Author: Kim Kalliber

Northwest Natives rally for Bernie, honor MMIW in front of thousands

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

President’s Day. A day historically marked by United States citizens looking back through history and remembering all former Presidents. This year’s President’s Day was quite different. Instead of looking backwards, thousands looked forward to a new, hopeful future led by presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.

The Vermont Senator and current frontrunner for the Democratic presidential candidate came to Washington State and held an awe-inspiring rally that drew 17,000+ people to the Tacoma Dome. Understanding he was visiting the traditional homelands of the Coast Salish people, Sanders’ team invited the area’s first inhabitants to not just attend the rally as honored guests, but to be seen and heard on a campaign trail captivating audience members by the masses.

“For too many years, the needs of the American Indian have been ignored, treaties have been broken and lie after lie has been told to you,” stated Senator Sanders. “The time is long overdue, perhaps hundreds of years overdue, for the Native American people to be treated with respect. The pain and the lies and the broken treaties, it should never have happened, but our job together is to end those terrible things, to bring our people together and to treat the Native American people with the dignity they are entitled to.”

Answering the call was a coalition of Northwest Natives including tribal members from Tulalip, Puyallup, Lummi, Muckleshoot, Swinomish, Nisqually, Yakama, Alaska, and even some First Nations relatives from Canada. 

“This is a sign that politicians are recognizing the important roles that Tribes play not just in politics, but in protecting the environment,” said Puyallup Chairman David Bean. “Bernie Sanders is a champion for protecting Mother Earth and bringing awareness to the realities of climate change that threaten our homelands and natural resources. It’s so significant to have a presidential candidate reach out to the Tribes to recognize he’s on our homeland and allow us to share our messages regarding climate change and missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW).”

Freddie Lane, Lummi council member, added “It’s so important for any presidential candidate to reach out to Indian Country, not for the fact that we have $33 billion dollars going through Indian Country every year and that some of the strongest economies in our states are within Indian nations. It don’t matter if it’s California, Oklahoma, Florida, Washington State or Connecticut, Tribes must step up and utilize their positions to get tribal-friendly people elected to public office. We have to set aside our differences, get out and vote, in order to make our voice heard. Our communities are stronger together.”

Unified strength is exactly what the inclusive gathering of Northwest Natives displayed by journeying from so many different reservations with a common mission to share culture and perspective.

Upon arriving to the Tacoma Dome, hours prior to the scheduled rally start time, the tribal cohort nearing 200 strong were led through a private entrance by Sanders representatives to the Tacoma Dome’s main floor. While thousands of excited rally attendees stood outside in a long line wrapping around the stadium, some as long as six hours waiting to be let in, the tribal members were given a full VIP treatment.

The stadium filled with eager rally-goers of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds, eventually reaching near maximum capacity with an official headcount surpassing 17,000. When the rally was officially underway, the Northwest Native coalition took to the stage to share their powerful message as only they can, through a remarkable culture. 

Wearing traditional regalia over vibrantly red fabrics, the group drummed, sang, and danced in unison to honor the MMIW movement. Faces painted with a red handprint, a sign peacefully bringing attention to the inability of victims to speak for themselves, captivated the rally’s attention during a nearly ten-minute song intended to bring awareness and raise support. 

Violence against Indigenous women has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. and Canada, with Native women being battered, raped, and stalked at greater rates than any other population of women. According to the National Crime Information Center, there were 5,712 known incidents of missing and murdered Native American women in just 2016 alone. Additionally, 84% of Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime. These glaring statistics speak for themselves, yet it’s surprising how few people outside of Native communities are actually aware of this crisis.

By being given a platform to be seen and heard in front of thousands, the Northwest tribes were recognized and empowered at the Bernie Sanders rally. Many onlookers could be seen live-streaming the powerful MMIW song via their social media accounts. It’s impossible to know the song’s reach at such an event, but the hope is its message and meaning now resonates in the minds of engaged citizens who otherwise wouldn’t have a clue about MMIW or its heartfelt impacts on Tribes. 

