As the search for fallen Tulalip Police Officer Charlie Cortez continues, the law enforcement community is taking measures to commemorate the late officer’s name for generations to come. Police agencies around the country are paying tribute to both Charlie and his family, by speaking his name at roll calls during remembrance ceremonies and vigils, as well as engraving his name into memorial walls that are dedicated to officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice while on the line of duty.
Most recently, Charlie’s family received a package from the American Police Hall of Fame, a posthumous award of the highest degree, the Medal of Honor. The medal fits perfectly on the memorial wall his loved one’s set-up at his family’s home, complete with photographs of the tribal officer, and displayed next to his many accolades.
“We got a letter from the American Police Hall of Fame mentioning that his name is going to be etched into the marble at the Hall of Fame Memorial Wall with 8,000 other police officers that have fallen in the line of duty,” said Charlie’s mom, Paula Cortez. “We’re so proud of him but at the same time our hearts break that he’s no longer here with us. The law enforcement world has been phenomenal at making sure that he’s honored and that he’ll always be remembered. That’s special for our family and for his kids who will be able to go and visit those memorials. And in the future, they can share that with their kids, it’s something that will be there forever.”
At the end of the month, on May 29th, a nation-wide traveling event is coming to Tulalip to honor Charlie and all of the officers who transitioned to their next journey while protecting and serving their communities. A large trailer will make-it’s-way throughout the reservation to raise awareness and honor the officers and their families, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Tribal Justice Center and ending at the Tulalip Marina. The trailer is a project known as ‘Beyond the Call of Duty’ and features the photos and the names of all the fallen officers over this past year.
The Beyond the Call of Duty trailer will be accompanied by the End of Watch Motorcycle Club, which was created in memory of those officers who dedicated their life to the badge and are no longer with us. As it happens, the event takes place one day after Charlie’s birthday, so in addition to the convoy, the local police department and Charlie’s family will be throwing a BBQ celebration for the young, fallen officer at the Marina shortly after the motorcade.
Thank you for keeping Charlie’s family and the Tulalip Police Department in your prayers. As always, please send any potential evidence, information or your own informal searches to us by texting 360-926-5059, or emailing bringofficercortezhome@gmail.com, or leaving a voicemail at (909) 294-6356.
“I want our newest officers and staff to know that we value each and every one of you,” said Tulalip Chief of Police Chris Sutter. “You have worked hard to get this far and we want you to be successful. We welcome you to the department. We all look forward to seeing you progress in your career.”
Natural sunlight beamed throughout the illustrious new Tulalip Gathering Hall, on a gorgeous May afternoon. Approximately 150 people, consisting of family, friends and local citizens, came together to celebrate a momentous occasion for eleven individuals who are embarking on a new journey with the Tulalip Police Department.
In total, nine officers received a warm welcome to the squad; seven officers who recently graduated from the U.S. Indian Police Academy in New Mexico as well as two lateral officers who transferred from other departments. The newly appointed Sex Offender Registration Program Manager, Alyshia Ramon, and the latest tribal recruit, Kanoe Williams, were also honored at the ceremony.
Said Kanoe, “I wanted to join our tribal law enforcement to serve the community that I live in. I grew up here, I know most of the people on the rez. This is kind of my way to give back to them. I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work. I’m going off to New Mexico in the summer, and I’m excited and anxious and just ready to learn and start the process.”
A number of Tulalip leaders were in attendance including Tulalip Chairwoman Teri Gobin and Vice-Chairman Glen Gobin who commended the new officers for pursuing a career in law enforcement and offered their best wishes to both the officers and their families.
Respects were also paid to fallen TPD Officer Charlie Cortez who was announced lost at sea last November. In a special moment, Charlie’s family shared a few words and a gift with all the new officers. The Cortez’s were escorted by Charlie’s lifelong best friend and fellow TPD officer, Beau Jess, and the family was sure to recognize him for being a source of strength for the family during these inexplicably hard times. Each officer accepted a gift bag from the Cortez family. In return, the new officers supplied them with loving hugs.
“I wanted to be here today to witness our new officer’s swearing-in and blessing ceremony,” expressed Charlie’s emotional mother, Paula Cortez, before saying a prayer for the officers. “Our family prays every day for our own healing from what happened to Charlie and we pray that no other family has to experience this type of loss ever again.”
