Author: Kim Kalliber

The Return of the King: Tulalip Celebrates Annual Salmon Ceremony

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

Tulalip Tribal members, dressed in traditional Coast Salish regalia, gathered at the longhouse overlooking Tulalip Bay on Saturday June 17, to welcome the return of the first king salmon to the community. The ceremony had an incredible turnout as hundreds of tribal members were in attendance, both performing and witnessing the ceremony. Tribal members from other nations also traveled to observe the ceremony including Natives from Nez Pierce, Colville, Lummi, Nuu-chah-nulth, Spokane and Yakima.

“We want to thank our elders, our ancestors and our community,” stated Tulalip Chairwoman Marie Zackuse. “I want to thank everyone of you for being here today to honor our culture and carry out our teachings. Harriet Shelton Dover laid the foundation a long time ago, so that this ceremony would not be forgotten. It’s so beautiful to see all our young people here today, all our young men and young ladies. Thank you Glen [Gobin], Scho-Hallem [Stan Jones Sr.] and Bernie ‘Kai-Kai’ Gobin for carrying on that teaching, it is so important to our people. Today as we honor our yubec coming, we thank everyone for participating in this ceremony because it is an honor to be one, as a people.”

Often referred to as the visitor, the first salmon of the fishing season is honored with a blessing by means of traditional song and dance. The visitor is brought ashore in a traditional canoe as the Tribe offers a welcoming song. Tribal members continue to sing as the visitor is transported to the longhouse, on a bed of cedar branches, where the festivities continue including a blessing for the tribal fisherman, to ensure safety and a good season.

The ceremony moves to the Don Hatch Youth Center, where a feast takes place. Once the feast concludes, the visitor’s remains are sent to the water, on the bed of branches, to return to its community to tell the salmon people of Tulalip’s hospitality. Many salmon will then navigate to Tulalip’s waters throughout the season, because of the honor and respect shown to the visitor during the ceremony.

This year Tulalip honored ceremony leader, Glen Gobin, with a paddle for all of his hard work throughout the years. During the ceremony Glen spoke to the youth of the community about the importance of carrying on traditions and protecting the environment for future generations. He also spoke about the revival of the Salmon Ceremony after the assimilation era.

“Through the boarding school years after the treaty, many things were lost. When the boarding schools came in, the people were prevented from speaking the language or practicing our culture and traditions,” explained Glen. “What’s left is from a handful of elders who kind of went underground, practicing in their own different ways, keeping it alive until it was the time to bring it back out. We may not do it exactly how it was done 200 years ago, but we do it the best we can with what we have left. If we do that with pure intentions, the real intent to believe in what we are doing, then the elders on the other side will respect that and take it as such.

“Before we revived the Salmon Ceremony in 1976, whenever we caught that first salmon, it was always a family thing,” Glen continued. “Always a family salmon bake, we’d get everybody together and share the blessing. It wasn’t until ’76 that we put everything together. That’s where those teachings come from. What we thought was almost lost, was actually being done individually – as a family. Today we’re doing it as a people, as a tribe, as a community; honoring and respecting our visitor.”

 

Schack Art Center Features Haida Art

Article and photos by Kalvin Valdillez

The National Basketry Organization (NBO) is a non-profit organization consisting of basket-makers, collectors, art gallery owners, students, schools and museums. Members from the organization recently traveled to the Northwest for a basketry conference held in Tacoma.

Fiber Artist, Jan Hopkins, wanted to host a Native American art gala at her home in Everett, for the NBO. Unfortunately, due to conflicting times, NBO members informed Jan that they would be unable to attend her event. The organization, however, originally scheduled time to tour Everett’s Schack Art Center, where Jan’s husband, Chris, frequently showcases his paintings. Jan contacted art collectors John Price and Nancy Kovalik as well as Haida Master Weaver, Lisa Telford, to see if they were interested in showcasing their Haida art collections at the Schack for the NBO.