“It’s a huge honor to help our people heal from broken hearts for those that never made it home, while giving hope to those who might have given up,” shared MMIW song composer and Snoqualmie tribal member Antone George. “I really wanted this song to have deep feeling and harmony and flow to where our people all over Indian Country would be able to sing it.

“We might not ever meet all of the ones that are hoping and praying that their loved one comes home. They’re not alone with their prayers. They’re not alone with how they’re feeling,” George added, addressing the families of MMIW victims. “To be singing here today we’re letting our non-Native relatives know we are here to be heard. Everything our people have gone through over these hundreds of years to this point, we are still here. Our culture is strong.”

By sharing his campaign platform and central rally stage with a clear representation of the area’s Native population, Senator Sanders proves he clearly understands that as a public and federal official, he has a responsibility to Tribes. When interacting with any federal officials, it is paramount they be vigilant in understanding their trust responsibilities. No other people in the country do they have that trust responsibility over. Those responsibilities are clearly expressed in the treaties signed by Tribes all over the nation.

When a candidate is running for any public office, let alone President of the United States, they have to know they are obligated to fulfill their trust responsibility and honor Treaty Rights. If they aren’t even reaching out, let alone acknowledging their local Tribes then that’s a clear sign they either don’t know about their trust responsibility or, worse yet, they do know and simply don’t care. Bernie Sanders continued to prove he does know of his trust responsibility and in fact does care about the needs of Native American population following the rally when he met with tribal leadership and representatives in an intimate setting backstage. 

“The culture of the Native American people should be respected by all people all across our nation,” declared the presidential hopeful to the group of Northwest Natives. “You have enriched the American people, you have educated the American people, especially your respect for the environment. What you have taught us, and it is a lesson that must be learned now or the entire planet will be endangered, you have taught us that as human beings we are part of nature and we cannot destroy nature and survive. 

“I want to thank you all for your support here today. We must all stand together to create a nation that belongs to all of us. Transforming this nation is going to be hard, but as everybody here knows real change never ever takes place without struggle. If you think change is easy, then you aren’t talking about real change.

“We’re taking on enormously powerful people who love the status quo,” continued Senator Sanders. “They love the exploitation of the Native American people; the ability to come in to your lands to drill and destroy the land and water while circumventing Treaty Rights. It’s not going to be easy, but we have the moral responsibility not only for ourselves, but for future generations to make that fight. That’s what this campaign is all about.”

His words brought beaming smiles and positive visions for the future to the tribal citizenship fortunate to hear them. Hearing a presidential candidate who not only understands Treaty Rights, but is making the effort to uphold them while honoring tribal nations could be history in the making. 

After the much anticipated rally, there was lots of conversation connecting the political ideals of Bernie Sanders with the traditional teaching of Tribes.  

“My heart is full having Bernie Sanders here in our homelands because he really lives the values of our people,” reflected Puyallup tribal member Danelle Reed, director of Kwawachee Counseling Center. “What people label Socialism really comes down to caring for all human beings and taking care of everyone, especially those who can’t take care of themselves. For me, his message is really about bringing back traditional values that we all as Native people hold.”

“Bernie’s position, his values, are in line with tribal values,” added Puyallup Chairman David Bean. “We’re taught from a young age that a person will be remembered for what they have done for their people, not what they have done for themselves. That lesson serves to teach us to take care of our community, to think of others before we think of ourselves. 

“His values also line up with taking care of Mother Earth. Being fishing people, we have a strong connection to the land, water and salmon. Another lesson we’re all taught as children is what happens to Mother Earth, good or bad, happens to us. We have a responsibility to take care of her. If we take care of Mother Earth, she will take care of us. Bernie may use different words, but he’s broadcasting the exact same message.”