TPD Commander Jim Williams provided a bit of advice and wisdom to the officers, which he garnered from his many years of experience on the force. Then Angela Davis, the department’s Professional Standards Manger, officially introduced Darbi Boggs, Justin Coker, Michelle Kekoa-Oshiro, Christian Kentch, Angel Sotomayor Jr., Josephine Stoker, Elizabeth Vides, Joshua Tannen and Jesse Wright to the community, while also sharing a short personal biography about each officer.
Tulalip Attorney, Michelle Sheldon, held the honor of swearing-in the new officers. Following Michelle’s lead, the officers raised their right hands in the air and vowed to protect and serve the Tulalip community. After officially taking the Oath of Honor, TPD called upon the officers’ loved ones to pin their badges to their new uniforms. The ceremony concluded with a song and blessing from Tulalip singers, as well as a longstanding tradition amongst police agencies throughout the Nation, the enjoyment of cake and company to cap-off a swearing-in ceremony.
“It’s pretty surreal,” shared new TPD Officer and Upper Skagit Tribal Member, Justin Coker, who is most excited about defending Tribal treaty rights. “The academy was really challenging, it took everything in me to pull through it and now that I’m here it’s pretty amazing. I’m thankful my family has been behind me the whole way. I grew up out here. I come from a family of fishermen and I just wanted to do my part and keep it alive, to make sure my kids have something to look forward to. I’m looking forward to meeting the community on a different level, letting them know that I’m here for them and getting to know everybody and the environment a lot more. It’s really exciting and it was a beautiful ceremony today. If this is something you want to do, follow your dreams.”
To pursue a career with the Tulalip Police Department, please reach out to Angela Davis to begin your new law enforcement journey. For further details, visit www.TulalipTribalPolice.org or call the non-emergency line at (360) 716-4608.
Before parting ways, Chief Sutter stated, “My charge to our newest officers is to go out be fair, be objective, be kind, demonstrate compassion for others, always remember to treat everyone with respect and dignity, and treat others the way you would want your family members to be treated. Lastly, always be safe, take good care of your partners and also yourself and your loved ones.”
Apps play a key role in today’s technology-led society. Whether you are catching up with your pals on social media, staying up-to-date on current world events and local news, killing time with addictive smart phone games, or listening to some good tunes, audiobooks or podcasts, as the now trademarked-by-Apple-saying goes, there’s an app for that.
In Tulalip, apps are important to the modern-day Indigenous business owner, artist, musician, and student. Tribal casino or government employees can easily swipe through a selection of apps to complete their everyday tasks, increase productivity, practice good communication skills by means of e-mails, text messaging, social media posts or Zoom meetings, and can even keep up with the latest community happenings by checking out Tulalip News on the Facebook app or the Tulalip TV app.
The youth of today are masters of technology. Learning how to navigate phones and tablets at a young age, kids are now utilizing apps to enhance their educational journey, and often use a number of apps to complete their school projects from research to creation to presentation. Apps are proving to be essential learning tools. A newly released app was created with the kids in mind, to engage the future generations of Tulalip with the traditional language of their ancestors in a fun, exciting and interactive way.
Now available, wherever you download your favorite apps, is a software application like none-other, known as Our Table. Brought to you by a collaboration between the Tulalip Lushootseed Language Department and the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy, the app is set-up in a game-style format to teach Tulalip’s youngest generation the dialect of Lushootseed that was known throughout the Snohomish territory since time immemorial.
“Culturally, that’s one of the things that’s always been done,” explained Dave Sienko, Lushootseed Media Developer. “Things are done around the kitchen table, families get together and they talk and share. That’s kind of what the app is trying to convey.”
The first-of-its-kind language learning app, Our Table is centered around one of the major traditional lifeways of the Tulalip people, nourishment. Bringing ancient words and phrases into the modern world, the kids are not only able to hear the pronunciation of words like spiqʷuc (potato), biac (meat), qʷagʷəb ləpəskʷi (cookie), as well as many other tasty foods, they also learn the names of immediate family members such as tsi sk̓ʷuy (mother) and ti bad (father).
The object of the game is to share food with your family. At the start of the game, you choose two different foods and one family member. The family member then asks for one of the two items, and it is up to you to deliver the correct plate of food to the table.
“All too often we talk about our kids having too much screen time,” Dave stated. ”Most of the time, screen time is considered by oneself, but this app encourages the connections between family members; between grandparents and grandkids, parents and kids, siblings – just sharing the culture together.”
