died that year, under very similar conditions.
“The Klamath fish kill of 2002 led to poor salmon returns devastating west coast fisheries for years afterward,” said Dania Colegrove, Hoopa Tribal member and activist with the conservation group Got Water, in a statement. “Since then tribes, scientists and the Department of Interior have worked together to avert fish kills by preventively releasing water during drought years.”
Many say they are already seeing dead fish. They fear that a release once that starts happening would not come in time to stop disease from spreading. Though Jewell met with the protesters after the press conference, she did not agree to release water.
“There is an opportunity to do emergency releases, if we see the temperature rise,” Jewell said to the group at the press conference, according to the Times-Standard. “We’ll make sure that people come out and there is an opportunity to see it. We are dealing with profound drought all over. We’re dealing with it in the Klamath. So, I’ll follow up. Also, I want you guys to understand the biggest issue is the lack of water.”
Two days later, though, Jewell sent a federal team to tour the river along with Hoopa Valley Tribe experts. On August 14, Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director David Murillo and Assistant Regional Director Pablo Arroyave toured the river. In addition the Humboldt County Fifth District Supervisor, Ryan Sundberg, added his voice to that of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council and Chairperson Danielle Vigil-Masten, calling for immediate water releases into the Trinity River, according to a release from the Hoopa Valley Tribe.
“It affects the economy throughout the county when the fish are threatened,” Sundberg said in the statement. “It’s a diverse County and a diverse Board of Supervisors, but everyone is united on this issue.”
YouTube/Yurok youth video This is what the Klamath River looked like in 2002, when conditions were similar to those present now. Releasing water from the Trinity River into the Klamath would cool it down and raise water levels, enabling fish to survive.
So says one teen in this video put together by Yurok youth who, fearful of a fish kill on the Klamath River in California, went out and interviewed tribal leaders as well as those who witnessed mass fish death in 2002.
Water levels are low in the river, and the temperature is rising. Fish, especially salmon about to spawn, congregate in the cooler water, and their proximity can spread disease—which gets cultivated in warmer water. In 2002 this resulted in the deaths of 60,000 to 80,000 fish, crippling fisheries and severely compromising sustenance fishing.
Members and leaders of the Hoopa Valley, Karuk and Yurok tribes have confronted U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell about the decision not to release water from the Trinity River into the Klamath. They have also protested outside state government buildings in Sacramento.
“The Klamath River is on the brink of another massive fish kill,” claim the makers of this video.
The river smells terrible, one girl describes, and the salmon, while alive, had gills that “looked weird to me,” she said. “It made me angry and broke my heart, seeing that happening.”
The river looks sad and sick, said a Yurok man, recalling when it used to be a glorious emerald green, when he was a child. Now it’s green, alright—neon toxic green with things floating in it.
“It’s pretty sad,” he said.
Much of the video is devoted to recounting what transpired during the 2002 fish kill, then drawing parallels between the conditions then and now. Is the Klamath River on the brink of another fish kill? Wathc Yurok youth investigate, below.
CBC News A memorial to murdered Sagkeeng First Nation teen Tina Fontaine, whose body was pulled from the Red River, wrapped in a bag, on Sunday August 17. She had been missing for just over a week.
Calls are being renewed for a national inquiry into the vulnerability of aboriginal women to violence in the wake of the murder of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, whose body was pulled from the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sunday.
Fontaine’s death, which has been ruled a homicide, comes just a few days after formal identification of the remains of Samantha Paul of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Band in British Columbia, hundreds of miles away. Paul, 25 when she went missing in September 2013, was found on June 1 near Kamloops First Nation by some ATV riders, according to CBC News. Although a cause of death has not yet been determined, her family believes she was murdered and is calling for an investigation.
Winnipeg is suffering a double blow, as the body of Faron Hall, a homeless man and a member of Dakota Tipi First Nation, was pulled from the Red River on the same day as Tina. It was the same river that Hall had rescued two people from in 2009, earning the nickname the Homeless Hero, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.
On Friday August 15 an off-duty police officer saw the man who turned out to be Hall in distress in the river and directed a water taxi to where he was. As the boat’s captain tried to pull the man from the water, he himself suffered a heart attack, CBC News reported. By then, rescue crews had arrived, and the search continued until Hall was found on Sunday. The boat captain was hospitalized and is recovering.
