Author: Kim Kalliber

Sea of red raises visibility on missing and murdered Indigenous women

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

“It is an honor to be here today. We raise our hands to the Tulalip Nation for welcoming us,” said Earth-Feather Sovereign (Colville Confederated Tribes). “We are here in honor of our missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and all missing and murdered people, including two-spirits. We are here to bring community together and to hold a space for healing and awareness.”

Earth-Feather’s opening remarks struck a chord in every one of the nearly two-hundred Tulalip citizens and community members who gathered at Greg Williams Court on May 10th for an evening of unified support. The vast majority of supporters wore red to symbolize the violent dangers faced by many throughout Indian Country. Numerous reports detail the severity in which Native American women face a disproportionate amount of violence, and the degree to which victims’ cries are silenced, when compared to others in the United States.

The National Crime Information Center reports that, in 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing Indigenous women and girls, though the U.S. Department of Justice’s federal missing persons database only logged 116 cases. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has reported murder is the third-leading cause of death among Native American women between the ages of 10 and 24, and rates of violence on reservations can be up to ten times higher than the national average.

The Tulalip Tribes hosted the sixth stop of an eight city journey from Olympia to Blaine, organized by Earth-Feather and the MMIW Washington group to further awareness for all missing and murdered Indigenous people. Supporters of the cause were greeted at Greg Williams Court and given a red t-shirt that read ‘Prayer Walk 2019’ along with a special cedar rose wrapped in red ribbon to commemorate the occasion. 

After a welcoming, prayer, and drum circle set the mood, the large contingent of red-wearing community members began their march through Tulalip. Led by the Sacred Riders, the crowd resembled a sea of red as they walked from Tulalip Bay to the Battle Creek neighborhood. 

“Our Sacred Riders motorcycle club was honored to be here today and support this important cause,” explained Tony Hatch. “The organizers welcomed us and our motorcycles because it draws more attention to the march itself, and we’re able to lead the way by keeping the road clear for the marchers and their prayers.”

During the march, many prayers were offered for anyone in need, songs were sang to keep spirits uplifted and tobacco was dropped to honor spirit helpers. It was a powerful demonstration made possible only through a strong sense of purpose and shared mission. 

“This march means raising awareness for our Native women. The ones who have been murdered or gone missing,” shared Winona Shopbell-Fryberg as she walked alongside her father and daughters. “I was taught how sacred our Native women are, that we are the life givers of our people. When these things happen to our women, along with the domestic violence, it’s very disrupting to our way of life.”

  “There’s a lot of us doing our work in our own lives, but we don’t often come together,” added Bibianna Ancheta while taking in the moment. “We’ve been trying and trying to unify our people. This has been a long time coming, a good opportunity for our people to come together.”

Deep, rhythmic drumbeats from the march could be heard all around the bay. Many people stood outside their houses to take in the scene, while others felt the calling to join in. The distinctive sound acted like a locator beacon for those drawn to the drum, like Monie Ordonia who hopped in her car and followed the sound to the march. 

“I was in my bedroom and heard loud drums. I wondered what was going on, so I jumped into my car and drove down Marine until I saw all the red,” she described.

The march continued to the Battle Creek park, where the group formed a large prayer circle and dropped more tobacco, before heading back to Greg Williams Court. Earth-Feather greeted every single participant as they entered the gym with a handshake and thank you. 

Back at the gym, a delicious dinner was served followed by a coastal jam. 

“It’s amazing that as a community we’re coming together to embrace one another, to support a movement and help bring a spotlight to an issue that for far too long has only received a blind eye,” said Jade Carela, Legacy of Healing Director. Jade and Josh Fryberg, on behalf of the Tribe, presented MMIW Washington with a donation to help further their cause as the group makes their way to the international Peace Arch situated near the Canadian border.

“We’ve really enjoyed the Tulalip hospitality and felt so much love today with our march,” reflected Earth-Feather at the event’s conclusion. “This isn’t something that only happens in the Pacific Northwest, it’s a pandemic happening to all our Indigenous people across Turtle Island. Bringing prayers and resolutions to the issue, while raising continued awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women, creates protection now and for generations to come.”