By learning the Lushootseed word for each of relative, the kids can ask a member of their family to play along in the app’s two-player ‘Talk to Your Partner’ mode, where they can properly address the other player and share the correct food item that they are requesting – entirely in Lushootseed. You are rewarded one star for every correct food item that is shared and once you reach ten stars, you unlock a hidden-bonus-round where you command your character to collect as many berries as fast as they can and place them in a cedar-woven basket.
Said Dave, “That was one of the things that was the primary focus of the app, make it very interactive and fun so it’s not just a click-and-listen. You physically need to do something, drag items here and there, and you need to do it correctly, that’s how you get points. It has a reward element to it too, especially for the younger kids, but it’s fun for all ages, you hear the fun, light music and you have to get the different berries. That’s one of the things that’s fantastic about the app is that yeah, you’re getting the different berries, but it’s also telling you what type of berries they are as an award, whether that’s t̕aqa (salalberry) or stəgʷad (salmonberry).”
This recent app development is just the latest endeavor from the two programs who have collaborated many times in the past to ensure the kids are hearing and learning the vernacular of their people. The academy invited the Lushootseed Language Warriors into their classrooms to share words, songs and stories with the students on a regular basis, in what is known as the academy’s Language Immersion Curriculum. The kids become familiarized with the verb-based language at a young age, and can further build upon that foundation throughout their entire educational experience.
“I believe that our children need to know from the youngest ages who they are,” said Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy Director, Sheryl Fryberg. “Research says, if they are totally connected to who they are as birth to five children, they’re going to be more successful in their lifetime because they have that solid sense of self. We really want to build that connection between our language and culture. We want to share that value; I think that the Lushootseed Department does a great job of sharing that value. We want our families to have an opportunity to learn Lushootseed too, with our kids.”
The app was officially released on Google Play (previously the Android Market) in September of 2020 and on the Apple App Store in February of this year. Dave explained that the app took over a year-and-a-half to create and would’ve been here sooner, had it not been for the challenges presented by the global pandemic. However, he assures that this is just the start of Our Table and hopes to routinely update the app and add on additional features and realms outside of the kitchen. Dave also wants to provide in-app links that forward the user to the Tulalip Lushootseed website, where the kids can hear traditional songs and stories that correlate to the round in their current game.
Many Lushootseed Warriors can be heard throughout the app as several of the teachers leant their vocals to the project, enunciating words and phrases for the kids to hear and practice. Dave also wanted to mention that Marysville School District faculty member, David Court, played a major role in the app’s development, as well as TELA director Sheryl Fryberg and Lushootseed Manager, Michele Balagot.
“To me, the language means that we are speaking what our ancestors used to speak. We are bringing it back,” exclaimed Tulalip Lushootseed Manager, Michele Balagot. “We thought we should be teaching them young because this is when they are developing their brains. If they start hearing Lushootseed from the beginning of their education, they’ll learn the sounds and know some of the words. It’s a very hard language to learn, so it’s rewarding to hear the students speaking it. It’s very important for the kids to carry it on so we don’t lose it.”
Our Table is available to download on all smart devices and is the perfect app to engage the little ones with the Tulalip culture. Be sure to give-it-a-go at the next family game night or get-together.
“My hands go up to all our friends and relatives who are joining us on this most important day – the day to acknowledge the missing and murdering Indigenous women who have been taken from us. To be honest, it’s been a really heavy day of talking about atrocities that have been inflicted upon us for 500 plus years now, since the beginning of colonization.
“We talk about statistics and about how 3 out of 5 Native Americans will experience violence in their lifetime and have sexual crimes committed against them. We talk about statistics in a way that never make it personal because it’s too hard to talk about our own experiences and share what we’ve been forced to go through ourselves. So I’d like to acknowledge anyone who as a child experienced sexual abuse or as an adult been a victim of physical, emotional or mental abuse…it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault what happened to you as a child. It’s not your fault for what happened to you as a teenager. It’s not your fault what happened to you as an adult. That trauma does not define you.
“The abuses and the atrocities that continue to happen to our people are not our fault. We are reminded that colonization has used rape as a war crime against us. That war crime is intended to silence us; it’s to take our voice and make us feel like we have no rights. And sometimes the law, the police and the justice system make us feel like we don’t have any rights either. This gathering today proves our voices have not been taken away, that we will not be silent, and that we are not giving up.
“Together, we say ‘we will not silence anyone and enough is enough!’ in one united voice. That is so powerful. When we speak we are standing on the shoulders of our ancestors, who never knew us but prayed for us in this moment. They knew we would need their prayers and their strength to continue and carry on. So I ask us to make the prayers for our next 7 generations. I ask us to make a commitment to work on our own hurt and pain, a commitment to do more, a commitment to be better.