Healing to Wellness Court awarded two-year title as National Mentor Court

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

At the start of 2017, the Tulalip Tribes and the Tulalip Justice Department introduced a new system to address the drug epidemic that was overtaking the entire nation at the time and claiming many lives of Indigenous people all across Native America. For a point of reference, that year over 70,000 deaths resulted from heroin, fentanyl or opioid overdose in the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The number of overdose related deaths did decrease, however, dropping to a recorded 67,000 deaths in 2018. Which is still alarmingly high. 

In an effort to help guide those wishing to get clean and escape the battle of addiction, as well as set them on the road to recovery, the Tribe took a chance by tailoring the standard state drug court to the needs of their Tribal people when developing the Healing to Wellness Court. This new approach originally drew skepticism from the community, perhaps due to failed drug court experiences in the past. But fast forward three years and the program has two prominent graduates who are actively inspiring from within the tribal society, and over twenty participants who have anywhere from a week to hundreds of days free from the grip of their addictions, as the program takes about 18-24 months to complete depending on the individual’s personal journey. 

The wellness court has often been attributed by many of its participants as a ‘lifesaver’. Dozens have shared about the healing they receive during local gatherings like the monthly Wellbriety celebration dinners sponsored the Tulalip Problem Gambling program, or at weekly meetings, cultural events and during ‘give back’ hours while working at the smokehouse or with the Tribal elders. Most importantly, wellness court creates a community-like environment amongst its participants, and in many ways a support system where the people hold each other accountable and offer encouragement and support while working on their own sobriety.  

Although their focus is the people of Tulalip, word about the work the wellness court is conducting has spread nationwide. On the afternoon of February 25, an official from the National Drug Court Institute, Karen Cowgill, flew across the country to hand-deliver a plaque recognizing the wellness court for their effective system. 

“The award we received today was the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) Mentor Court,” stated Interim Wellness Court Program Manager, Ashley Utz-Cook. “We were awarded to be a part of the Mentor Court Network, which means under the NADCP they’ve deemed us as one of the best of the best. So far, we are one of two tribal courts in the network and I believe there are nine other courts in the network.”

As an added bonus, Karen witnessed firsthand the inner-workings of wellness court. Such as how the judge interacts with the participants; how those who are in compliance are recognized for their accomplishments and challenged to continue striving forward. And those who aren’t in compliance are still offered encouragement in addition to a stern talking-to and the appropriate sanctions. 

“I came out today because the Healing to Wellness Court applied to become a mentor court,” said Karen. “For the next two years, when we have courts that are learning how to be a tribal drug court, we can send them here and they can observe the judge and meet the team and talk to them and actually see what this all about. This [system] is really going to be an example across the United States for tribal courts to see how to do the job. It’s a different way of doing drug court; we can help get people back on track and make sure they succeed in the long run.”

The wellness court has done a great job of turning the perception of their system around, so much so that drug court teams will be flying in from all around the nation to see the healing aspect of drug court take place in real life. 

“It feels awesome,” expressed Ashley after her team received the award. “It was a lot of work put in by every single team member, as well as the people before us and of course the participants. It feels great to see everything we do every day, the daily operations, recognized on such a high scale. We appreciate everyone’s hard work from the staff to the participants.”

Before concluding wellness court and the award celebration, the court team decided to pay it forward by extending love and recognition to a Tribal member who dedicated her life to assisting recovering addicts. Helen Gobin-Henson was gifted with a certificate of appreciation for the support and guidance she offers to the local recovery community. 

“This means so much to me because this is my calling,” Helen said with tears running down her cheek. “I’ve been doing this work for about thirty years, helping my people get into treatment and doing whatever I can. I sung for all the funerals for over fifty years and it really hits me hard when we lose our young ones, even our old ones, to this addiction, to this disease. I hope that I can be a blessing to my people and show them that recovery works if you work it.”

For additional details about the Healing to Wellness Court, please contact (360) 716-4773.