Bringing Culture to the Classroom

Tiyanna Bueno, a second grade student at Immaculate Conception Catholic School teaches her 
classmates about traditional Native American culture and cedar weaving with the help of Tulalip
educators, Malory Simpson and Maria Martin.

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

During a recent in-class lesson, 2nd grader Tiyanna Bueno sat at her desk inside Immaculate Conception Catholic School reading about a Native American rug weaver from New Mexico. Suddenly, inspiration struck the 8-year-old Tulalip tribal member and she yelled out excitedly, “My mom is a weaver! She weaves with cedar.”

A dash of persuading here, some finagling there, and Tiyanna had whipped up an hour-long session for her mother Malory Simpson and Lushootseed language teacher Maria Martin to be guest presenters in her Everett classroom. The idea was to teach the 2nd grade class about local Native American culture while giving a cedar weaving lesson in the process. Fancy that: actual Tulalip culture taught by actual Tulalip educators. 

“We want our Native kids from Tulalip to feel like they are represented as an important part of our school,” explained 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Hegg. “Our school’s values are enhanced by promoting the cultures of our students. It’s vibrant, it’s beautiful and goes well with our shared teaching to be good stewards of the Earth.”

1st grade teacher Mrs. Weatherbie gets cedar weaving instruction from Tiyanna.

So on a Friday afternoon in early May, Tiyanna, wearing a traditional cedar hat, beamed with pride as she introduced her fellow students to their special guest presenters. Malory and Maria brought in a treasure trove of cedar along with their life-long experiences from being Tulalip citizens.

“We come from the Tulalip Tribes, live on the Tulalip Reservation, and wanted to talk to you all about cedar and what it means to our culture,” said Miss Maria. “I’ll be reading the story Her First Basket. If you listen carefully, you’ll come away with a few lessons that are meaningful to us.”

Coast Salish tribes believe the Creator gave their people cedar as a gift. Traditionally, a prayer was offered to honor the spirit of the tree before harvesting its bark, branches and roots. Their ancestors taught them the importance of respecting cedar and understanding how it is to be used, so it will be protected for future generations. 

Cedar was the perfect resource, providing tools, clothes, baskets and carvings in addition to having medicinal and spiritual purposes. The highly sought after golden inner bark is separated into strips or shredded for weaving. The processed bark is then used like wool and crafted into clothing, baskets and hats.

Those same traditional teachings are practiced today, along with many others, and passed down to the next generation. While Malory and Maria shared their stories and personal experiences through cedar teachings to the attentive group of youngsters, an ecstatic Tiyanna embodied the spirit of her ancestors by not being afraid to express herself culturally and modelling a variety of cedar creations.

  Traditional knowledge was shared and memories made, especially when the trio of Tulalip culture bearers gave a hands-on lesson via cedar rose making. They not only received 100% participation from the students during the activity, but after explaining its tradition to give away your first creation, the 2nd graders quickly got to work making a second and, in some cases, even a third cedar rose.

“[Cedar] smells like nature’s perfume,” described one eloquent kiddo. While another quick learner insisted, “Cedar roses are better than real flowers because those die. These ones will live for 1,000 years!” 

A definite highlight was when the students asked how to say ‘cedar’ and ‘thank you’ in Lushootseed. After getting the pronunciations down, they were heard using their learned Lushootseed over and over again amongst each other. 

“It felt so good to be able to share a piece of our culture,” said Miss Malory, Native Education Advocate. “It makes my heart happy to see the students being so welcoming and eager to learn about another culture. Tiyanna is such a free spirit and takes pride in being open to share about herself, her family and our culture.”

Reflecting on an afternoon she got to bring her Native American lifeway into the classroom, 8-year-old Tiyanna shared, “My favorite part was showing off the cedar hats, cedar headbands, and a cedar heart. I liked showing these things to my class because they remind me of my home in Tulalip.”

Mrs. Hegg’s 2nd grade kids received hands-on teachings with cedar weaving, learned how to say ‘cedar’ and ‘thank you’ in Lushootseed, and, most importantly, learned about a local Native culture not from a textbook, but by living, breathing Tulalip educators. 