“I thank you all for stepping into this space because I know it’s not comfortable and to talk on these issues isn’t fun. To say you have an abuse problem in your family is not comfortable. To say that you come from sexual abuse and physical violence in your family is not comfortable, but it’s a reality many of us share.
Let us continue to find ways to work together and continue to find ways to be healthier because we don’t have to carry those emotional scars any longer. I am so thankful for everyone being here and love you all for the good work that we’ll continue to do together.”
Those eloquent, heartfelt words were shared by Tulalip’s own Theresa Sheldon as she welcomed hundreds of community members as they assembled at the grass covered lot across from Hibulb Cultural Center on Wednesday, May 5. Friends and relatives from both near and far respectfully dawned an assortment of red clothing, red regalia, and red handmade signs in a united effort to recognize the national crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
Sobering Statistics
Indigenous women are murdered and go missing at a rate higher than any other ethnic group.
Indigenous women are murdered at a rate 10x higher than all other ethnicities.
Murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous women.
More than 4 out of 5 Indigenous women (84.3%) will experience violence in their lifetime.
More than half of Indigenous women experience sexual violence (56.1%).
More than half of Indigenous women have been physically abused by their intimate partners (55.5%).
Nearly half of all Indigenous women have been stalked in their lifetime (48.8%).
Indigenous women are 1.7 times more likely than white American women to experience violence.
Indigenous women are 2x more likely to be raped than white American women.
Murder rate of Indigenous women is 3x higher than white American women.
*source: National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
To understand the complex and ongoing MMIW crisis one must first admit the current systemic response to violence against Native women is immensely inadequate. Then one must realize the rate at which Tribes are losing their life-giving women is devastating to not just the tribal communities, but to the entire nation as a whole. Insufficient resources on the state level and lack of clarity on jurisdictional responsibilities on the federal level combine to severely hinder efforts to locate those who are missing. Furthermore, the current legal framework for persecuting crimes committed on tribal citizens by non-tribals is exceedingly complicated and creates many barriers for victims and Tribes working to protect their membership.
Despite a federal trust obligation to protect Native American communities, violence against Indigenous women in the United States continues at epidemic proportions. It greatly exceeds that of any other demographic of women across the country. While many issues need to be addressed to confront this human rights issue, it is clear that limitations placed on tribal government jurisdiction by the federal government are a key contributing factor, with non-Native perpetrators falling through the cracks in the system time and time again.
“A huge thank you to each and every one of you joining us in the circle here today. We know that we come with our prayers and that’s the strongest medicine we have. The thoughts we have in our mind create reality,” shared Deborah Parker, who serves on the National Indigenous Women’s Resource board and is renowned for her critical role in the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). “When I was a young girl I witnessed violence in our community, and I said a prayer then that when I get older I’d like to be a person to help change the laws to protect our people.
“If we speak forward with our voice and with our truth and with all of our strength, then we can move mountains. And truly there are others who believe in our words and will stand beside us,” she continued. “These are our lands. We’ve been taught we are caretakers of these lands. That’s a big responsibility for us as Indigenous people. Each and every person in this circle, from youth to elder, can fulfill this responsibility and bring about change that benefits us all. We need our women to be safe. We need our young people to be safe. We need our future generations to be safe. By standing together and working together we will make this prayer a reality.”
By learning from the experiences of surviving family members, the MMIW movement can work to achieve the changes needed to safeguard the lives of Indigenous women and strengthen the authority of Native nations to protect their citizens. Exemplifying this notion was Tulalip tribal members Udora Andrade, Veronica Jimicum, Lynette Jimicum and Denise Hatch-Anderson who together brought forward prayers and a reminder of the ongoing search for Mary E. Johnson. Mary is a Tulalip woman who has been missing since December 1, 2020.
Following a series of speakers from all levels of Tulalip leadership and enrichment programs, Deb Parker led a large contingent of singers and drummers in sharing the Women’s Warrior Song, which was gifted from her First Nations family in British Columbia. The cohesive red wave continued to share in culture, song, and a united purpose to raise MMIW awareness well into the twilight hours.
“Our hands go up to each and every one of you who attended and helped make this moment possible,” said event coordinator Josh Fryberg. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all in need. It will take each and every one of us to continue to be the difference, not just for us but for our future generations. By living in a good way that honors our Ancestors we will continue to bring unity, to raise awareness, and strengthen our culture, together.”
