The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks basketball team was 16-0 with three regular season games remaining on our last check-in. Let’s recap those final three games.
On Tuesday, January 26, the girls traveled to Eastsound, WA to take on the Orcas Christian Saints. The Lady Hawks made quick work of the one-win Saints, winning 65-22.
Then on Friday, January 29, we welcomed the Grace Academy Eagles to our gym. It was a game the Lady Hawks had been preparing for, as the 2nd place Grace Academy are the only team in the Northwest 1B league who have given us a competitive game all season. This game also had significant meaning for senior Adiya Jones, as there were several college scouts and coaches in attendance to watch her performance versus a competitive program.
In the 1st quarter, the Lady Hawks came out primed for another blowout. They pounded the ball in the post and were able to convert on several shots at the rim, while making it very difficult for the Eagles to get quality shots up. At the end of the quarter the Lady Hawks led 18-8. But then the game tightened up. The Eagles went on an 8-0 to start the 2nd quarter, cutting the Lady Hawks lead to only 2 points, 18-16. Coach Bubba Fryberg called a timeout to get his team refocused on the game plan. From that point, the game turned into a typical Lady Hawks beat down.
A 15-4 run to close the 2nd quarter gave the Lady Hawks a 33-20 halftime lead. The entire 2nd half saw the Lady Hawks turn loose on offense and go to a whole new level defensively. It seemed liked nearly every Grace Academy pass was either stolen or deflected, to the point the Eagles looked completely out of sorts on offense. The Lady Hawks led 55-26 going into the 4th quarter. What was once only a 2 point game midway through the 2nd quarter turned into a 71-30 blowout victory for the 1st place Lady Hawks.
Adiya Jones, fully aware of the college scouts and coaches in the building, upped her game and had a game for the ages. She had a career high 18 steals, which is very impressive in its own right, but it gets even better. Adiya finished with her first ever quadruple-double stat line of 22 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and 18 steals. For those who follow the NBA, there have been only five players in league history to ever achieve the super rare quadruple-double, the latest one being achieved by David Robinson back in 1994.
After the blowout victory over Grace Academy, the Lady Hawks were 18-0 and only had one final regular season game remaining. On Monday, February 1, the Lady Hawks hosted the Highland Christian Knights. This game doubled as Senior Night for senior players Kaenishia Herrera, Adiya Jones, Michelle Iukes, and Desirae Williams. Cheered on by their families and friends, the Lady Hawks went on to win 52-23 and finish the regular season undefeated at 19-0.
Next up for the Lady Hawks is the District 1B basketball tournament, where they will be going in as the #1 overall seed.
On Tuesday, January 26, the Heritage Hawks traveled to Eastsound, WA to play the league’s 1st place team, the Orcas Christian Saints. It was a big game for the Hawks, who were looking for a statement win after losing their previous two matchups vs. the Saints. It was a highly competitive game from the opening tip, but just like the last two matchups the game would slip away from Hawks down the stretch. Saints point guard and leading scorer Michael Harris continued to give the Hawks’ defense matchup problems and made timely plays for his team. The Hawks would lose 58-71 and fall to 0-3 vs. the league’s best team.
The Hawks bounced back in a big way when they hosted the winless Grace Academy Eagles on Friday, January 29. From the very beginning onlookers knew it was going to be a blowout, as the Hawks executed flawlessly on both ends of the court. At halftime the Hawks held their largest lead of the season, 46-2. In the 2nd half, with such a massive lead, the coaching staff pulled their starters and let the reserves get in a lengthy run. The Hawks finished the game with a 58-18 win. They were led by Josh Iukes and Samuel Fryberg in scoring, both had 13 points.
On Monday, February 1, the Hawks held their final regular season game at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasiums when they took on Providence Classical Christian. The Hawks had beaten Providence by at least 20 points in their previous two matchups. This would be no different. Willy Enick led all scorers with 18 points, as his Hawks won easily, 66-35.
After starting the season off with a 1-5 record, the Hawks finished the season strong by winning 11 of their final 14 games. Now, with a 12-8 overall record (11-4 in their league) the Hawks have earned a top 3 seed in the upcoming District 1B tournament.
Tulalip Resort Casino Offers Sweethearts Multi-Sensual Dining
Options Combined with Mesmerizing Music
Tulalip, Washington – Tulalip Resort Casino knows how to translate the feelings of love. From events like the Rock Ballad Ball featuring Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith tribute bands; to seven award-winning food and beverage outlets that feature Valentine inspired Sous Vide Lobster Medallions or Asian-infused dining fare, Tulalip Resort Casino has just what the love doctor ordered.
The Rock Ballad Ball is an out of the box extravaganza offered to the young – and the young at heart. This annual February 14th Valentine’s Day party includes a concert of tribute bands (Appetite for Deception and Aeromyth) featuring music from legendary greats Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith. Doors open at 6:30 pm with DJ tunes. Dinner starts at 7 pm in the Orca Ballroom where guests can savor a buffet spread offering a selection of two salads, chicken or prime rib entrees, a selection of side dishes (grilled vegetables, penne pasta, mashed potatoes), assorted desserts and coffee/tea. Admirers and their main squeezes can dance the night away to rock pounding sounds starting at 8 pm.