Higher education graduates celebrate rewriting a narrative

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

“Every single time a Native graduates, it’s an opportunity to rewrite history. Because for so long we were shut out of environments where we could tell our own stories,” explained renowned author and keynote speaker Gyasi Ross. “This is a powerful moment. The work you’re doing is recapturing our narrative, its reclaiming our story. You all have counted coup on an educational system that wasn’t created for us. That deserves an amazing amount of acknowledgement and respect.”

Gyasi’s sentiments were well received by the class of 2019 higher education graduates during a special banquet held in their honor on May 20 in the Hibulb longhouse. Surrounded by their supporters in an atmosphere of accomplishment, thirty-five graduates received a heartfelt ovation as they walked proudly to the front when their name was called. Vibrant Native Anthro blankets and silver pendants made by local artist Al Charles were gifted to each honoree to commemorate the occasion.

Breezy Distefano, Natosha Gobin, and sisters Malory and Shana Simpson celebrate being four Indigenous educators decolonizing school systems for our youth.

When it comes to being Native American and educated, the common narrative is Natives can’t succeed in a westernized education system. U.S. Census data shows that while more than 60% of high school students go to college, only 17% of Native students are able to continue their education after high school. In a time where education is an important cornerstone for self-sufficiency and quality of life, only 13% of Natives age 25 and older hold a college degree. That narrative is being rewritten by Indigenous scholars who are actively working to decolonize education pathways, not just for themselves but for generations to come.

“My journey started when I had my oldest son, Preston, and I knew that the current education system wasn’t one he should have to go through,” shared Western Governors University graduate Brianne Distefano. “My goal was to create change from within, so I went to work at Quil Ceda Elementary as a para-pro. Now, I’m the Native Liaison. I believe we need as many Native educators as we can get in the school systems because for our kids to be able to dream big, we need to break the mold.”

Brigham Young University graduate, Antonia Ramos.

The class of 2019 higher education grads includes 7 Associate’s degrees, 13 Bachelor’s degrees, 2 Master’s degrees, and one of the most coveted achievements in the academic world, a PhD.

“Essentially, I have spent the last 29 years off and on working towards my PhD,” said newly dubbed Dr. Lena Hammons. “Our history gave us some truly amazing tribal leaders, their struggles, survival, and resilience made them strong. Our ancestors’ stories make our people stronger and the more educated we become helps us to fight the political battles we face every day.”

It’s a longer, tougher road for Native adults pursuing their education, which is all the more reason to celebrate their accomplishments. Sometimes there are even more perilous obstacles on the path to success, like battling addiction. 

“I was in active addiction while going after my GED,” admitted Everett Community College graduate Aaron Pablo. “Something my journey has proved is it doesn’t require someone being clean and sober to put in the work and get educated. I put in the work, reached my goal, and then put my sights on getting clean. Now, I have 4 months and 25 days clean.”

Results of dedication from a lot of long nights and hard work prove what is possible for aspiring Native students everywhere. Fortunately, the Tulalip Tribes offers additional support for prospective and current students via the Higher Education Department and a network of individuals committed to helping. During the evening’s banquet, Valda Gobin, Dawn Simpson, Jeanne Steffener, Norma Comenote, and Margarita Houston received special recognition.

“These ladies were recognized for all of their hard work and care that they put into each student, client, and community member that they serve each day,” said Felicia Stripling, Higher Education Coordinator. “They put their heart and soul into their work and it shows. We wanted to show our appreciation for them and all that they do for our community.”

Tulalip’s Higher Education staff are eager to help new and returning students find their path to success. They can assist with FAFSA and finding scholarship opportunities, while also helping students choose the right school based on personal interests and career desires. For those tribal members who are empowered to continue rewriting the narrative, please contact Higher Education at (360) 716-4888 or email highered@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Roy Robinson Subaru Shares the Love with Tulalip Foundation

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

For the past ten holiday seasons, Subaru dealerships across America collectively raised over $140 million dollars during their annual Share the Love campaign. The event is held during the months of November and December in which the company pledges to donate $250 for each new Subaru sold or leased to a charity selected by the dealership. 