With the art collectors and Lisa on board, the Art Center allowed Jan to guest curate Courtesy of: Extraordinary Basketry, Textiles and Sculptures from the Northwest Collections. The exhibit features paintings, carvings and weavings created by Haida artists Delores Churchill, Isabelle Rorick and Evelyn Vanderhoop – to name a few.

Lisa, who also works for the Tulalip TERO program, is a world renowned Haida Weaver. Her works are featured in museums nationwide including exhibits at the Burke Museum in Seattle, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.

“[Weaving] is my thread to sanity,” states Lisa. “When my older brother passed, the first person in my family to pass away that affected me, I didn’t weave for about six months. When I started weaving again, I went to work on Monday and everybody asked ‘what happened to you’ and when I said nothing, they said ‘yeah, something life changing happened to you this weekend because you’re glowing.’ I feel like it keeps me grounded and it makes me happy, so I just say it’s my thread to sanity, when I do it I’m happy, I don’t know how else to say it.”

“I come from a family of weavers; everybody wove,” continued Lisa. “My grandmother wanted to teach me when I was thirteen, but when you’re thirteen you’re too busy running around to settle down. My grandmother sat me down and said ‘I want to show you something,’ and I said ‘I don’t have time for that.’ I always regretted that. After she passed away, I moved to Washington and joined a dance group and I wore her hat. People would ask ‘where’d you get that hat?’ and when I said my grandma, they asked ‘can she could make any more?’ That’s what made me start weaving. I realized that I took it all for granted. I told my mom and she called my auntie and shortly after that I started apprenticing for my aunt Dolores.”

Lisa created six weavings for the exhibit. Her art submissions include a big spoon basket, a traditional hat, two small baskets as well as two pairs of cedar high heel shoes.

“I think it was probably in 1999, this fellow from the Heard Museum asked me if I would give a pair of shoes for this show called Sole Stories,” explains Lisa.

After trial and error, she created a pair of high heels, using BBs and a dress weight to shape the shoes. When submitting the shoes, the museum was shocked by her invention.

“I brought them to the show, the guy goes ‘Oh my God! I didn’t know you were going to make a pair of shoes. I didn’t even know that was possible! I meant a pair of your personal shoes.’ Now people keep wanting the shoes, even after I say I’m done with it. Every time I think I’m done, they pull me back in,” she states.

Many of the works that were provided by the art collectors, were weaved by Lisa’s family members.

“It really could be called my family’s show because the person who wove the tunic was my cousin Evelyn, the person who wove the canoe cape was my cousin Holly and the person who wove the robe was my aunt Dolores,” Lisa exclaimed.

The Courtesy of: Extraordinary Basketry, Textiles and Sculptures from the Northwest Collections exhibit is featured until July 29 at the Schack Art Center., 2921 Hoyt Ave, Everett, WA 98201. For additional information, please visit www.Schack.org

Steven Arthur Maxwell (1962 – 2017)

Steven’s blue light special ended on June 19, 2017. He spent over 20 years working for K-Mart. Steven leaves behind his wife, Candace; son, Cory; step-children, Lyle Brown and Monica Brown, parents, Art and Olga Maxwell; siblings, Michael (Alecia) Maxwell and John Maxwell; and father-in-law, Raymond Sheldon Sr. There wasn’t a pond, lake, or even a puddle that didn’t have a fish Steven could see. The last few years of his life, he spent traveling with his wife and son from Hawaii to the east coast. His contagious laugh will be missed by all. A funeral service will be held on June 22, 2017, at 10 a.m. at Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Mission Beach Cemetery.

Cedar bark harvest

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News. Photos courtesy of Ross Fenton & Natosha Gobin

Over the weekend of June 10, the Tulalip Tribes membership was once again presented with the opportunity to participate in the cultural upbringings of their ancestors; specifically by journeying into their ancestral woodlands and using traditional methods to pull, gather, and harvest cedar.

Led by Forestry staff from Tulalip’s Natural Resources Department (NRD), participating tribal members ventured into the 10,000-acre Reiter Foothills State Forest located in Snohomish County 30-miles east of Everett, between Gold Bar and Index.