Historic St. Anne’s Catholic Church welcomes the return of steeple bell

By Kalvin Valdillez

“Years and years ago,” fondly recalls Tulalip Elder Don ‘Penoke’ Hatch. “When I was walking along Hermosa where I grew up, if I heard that bell ring, I knew I had to hurry up and run because that meant mass was about to start. The bell let people know they had fifteen minutes to get to the church, it was a fun heads up.”

For over a century the bell of the St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Mission Church rang out a deep resonance throughout the Tulalip reservation at approximately 5:15 p.m. every Saturday, or fifteen minutes prior to each weekly vigil. The gorgeous cathedral overlooks Tulalip Bay and shares a long history with the people; and its bell is a familiar sound to many ears of the Tulalip people, which several Tribal elders of the church associate with reservation adolescence.  

Originally founded in the late 1800’s, the church moved from the banks of the Ebey slough to its current post following an alleged act of arson in 1902. Prior to the fire, according to research conducted by HistoryLink.org, the church was the first ‘contracted Indian School’ in the nation, even before the establishment of boarding schools. It is said that the mission instructed over 130 tribal youth in its time and that the founder, Father Chirouse, took the time to learn Lushootseed and frequently used the language within his teachings. The church relocated and finished construction within a two-year-span and has been holding services for the community ever since. In 1976, St. Anne’s was recognized and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

“We’re all very proud of our church and work hard to maintain it,” said Tulalip Elder and St. Anne’s Churchgoer, Bill Topash. “It is a national historic monument and we want people to come visit. In fact, we do have tourists come by from time to time who want to know more about the church and we always gladly share our history, and now the bell’s return makes our story much more special.” 

As you may have speculated, the upkeep of a church of that age, around 116 years, is not an easy task. Over time, the church has dealt with basement flooding and lack of heat circulation, on top of decades of wear and tear. However, the church has been proactive in regards to repairs, aiming to preserve as much of the original building for as long as possible, which included a recent installation of a rain garden to solve the flooding issues. 

The bell rang out for 109 years, but unfortunately the church steeple could no longer support the weight of the bell. In 2013, the bell was removed and stowed away in the garage of the Marysville St. Mary’s Catholic Church for safekeeping. And the next seven years went without the reverberating, low-tone chime of the bell on Saturday evenings, that is until the night of February 22. 

After an evening of worship, the congregation turned its attention to the entrance of the cathedral where the priest was making his way up a ladder, with the word in hand, to officially bless the bell. Down below on the steps of the church, Penoke held the honor of literally ringing in a new age for the church and its followers. A line formed behind Penoke as youth, elders and church staff took a turn at ringing the bell as well, joining in on the celebration. 

“It felt great. It’s really an honor because I’ve been going to this church close to 70 years,” said Penoke. “I started going here when I was 7-years-old. All the ones who helped make this church into what it is today have passed on, so this felt really good because this is for them, our elders who helped build this church.”

Many of the churchgoers put in personal efforts to see this project through to completion and on the night of the celebration, they could hardly hold back their emotions during the bell’s first ring as happy tears and smiles were shared amongst all. 

“The bell is kind of the symbol of our community and it could be utilized for a lot of events out here. I’m curious how far we can hear it,” said Tulalip community member and St. Anne’s attendee, Mark Brown. “We’re ecstatic, this has been a long time coming.” 

Aside from notifying the people about the start of weekly mass, the bell seems to have significant ties to the followers of St. Anne’s, a certain pride amongst families that was immediately evident when young Tribal member and altar boy, Jayden Joseph spoke of the bell. In one word, tradition.

“It felt pretty good ringing the bell,” he said. “I know that the bell represents the church. That’s important to me because when I hear it, I’ll know it’s time for church and I really like coming to church. But what’s really cool to me, is that my uncle rang that same bell when he was my age, and today, I got to ring it too.”

The St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Mission Church invites the people to come and check out the historic building and hear the bell reverberate in real time. That, however, may just have to wait a little while longer.

“We’re hoping our community will hear the noise, hear the music and come and see what’s going on in church, but Ash Wednesday is coming up this week,” Bill explained, fighting through a bit of laughter. “We don’t ring bells in the Catholic Church during the 40 days of lent, so it looks like we’ll have to wait again until Easter to ring the bell. But from then on it will signify that it’s time for mass.”

