Category: Tulalip News

Dinesha Kane Chases Big Dreams with Dreamcatchers

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

According to the traditional Ojibwe legend, dreamcatchers first originated when members of their nation began to disperse throughout North America. The Ojibwe believed in a spiritual protector named Asibikaashi, or Spider Woman, who took care of the younger generations. As her people left the land, she had a difficult time reaching all of the children of the Ojibwe Nation and keeping watch over them. For this reason, she taught the mothers, sisters, aunties and grandmothers how to make sacred hoops, with webbing similar to hers, to protect the children while sleeping. When placed near the child’s bedside, the hoops catch all of the dreams, good and bad, passing through the night air and allow the good dreams to enter the child’s thoughts, while trapping the bad dreams in the webs. The bad dreams are burned away once daylight reaches the webbing. Since then, dreamcatchers have become popular keepsakes and many people, including non-natives, still believe the sacred hoop’s power of filtering dreams and nightmares.

Tulalip tribal member Dinesha Kane’s journey to creating dreamcatchers began when she lost her mother to an overdose. After enduring months of heartache, Dinesha gathered the will to attend a beading class taught by Winona Shopbell-Fryberg and Cyrus ‘Bubba’ Fryberg which ultimately led to the start of her new company, Coast Salish Concepts.

“I actually find art very therapeutic; I’ve liked art my whole life. After I lost my mom, it was really difficult, so I turned to art,” Dinesha expresses. “I started beading with Winona and Bubba, I went to their class and fell in love with it. From there I wanted to learn more. I wanted to learn weaving so I took a class. I couldn’t find any dreamcatcher classes, so I figured out how to do it on my own. I looked at enough dreamcatchers and figured how to deconstruct a couple, and from there I just went nuts.”

The majority of today’s dreamcatchers are manufactured by non-Indigenous companies, while all of Dinesha’s products are authentic Native American dreamcatchers that are often customized to the client’s wants, needs and aura. Dinesha’s unique creations also promote healing, as each dreamcatcher contains raw crystals. During her first year as a business, she has made numerous dreamcatchers of various sizes, colors and designs, including chakra sets.

“The chakra, we all have it within us. All our colors represent different parts of body from head to the ground,” she explains. “I got into healing and chakra through reiki, the crystals came with yoga. Because of my diagnosis, fibromyalgia, the medicine wasn’t working so I went the holistic route. From there, with my teas and my new home garden, came the crystals and chakras. I’m able to hold the crystals over whatever plexus I’m hurting or feeling on. I think it ties into our culture because we are a natural people. We eat off our land, only take what we need, we give back, we share and we heal through nature. I think that’s how I found my roots and my healing. I give you my food that will help you heal, my tea that I dried out myself, or my dreamcatchers with the crystals”

While working on a dreamcatcher for her sister, Dinesha stumbled across an idea that may very well make Coast Salish Concepts a household name in the near future.

“I was working on my sister’s dreamcatcher and happened to be sitting with it [horizontally] and something dropped. That’s when I thought that it would be kind of cool and unique to make the dreamcatcher horizontally instead of vertically. From there I started stringing it down, piece by piece and low and behold here comes this wonderfully made baby mobile and everybody loved it.”

Dinesha has already made a few customized dream-catching baby mobiles, including Harry Potter and mermaid themes. And although she is sure to see success with her dreamcatchers, Dinesha maintains that her sole focus is assisting the people of her community.

“I’m not in this to make a million dollars or to be the next great artist,” she states. “I just want to help people. Most of us come from very troubled backgrounds and a lot of us make it through, some of us don’t. I’d like to be able to help kids heal their own pain through learning how to make art. Winona really did that for me, sitting and talking in that circle, learning how to bead and learning our own tradition. That feeling, how well I felt after the classes, I want to be able to do that for others because I know people hurt like I do. Whether it’s past trauma, or the loss of a mom or a grandma from cancer, I’ve seen death from all different ways. I’ve never found better strength than going back to my own roots.”

Dinesha’s future plans for Coast Salish Concepts include a storefront where she can sell her dreamcatchers, tea and artwork, which also doubles as yoga studio to promote all around healing. For more information about the dreamcatchers and Coast Salish Concepts please contact Dinesha and JT Kane at (425) 876-8788. And to view more designs, please be sure to visit the Coast Salish Concepts Facebook and Instagram pages.