The annual cedar harvest showcases a partnership between several agencies working as a team to coordinate this culturally significant opportunity. The Tulalip Natural Resource’s Timber, Fish, and Wildlife Program generally arranges a cedar harvesting site for the upcoming season by utilizing existing relationships with off-reservation landowners and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

“The relationships Tulalip Natural and Cultural Resources has nurtured over the years with outside agencies for cultural cedar bark gathering continues to go exceptionally well. For tribal members who base their household incomes on products they make from cedar bark, it’s crucial to maintain these positive relations,” explains Ross Fenton, Forestry Technician II. “This year, it was requested that only 1/3 of the cedar tree diameter be pulled in order to allow them to remain alive; this is how it was done traditionally in the past. The tribal members understand this, and respected the request.”

“There were many Tulalip tribal participants this year of all ages, it is great watching experienced bark pullers teach the future generations,” continues Ross, who was one of the Tulalip Forestry staff members on-site over the weekend. “Some tribal members traveled from as far as Hawaii to reunite with their Tulalip family to pull cedar bark. It’s a cultural activity membership truly yearns for.”

Ancestors of Western Washington tribes relied on cedar bark as a resource for making items for everyday use. Today, tribal members continue harvesting and teaching the handicraft to the next generation by making traditional items such as baskets, hats, regalia and tools.

Master weavers, elders, and youth alike all echo the very same cedar harvesting technique employed by their ancestors. With a small ax and carving knife, they skillfully remove strips of bark from designated cedar trees. They then shave off a small section of the rough bark, revealing a smooth tan inner layer. After harvest, the cedar strips are typically laid out to dry for a year before being made into baskets and hats or used in regalia.

Many Tulalip youth participated in the two-day cedar harvesting event, gathering strips for elders and learning techniques of separating the smooth inner bark from the rough outer bark. For some, this was their first trip to gather cedar.

Lushootseed teacher Natosha Gobin was one of the cultural leaders who made it a priority to pass on the teachings of cedar harvesting. She guided five first-time cedar gatherers whose energetic spirts and eagerness to learn made for a memorable experience. Kylee Sohappy, Martelle Richwine, Kane Hots, Oceana Alday, and Xerxes Myles-Gilford were among those first-time gatherers receiving instructional guidance while offering their support to stock pile cedar for future projects.

“Any opportunity for our community as a whole to learn our culture is important,” says Natosha. “Each time we have a cedar gathering opener, community members who wish to learn how to gather are encouraged to participate. Our Lushootseed department uses the cedar to make roses for funerals and for weaving projects taught in classes and at Language camp. We had asked if any volunteers wanted to join us this year and these youth stepped up to help us out. It is up to us to reach out to our youth and encourage them to learn these types of teachings for the survival of our culture.”

Student Potlatch Promotes Learning, Healing, Culture

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

A potlatch is a ceremony held by Pacific Northwest Native Americans. Potlatches, typically hosted by families within a tribe, are held to commemorate major life events such as birth, traditional namings, coming of age, weddings and the celebration of life. During the event, hosts often share their traditional family-owned songs, dances and stories with the community. Items are gifted to guests including money, blankets, baskets, paddles and canoes to show the families’ social status as well as their appreciation of support. By accepting the gifts, the community can confirm that the event took place. Official witnesses are appointed to remember what occurred during the event. Potlatch ceremonies have been practiced by the Coast Salish people for centuries.

Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary (QCT) hosted their Annual 5th Grade Potlatch at the Francis J. Sheldon Gym on June 5, 2017. The event is held to congratulate the students on the successful completion of elementary school while honoring Native American heritage.

“Our people, long ago, used to have potlatches. Often times at a rite of passage – the first deer a young man might get or when a little girl turns into a young lady. So it’s a perfect time to hold a potlatch and honor them during the transition of life,” states QCT Cultural Specialist, Chelsea Craig.

