Chena Fryberg announces her candidacy for the Youth Council media coordinator. Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil
Native youth across Indian country are assembling to make a difference in their communities. They are known as the Gen-I movers and what they say will be heard by top-level leaders in Washington D.C. The goal is to get youth involved in their communities and to remove barriers to education and health opportunities, while growing leaders for future generations.
Generation Indigenous was announced at the 2015 United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) midyear conference. Issued by President Obama this call to action, “is the first step in engaging a broad network of people interested in addressing the issues facing Native youth and creating a platform through which Native youth can access information about opportunities and resources, and have their voices and positive contributions highlighted and elevated.”
Tulalip youth have answered the challenge by creating the first ever Tulalip Youth Council. The thirteen-member council elected their officers on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.
Officers include co-chairs Andrew Davis and Mikaylee Pablo, vice-chairs Kayah George and Jlynn Joseph, secretary Ruth Pablo, treasure/ fundraiser coordinator Isabel Gomez, event coordinator Keryn Parks, media coordinator Cyena Fryberg, recruitment coordinator Tahera Mealing, and junior co-chairs Arnold Reeves and Krislyn Parks. Senior advisors are Santana Shopbell and Deyamonta Diaz. Each officer will hold a six-month term to establish the council. Elections will be held in November for one-year terms.
“This is something we have been looking forward to for many years,” said Marie Zackuse, Tulalip Tribes Board Secretary. “We want to hear from you. We know what we think might be important to you but we want to hear what is important to you, and through this we can.”
Many youth running for council mentioned wanting equal rights to opportunities and expressed a desire to support all youth in having a voice on the council.
“I want every single voice to be heard and I want us to be the voice of change in the Tribe, not just talk about it, but be that change,” said Kayah George, vice-chair.
“I speak from my heart and I want to see my community change in a positive way. I want to break the chain in my family and graduate from high school,” said Mikaylee Pablo, who encouraged her peers in her election speech to prove people wrong about negative reputations. Pablo was elected as co-chair along with Andrew Davis, who said he wants to get youth involved with community events and have a youth presence at ceremonies.
Mikaylee Pablo, the new Tulalip Youth Council female co-chair, listens as other candidates to the youth council discuss changes they would like to see happen in their community. Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil
While no projects have been decided on yet, youth will meet regularly and participate in national challenges such as working in their community and volunteering with local organizations or schools. Meetings will be scheduled at a later date for the council to brainstorm with youth on how to address issues of concern in the community.
As part of the national Gen-I challenge, youth will document their community efforts and projects through photos and video, which will be used to share their stories at the National Native Youth Network. Youth will also have the opportunity to represent their tribal communities at the first ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering in D.C. this summer.
“You all are future leaders,” said Zackuse. “You are role models and we are excited to see what you achieve.”
For more information on the Tulalip Youth Council please contact Jessica Bustad, Tulalip Youth Services Education Coordinator at 425-280-8705 or Natasha Fryberg at 425-422-9276.
Contact Brandi N. Montreuil, bmontreuil@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Gyasi Ross, keynote speaker at Tulalip Wellness Conference. Photo courtesy of Gyasi Ross.
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
As part of the Community Wellness Conference that took place on May 11 at the Tulalip Resort, keynote speaker Gyasi Ross gave an impassioned speech directed at Tulalip’s high school youth. Ross is a member of the Blackfeet Nation of the Port Madison Indian Reservation where he resides. He is a father, an author, a speaker, a lawyer and a filmmaker. TV, radio and print media regularly seek his input on politics, sports, pop culture and their intersections with Native life. For those who were unable to attend the conference and as a result were unable to hear Ross’s keynote address, the following is the most powerful message he delivered to the Tulalip youth on their history, biology, and purpose as a member of a Native community.
“I want to acknowledge the staff who put this event on. Most school don’t have stuff like this because there is no money for stuff like this. We all know money is important, which means the tribes is investing in you all by putting this money forth; they are saying you all are important. How do you know when something is important to somebody? Unfortunately, it’s because they spend money on it. That’s what people value in today’s society.