Previously, the dealership’s choices were between the National Park Foundation, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Meals on Wheels and the Make-A-Wish Foundation; resulting in the protection of over 100 National Parks, the rescue of over 50,000 animals, the preparation of over 2 million meals for seniors nationwide and over 1,800 wishes granted to youth battling life threating illnesses. In 2013, Subaru added a fifth option, affording their dealerships the opportunity to donate to a local charity or non-profit of their choice. After much consideration, the friendly crew at Marysville Roy Robinson Subaru decided to donate their 2018 Share the Love earnings to the Tulalip Foundation.

The Tulalip Foundation is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to empowering the wellbeing of the Tulalip reservation and its surrounding communities. Since 2007, the Foundation has worked with a number of programs to create a brighter future for the Tribe, programs that are based on three important values to many tribal families: culture, education and justice.

Originally, the Foundation began as a way to raise the last remaining million dollars needed to open the Hibulb Cultural Center. Since the museum’s opening, the non-profit has raised money, accepted donations and applied for a number of grants to provide several programs and departments with the funds for events, incentives and services including the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy Parent Committee, Tulalip Office of Civil Legal Aid (TOCLA), Tulalip TERO Vocational Training Center and the Tulalip Veteran’s Quilt Project. The Foundation also hosts a number of fundraisers throughout the year such as the Hibulb Cultural Center Salmon Bake and their annual Giving Tuesday event.

Last November, Roy Robinson Subaru General Manager Robb McCalmon stated his crew would be hard at work during the holiday season in hopes of delivering a ‘big check’ to the Foundation come springtime. On the morning of April 15, Robb and his team did just that by presenting an oversized check to the Tulalip Foundation Board of Trustees – a grand total of $21, 149. 

The Share the Love event helped improve an already strong relationship between the local Subaru dealership and the Tribe, as well as spread the message about the good work the Tulalip Foundation is doing for the community. Over the next few months, the Foundation will convene and discuss which programs to distribute the donation to, ensuring the efforts made by the Roy Robinson crew are well spent. 

“The Tulalip Foundation was extremely honored to be chosen as Roy Robinson Subaru’s community partner for their 2018 Share the Love event,” expresses Tulalip Foundation Executive Director, Nicole Sieminski. “It was a unique opportunity to share our work with the greater community and their generous donation will do a lot of good work in the Tulalip community.”

For more information, please visit Marysville Roy Robinson Subaru or contact the Tulalip Foundation at (360) 716-5400.

Save the Date! Annual Community Wellness Conference is May 14-15

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

For its seventh consecutive year, the popular Community Wellness Conference returns to the Tulalip Resort Casino once again on May 14 and May 15. Sponsored by the Tulalip Tribes Problem Gambling Program, the two-day event invites local citizens to focus on their healing journey by providing them with tools, education and resources on how to improve overall health and wellbeing through a number of interactive workshops, professional panel discussions and community talking circles. 

Approximately 200 participants attended each day of the conference in previous years, and Problem Gambling is anticipating about the same number of attendees this year. Both the Tulalip Tribes and the Marysville School District agree that self-care is of the utmost importance, especially in today’s social media led society. For this reason, the school district is allowing their students the opportunity to attend the Wellness Conference during the school day; middle school students on the first day and high schoolers on the second day. Tribal government employees are also often allotted two-hours of paid administration leave to participate in the workshops, upon supervisor approval. 

“What to expect from this year’s Wellness Conference is a great gathering for the community and also for the youth,” says Community Wellness Conference Emcee and Youth Education Advocate, Deyamonta Diaz. “There’s middle and high school days where the students get a chance to be exposed to some great keynote speakers and also some helpful educational workshops that will teach them a lot of things that maybe are too hard to talk about, as far as wellness or self-care, as well as other issues we face in the community. The theme is ‘champions for life’ so it’s a positive message, something that can go a lot farther than just the conference.” 

Each workshop presenter knows about the issues we face in Native America, and specifically in Tulalip, as the conference is a collaborative effort with local departments such as the Child Advocacy Center, Family Haven, Youth Services, the Education Department and Family Services. The conference aims to equip those carrying emotional, spiritual and mental baggage with the tools of how to get through their toughest days and several resources for when they’re in need of a helping hand or an ear to listen. 

Since we are living in a new era, many youths now deal with cyber-bullying, stalking and harassment on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram. The Child Advocacy Center is debuting a workshop during the Wellness Conference addressing these issues and teaching the community about the dangers occurring on social media sites. 