Hall, who had alcoholism, himself was no stranger to violence against aboriginal women. His mother had been murdered 10 years earlier and his sister was stabbed three years ago, the Winnipeg Free Press said.
Fontaine had last been seen in downtown Winnipeg on August 8, wearing a white skirt, blue jacket and pink-and-white runners, CBC News said, adding that the diminutive teen was five-feet-three-inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds. She had been living in foster care and had run away, the Canadian Press reported.
A vigil is being held at the Alexander Docks, where both Fontaine and Hall were pulled out from, on the Red River at 7 p.m. local time.
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and other indigenous leaders called once again for a national inquiry into why this happens all too often to Native women.
“This tragic incident is yet another stark reminder of the urgent need for action to ensure safety and security for all indigenous women and girls,” said AFN Alberta Regional Chief Cameron Alexis, who oversees the portfolio on missing and murdered aboriginal women, in a statement after Paul’s remains were found. “We are calling for immediate action to prevent any further tragedies as well as a national public commission of inquiry to look into root causes and long-term efforts. The federal government has offered no clear or defensible rationale for its refusal to establish an inquiry. We know Canadians stand with us when we say that no other family, individual or community should have to experience this kind of loss.”
Meanwhile the homicide investigation is in full swing in Fontaine’s death. Police are holding back many details, including how she died, pending the outcome.
“At 15, I’m sure she didn’t realize the danger that she was putting herself in,” said O’Donovan at a news conference, according to the Canadian Press. “She’s a child. This is a child that’s been murdered. Society would be horrified if we found a litter of kittens or pups in the river in this condition. This is a child. Society should be horrified.”
Source: Office of Public Affairs-Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
Washington – The National Park Service today announced more than $1.5 million in grants under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) to assist museums, Indian tribes, and Alaska native villages to document and return human remains and cultural objects to their native people.
Grants were awarded both to support the efforts of museums, Indian tribes, Alaska native villages and Native Hawaiian organizations in the documentation of NAGPRA-related objects (consultation/documentation grants), and to pay for the costs associated with the return of the remains and objects to their native people (repatriation grants). This year, 29 grants totaling $1,471,625.00 are going to 24 recipients for consultation/documentation projects, and $95,423.40 is going to eight repatriation projects.
“NAGPRA provides an opportunity to correct the mistreatment of native peoples’ ancestral dead by returning the sacred objects and cultural heritage that have been removed from their communities,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “These grants will continue the process by which more than 10,000 Native American human remains and one million sacred objects that have been returned to tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.
Projects funded by the grant program includes consultations to identify and affiliate individuals and cultural items, training for both museum and tribal staff on NAGPRA, digitizing collection records for consultation, consultations regarding culturally unaffiliated individuals, as well as the preparation and transport of items back to their native people.
Enacted in 1990, NAGPRA requires museums and federal agencies to inventory and identify Native American human remains and cultural items in their collections, and to consult with federally recognized Indian tribes, including Alaska Native villages, and Native Hawaiian organizations regarding the return of these objects to descendants or tribes and organizations. The Act also authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to award grants to assist in implement provisions of the Act.
For additional information regarding these awards, contact Sherry Hutt, National NAGPRA Program Manager, at 202-354-1479 or via e-mail at sherry_hutt@nps.gov.
FY2014 NAGPRA Consultation Grant Recipients
Arkansas Archaeological Society
AR
$63,946.00
Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
AK
$83,180.00
University of Alaska Museum of the North
AK
$12,300.00
California State University – Sacramento, University Enterprises, Inc.
CA
$89,740.00
Elk Valley Rancheria
CA
$52,008.00
Greenville Rancheria
CA
$12,300.00
Greenville Rancheria
CA
$70,000.00
Ione Band of Miwok Indians
CA
$90,000.00
Koi Nation of California
CA
$12,300.00
Koi Nation of California
CA
$90,000.00
Marin Museum of the American Indian
CA
$12,300.00
Table Mountain Rancheria
CA
$28,480.00
Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians
CA
$12,300.00
Wiyot Tribe
CA
$90,000.00
History Colorado
CO
$53,424.00
The Field Museum – Hopi Collection
IL
$86,197.00
The Field Museum – Quinault Collection
IL
$6,000.00
Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas
KS
$12,300.00
Crow Tribe of Indians
MT
$12,300.00
Crow Tribe of Indians
MT
$40,000.00
Western New Mexico University Museum
NM
$90.000.00
Fallon Paiute Shoshone
NV
$90,000.00
Delaware Nation
OK
$87,460.00
Pawnee Nation
OK
$12,300.00
Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation
Underscores Administration’s Commitment to Trust Reform in meetings with leaders of Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior
PABLO, Montana – As part of President Obama’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations and fulfill federal trust obligations, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today issued a Secretarial Order reaffirming the Department of the Interior’s trust responsibilities to federally-recognized Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries and providing guidance for Interior agencies in carrying out their obligations to them.