All of us come from a history and a culture, a culture that acknowledges where we are. History is a fancy word for ‘this is where I come from’.
One of my favorite quotes in the world is from an Okanogan woman named Christine Quintasket. She was the first Native woman to ever publish a written book. She had an amazing outlook on life where she viewed life’s function as a part of the natural world. She liked to talk about the relationship of human being to nature, to trees and plants and to the animals. Christine Quintasket said, ‘Everything on Earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission.’ If this quote is true, and I believe it is true, then that means every single one of you guys and girls and women and men and me, has a purpose. Every single one of us has a mission. What purpose or mission do you have?
Let’s talk a little biology. If I look at my grandparents, three of my four grandparents were alcoholics. That means I have a 75% of carrying something similar to them that would make me like alcohol. As a result of that both my parents at one time were alcoholics. As a result of that I’ve chose never to drink, I’ve never driven alcohol in my life. It’s not a religious thing, I’m not religious at all, but it’s a practical recognition of history, of Mendel’s Grid, of biology. That’s why it’s important to understand biology and to understand our history. It’s because that helps informs who you are.
Going into biology a little bit more, how many of you have ever said or heard someone say, ‘I didn’t choose to be here!” How many of you have said that yourself, that you did not choose to be here? I know I’ve said that before. I’m going to tell you why that statement is dead wrong. Biology. Every time a baby is conceived a man releases from 80 to 500 million sperm cells. It’s fact. That means that for every single one of you, before you were conceived, you were in BIG competition. You were in competition with 80 to 500 million other sperm cells trying to get to that egg…and YOU won. Every single one of you are that special little sperm cell that was stronger, quicker and more agile than everyone else. You wanted to be here! I’m not talking religion. As a matter of biological fact, every single one of you wanted to be here.
That means anytime you say or you start to say, ‘I didn’t choose to be here’ you are lying, you are not telling the truth. With that we are going to go into some history.
The function of tribes, of Native people who lived in small, intimate communities who lived in distinct places. The reason we chose to live in these small, intimate communities was for survival. For no other reason than survival. It was based on interdependency. Everyone in the community had a role, a function within the community, and those communities were successful because each member was able to depend on the other members to live up to their roles. The hunters, the fisherman, the gathers, the clothes makers, those who were able to make medicines…whatever their responsibility within the community they had to live up to it because everyone else’s survival depended on them.
Going back to the notion of Christine Quintasket saying, ‘Everything on Earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission.’ It is inherent, inherent is a fancy word that says it’s written within out DNA and it’s in our blood, it is inherent as Native people to have a mission. Every single one of us, every single one of you, has a mission. Once again, what is your mission? Going back to the historical times, our ancestral communities, those missions were hunting, gathering, medicinal herbs, being a warrior, seam-stressing, etc. This is something that is also historically proven, every single one of you are necessary. You are necessary to the betterment and survival of the whole. This is what we are talking about when we say culture.
On Monday, May 11, and Tuesday, May 12, the Tulalip Resort Casino hosted the 3rd Annual Community Wellness Conference. The target audience this year was our tribal youth. Photo/Micheal Rios
A lot of people think culture is this fancy thing that you wear, it’s a pendent or beaded necklace. One of my heroes, his name is John Mohawk, said ‘Culture is a learned means of survival in an environment’. That’s all it is. At one time when you were trying to survive as that special little sperm cell, you were kicking and fighting and elbowing all these other 80 to 500 million sperm cells because your means of survival was getting to that egg by any means necessary. As we developed and we became tribes, our means of survival was by finding what the need was within our community. We all come from need-based communities. From both these perspectives, historically and biologically, you are necessary, you are important, and you are beautiful.
A side note to the historical piece. I don’t get into the morality of drugs and alcohol, the morality of it and spiritual part is between you, your family and your creator. However, there is a practical part.