For more information, please contact St. Anne’s at (360) 653-9400.

Kyle Keith Williams

October 16, 1986 – February 26, 2020

Kyle was born into this world to Janice & Keith at the University of Washington Hospital, Kyle passed peacefully in the care of Queens Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii where Kyle, like his beloved mother always enjoyed to travel together. It was their second home, and Kyle enjoyed living his life there.

Kyle was charming, beautiful in kindness, in helping others, in bonding friendships and was a joy to all that knew him. From birth, Kyle was a ‘Brave Warrior’, in fighting many challenges of Life. Being born with Spina Bifida, he had many health challenges he faced in life, but that didn’t deter him for who he was and what he believed in. In his youth, along with his Big-Brother Bruce, we enjoyed many special memories of representing Marysville Special Olympics. Kyle loved swimming in which he won State Gold Medal.

As a graduate, class of 2005 Marysville-Pilchuck. Kyle, along with fellow classmates, friends, honored, protected the true essence of Native cultural beliefs and shared his culture to anyone that was willing. Kyle, along with his brother Bruce, always enjoyed being at and helping out at the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, and working and helping out at the family owned Carr’s Hardware and with his beloved mother at Orca Travel.

Kyles other passion was his love of the sea where he loved to commercial fish with his father when plenty of Sockeye & Chum, Salmon caught. Season’s that were once were and beautiful memories of the Canoe Journey’s he participated.

Kyle was preceded in death by his beloved mother, Janice; grandparents, Bruce Scott, Kenneth Williams; and numerous family members. Kyle is survived by father, Keith, wife, Marsha; his big brother, Bruce (Scotty); grandparents, Darlene Scott, Claudette Parazoo; aunts/uncles Gail, Maurice Libbing, Barbara, David Scott, Charlotte, Kevin Williams, Anthony Williams, Kristy Tara Summers, Frank Summers; Numerous nieces, nephews & special Cousins, Aunties & Uncles.

On behalf of the Scott/Williams Family we wish to thank all the Doctors, Nurses, Social Workers, Native Liaisons, Teachers, Staff that were a big part of his life and his care.

We also want to specially thank the Tulalip Tribes for making it possible for some of us to travel to see Kyle in some of his last days. For That We Are Grateful.

Native American Prayer

Oh, Great Spirit,

Whose voice I hear in the Winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me! I am small and weak;

I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty,

and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made

and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand the things

you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every

leaf and rock.
I seek strength, Not to be greater than my Friend

But to Fight my Greatest Enemy, Myself.

Make me always ready to come to you with

clean hands, straight eyes.

So when life fades,

as a fading sunset,

May my spirit may come to you!

Without Shame.

May The Great Spirit of Love and Compassion

Be With Your Sacred Spirit As You Enter The Happy Fishing Grounds With Our Beloved. Eternal.

Rose Marie Sicade

Rose Marie Sicade April 25, 1940 – February 21, 2020 Rose was born April 25, 1940 in Poulsbo, WA to Marvin and Susie Napoleon Sr. She resided in Poulsbo, Tacoma, and Tulalip, WA. She was a independent, hard-working woman. She picked fruits and vegetables in the fields in the early days of her life, she also enjoyed working at the Puyallup Fair, and she was a partner of a Christmas Tree Farm and worked at Pyrodine Firework warehouse. She was one of the first employees at the Tulalip Bingo when it opened. She later retired from the the Puyallup Casino in the early 2000’s. She moved home to Tulalip permanently shortly after. She was a loving, caring, giving mother, grandmother, sister, auntie, cousin and friend. She loved going thrift shopping, yard sales, also loved to travel with the Tulalip Seniors Center to the Elders luncheons, AMD going to Bingo. She enjoyed spending time, and making memories with her family and friends. She leaves behind son, Fredrick Sicade Sr.; daughter she did bear but raised, Roseann Reeves; puppy, Napoleon; nieces: Tara Parks, Leanndra Napoleon; nephew, Joseph Napoleon; 21 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, cousins and friends. She enters into heaven with parents Marvin and Susie Napoleon; children: Stanton Sicade Sr., Susan Jones; brothers: Ron, Don, Terry, Marvin Jr., Sam, and Henry Napoleon; sister, Ruthanne; numerous aunties, uncles, and cousins. Visitation will be held on February 25, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. at Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home. Interfaith services will be at 6:00 p.m. at the Tulalip Gym. Funeral services will be February 26, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the Tulalip Gym with burial to follow at Mission Beach Cemetery.