“This Order reaffirms the Department’s obligations and demonstrates our continuing commitment to upholding the important federal trust responsibility for Indian Country,” said Secretary Jewell, who chairs the White House Council on Native American Affairs. “The landmark Cobell Settlement and resolution of nearly 80 other tribal trust management lawsuits under President Obama launched a new chapter in federal trust relations with tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries and reflects our dedication to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribal leaders.”
The Secretarial Order provides seven principles that apply to all Interior agencies, not just the Bureau of Indian Affairs, including supporting tribal sovereignty and self-determination; protecting tribal lands and resources; building partnerships; practicing responsiveness and timeliness; and seeking legal advice to ensure compliance with the trust responsibility. As federal agencies that make policy affecting Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries, all of the Department’s bureaus and offices share the same general federal trust responsibility.
“This Order speaks not only to American Indian tribes, but also to federal employees across the Department, reminding each of them of their important role in fulfilling the trust responsibility,” said Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn. “It acknowledges that each of us working in the federal government has an important responsibility to Indian country and it ultimately takes all of us, working together, to meet our important obligations as a trustee.”
The federal trust responsibility, which originates from the unique, historical relationship between the United States and Indian tribes, consists of the highest moral and legal obligations that the federal government must meet to ensure the protection of tribal and individual Indian lands, assets and resources as well as treaty and similarly recognized rights. Among their responsibilities, Interior agencies oversee $4.7 billion in trust funds derived from managing 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface mineral estate held in trust for individual Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives. Eleven million acres belong to individual Indians and 44 million acres to tribes. Interior administers more than 119,000 leases for the use of these lands, including oil, gas and mineral extraction, water and energy development, timber harvesting and grazing.
Today’s Secretarial Order responds to recommendations of the Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform, which was established in 2009 as part of the $3.4 billion Cobell Settlement, one of the largest class-action lawsuits in U.S. history. The Commission evaluated the Department’s trust administration system and identified potential improvements, urging a renewed emphasis on U. S. obligations so that all federal agencies understand their obligations to abide by and enforce trust duties. The Interior Department has taken a number of steps to address issues raised in the Commission’s report, as well as identified actions that the Department will take to improve the trust administration. A new document outlining those reforms is available here.
The Secretary made her announcement during a visit with leaders of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwest Montana, where she was joined by U.S. Senator Jon Tester; Vincent G. Logan, Special Trustee for American Indians; and Mike Black, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
“The achievements of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes demonstrate that the federal trust responsibility often can be best achieved by empowering the tribes – by contracting with them so that they can provide the federal services owed under the trust responsibility,” Jewell noted. “The Salish & Kootenai Tribes were among the first to receive full self-governance rights in 1993, assuming key functions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and strengthening the economy of their community and the State of Montana.”
Interior’s Office of the Special Trustee, led by Vincent G. Logan, oversees reforms that have improved the accountability and management of Indian funds held in trust by the federal government. OST provides oversight and coordination of the policies, procedures, systems and practices used by various agencies to manage Indian trust assets. The Obama Administration also has helped to rebuild the federal trust relationship by resolving nearly 80 separate tribal trust management cases, providing $2.6 billion in settlements; and issuing a new federal policy in 2009 on consulting with Indian tribes, setting standards for engaging on a government-to-government basis to ensure agency decisions consider the impacts on affected tribes and their members.
With an enrolled membership of about 8,000, the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Government is the largest employer in Lake County, Montana, with 1,200 employees; infuses $80 million a year into the area economy through a $35 million payroll and $45 million in purchases; and contributes about $317 million annually to Montana’s economy. The Secretary’s discussions with tribal leaders dealt with several current initiatives, including a cooperative agreement on a Land Buy Back Program to purchase and consolidate fractionated land ownership interests from willing sellers, as well as climate change impacts on tribal natural resources.