The practical part is historically our people couldn’t afford to do things that weaken themselves. You couldn’t do it as a practical matter, not as a spiritual matter. You couldn’t be weak. Why? Because when you are coming from a small community and there are only so many hands that can go out and hunt, or so many hands that could go out and gather food and medicinal herbs, or so many hands that can seamstress…every person is a commodity. Every person is incredibly important. For every single person who is unable, because they are weakened by drinking alcohol or doing drugs, that isn’t able to fulfill their function within the community is making the entire community weaker. Not morally, but practically because that makes their family and their community weaker by that individual’s decision to weaken themselves, because now they can’t be relied upon to carry word or to go fish or to hunt. So now the community as a whole is weaker. Every single one of you are necessary in a community.
You need this place, your community, your home…and it needs you. The reason why you need this place is because history and biology. Right now, you have the privilege of breathing the same oxygen, drinking the same water, eating the same fish as your ancestors have for 20,000 years. Nobody else in this country can say that. There’s not one single person in this nation who can say that other than Native people. That’s it. That’s a huge privilege. Your community has that sense, that longing, it’s that Mother Land that says, ‘I need you, but you also need me’. When we look at the history, the biology of these communities there is a DNA there and you are the living embodiment of that DNA.
I want to end with Christine Quintasket. ‘Everything on Earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission’. What is your mission?”
When it comes to diabetes, Native Americans are clearly at greater risk compared to non-Natives. The incidence and prevalence of diabetes within the Native community have increased dramatically as traditional lifestyles have been abandoned in favor of westernization, with accompanying increases in body weight and diminished physical activity. Consider these sobering statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Indian Health Service:
2.2 times higher – likelihood of Native Americans to have diabetes compared to non-Hispanic whites.
68% – percent increase in diabetes from 1994 to 2004 in Native American youth aged 15-19 years.
95% – percent of Native Americans with diabetes who have type 2 diabetes.
30% – estimated percent of Native Americans who have pre-diabetes.*
The extent of diabetes in Native communities today demands public health programs that incorporate specific cultural adaptations for individual tribes. Enter the Tulalip Health Clinic’s Diabetes Program and its ‘grow your own fruits, vegetables & edible flowers’ campaign.
In the spring of 2013, Veronica “Roni” Leahy, Diabetes Program Coordinator, embarked on a mission to bring practical application of diabetes prevention into the everyday lives of Tulalip tribal members by creating a Tulalip Bay wellness garden and trail.
Tribal employees volunteer their time to plant apple trees. photo/Micheal Rios
“Our goal for this garden is diabetes prevention,” explains Leahy. “One of the ways you fight diabetes is good nutrition and exercise. We have a vegetable garden which supports good nutrition and a wellness trail for our exercise. It’s practical application. We offer natural foods you can grow. We have berries, like gooseberries, huckleberries and raspberries. We have fruits, like Oregon grape, apples and pears. Plus, we are growing edible flowers as well.
“Our plan here is to have as much community involvement as possible in creating this space. We have elders who have been a huge part of this project from the very beginning. We’ll continue to focus on the elders and community as we further develop this area. That’s why we call it ‘grow your own fruits and vegetables.’”
Volunteer elders work hard almost every day in creating new additions to the health clinic gardens. Tulalip elder Sandy Swanson is one of those dedicated volunteers.
“I’m out here every day because I enjoy gardening. I worked with Roni on this project since it first started at Hibulb Cultural Center,” says Swanson. “I worked there in the greenhouse and garden beds for two or three years. So when we started down here, I thought this would be good because it’s closer to my home and work at the Health Clinic. I was a nurse for 50 years and just retired last year. I’m 75 now so I putter around here and water and plant and help keep this area clean. I come down and help plant the peas and apple trees.
New garden boxes have been established for the various fruits and vegetables. Photo/Micheal Rios
“This garden is for the people so anyone can come help out and be a part of this. People come and work with us on these gardens, we’d like to have more people, but many work so we understand. The main theme is to be able to teach about healthy home-grown fruits and vegetables where they are safe to eat, store stuff is so processed and shined up with chemicals. You have to wash all your fruits and vegetables from the stores these days.”The Tulalip Health Clinic’s Diabetes Program is determined to teach the tribal membership how to live a healthy lifestyle that minimizes the risk of diabetes and welcomes any and all community volunteers to become a part of the wellness garden. The next ‘grow your own fruits and vegetables’ event with be on Friday, May 29 from 9:00a.m. – 3:00p.m. at the Tulalip Bay wellness garden and trail, located on the west side ofthe Tulalip Health Clinic.
