The (0-3) Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawk volleyball team has had a rough start to the season, with several first time players still adjusting to the high school game. With each additional rep, practice, and game the girls grow more familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses, while team chemistry continues to develop.
Assistant Coaches Katia Brown and Aliya Jones, both Heritage graduates, have been working diligently with their players to build a strong foundation with a back to the basics approach.
“We’ve been focusing on communicating better, passing to the setter and getting our serves over the net,” says Aliya.
“As a team, we’ve been watching videos on passing technique and then critiquing ourselves based on those videos,” adds Katia. “The videos have helped us develop better footwork that leads to better passing.”
Everything the Lady Hawks have been working on was on full display in a home matchup with Cedar Park Christian on September 21. The communication, passing, and getting the ball over the net was all much improved. Heritage won the 1st game 25-15, 2nd game 25-9, and finished strong in the 3rd game 25-17 to earn their first W on the young season.
Just days later the Lady Hawks hosted the Skykomish Rockets on September 26. The momentum from their first victory continued into this game. Aces were aplenty as nearly every Lady Hawk took their turn serving up points. After winning the 1st game 25-13, the Lady Hawks dominated the 2nd game 25-6.
Going into the 3rd game, Coach Tina Brown seized the opportunity to substitute all the back-ups into the game. Having a completely new line-up in provided much needed experience and in-game reps. This Lady Hawk line-up didn’t disappoint either. They passed well and served up Aces, too. At one point they went up 15-1 before clinching the deciding game 25-16, taking the match 3 games to 0.
After back-to-back victories, upping their overall record to (2-3), the coaching staff is delighted to see practice paying off with better communication and a much improved service game.
“We’ve been working so much on serving and passing in practice and it really showed in our last two matches,” says Katia.
The Lady Hawks look to get more Ws and stay in the playoff hunt with 1/3 of the season now played. The next home game is Thursday, October 5 vs. Grace Academy.
Audrey Paulette Beck Audrey Paulette Beck born on July 8, 1965, in Everett, WA, passed away on September 30, 2017. She was raised by her parents, George, Barbara (Alex), Donald and Barbara Rasberry. Audrey loved going to the casino, going for long drives, and commercial fishing. But most of all she loved spending time with her grandbabies. She is survived by her daughters, Misty Craig and Samantha Craig; nine grand-children; sisters Leah, Charmaine, and Carmen; brother, George Craig III; as well as several other aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, son, Michael O’Man, and sibling, Hazel Craig. Visitation was held on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, at Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home. Interfaith service was at the Tulalip Gym. Funeral Services were held on October 5, 2017, at the Tulalip Gym with burial following at Mission Beach Cemetery.
Rockwell “Rocky” Baker Jr. Rockwell “Rocky” Baker Jr., 77 of Tulalip, WA, passed away September 28, 2017. Rocky was born to Rockwell Baker and Hazel Baker on December 9, 1939, in Monroe, WA. Rocky worked in construction and was logger. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, crabbing, and clam digging. He is survived by his children, Christy Baker, Mary Johnson, Cameron Craig, Rockwell “Rocky” Patrick and Mel “Doc” Adams; siblings, Gary Baker, Pat Bogart, and Carolyn Nedrow; 13 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. Rocky was preceded in death by his wife, Brenda Baker; his parents; his brother; and granddaughter, Chantel Craig. A celebration of Rocky’s life will be held Tuesday, October 3, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. at the Tulalip Gym with burial to follow at Mission Beach Cemetery.
Have you been thinking about taking that leap and getting your GED? Well the back to school season is the perfect time for you to either begin or continue on your GED journey. Benefits of earning a GED? The overwhelming majority of employers in this country require a high school diploma. A GED diploma is accepted by employers just like a high school diploma.
The GED testing service introduced a new version of the test in 2014, with the goal of aligning the tests with the new Common Core curricula, which was adopted by most states to increase college and career readiness. Common Core standards place more weight on writing and content analysis. The test was originally developed back in 1942 for U.S. military personnel; the GED test gave an alternative option to those who had not completed their high school diploma. Although there have been regular updates, the last one occurred in 2014.
The new test shifts test taking from pencil and paper to computer format. Instead of five (5) sections, the test series was reduced to four (4) sections that evaluates students’ reasoning capabilities through Language Arts, Mathematical Reasoning, Science and Social Studies. The Language Arts and Social Studies sections have been absorbed into the essay section with writing assignments in each area. The test is not necessarily more difficult but quizzes different skills.
So why are you taking the test and how is it going to help you in the future? A major component of the test requires students to show their critical thinking skills through writing that is convincing. So why is this important? Because employers require new employees to have the ability to think critically. Critical thinking is that ability to analyze and evaluate a problem arriving at a fact based solution.