Hawks start season with perfect 3-0 record

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

This time last year, the Tulalip Heritage boys basketball team was (0-4) and in desperate search of a W. What a difference a year makes. Coach Bubba Fryberg has taken over head coaching duties for the boys team, assisted by Jared Parks and Marc Robinson, and together they’ve coached their team to a (3-0) start to the new season. Most impressive, all three Ws have come against 2B schools, a division higher than Heritage’s 1B classification.

In their home opener, the Hawks hosted the Mount Vernon Christian Hurricanes on November 29th. Family and friends filled the bleachers to watch a very entertaining game. It couldn’t have started any better for the Hawks; they jumped out to an 11-0 lead and pushed that to 17-4 at the end of the 1st quarter. The ball was moving and every starter had scored points.

Defensively, the Hawks weren’t allowing anything at the rim or in the paint. The Hurricanes were forced to settle with contested jumper after contested jumper.

Over the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the ball continued to move well for the Hawks and the point distribution continued. Going into the final quarter the Hawks led 38-24.

The 4th quarter saw a blowout turn into a grit and grind game. Suddenly, the Hurricanes couldn’t miss and the Hawks couldn’t buy a bucket. The lead dwindled by the minute and with only 21 seconds remaining the Hawks led 41-40 with Mt. Vernon Christian inbounding the ball. Tulalip played solid defense that resulted in a contested 3-pointer that missed, giving the Hawks the W in a front of a frenzied home crowd.

Freshman Alonzo Jones-Smith led all Hawks with 12 points, Rodney Barber scored 10 points, and Paul Shay Jr. chipped in 7 points.

Two days later, on December 1, Tulalip traveled to Darrington High School and won 45-37. The very next day they played again. This time taking on the La Conner Braves. In a heated game that saw multiple runs by both teams, the Hawks pulled out an impressive 49-45 victory. The (3-0) start is the first such undefeated start since the 2013-2014 team that made it all the way to State.

Coach Bubba attributes the team’s early season success to “defensive hustle, more emphasis on man-to-man defense rather than running zone, and all around team effort on offensive.”

Lady Hawks basketball makes season debut

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

Last season, the Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks basketball team went (18-3) in the regular season, won two playoff games, and made a Tri-District tournament appearance for the second consecutive year. Expectations for this season would have to be more managed however, with only four players returning from last year’s squad. Seniors Keryn Parks, Deandra Grant, Georgie Randall, and sophomore Deachae Jones are joined by a group of fresh faces and a new head coach in Tina Brown.

The new-look Lady Hawks made their season debut on November 29th in front of their home fans when they hosted the Mount Vernon Christian Hurricanes. These two teams faced off last year in the playoffs, with Heritage edging out a 48-40 victory.

Having to carry more of the offensive production on her shoulders this season, guard Keryn Parks started the new season hitting her first two-shots of the game and later assisted on a bucket by center Deandra Grant. At the end of the 1st quarter the score was 6-15, Hurricanes.

In the 2nd quarter, the Lady Hawks got hot from downtown as 3-point shots swished in by Keryn and guard Loralei Eli. But it seemed the Hurricanes were quick to answer with buckets of their own anytime the home team scored. At halftime Heritage trailed 15-32.

The Hurricanes adjusted their team defense in the 2nd half by double-teaming Keryn and constantly pressuring her in the backcourt. Her younger sister, freshman Krislyn Parks, and Deandra stepped up their offensive games, taking advantage of the smaller Hurricane players in the post. However, the Hurricanes continued having little difficulty scoring point of their own.

Heritage dropped their season opener 39-53. They were led in scoring by Keryn with 14 points, while Deandra and Krislyn both scored 10 points.

Following the game spirits were high for sisters Keryn and Krislyn who were able to play their first-ever high school game together.

“It felt really good to play with my little sister,” said Keryn. “She transitioned from MP to play here. She’s a really hard worker and I’m looking forward to seeing her grow as a player.”

Krislyn added, “Playing on this team means playing with family and that’s a cool feeling. It’s been an exciting process getting to learn from Keryn and it brings us closer as sisters.”

Tulalip has an upcoming two-game home stand when they host Orcas Christian on Thursday, December 7, and the Marysville-Getchell JV team on Saturday, December 9.