View of the Wellness Trail as it leads to the garden. photo/Micheal Rios
For more information about the Diabetes Program, the wellness garden, or opportunities for volunteerism please contact Roni Leahy at vleahy@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov or 360-716-5642.
Participants were able to ask questions from professionals and have health screens performed on Friday, May 8, 2015, at the Tulalip Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic. Popular booths included an alternative medicine booth featuring essential oils, a kidney health booth and the diabetes booth. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – For the first time in three years women packed into the Tulalip Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic to attend a health fair tailored specifically to their health needs. On Friday, May 8 the lobby at the clinic was transformed into a woman-only zone that featured over 20 informational booths on women’s health from A to Z.
Funded by the Tulalip Stop Smoking Program due to budget constraints, the fair highlighted the forgotten issues of women’s health, such as routine health check-ups, proper footwear and wearing a good supporting bra.
Health fair organizer Jennie Fryberg, said this year’s health fair was meant to draw attention to the things women tend to put off due to work or family responsibilities.
“The idea was to do something different and have booths that offered information on other forms of health care, such as essential oils and other alternative health care. There is no mammogram bus this year but we have a great booth that has information on breast and cervical health. We have The Bra Shop attending this year and they accept HMA health insurance so you can get a proper fitting and get a good supporting bra,” said Fryberg, whose mother Karen Fryberg started the tradition of health fairs at the clinic 30 years ago.
Deandra Grant, 15, attended the fair in the afternoon and said she learned how important health can be later in life. “I learned don’t do bad stuff to your body and brush your teeth. You have to take care of yourself. The kidney station was my favorite so far and the diabetes booth. The whole fair is informational for me.”
Held in conjunction with Mother’s Day, the clinic organized a special makeover for three ladies chosen by staff following in the tradition of previous health fairs that provided makeovers to cancer patients.
“This year I knew I needed to do something special for three particular women in our community. The Clinic didn’t have funds for the fair so I knew the makeovers would have to be funded in a different way. The Stop Smoking Program kindly donated the funds for the fair and we did fundraising for the makeovers,” Fryberg said.
Health fair makeover recipients Lavinia Philips, Lahneen Fryberg and Nessie Hatch enjoyed a mini shopping spree, manicure and hair styling on Friday, May 8, 2015, as part of the Tulalip Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic’s Women’s Health Fair. All three said the makeover was a great surprise. “We didn’t expect it and it was great that the three of us could spend a happy time together,” said Fryberg. Echoing her sentiments Hatch commented, “A lot of times as moms, we don’t take care of ourselves because we put out kids first, so this was great and reminds us that we need to take time for ourselves.” (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
Chosen were Lahneen Fryberg, Lavinia Phillips and Nessie Hatch, all mothers of victims from the October 24 shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
“I wanted them to have something special before Mother’s Day and show how proud we are as a community of their strength and that we are here to support them,” continued Fryberg.
For more information on women’s health check out the website www.healthywomen.org, or make an appointment to see a physician at the Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic by calling 360-716-4511.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Sheldon family women flaunt their hand-made Boys & Girls Club necklace keepsakes. Photo/Micheal Rios
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
On the evening of Saturday, May 9 the Tulalip Resort Casino’s Orca ballroom was the location for the 17th Annual Tulalip Boys and Girls Club “It’s for the Kids” Auction fundraising event. The ballroom was elaborately designed like never before with a tiered seating arrangement for the record high 650 guests who attended. This year’s theme was in true 12th Man fashion as it was devoted to the Seahawks and prevalent in all visual aspects, from the vivid navy blue and action green colored table dressings and centerpieces to the accent lighting.
The Tulalip Boys & Girls Club is the first club of its kind to be built on tribal land in Washington. Established in 1995, 2015 marks twenty years of commitment to the community.
The Club serves as a model for those working to improve the lives of young people in surrounding communities.