Dr. Berg welcomes students back to school during tour of the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
TULALIP – “Our club!” the children exclaimed as they greeted Dr. Becky Berg, Superintendent of the Marysville School District. Dr. Berg’s visit to the club was part of a back to school kick off on Tuesday, August 19.
Marysville School District Superintendent Dr. Becky Berg receives a drum as thanks for her visit to the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club. Lois Henry shared a story as well. Photo/ Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
“We have been working all summer to make sure our schools are ready for you all,” Dr. Berg said. “We are all very excited to see you back at school in two weeks.”
Dr. Berg’s tour of the club is part of an effort to create an afterschool community that encourages educational success. Statistics show that students who attend Boys and Girls Clubs perform better in all areas of learning.
“These numbers from the Arlington School District compare Boys and Girls Club kids and kids that don’t come to the club,” said Bill Tsoukalas, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Snohomish County. “At fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, you see a constant trend across reading, math and science where club kids score much higher.”
Dr. Becky Berg looking at student data from the Arlington School District with Snohomish County Boys and Girls Clubs Executive Director, Bill Tsoukalas. The data shows that Boys and Girls Club kids consistently perform much higher that non-club kids. Photo/ Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
Excited by the data from Arlington, Dr. Berg intends to look at similar demographics for Tulalip students in Marysville schools to see if there is a similar trend. Tsoukalas and Tulalip Boys and Girls Club Director, Chuck Thacker, believe there is.
Thacker said, “We see so much improvement in our kids. We bring them into a different environment, providing support for the kids.”
“This is their club,” he continued, “you heard them say it. You will notice that the walls are not drawn on and marked up, trash is picked up. They take pride in their club, and that’s what makes it successful.”
That way of thinking was instilled in Boys and Girls Club kids more than seven years ago by Don “Penoke” Hatch, long time supporter for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Snohomish County.
“Kids come here to have fun and to be in a safe place afterschool. But we also want them to learn while they’re here,” Tsoukalas added.
The tour moved into the computer lab as Dr. Berg was shown all of the resources available to children at the club. The newly-renovated lab is complete with brand new computers, two main monitors, and a smart-screen for interactive teaching.
“This is all state of the art. We want to be up and ready, fully functional for the open house in a few weeks,” Tsoukalas proudly explained. “We’ve invited both of our senators, Cantwell being a huge proponent of programs like ours.”
Hatch said, “I think the tribe ought to be proud of what they’ve got here, what they’re doing here for our kids.”
Dr. Berg was thanked for her visit to the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club, and was presented with a special gift, a traditional hand drum with original artwork by Heritage High School senior Ayrik Miranda, who is employed with the club through the summer.
Tulalip Early Head Start students move on to preschool
Families gathered at the Tulalip Amphitheatre August 12 to celebrate the children of the Tulalip Early Head Start program that will be starting preschool this fall. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
TULALIP – The Parent Committee of the Tulalip Early head Start program gathered with staff and students Tuesday, August 12, at the Tulalip Amphitheatre to celebrate their children as they transition into preschool, beginning their academic careers.
“I think it’s a great event where we can honor our children. The parents and staff worked together to make this event happen,” said Alicia Horne, who chairs the EHS parent committee.
The program curriculum is focused on developing basic skills through sensory learning. As children advance in academia, these first few years are crucial in determining how a child will perform in school. The EHS staff are committed to preparing these young children to excel in school.
As much as the event is for students, parents take the time to honor the staff for the work that they do with the tribal children.
Tulalip Councilwoman Marie Zackuse said, “Thank you for setting that foundation for our kids, helping them towards success in their education.”
“I think it’s a great way to honor the teachers for what they do for our children,” said Felicia Holland, one of the parents on the committee.
Children enter the EHS program as early as two, and move through three levels of the program. When they do move on, they are entering the beginnings of public school. Many of the students will advance to the Tulalip Montessori or Tulalip ECEAP.
Jordan and Alex Bontempo. Jordan, who already moved up to the Tulalip Montessori, is a proud big brother as Alex begins school. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
The event is funded solely through fund raising. In addition to honoring the staff and advancing students, there was an art auction of student work in an effort to continue fundraising for other EHS events. Two walls featured traditional hand drums with unique designs that the parents and students worked on together.
Doctors, tribal leaders, business owners and concerned parents are among those cheering a potentially major blow to Big Coal.