Cooking Together with Brit Reed

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Diabetes Care and Prevention program is working to make Tulalip a healthier community. With diabetes prevalent in Native communities throughout the United States, many families feel a need to change their die,t but don’t know where to begin, After a day’s hard work, it’s far easier to order in or carryout than to hit the stove and whip up a meal. The Diabetes rogram knows that adjusting to a healthy diet can be an overwhelming task, therefore, the program has created a series of cooking classes, hosted twice a week at the Hibulb Cultural Center. The exciting hands-on learning experience teaches community members how to prepare healthy, diabetic friendly, easy-to-make meals.

The Diabetes program called upon Tulalip community member Brit Reed to lead the series of classes. As a member of the Choctaw Nation, Brit found her passion for cooking at a young age while assisting her aunt in the kitchen. But it wasn’t until she received an assignment while working on her Master’s Degree at Evergreen State College, that she revisited her passion. For her assignment, she created the Facebook group page, Food Sovereignty is Tribal Sovereignty, where members of the tribal community can discuss traditional foods and share stories and recipes with one another. Brit continued to explore traditional foods and became inspired by Native cooks, such as the Sioux Chef, to attend culinary school and enrolled at the Seattle Culinary Academy. Most recently Brit became a member of I-Collective, a non-profit organization consisting of Indigenous chefs, activists, herbalist, and seed and knowledge keepers from across the nation.

“I grew up in a family where it was really important to cook at home,” Brit explains. “My parents were really strict about us eating around a table together, every single day, and having dinner. Even though I kind of hated that as a kid, when I grew up I really grew to appreciate that; I actually think I was initially inspired by that. Later on, I started working with my auntie in Nevada, cooking for our family and our community, learning about traditional foods and the way it can help people get better mentally, physically and spiritually.

“I started researching more about traditional foods, food sovereignty and food security,” she continues. “And also our history as Native Peoples and how being separated from our traditional foods has affected our health negatively. And how coming back to those healthier foods and traditional foods has helped address things like diabetes, hypertension and all those different things that now plague our communities.”

During the Cooking Together classes, community members learn new recipes, experiment with new foods and seasonings, and also learn new techniques such as knife skills. Once the meals are prepared, students enjoy their food creations together while sharing stories and exchanging life advice. The classes are open to the entire community and frequent attendees include the Tulalip Wisdom Warriors who provide both valuable insight and loads of laughs to each class.

“The Wisdom Warriors give us good direction, they’re kind of like our elders advisory group,” says Diabetes Care and Prevention Coordinator, Veronica ‘Roni’ Leahy. “They’re invested in what we’re doing because they believe in it. We’re creating memories with the elders. While they’re at these classes they share their health issues and talk to each other about how they’ve overcome it, and that’s where the healing is.”

The classes currently take place on Saturdays and Mondays through December and will be taking a brief holiday break before returning in February of 2018. The Diabetes Program recently dedicated the Monday classes to making a variety of soups from scratch and will be donating the food to the homeless shelter as well as the Senior Center.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to learn the basics in soup-making, like how to make a good healthy stock rather than using a box,” explains Roni. “Because we’re going to be making such large quantities, instead of giving the food to people who come to event, we decided to do more outreach in the community. Even though they aren’t at the classes with us, they are in our hearts and we’re thinking of them. We want to share the food with them and share that goodness that comes from the kitchen.”

So far, the students have enjoyed many delicious dinners together including chicken wings, roasted lemon chicken and BBQ pork loin accompanied by some scrumptious sides such as beet salad, roasted Brussels sprouts and roasted squash. Future requests from the Wisdom Warriors include seafood like clam chowder, geoduck and salmon.

“We try to make foods that are healthy, but we really want to cook foods that are exciting and also happen to be healthy and colorful,” Brit states. “I think it’s important to get people familiar with different ingredients that are readily available and are healthy; and also with the techniques on how to be able to cook in the kitchen, so they feel they can be creative and they actually enjoy being in the kitchen. I definitely want to incorporate more traditional ingredients in things that we are able to easily access from the grocery stores. I would really love to hear what the community is interested in learning because I’m here to help serve the community and want to teach what they want to learn about.”

The Diabetes Program also works with Tulalip TERO to hire Tulalip tribal cooks to assist Brit during the classes.