With the success of previous auctions, the Club has not only been able to sustain services, but to likewise complete needed campus expansions that added additional learning space. This included spaces like 2014’s all new Computer Learning Center with state-of-the-art technology allowing our kids to stay on par with the area’s best schools when it comes to computer technology.
While auction attendees enjoyed the great food, great friends and the great auction items available, they were continually reminded of the hundreds of children who’ll benefit from the night’s proceeds. Video montages depicting Club members, staff, and events were played throughout the evening. A very touching video dedicated to Diane Prouty, or as the kids call her “Grandma Diane”, was shown right before she took the stage to speak on the importance of Tulalip’s Kid’s Café. Through Kids Café, the Club provides healthy, filling, hot snacks and meals to kids after school. Many of the kids who participate in Kids Café would not have an afternoon snack or dinner without the Club.
Auction participants showed their generous support by donating a record high $40,945 to Kids Café. That proved to be just the beginning. By the end of the night, the auction had also raised a new record for total proceedings, amassing over $300,000 that will benefit and support the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club.
On behalf of the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, the Tulalip Tribes thanks everyone who contributed to the success of the 17th annual auction. The outpouring of support received each year from sponsors and volunteers is quite overwhelming. As in years past, the funds raised from the auction will ensure that our club not only continues to provide, but improves upon, quality programs in a fun, safe and positive environment for the children who attend throughout 2015 and early 2016.
Mytyl Hernandez, Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
Tulalip, Washington – Overcoming environmental and cultural challenges can make for unexpected partnerships that result in extraordinary outcomes. At Roots of Wisdom, the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve’s latest exhibit opening to the general public May 16th from 12:00–5:00 p.m., the knowledge of native peoples and cutting-edge Western science are explored, providing insight into how we can improve our relationship with the natural world.
Roots of Wisdom features stories from four indigenous communities, giving visitors real life examples of how traditional knowledge and Western science, together, provide complementary solutions to ecological and health challenges facing us today. Through the voices of elder and youth, engaging video interactives and hands-on games, visitors will gather resources, examine data, and take part in the growing movement towards sustainability and the reclamation of age-old practices.
“We are so pleased to have had the opportunity to develop an exhibit through a collaborative process which is a new experience for us. We are so excited that we get to be its hosts”, says Tessa Campbell Senior Curator. “Roots of Wisdom allow our guests an inside look into Tribal communities throughout the country and see how they are managing and preserving their natural and cultural resources”.
Traditional Knowledge/Western Science
Visitors are invited to explore the unique relationship between Western science and native ecological knowledge. From everyday items like duck decoys to surfboards, popcorn to chocolate, guests will learn how native knowledge impacts our daily lives, and recognize the great contributions that indigenous peoples have provided over centuries.
Re-establishing a Native Plant (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
The river cane plays a prominent role both in revitalizing cultural practices and restoring ecosystems. Guest will learn how this hardy plant affects water quality and how Cherokee elders are teaching new generations about the traditional craft of basket weaving. Visitors are invited to experiment with river environments and even try their hand at basket weavings.
Restoring Fish Ponds (Hawaii)
Guests are given a chance to act as a caretaker of a fish pond or join a droplet of water on an incredible journey down a Hawaiian mountainside in these popular hands-on interactives. Visitors learn how native ecosystems have been disrupted and what is being done to restore these innovative forms of aquaculture, which could be a critical component to food sustainability for the people of Hawaii.
Rediscovering Traditional Foods (Tulalip Tribes)
Through a clever computer interactive, hands-on activities, and recorded stories, guests learn how Tulalip Tribes are striving to find a balance in their need for natural resources against the loss of land rights and environmental degradation. Visitors learn about traditional practices of wild harvesting and gardening. They will discover through Western science how these techniques are beneficial to human health.
Saving Streams and Wildlife (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation)
Seen as a pest in some areas of the country, the lamprey is an eel-like fish that is important both ecologically and as a food source to many indigenous people. In this fun interactive, visitors can pick up a replica lamprey as would a scientist. Visitors learn about the traditional stewardship of the lamprey and how the fish is a critical component of the ecosystem that the Umatilla Tribes depend on. Find out how traditional ecological knowledge and Western science are being applied to bring this amazing little fish back from the brink of extinction.