“I’m doing a social media health and safety workshop,” says Child Advocate and Wellness Conference presenter, Megan Boyer. “I think it’s important for families of youth, and youth themselves, to learn about what the dangers are when online and how they can keep themselves safe and what parents can do to keep their kids safe. They are going to learn about some of the policies and laws about how law enforcement uses social media as evidence. They’ll learn to identify red flags, what bullying is, what consent is, how social media can be harmful and how it can be helpful, because education is key.”

Sarah Sense-Wilson, Problem Gambling Coordinator, briefly explains the topics the keynote speakers will be touching upon during the Community Wellness Conference.

She states, “Our keynote speaker for day one, Frank Grijalva, is going to be talking about resiliency, and health and wellness, as it relates to overcoming trauma and overcoming various barriers that are experienced within tribal communities, that interfere with individual health and wellness and thereby affects the family unit and the community as well. The idea is that there’s hopefully going to be some stronger, more in-depth awareness and understanding about trauma responses and how trauma responses negatively affect relationships. 

“Day two is Jerry Moomaw.” Sarah continues. “She’s nationally known within the movement addressing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children. We’re hoping people take away prevention strategies and also awareness and understanding about how to keep our communities safer, our women safer and our children safer. And that interweaves with all the rest of the workshops in learning about red flags and warning signs around commercial and sex trafficking.”

And the Wellness Conference committee added a special surprise for those who are fans of Native humor by adding the talents of Toni Jo Hall to the mix. Known nationwide within tribal communities, the Native American comedian will be performing at both conference days as her beloved, yet hilariously inappropriate, character Auntie Beachress. 

“In acknowledging and recognizing that much of the workshop topics are heavy and can stir and bring up trauma and negative experiences and feelings, we felt it was really important to have balance and that we also include comedy relief and have a good time with laughter.  We know that laughter is good medicine and helps us heal,” says Sarah.

Both of the conference days will end with gender specific talking circles where the attendees are welcome to open up, be vulnerable and begin their healing process without judgement. The ladies talking circle will be led by Tulalip tribal member, Deborah Parker, while the fellas circle will be guided by community elder, Jim Hillaire. 

The Problem Gambling program and the Wellness Conference committee invites everyone to the 7th annual Community Wellness Conference. The event is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 15, in the Orca Ballrooms of the Tulalip Resort Casino. They would also like to encourage local elders to attend the second morning of the conference (May 15) for the Tulalip Youth Council special honoring for all of the wisdom keepers in attendance. 

“We’re hoping participants take away a stronger understanding on how to support their youth,” expresses Sarah. “We’re looking at building tools, building skills, providing resources and education on some of those issues, but also aim to have fun and hopefully build stronger connections amongst each other and with the community. It’s about healing, it’s about wellness, it’s about health. We want people to walk away with a good experience that is valuable for them, that they could apply to their life. The champions for life theme really embodies that idea. We want people to leave feeling empowered and feeling that they are part of that champions for life message.”

Special Olympian Bruce Williams brings home gold

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

Since 1968, the Special Olympics have been a global movement used to unleash the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports. They empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all.

In Washington State, year-round sports training and athletic competition are provided in a variety of Olympic-type sports for more than 18,000 children and adults who refuse to believe a disability is a limitation. These inspiring individuals are given continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of friendship with their fellow athletes.

Thirty-seven-year-old Bruce Williams is a proud Tulalip tribal member who has competed in numerous sporting events at the Special Olympics for over a decade. Previously showcasing his skills at soccer, basketball and volleyball in years past, Bruce is now focused on track and field. He’s had a long-time passion with running, so it was only a matter of time before he transitioned to track.

Bruce’s collection of previously won medals.

On Sunday, April 28 the Cascade Area Regionals were hosted at Mariner High School in Everett. After months of preparation and sporting his brand new pair of Nike Free running shoes, Bruce was ready to race. His first competition was the 100-meter sprint. In a highly contested dash, Bruce took 2nd place, finishing less than a tenth of a second behind the 1st place runner. For his effort he was awarded a silver medal.

A short while later, Bruce again took to the starting line, this time for the 200-meter sprint. This time he wouldn’t be denied the gold. From the start he jumped out in front of the pack and maintained his momentum all the through the finish line. A huge smile on his face after finishing 1st, Bruce was beaming when he received a gold medal.