Help Chef Brit Reed close out the year by joining her last two classes of 2017 on Saturday December 9 and Monday December 11 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and be sure to keep an eye out for the upcoming Cooking Together classes slated for a fresh start in February of next year. For more information, please contact the Diabetes Prevention and Care Program at (360) 716-5642.

Festival of Trees Benefits Providence Children Center

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

Extravagantly festive Christmas trees and wreaths, each decorated with its own unique theme and style, brightened the Orca Ballroom at the Tulalip Resort Casino during the 32nd annual Festival of Trees. The week-long celebration kicked off November 28 with Opening Night festivities, continued with the excitement-filled Gala Dinner and Live Auction on December 1, and concluded December 2 with Teddy Bear Breakfast.

Each year, thousands of community members take part in the Festival of Trees – from volunteer, sponsors, and attendees – to raise funds for Children’s Services at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett. For more than three decades, Providence Children’s Center has been providing comprehensive, family-oriented care and highly specialized therapies – such as physical, occupational, speech and feeding therapy – for children with a wide variety of special needs.

“Knowing this is one of the largest charitable events for Snohomish County, it is appropriate for us to host and participate with goodwill and sharing the opportunity to help all children in need,” stated Marilyn Sheldon, manager of Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund, on the importance of hosting Festival of Trees and being the title sponsor. “We recognize that over 50% of Tulalip’s population is 0-24 years of age and Providence is our local hospital for care most tribal members use for emergency situations and other needs. Also, this event brings many to our facilities for the week and encourages them to come back and host their own business/charity event at our venue.”

A highlight of the holiday season, the Festival of Trees provides entertainment for countless families and children. Whether it’s a black-tie evening with a three-course dinner or a free afternoon with cookies and Santa, the Festival’s variety of events offer holiday cheer for all kinds of crowds. The beautifully decorated Christmas trees won’t soon be forgotten as their specialized themes like ‘Every Kid Needs a Hero’ and ‘Merry Lego Christmas’ to ‘Penguin’s Playground’ and ‘Mount Elegance’ capture the imagination.

During the Gala Dinner and Live Auction, the glittering Christmas trees, wreaths, and a towering tree arch were sold to the highest bidders. Several of the trees were reserved to be put on display throughout the Children’s Center as a special treat for the kids this holiday season.

As the Snohomish County community grows, the need for Children’s Center services has increased dramatically – 7% in the last year alone – which equates to almost 10,000 visits to the Center annually. Recognizing this tremendous need to provide for more children in the growing community, proceeds from the several fundraising events comprising the Festival of Trees directly supports the Children’s Center. The generosity of the donors and Festival attendees support Providence in growing and expanding the specialized therapies, equipment and educational classes that do so much to change young lives.

Over the past three decades, more than $10 million has been raised to care for the children and families of our community. However, this year’s Festival of Trees was one for the record books as it drew in the largest attendance ever, which resulted in a staggering $1.2 million raised from the week’s events.

All funds raised will support Providence programs and services such as Pediatrics, the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, the Children’s Center, the Autism Center, and Camp Prov, a summer camp for children with special needs.

“The lives of thousands of children, that includes Tulalip tribal children, will be helped thanks to the generosity received from the Festival of Trees fundraising efforts,” said Board of Director Mel Sheldon, twelve-year member of the Providence General Foundation. “We are very fortunate to have a relationship with Providence Medical Center and to support such an amazing opportunity that really looks at the bigger picture. We all want to do our part to create a sustainable and healthy community.”

 

Tulalip appoints interim Police Chief Sherman Pruitt

Interim Chief Pruitt

TULALIP, Wash. – December 4, 2017 — Patrol Commander Sherman Pruitt was sworn-in by the Tulalip Board of Directors to lead the Tulalip Police Department. Interim Chief Pruitt is stepping in for former Tulalip Chief of Police Carlos Echevarria who resigned, effective 12/4/17, citing personal reasons.

Chief Echevarria served the Tulalip Police Department since 2001; he was interim Chief of Police for 11 months and in May 2014, he became the first Tulalip citizen to serve as Chief of Police post-retrocession (a process wherein the Tulalip Tribes took back jurisdiction of tribal lands in 2001). He said, “My focus for the Police Department has been to work in collaboration with other Tribal departments for the safety, health, welfare, education and outreach to the community. TPD’s mission is to reduce the number of our children exposed to violence and provide law enforcement support services to assist victims of crime.”