On Monday, an Oregon state agency announced its rejection of a permit for a coal export facility on the Columbia River. The proposed Coyote Island Terminal is one of three remaining projects being pushed by the fossil fuel industry to create a coal export superhighway through the Pacific Northwest. Three previous proposals have already been dropped.
The Oregon Department of State Lands cited disruption to waterways and harm to tribal fisheries among its reasons for the refusal, which makes future approval of the port unlikely but still possible if the company pursuing the project files a convincing appeal.
Tom Wood, owner of the Rivertap Restaurant and Pub in The Dalles, Oregon, called the news a “landmark victory for our community, as well as communities across the nation.”
About three years ago, Wood and his son, Aiden, then 9, were salmon fishing on the Columbia River. As they returned to their car, Aiden spotted small clumps of coal near some railroad tracks.
“We brought a pile home and lit them on fire,” Wood recalled. “You know, the fun things you do with coal.”
He soon realized that the coal likely came from the open rail cars that shuttle along the Columbia River to Canadian ports. That recognition helped push him to join with thousands of others across state, economic and political lines who have tried to thwart the proposed increase in the number of these coal trains rolling through the region. The mile-plus-long trains originate at mines in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana and head west to meet up with Asia-bound ships. Opponents, who have been protesting and signing petitions for a few years now, worry that more coal trains could ultimately lead to problems ranging from local traffic delays and health harms due to air pollution, to faster climate change as a result of more coal-burning overseas.
Proponents of the coal ports, meanwhile, contend that greater exports mean needed jobs and tax revenues for struggling Western towns and Native American reservations.
“We do have to balance the health of our community with the need for commerce,” said Wood. But he argued that the former is more critical in the long term, including for his son’s future. Referring to the permit rejection, he said, “The win is a testament to the power and dedication of countless Northwest families to assure that these dirty, dangerous projects don’t take root for short-term gains.”
The U.S. has seen a steady decline in domestic coal use in recent years thanks to tighter federal regulations and the expanded viability of natural gas and renewable energy. But the rise of coal-hungry economies in China, India and other fast-developing nations offers a promising alternative market for coal companies. If government agencies eventually grant approval to all three export terminals proposed for Oregon and Washington, up to 100 million metric tons of the combustible rock per year could soon pass through the Pacific Northwest. The Coyote Island Terminal on the Port of Morrow at Boardman, Oregon, would account for less than 10 million metric tons of that total.
Ambre Energy, the Australian-based company pursuing the project, told The Huffington Post in a statement that it disagrees with Oregon’s “political decision.”
“We are evaluating our next steps and considering the full range of legal and permitting options,” added Liz Fuller, an Ambre Energy spokeswoman.
With the door still open for the Coyote Island Terminal to be approved, as well as for the other two port proposals in Washington state, opponents are voicing somewhat restrained optimism.
“This is a relatively small amount of coal compared to the other proposals,” said KC Golden, senior policy adviser for the nonprofit Climate Solutions. But he added that the formal permit denial is still a “very big deal.”
“It’s a terrific affirmation of what, in some ways, ought to be obvious,” said Golden. “This is a profoundly bad idea for the Northwest and for the world.”
Among the most vocal opponents have been Native American tribes whose reservations lie in the coal trains’ path.
“Yakama Nation will not rest until the entire regional threat posed by the coal industry to our ancestral lands and waters is eradicated,” JoDe Goudy, the Yakama tribal council chairman, said in a statement Monday night.
On Sunday, the Lummi Nation, whose reservation neighbors one of the proposed ports in Washington state, launched a totem pole journey — a road trip with totem pole in tow — that they hope will consolidate tribal opposition to Big Coal and Big Oil.
“Such decisions are few and far between,” the tribe stated in response to Monday’s announcement. “This is important not just for the Yakama and Umatilla but all Indian fishing tribes. Together we can, and will, protect our way of life.”
Meanwhile, there are other tribes that could benefit from coal exports. As HuffPost reported in January after the Lummi Nation’s first totem pole journey, the Crow Nation of rural Montana argues that it desperately needs to develop its coal reserves to lift its people out of poverty.
Dr. Robert Merchant, a pulmonologist in Billings, Montana, who deals with the health problems related to coal mining near his city, acknowledged the dilemma.
“There are a lot of people that would stand to have substantial gain from the extraction industry,” he said. But he also sees the high public costs associated with the industry.