Receiving your GED opens up many doors. You now have the opportunity to continue your education at an accredited trade school, college or university. In addition, having a GED paves the way for you to establish higher educational goals for your life.
You might have noticed when searching for a job that most employers are requiring at least a high school diploma or GED to apply for a job at their company. Studies have shown that persons with a GED diploma will earn about $400,000 more during their lifetime. This is a HUGE incentive.
Another big reason to secure your GED is that enormous sense of accomplishment that accompanies receiving a GED Diploma. Knowing that you were able to reach that goal gives you a giant boost to your self-esteem. With this piece of paper, your whole world opens up with new opportunities that would never have happened before receiving your GED. This new chapter in your life is going to be amazing because of your perseverance and willingness to reach for that brass ring.
Earning a GED is a generational investment. Educated parents generally want their children to become educated.
Therefore, if you want education to become the trend for your family, please contact Higher ED and we can assist you to pursue your education goals. Call us at 360-716-4888 or email us at highered@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov for more information.
Sunrise February 16, 1964 Sunset September 25, 2017 Phillip Jesse Cheer was born in Everett, WA, to Arnold and Barbara Cheer Sr. He is a member of the Tulalip Tribes. He lived in Tulalip, WA, all his life. He worked as a Commercial Fisherman and Crabber. He was the Head cook for the Tulalip 1910 Shaker Church. He loved to hunt, cook, and spend time with family and friends. He was a great jokester. He loved to celebrate HALLOWEEN. He leaves behind his siblings, Marie Cheer and Gordon “Flash” Cheer; aunties, Charlene Williams, Clarice Moses, Janice Moses, and Annabell; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family and special friends. Phillip was preceded in death by his parents, Arnold and Barbara Cheer Sr.; siblings, Arnold Cheer Jr., Stanley Cheer Sr., Patrick Cheer and Barbara Reeves; grandparents, Francis Lewis, Bertha Paul, Harry Moses and Jessie Moses; uncle, Cecil Louis; nephews, Conrad Reeves Jr., Stanley Cheer Jr., Kevin Cheer and niece,ChianneEnick. A visitation will be held Friday, September 29, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. at Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home with an InterFaith service to follow at 6:00 p.m. at the Tulalip Gym. Funeral Services will be held Friday at 10:00 a.m. at the Tulalip Gym with burial to follow at Mission Beach Cemetery.
Larry Campbell Sr. (Swinomish) and Tracy Rector (Seminole/Choctaw) accept lifetime achievement awards at the Film Festival for their work in cultural sharing and filmmaking.
By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News
Local filmmakers, cinephiles, culturalists and food fanatics gathered at the Hibulb Cultural Center on Saturday September 23, to attend the Center’s annual Film Festival. Every year the festival has a new theme and filmmakers are encouraged to submit a project correlating to the theme, however, all projects are welcome. The Cultural Center chose First Foods: Feeding our Spirits as the theme for this year’s festival.
Celebrating its fifth year, the festival featured a showing of several Indigenous films, a presentation by the Rediscovery Program and a story presented in Lushootseed by Natosha Gobin. Awards were presented to filmmakers in attendance as well as lifetime achievement awards to Swinomish elder Larry Campbell Sr. and Longhouse Media Director and Seminole/Choctaw tribal member Tracy Rector for their work in cultural sharing and filmmaking.
Language teacher Natosha Gobin tells a story in Lushootseed.
The Rediscovery Program shared the history of traditional Tulalip ancestral foods and a food tasting which included hawthorn horsetail peppermint tea, basil stinging nettle pesto, deer and elk meat, as well as mixed berries comprised of salal berries and mountain huckleberries. The Rediscovery Program also showcased a traditional bentwood box used for cooking. Inside the box were a variety of traditional foods, including mussels, oysters, clams, salmon, elk meat, berries and herbs; as well as cooking necessities such as cedar-woven food storage baskets, cooking rocks and utensils.
“It’s truly a blessing to be able to be one with our environment,” expresses Rediscovery Program Coordinator, Inez Bill. “We need to share that with our young people so they know that the lifeways of our people is very important to who we are. We need to see that continues to our grandchildren’s grandchildren. What’s important to know and remember is that our ancestors were one with their environment; and being one with the environment, they had a key identity with the resources. These natural resources provided for all of the needs for our people; it provided shelter, tools, transportation to go from one area to another. This relationship with the natural environment also meant that they respected the environment, they had teachings and values that they lived by. They had a spiritual connection that they followed daily.