Lady Hawks rally late for emphatic Tri-District victory

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

Coming off a stellar 2nd place finish at the Northwest 1B District tournament, the Heritage Lady Hawks (13-8) were riding a wave of success. They had won 6 of their past 7 and gotten hot at the perfect time late in the season. 

Because of their recent success and high finish at Districts they were rewarded with a 1st round home game to open the Tri-District tournament. They played the Mustangs of Rainier Christian (5-15) on Saturday, February 15.

The first half was flat out ugly for the home team Lady Hawks. They were sloppy with their passes and not executing their offense anywhere close to what’s been expected. The defense wasn’t much better, allowing the Mustangs to get easy looks close to the basket.

At halftime, Tulalip trailed 19-31.

In the 2nd half, the girls flipped a switch and all of a sudden it was the winning style Lady Hawk basketball being played. The guards were making crisp, on-point passes to forwards Jacynta Myles and Krislyn Parks who were bulldozing their way over the much smaller Mustang players. 

Defensively, the team was locked-in. They contested every shot, kept their hands active to force turnovers, and battled for every rebound. Down 12 at halftime, Tulalip quickly bounced back in the 3rd quarter to tie the game at 39-39.

In the decisive 4th quarter, Tulalip kept going to the well and getting the ball to their forwards who were taking full advantage of their overpowering presence. In fact, at one point in the 2nd half, Jacynta and Krislyn combined to shoot an impressive 16/21 from the field. That hot shooting combined with the team’s lockdown defense forcing the Mustangs to shoot contested, off-balance shots meant victory for the Lady Hawks.

The start may have been ugly, but the finish more than made up for it enroute to an emphatic 57-45 home win. 

“We were not playing well at all in the 1st half,” said sophomore standout Jacynta following the comeback. “Personally, I had to change my energy and play more aggressive because we deserved a win. Once we got going in the 2nd half, the whole team’s energy changed and we knew we had the W.”

“Our coaches emphasized to us at halftime that we needed to play our game and quit trying to adjust to our opponent’s defense,” added co-captain Krislyn. “We needed to get the ball inside, pound them with post play, and quit settling for 3-point shots. We wanted to be a cleanup crew by grabbing every rebound and getting putback baskets.”

A 1st round Tri-District win is good all on its own, but making it even more special was it came on Krislyn’s 17th birthday, which was celebrated after the game by the group of delighted hoopers.

“Two years ago we played a 1st round game, loser-out, on my birthday and we lost,” shared the newly minted 17-year-old. “So this was redemption for myself being a much better player and being able to do more to help the team win.”

The Lady Hawks hit the road for a crucial matchup with rival Lummi at Mt. Vernon Christian High School. They’ll play a late game on Thursday, February 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:45pm.

Hawks season comes to abrupt end at Tri-Districts

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

A season filled with much excitement and anticipation came to an abrupt end over the weekend, as the Tulalip Heritage boys basketball team (13-7) hosted Tacoma Baptist (16-7) in a 1st round matchup of the 1B Tri-District tournament.

The loser-out game was played on Saturday, February 15 at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium. The stakes were simple, win and be guaranteed two more Tri-District games or lose and be finished. 

Adoring fans filled the gym’s bleacher sitting prior to the game’s opening tip-off. 