The Special Olympian proudly wore his two medals every day the following week. He made time to sit down with Tulalip News staff and share his thoughts about winning gold and silver in his two athletic events. Here are some of the highlights from that conversation:

Q: How does it feel to be a gold-winning Olympian?

A: “Feels great! Very proud of winning. Want to show everybody my medals.”

Q: What was your training routine like? 

A: “Train on the treadmill, do laps at the Marysville YMCA, and lots of track stretches. Very important to stretch.”

Q: Any special foods you like to have on race day?

A: “Strawberry yogurt is my favorite and lots of water.”

Q: You raced in a pair of Nike Free shoes. What do you like about them?

A: “They make me run fast!”

Q: Were you nervous going into your races?

A: “A little. Lots of people racing, but I’m the fastest one around.”

Q: You’ll be competing at the Spring State Games next month. What are your expectations?

A: “Win more gold, the big one this time.”

Bruce will be prepping over the next several weeks to compete against the best Special Olympians in the state. The 2019 Spring State Games will be held May 31 – June 2 at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. Bruce asks that anyone who isn’t busy those days to come out and cheer him on to victory. 

B-I-N-G-O celebration!

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

Local Tulalip citizens were joined by their fellow tribal members that journeyed from as far north as Vancouver, B.C. and as far south as Olympia to fill the seats of Tulalip Bingo on Monday, April 29. The occasion? The highly anticipated 18th annual Tribal Bingo Celebration. 

Bingo Director Tammy Taylor (left) and Board of Director Mel Sheldon (center) were all smiles during the day-long bingo celebration.

“Who is ready to win some money?!” resounded Board of Director Mel Sheldon. Like he has done in years past, Mel reigned supreme on the mic as M.C. for the specialty 10:00a.m., 2:00p.m. and 6:00p.m. sessions. He kept the atmosphere lively and upbeat with plenty of jokes and his witty banter.

Nearly one-thousand tribal members turned into dauber enthusiasts while enjoying the festivities and trying their luck to win high-end prizes or line their pockets with cold, hard cash.

“We are honored to host our tribal bingo while bringing fun and excitement to the membership for 18 wonderful years now,” said Tammy Taylor, Tulalip Bingo Director. “The beautiful part of our celebration is bringing the membership together for a fun time, free of politics and drama. Today really is all about our people enjoying each other’s company, sharing stories, and catching up with friends and family you don’t see often enough.”

Bingo staff did their best to make the 18th annual celebration move along as smoothly as possible. Like the last couple years, the event was split into three separate sessions instead of only two. Keeping the extra third session makes seating more comfortable and gives a slight bump to everyone’s chance of winning cash and door prizes, such as a 75” TV, matching recliner set, and vacation voucher. 

Toneena Gobin (center) celebrated her 20th birthday with a $1,199 cash door prize

The day was especially exciting for Toneena Gobin who kicked-off her 20th birthday by attending the morning bingo session. Fortune favored the birthday girl as she won a whopping $1,199 cash prize.

“I almost fainted from being so excited,” beemed Toneena after collecting her winnings.

Spanning each session were 15 separate games of bingo, including hit favorites like Large Crazy Kite, Indian Star, and Blackout. During each session an estimated $33,000 in total prizes were awarded to bingo and door-prize raffle winners. 

“It’s a time we all come together to celebrate,” reflected Mel following the afternoon session. “Bingo has been a pastime for generations now. Seeing all the first time 18-year-olds who participated today, adding to our tribal family, really makes it worthwhile.” 

 “Bingo started us [in the gaming industry] back in 1983,” added Tammy. “It’s been an amazing journey to where we are now. You could see so many big smiles, hugs being given, and loud laughs shared throughout today. From our Bingo team members to the Enrollment team members, everyone did a fantastic job start to finish.”

Smiles and laughs were had by many of the 970 tribal members who eagerly daubed away at their bingo cards during the two-hour sessions. Some even made the most of a fifteen-minute break to try their luck at the newly installed slot machines. The games of chance paid off big time for a lucky few, especially those who had the golden opportunity to yell out an ecstatic, “BINGO!”