“The spiritual connection, the teachings and the values were in all the lifeways of our people,” she continues. “Whether it was hunting, fishing or gathering it was done in a proper manner – with the rituals, making the baskets, carvings and all of the different teachings that took place. We had people that were so keen to the native plants that they were able to provide the medicine that was needed to help our people live. There were no hospitals; there was no fast food outside the reservation like there are now. Our people were a lot healthier than they are today. As our people adapted to the changing world, our bodies were not accustomed to these drastic changes and it’s not always in the best interest for our health. We need to do the best we can to continue to keep some of these foods, not for ourselves, but for the future generations. Because we know that when we eat our native foods we’re not only nourishing our bodies, we’re nourishing our spirits.”
Rediscovery Program Coordinator, Inez Bill.
Following the presentation by the Rediscovery Program, festival attendees were treated to a viewing of eight films.
“We have categories in animation, documentaries long and short, feature films long and short, anti-bullying and experimental films,” explains Hibulb Cultural Center Education Curator and Film Festival Organizer, Lena Jones. “We have youth categories for animation, documentaries, feature films, anti-bullying, and experimental also. We have a section specific to Tulalip members in all those categories as well.”
Navajo Filmmaker Kody Dayish submitted three films for this year’s event. In his film The Beginning, a Navajo elder explains the heritage and traditions of the Navajo people to his grandson through traditional song. Kody also tackled serious issues such as bullying in schools and suicide during his three-minute film, Spared. For his third submission, Goodbye, a Navajo elder returns to her childhood home and is hit with a wave of nostalgia as she reminisces of young love in a music video-style film featuring music by Navajo band, Our Last Chants.
The Hibulb Cultural Center Film Festival also screened the short animation film, σčəδαδξʷ. The film’s name is in the traditional Lushootseed language, meaning salmon. The animation explains the importance of salmon to Coastal Natives while depicting the salmon’s lifecycle. The main character is the late Billy Frank Jr. and is told entirely in his voice, as the cartoon was built from one of his speeches.
“When I first saw [σčəδαδξʷ] I was at home reviewing all the films and I just cried,” states Swinomish tribal member and Hibulb Cultural Center Film Festival Judge, Robin Carneen. “Billy Frank Jr. was such a hero in our Northwest area because he was such a fighter for the rights of the people – treaty rights, our right to fish. He was on the ground to the day that he passed. That is such a powerful film. And to mix it as an animated film, it’s going to reach even younger generations. I grew up watching cartoons, not a lot of educational purpose to them except maybe for entertainment value and not necessarily always a good message. Later as an adult and watching animation, you think ‘wow all that was going into my brain?’ You see how much of an influence animation, films and TV are. To see Billy Frank again – he’s immortalized. His message is immortalized now, for all of us and all the generations yet to come so that we don’t quit fighting. This film is going to be our inspiration to make sure that fight keeps happening for generations to come.”
Tulalip tribal member, David Spencer Sr., presented his film, Waiting for Blackberries, which displayed clay Stick Indians chanting a traditional song to help ripen blackberries during the upcoming spring season. David was inspired to create the film when recalling advice from his grandmother to respect the berries, stating, “if you don’t show the berries respect, they will whip you with their thorny vines.”
The main screening, Maiden of Deception Pass: Guardian of her Samish People, was held in the Hibulb longhouse. The twenty-minute documentary highlighted the traditional story of Ko-kwal-alwoot, a young Samish woman who married a sea spirit in order to save her people from famine; and the erection of her story pole at Deception Pass in 1983. Filmmakers of the documentary include Jason Ticknor, Lou Karsen and Tracy Rector. Two international films, Hani’s Barbershop and Closer, were also shown to close out the festival.
“What I like about the Native films is that it’s really important that we’re preserving and documenting our culture,” says Robin. “When I see the language show up in the films, I get so excited to see and hear the language. That’s what I like about the films that are coming in from our area. The films are all so different but they’re all so important. The mix of people that we have, including the many generations, I think that all of the storytelling is great. Especially with all the modern technology, to mix the two together because it’s going to reach everybody on some level.”
The fifth Annual Hibulb Cultural Center Film Festival was a success as movie buffs from the Pacific Northwest, including Canada and Oregon, traveled to Tulalip for an afternoon of culture and movies. The event continues to generate interest as several young tribal members attended. Lena hopes to inspire indigenous youth to pick up a camera and start shooting.
“I encourage young people to become involved in filmmaking,” she states. “Films can impact people. We have such a strong, beautiful culture; and we have a belief that young people can reflect our ancestral values in film work because of their experience living in the culture. Plus, filmmaking is enjoyable!”
For additional information about the Annual Hibulb Cultural Center Film Festival please contact the museum at (360) 716-2600.