Early in the game Tacoma Baptist was dictating tempo and shooting a high percentage of 3-point shots against the Hawks’ defense. Making matters worse, the Tulalip boys were struggling to find their rhythm offensively.

At the end of the 1st quarter, the home team trailed 7-21. That deficit grew to 18-35 at halftime. 

During the intermission, Tulalip coaches emphasized to their players to not scoreboard watch, but instead simply play their game: High energy on both ends and leave nothing for later because there might not be a later. 

In the 2nd half, trailing by 17 points, the boys kept their heads held high and came out determined to make a game of it. They came out hustling on defense, going all out to force turnovers, while routinely diving on the floor for loose balls. On offense, they finally found a rhythm and made a point of attacking the basket.

Leading the comeback charge was junior forward Alonzo Jones. He connected on five straight shots at one point, capitalizing on the steals his fellow backcourt players were coming up with. The crowd was fully engaged and back into it, cheering madly for their squad to come up with a miracle comeback. 

The Hawks trimmed the Tacoma Baptist lead from 17 points all the way down to just 4, when they trailed 56-60 with just over a minute remaining in the 4th quarter. Forced to foul to preserve precious seconds of game play, they boys hoped their opponent would miss critical free-throws. Instead, Tacoma Baptist clutch free-throw shooting iced the game. 

Tulalip lost 59-67. Alonzo led his team with 25 points and 18 rebounds. Senior guard Leno Velo added 16 points and 3 steals in his final high school game. 

Heritage finished the season with a (13-8) record overall and, most impressively, continued the school’s streak of eight consecutive years making it to at least the Tri-District phase of postseason play.

Teaching Lushootseed to future Tulalip

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

“This is my third year with Lushootseed and I’m now realizing how much healing that the kids are getting from learning the language,” said Tulalip Lushootseed Language Instructor, Oceana Alday. “It’s beautiful to watch because I don’t think they realize that they are ones who are revitalizing the language that our ancestors once spoke.”

For nearly three generations, the Lushootseed Language department has been on a mission to reintroduce the ancestral Coast Salish language back into lifeways of modern day Tulalip. Recently the program made local headlines by helping bring back Lushootseed classes to Marysville-Pilchuck High School (MP) and also instructing those classes. This news is especially important for Tulalip students who wish to continue studying the vernacular of their people. Most present day Tulalip youth began their educational journey with Lushootseed many years ago, around the ages of 3 and 4-years-old at the Tulalip Montessori. 

During the early 1990’s, a seed was planted in the name of cultural revitalization when the development of the Lushootseed Language department came to fruition. With only two staff members initially, Toby Langen and Hank Gobin, the department set out to build a foundation by teaching their community the words, phrases and pronunciation of the language that Snohomish people spoke since the beginning of time. After colonization, forced assimilation and the years of generational trauma that followed, the cultural resurgence appeared to be much needed within the Tulalip community and ever since, the language has served as a great source of medicine for the people.

“To me, the language means that we are speaking what our ancestors used to speak. We are bringing it back,” said Tulalip Lushootseed Program Manager, Michele Balagot. “The program was developed in 1993 and we’ve taught it in schools since. It was one class when they first started teaching. We’ve grown from four teachers and six classes to fourteen language teachers and well over thirty classes; two at MP, two at Heritage, two college level classes. There are four or five classes at Quil Ceda Tulalip [Elementary], and  we teach fourteen, birth-to-three classrooms and ten preschool classrooms at the academy.”

When the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy (TELA) first opened in 2015, the Lushootseed Language classes resumed for most of the Montessori and ECEAP students. However, over time, as both programs continued to grow, the demand for more language within the classroom rose quickly and resulted in the hiring of new Lushootseed instructors, who are also commonly referred to as Language Warriors.

“We thought we should be teaching them young because this is when they are developing their brains,” Michele explained. “If they start hearing Lushootseed from the beginning of their education, they’ll learn the sounds and know some of the words. On the preschool side, we are focused on teaching them sentences so when they get to elementary school, they can work more on phrases. And in junior high and high school, they’ll be able to have full conversations.”