During the potlatch, the fifth graders performed traditional songs and dances. Elected student speakers reflected on their time at QCT, thanked their favorite teachers and offered words of encouragement to their fellow students. The students also appointed official witnesses, Tulalip Board Member Jared Parks and Lushootseed Language Teacher Michelle Myles.  The fifth grade class offered advice to the fourth grade class during the passing of the paddle, a tradition that signifies the transferal of leadership.

“We’ve been doing [the passing of the paddle] since Tulalip elementary, it’s safe to say for at least the last ten years. We’ve revived it from Harriet Shelton Dover, she did the passing of the totem, which was a ceremony that she started when working in education many, many years ago,” explains Chelsea. “We wanted to bring back the work that she started. She would always have the same little totem they would pass, while passing on words of advice and the idea of passing on leadership.”

The fifth graders were presented with certificates as well as beaded necklaces that featured a small cedar-carved paddle as the medallion to commemorate the QCT potlatch commencement ceremony. The students made a variety of items including handmade cedar-woven baskets to gift to everybody in attendance.

“This year, every single month we took a Friday and made gifts the whole day with the fifth graders. The Lushootseed department sent two of their workers and liaisons throughout the [Marysville School District] sent their workers. It really felt like how school should be – our own community members teaching our kids,” states Chelsea. “When I say teaching, I mean working alongside them, kind of like how an auntie teaches someone. The kids really enjoyed it and got into it. Every single student made a cedar basket, that was our goal, we made ninety-five baskets this year.”

QCT is making strong efforts in changing the education system to work in favor of the future generations of Tulalip. During the assimilation era, Native American children were forcibly removed from their families and sent to boarding schools, where they were punished for speaking their native language and practicing cultural traditions, in an attempt to ‘kill the Indian, save the man’. Traditional ceremonies such as potlatches were also nationally banned during this time period. The school aims to begin the healing process of generational trauma, caused by assimilation, through cultural and community-based teachings.

“In everything that we do, we think about what our ancestors tried to get going in a time when it wasn’t comfortable or safe to be Indian, especially in a school setting,” Chelsea explains. “With the work we do, we think about healing for our ancestors. What our ancestors weren’t allowed to do, we try to do now in a school setting.”

“Our potlatch event is an example of what the classroom and the whole school should be. It should be community-based learning, obviously teaching reading and writing within that setting,” continued Chelsea. “That’s my dream – that the feeling of what happens at a potlatch transitions to the classrooms as well as everything we do here at this school. Our school does not have to look like mainstream America schools; we know based on the last hundred years, that doesn’t work for our people. So now we’re trying to heal by finding something that works for our kids.”

Tulalip Hosts 8th Annual Stick Game Tournament

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

Slahal is a well-known gambling game played amongst Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest coast. Known by a variety of names such as hand game, bone game and stick game, Slahal has been used since time immemorial by Native American ancestors to settle a multitude of disputes including the rights to hunting and fishing territories. In many Northwest Native American communities it is believed that Slahal was gifted from the animals as a means to prevent war and unite the Coast Salish tribes.

Each year, the Tulalip Tribes hosts a weekend-long stick-game tournament at the Tulalip Amphitheater, located north of the Tulalip Resort and Casino. Coast Salish families’ journey, some from as far British Columbia, to join in on the festivities and for the opportunity to win cash prizes.

Gameplay requires two opposing teams, consisting of three to five players, to face each other. Salhal game pieces include two pairs of bones, one pair decorated with beaded stripes, as well as a set of sticks, used to keep score. The bones are separated amongst the players and the opposing team has to correctly guess where the beaded bones are. Traditional songs are performed while the team discreetly shuffles the game pieces between players, as a means of distraction.

This year, the 8th Annual Tulalip Tribes Stick Game Tournament was held Friday June 2 through Sunday June 4 and featured a total weekend payout of $63,000. Over one hundred and seventeen teams competed for a chance to win the grand prize of $50,000. Stick games promote positive lifestyle choices as the event is drug and alcohol-free. The tournament is open to all ages, providing the opportunity for multi-generational families to learn, share and enjoy the traditional game of Slahal.