Roots of Wisdom opens Saturday May 16, 2015 at 12:00 PM and closes September 13, 2015.
The Hibulb Cultural Center is open Tuesday through Friday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM, closed on Mondays. Pricing: Adults $10, Seniors (50yr+) $7, Students $6, Veterans & Military $6, Children (under 5) FREE. “Family Pass” (2 adults, 4 children) $25. Visit www.hibulbculturalcenter.org for more information about the museum.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, Roots of Wisdom is specially designed for visitors ages 11-14. The exhibition was developed by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), the Indigenous Education Institute (IEI), the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Tulalip Tribes, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society in Hawaii, and was made possible through funds from the National Science Foundation.
About the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
The Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve is dedicated to those who have gone home before us and those who remain to keep the cultural fires burning. The Hibulb Cultural Center features a fully certified collections and archaeological repository. The Center features a main gallery, a temporary exhibit, two classrooms, a research library, an interactive longhouse and a gift shop featuring Coast Salish and hand made products.
Directions: From I-5 take exit 199 Marine Drive NE in Marysville. Go west approximately 0.5 miles, then turn left on 23rd Avenue NE.
Rochele Hammond presents the signed Michael Bennett football to Nate Hatch. Hatch donated the football to the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club Auction to help raise funds for the club’s program. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Rochele Hammond, husband Ken and sons Josh, Jake and Bradon purchased a priceless item donated to this year’s annual Tulalip Boys & Girls Club auction held Saturday, May 9.
The item is a football signed by Seattle Seahawks #72 defensive end Michael Bennett. It wasn’t just the autograph that made this item priceless to bidders, it was the story behind it that resonated with the Hammonds.
The football was donated by Nate Hatch, the only survivor among the five students attacked in the school shooting on October 24 at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Hatch was presented the football by Bennett following the tragedy.
Hatch, a former Tulalip Boys & Girls Club member, decided to donate the football to help raise funds for the club’s programs.
The Hammonds won the final bid but knew the football was worth much more than what they had paid for it. They decided to return the football to Hatch.
“He deserves to have it and I knew he was meant to have it,” said Rochele . “We want him to know we are thinking of him. It just needs to be with him.”
Tulalip students put skills to use for the homeless
Students in the Tulalip Construction Training program are building two tiny houses to help the urban homeless population in Seattle. Photo/Mara Hill
By Mara Hill, Tulalip News
An old, rusty building left over from a time when Quil Ceda Village was the Boeing Test site hides a treasure. You walk inside and you’re surrounded by people hard at work. The sound of drills buzzing, hammers banging and voices raised in a friendly hello.
The workers are students of the Tulalip Construction Training program. They each come from a tribal nation, some as far away as South Dakota. Their dreams vary, one wants to build a patio for his son’s grandmother, others want to join a union, or add to their skills for do it yourself projects or to improve their qualifications for work. Currently, they’re building their skills through a “tiny house” project that will assist with a subject near and dear to my heart, homelessness.
I have been homeless. Not sleeping on the ground in the rain kind of homeless, but staying at a friend’s house, couch-surfing kind of homeless. I was anxious and depressed. It was the darkest place I’ve ever been in my entire life. I write this with tears in my eyes as I remember striving for some kind of normalcy for my daughter. I was willing to do anything to have a home of my own.
I’m on my way to that normal life. Through the Tiny House Movement, with the help of the Tulalip Tribes, the urban homeless population of Seattle will also have a chance to change their lives.
Tiny house encampments evolved out of tent communities. These encampments are increasing in popularity due to the rising cost of housing. Tiny homes generally don’t exceed 500 square feet, and can be easily moved from one location to the next.
Instructor Mark Newland, and his students of the Tulalip Construction Training program received the housing materials on May 7 and began construction of two approximately 8’ x 12’ Tiny Houses on May 11, 2015. The homes have no amenities, just an open floor plan. However, residents have a roof over their head, a single window, front door with lock, and a single light switch. Each home also features a state of the art fan to control humidity and keep the homes livable during hot weather.