Perhaps due to the success of the preschool age classes, or simply a desire to ensure the language is embedded into the young minds of future Tulalip leaders, TELA joined forces with the language department in 2017 to implement a new component into their curriculum known as language immersion. Today, every TELA student receives daily language lessons each morning, Monday through Thursday, and for the first time that includes the birth-to-three age group. 

“It’s pretty exciting working with the birth-to-three level,” said Language Warrior, Thomas Williams. “It’s amazing seeing them express what they’ve learned. I’ll hold up a flash card and they’ll quickly respond with the word in Lushootseed. The last couple of weeks we’ve been doing traditional stories. Usually, I go in and sing a handful of songs with them. But we tried something a little more progressive for their age group where we get them to listen to a story. We did a felt board story and for that age, it took two weeks introducing them to the characters with flash cards and mini games. They’ve already memorized the characters. And going through the stories, they are starting to express what the characters are doing and what’s going to happen to them by the end of the story, all in the language.”

While the youngest tribal members get more acquainted with the basics of the verb-based language, the big kids on the preschool side of the academy fine-tune what they’ve learned.  By participating in a language warm-up exercise at the start of each class, they use flashcards to identify a number of animals and marine life before starting their daily lesson complete with songs, stories and games conducted entirely in Lushootseed. 

“We did Lushootseed today,” exclaimed TELA Student, Anastasia Clower. “We learned the words for octopuses, crabs, clams, sea lions. My favorite Lushootseed word is bəsqʷ, which means crab. I don’t like to eat bəsqʷ, but they are still really cool. I’m going to the beach on my birthday and I’m going to look for some bəsqʷ and I’m going to try to catch a sʔuladxʷ (salmon) too. I can’t wait!”

“I know sup̓qs and bəsqʷ, those mean seal and crab!” enthusiastically added fellow TELA student, Elaina Luquin. “I also know Lushootseed songs, not all of them but a lot of them. I sing them at my home too. My mom has the story about the bəsqʷ and we sing it together. I really like it a lot.”

Although still early in the process of the language immersion project, hearing Lushootseed from tribal youth at such young age is incredible. Paired with the Academy’s monthly culture day, which the language department frequently assists with, tribal students are building up a strong sense of pride in their Coast Salish identity and heritage. 

“I’m just so grateful that our teachers and our children are so in love with the culture and the language; we just keep doing the work and it keeps growing,” said TELA Director Sheryl Fryberg at a recent culture day event.

By offering classes to the Academy, the language department is setting the stage for their next generation of Tribal leaders. By partnering with TELA and participating in the language immersion curriculum this is the first time, since perhaps the pre-colonial era, that Lushootseed will be present during multiple stages of a young sduhubš life’s journey, beginning at birth and ideally extending to their college years and beyond.

“We are building a foundation for future speakers,” expressed Lushootseed Language Warrior, Lois Landgrebe. “It makes me feel hopeful when we get them to reply first in Lushootseed instead of in English. It can be a slow process, but it’s bringing our Native language forward in their comprehension, when that happens its promising.”

  The ultimate goal for the department is to have a future generation of language warriors who can speak Lushootseed fluently, and will do their part to ensure the language never dies. Therefore, the Lushootseed department would like to send out a friendly challenge for all Tulalip community members to speak Lushootseed to the youth as often as possible.  

“It’s a very hard language to learn but it’s rewarding to hear the students speaking it,” Michele stated. “It’s very important not only for us adults, but for the kids to carry it on so we don’t lose it. We encourage everybody, when you see the kids, to speak to them in Lushootseed, so they know they can practice the language whenever they wish and that it’s not only meant to be used for school. Greet them in the language of our people and I know you’ll be surprised to hear their response.”

For more information, please contact the Tulalip Lushootseed Language department at (360) 716-4499 or visit their website www.TulalipLushootseed.com