Montana, Oregon and Washington are among Western states battling forest fires this summer and suffering the resulting poor air quality. Scientists warn that such blazes are becoming more frequent and intense with the changing climate and that coal plays a significant role in this shift.
Then there’s the blowback of toxic pollution from Asia’s coal-fired power plants. “Plumes come right across the Pacific,” Merchant said, noting that they can further contaminate the West’s air and water with toxins such as mercury.
Perhaps of most immediate concern to many opposed are the trains, barges and ships themselves, which block roadways for emergency vehicles, belch diesel fumes and blow coal dust. Diesel exhaust is known to worsen conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and may even raise the risk of certain cancers. The extent of the threat from heavy-metal-laden coal dust is less clear, although evidence is building.
The public health implications spurred more than 3,000 medical professionals and public health advocates to sign on to letters requesting denial of the Coyote Island Terminal permit. In Oregon alone, 165 physicians voiced their concerns to the governor.
“We are particularly concerned with the health of our most vulnerable populations: prenatal, early childhood, the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions,” they wrote.
Wood and his family live within a half mile of coal train tracks. Trains pass within 300 yards of his restaurant and within 50 feet of a winery he helps operate.
“It’s been a challenging fight,” Wood said, “and it’s far from done.”
Aug 18 (Reuters) – Veteran musicians Willie Nelson and Neil Young are teaming up for a benefit concert in Nebraska to raise funds in the fight against land being sold for the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, charity organization Bold Nebraska said on Monday.
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Nelson, 81, and Young, 68, both known for their ties to country rock and folk music and their environmental activism, will perform at the “Harvest the Hope Concert” on Sept. 27 at a farm near Neligh, Nebraska.
The farm is owned by Art and Helen Tanderup, who are campaigning against selling their land to TransCanada Corp to lay a pipeline that would carry crude oil from northern Alberta to refiners in Texas.
“Our family has worked this land for over 100 years. We will not allow TransCanada to come in here and destroy our land and water for their profit,” said Tanderup.
The concert is being hosted by Bold Nebraska along with Indigenous Environmental Network and Cowboy & Indian Alliance, comprising agricultural and tribal landowners who believe the pipeline will negatively impact the environment.
The Nebraska Supreme Court will hear arguments next month in a dispute over the planned 1,200-mile (1,900 km) planned route for the controversial $5.4 billion pipeline. A court ruling is not expected until 2015.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Tulalip tribal council members and Quil Ceda Village planning staff joined Panera Bread’s Seattle region representative Jayson Levich, for a groundbreaking ceremony on August 14, for the new Panera Bread restaurant opening in December 14. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Tulalip tribal council members and Quil Ceda Village planning staff joined Jayson Levich, equity partner with Panera Bread for the Seattle region, to break ground for a new Panera restaurant on Thursday, August 14.
According to Quil Ceda Marketing Manager, Teresa Meece, the Tulalip Tribes and Panera Bread have signed a lease agreement to build a 4,300-square-foot restaurant. The new restaurant will be located on a vacant lot near the Home Depot in Quil Ceda Village on the Tulalip Indian Reservation and will feature the Panera menu of sandwiches, salads and baked goods, as well as a drive-through window.
“Panera Bread is a perfect addition to Quil Ceda Village,” said Meece. “In addition to their amazing food they share our values of giving back to our community. We are really excited and can’t wait for their doors to open.”
Wilcox Construction is currently completing prep work at the site. The restaurant is slated to open December of this year.
“It is very critical and important decision in who we partner with,” said Tulalip Tribal councilwoman Deb Parker shortly before the groundbreaking. “When we make these decisions we do it all together with one heart and one mind.”
Interim Quil Ceda Village General Manager, Martin Napeahi, explained that the Tribe carefully selects businesses for the Quil Ceda Village business park to continue building the local econcommunity. The lot that Panera will fill has sat vacant, waiting for the right business to present itself.
“How blessed we are to have been accepted as a partner after 15 years of searching for the right partner for this lot,” said Levich at the groundbreaking. “I feel humbly confident that our team will bring in the things that you want to see out of this partnership. We pride ourselves in taking great care of our customers and providing exceptional service, and quality food. On behalf of Panera Bread I am honored to become partners here and thank you for welcoming us. This is our going to be our 24th location in the Northwest and I am proud to say that it will be our very best.”
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