Each house will take between five and ten days to construct. The homes are basic, but simply having a locked door and a safe place to sleep is a game changer for many homeless citizens.
These houses are being donated to Nickelsville, a homeless encampment in Seattle named after former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, in protest to the way he handled the homeless situation.
“Making homelessness criminal, that’s kind of the way a lot of towns go. Running people out of town doesn’t settle the problem. It’s not a human solution. Unfortunately we need a lot more [resources] for the homeless than we have, both here on the reservation and elsewhere too,” explained Sandy Tracy, Manager of the Tulalip Homeless Shelter, about the stigma that homelessness carries. Many of those in need don’t receive help because of perceptions about their character, rather than their situation.
The approximately 8’ x 12’ structures each take five to ten days to complete and will be delivered to Nickelsville on June 9. Photo/Mara Hill
This donation is a great way to remind us of our humanity, that those too are people. It’s a great way to express to another community that we care.
Tribal communities experience homelessness but not always to the point of sleeping under underpasses and camping in the woods. Many tribal members are interrelated, or know each other, so there is more couch-surfing homelessness on Tulalip than in the outside communities.
Tracy called the tiny house movement a useful tool for the homeless.
“I’ve seen the little houses where someone is at least out of the elements and have a good door between them and whoever is wandering around. I think those are very good things.”
The dedication to Nickelsville will be Tuesday June 9, 2015 at 1001 S. Dearborn in the International District of Seattle.
On Monday, May 11, and Tuesday, May 12, the Tulalip Resort Casino hosted the Tulalip community as we came together to partake in the 3rd Annual Community Wellness Conference. The event was a two-day, all-day occasion that took place in the Orca Ballroom. Sponsored by the Tulalip Tribes’ Problem Gambling and Stop Smoking Programs, this year’s conference was particularly special for all attendees, as we were invited to hear the motivational words and experience the remarkable talents of Native celebrities from across North America.
The target audience this year was our tribal youth, to ensure tribal youth engagement all the students of Heritage High School were bussed to and from the TRC in order to participate in the Wellness Conference. With an open registration, all members of the Tulalip community were welcome to attend. There were approximately two hundred attendees on each day.
Day one was highlighted by keynote speaker Gyasi Ross, author and lawyer, an aerial performance by Andrea Thompson, and our very own Rediscovery Coordinator Inez Bill teaching how to make smudge kits and lip balm. Day two was highlighted by keynote speaker Vaughn Eagle Bear, comedian and actor, and a special performance by DJ crew A Tribe Called Red. The two-day Community Wellness Conference kept everyone engaged, kept interests peaked, and provoked much self-reflection while we learned how to channel our energies into positive experiences.
Conference coordinators, Ashley Tiedeman and Alison Bowen, reflected on the success of the Wellness Conference after it was over, saying the conference was successful not just because they had more attendees than the previous two years, but because of how each Native speaker managed to address and engage audience members on a spiritual and intellectual level. All of the amazing Native speakers shared their story and how they overcome their hardships to get to where they are now, successfully following their passion.
Day two keynote speaker, Vaughn Eaglebear, gets the crowd going with his comedic antics. Photo/Micheal Rios
A simple, but powerful message expressed to the youth by Gyasi Ross was “It gets greater later.”
“We come from a faithful people,” expressed Ross to the tribal youth. “We come from people who have genetically coded DNA that says, ‘It gets greater later.’ We don’t give up. We don’t ever give up. That’s not what we do. Every single one of you come from that strong, enriched lineage of perseverance and resilience. That DNA is still within you, that blood is still within you that makes you strong. That makes you willing to work by faith and realize ‘It gets greater later’.”
This message wasn’t planned, but hit home with all and was repeated throughout the conference. Alison Bowen, Family Haven Program Manager and co-coordinator of the conference, hopes that every single tribal youth takes this message to heart. “It becomes greater later. Each and every one of you has a purpose. You are all needed and loved.”