Chief Echevarria’s watchwords, ‘Trust, Pride, Dedication’ remain emblazoned across every Tulalip Police vehicle, a reminder that policing at Tulalip is truly about serving the people.

Chairwoman Marie Zackuse said the former chief left big shoes to fill, “Carlos served our community for 15 years and did an excellent job. We are proud of the fact that he was our Chief of Police and it was with great sadness that the Board of Directors accepted his resignation. His parents and grandparents taught him in a good way and he brought a lot of compassion to his job. He will be missed, my best to him and his growing family.”

Interim Chief Pruitt will serve the department while the Tulalip Board of Directors search for the right person to step in and lead the future of the Tulalip Police Department.

Interim Chief Pruitt is a 21-year veteran of the military; he served 12 years in the United States Marine Corp and an additional 9 years in the Reserve Air Force. He was deployed five times, serving in Somalia, Rwanda and Iraq. In his 13 years as a Tulalip Police Officer, Interim Chief Pruitt has worked as a Patrol Officer, Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Detective Sergeant, Patrol Commander and now Interim Chief. In addition to his duties with the Tulalip Police Department, Interim Chief is cross-commissioned with the FBI and U.S. Marshalls as part of the Safe Trails Task Force, which fights against major crimes in Native America. He is a father of five and is happily married to his wife of 20 years.

“I will make sure we continue to serve with pride and respect,” said Interim Chief Pruitt. “We will continue to build trust with the community, along with mentoring our youth and making a difference in their lives. The Tulalip Tribes is thriving and we want to continue to get even better.”

 

 

 

Tulalip Day: Embracing Heritage, Celebrating Culture

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The morning of November 22nd was a truly joyous occasion, as the Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary gymnasium was packed wall-to-wall with students and community members who gathered for an early celebration of Tulalip Day. Students were encouraged to wear traditional regalia according to their tribal cultures.

“Welcome everyone to Tulalip Day,” greeted Principal Douglas Shook to the jam-packed gymnasium audience. “We thank our tribal elders who are in attendance, our guests from Heritage High School and 10th Street, as well as all our family, friends, and community members for being here today. I am honored to be part of this day with you all.”

Tulalip pride was on full display with many students wearing traditional Coast Salish garb featuring cedar weaves, abalone shells, and woven wool. Other students shined bright in their colorful and stunning powwow regalia. Many hand-made, uniquely painted drums were seen carried by youth and audience members who came to drum united under a common heritage.

“It’s significant we are here today, being in a public school dressed in our traditional regalia, showing pride for our Native culture…that’s healing,” proclaimed cultural specialist Chelsea Craig. “During the boarding school era, lots of hard times happened for our people. One of the biggest things was our people weren’t allowed to speak their language. They weren’t allowed to sing their songs. If they did, they were beaten and thrown in jail.

“We started this morning assembly to try to heal what was done in education, and the fact we filled this auditorium with our kids, their families, and community members is humbling. So we are going to celebrate today, not just because it’s Native American Heritage Month, but because we are proud to be Native American every single day.”

The floor was opened to anyone in the audience who wanted to share a song, encouraging words to the youth, or a story. Native Liaisons for the Marysville School District, Matt Remle and Terrance Sabbas each took their turn greeting the admiring students and shared songs.

Ray Fryberg then brought up the Tulalip Canoe Family so their singers and drummers could fill the air with their enchanting, traditional sound. As they performed several songs, children and their families adorned in tribal regalia danced in the middle of the gym.

Watching her daughter and other students dance from the audience, proud mother Roselle Fryberg shared she felt overcome with joy because “the youth give me hope.”

Next up, the eager and energetic powwow dancers took center stage while Terrance Sabbas provided them with the necessary powwow music according to each style of dance; traditional, grass, fancy, and jingle.

Led by Natosha Gobin, the Tulalip Language Warriors closed out the near 60-minute assembly dedicated to embracing Native culture. The Language Warriors shared Martha Lamont’s berry picking song, a song many of the students have learned while participating in the annual Language Camp.

“What a beautiful Tulalip Day at Quil Ceda Elementary School this morning!” stated Board of Director, Theresa Sheldon, following the assembly. “Our kids sang their hearts out and danced with such joy. Anytime we can gather with our students in a good way makes for an excellent day.”