Aeromythhas become known as the top Aerosmith Tribute band worldwide! Playing nationwide as well as International dates such as Mexico, Canada and El Salvador since 2002. Chris Vandahl does an amazing portrayal of Steven Tyler, including all of his dance moves, costumes, stage show and amazing recreation of Tyler’s outrageous vocals! Chris looks so much like Steven Tyler that many people make the mistake of thinking he really is the Aerosmith front man! The band that backs Chris is truly amazing as well, very solid and tight, recreating the music fans know and love – note for note! For more information about the band, visit aerosmithtribute.com.
Appetite for Deception fans are blown away by the attention to detail and variety of material this band delivers. Appetite for Deception strives for authenticity in all aspects of their live performance – the gear, clothes and precision of the songs included. Everything is in place to take the listener and viewer back to the heyday of Guns N’ Roses. Nearly 20 years to the date of Guns N’ Roses’ formation, Appetite for Deception was put together in Portland, Oregon by five musicians looking to continue their great legacy. The tremendous catalog of music helps to make every show a roller coaster ride of high energy and intense emotion as the memories of that era are brought back to life. For more information about the band, visit appetitefordeception.com.
Rock Ballad Ball is for those 21 and over and offers a no-host bar and festival seating. All-you-can-eat Dinner Buffet and concert tickets are priced at only $75 per person, including tax and gratuity. Tickets must be purchased in advance. To purchase Valentine’s Day Rock Ballad Ball tickets, visit ticketmaster.com or the Casino Box Office (where no additional ticket processing fees are added). Additional details can be found at Rock Ballad Ball.
Prefer something a little more intimate and less ‘rockin’ for a romantic getaway? Tulalip is offering exclusive holiday offerings at two of their world-class restaurants.
Guests can travel to Journeys East where Asian inspiration meets Tulalip hospitality with a blend of cuisine and culture in a modern, Zen-like setting. Wood, metal and glass combine to offer unmatched harmonious décor. A centrally located display kitchen features offerings from Japan, Thailand, China, Korea, and Vietnam. Enjoy handcrafted cocktails, a phenomenal sake selection and award-winning wines.
Valentine’s Day weekend dine-in specials will include Journeys East Wok Finished Lamb Chops as well as the restaurant’s signature Shrimp Hargow Dumpling. These dishes will be available in addition to the regular dinner menu from 5 pm until closing on February 12-14, 2016. To reserve a table online, visit OpenTable, or reserve by phone at 360-716-1880. No passport required – just an appetite for a delectable experience.
Gals and guys can also wow their lover with the Tulalip Bay restaurant – a winning combination of classic steakhouse meets traditional Italian with a superior wine list. Discover what magic occurs when old world taste is fused with local Northwest ingredients. The menu is filled with many delectable culinary twists from prime cut steaks and chops to freshly prepared seafood and classic Italian specialties.
This year’s Valentine’s Day Tulalip Bay dinner special for two includes the Sous Vide Lobster Medallions (due to long cooking time, pre-reservations requested) and a Sea Scallop Mousseline with avocado risotto, glazed thumbelina carrots, lobster air, and caviar along with two special cocktails of Prosecco and prickly pear foam. The special will be available in addition to the regular dinner menu from 5 pm until closing on February 14, 2016. To book a table online, visit OpenTable, or reserve by phone at 360-716-1500.
Whatever floats the proverbial Love Boat this year, Tulalip has it covered!
There are three sites under consideration for the Gathering Hall location: The Administration Building – Site A, “Old Boom City” – Site B, and “Autoshop” – Site C.
By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News
If you attend tribal gatherings on a regular basis you’ve probably heard concerns about the fact that we hold funerals in the same places that our kids play. You’ve heard frustration that one event was cancelled to make room for another. You may have opted not to rent a building for your birthday or reunion from the tribe because of the potential that it would be cancelled. What if we had a place dedicated to gathering together? Somewhere to celebrate, meet about the governance of our tribe and hold ceremony, as well as a place to hunker down together in case of an emergency or natural disaster. A Gathering Hall has been on the community wish list for years and now it’s becoming a reality.
For Executive Director of Housing, Jay Napeahi, the Gathering Hall is one more step in building shared spaces and walkable neighborhoods within the heart of the reservation. Jay’s department is also planning for parks, walking trails, neighborhood stores and other amenities.
“It only makes sense, if we’re bringing people out here [to live], that we serve that population. We want to provide services so that you don’t have to leave the reservation. We want to bring services back to the marina. At the Everett Marina, for example, you have places for fishermen to do things, eat and get supplies then get back on the water. If you’re a fisherman, our marina is not really serving that purpose, other than mooring your boat. You can’t get supplies or refuel.
“Raising kids, when we were walking around we just wanted a place to get something to drink, or change your kid, maybe someplace to watch the wildlife and enjoy the area. We always thought it was important to walk trails. [Cultural Resources] used to have a historic pictograph trail. We’re developing to bring that back to the area.”
On January 23rd, the Housing department presented potential sites for the Gathering Hall to the community and asked for community input.
The three sites under consideration are: The Administration Building – Site A, “Old Boom City” – Site B, and “Autoshop” – Site C. The architects who reviewed the sites evaluated each for: relationship to the community; ease of access and connectivity; challenging site conditions; views provided to and from the properties; potential impact on adjacent residents and businesses; and public safety hazards. None of the sites are perfect, and none are significantly more expensive to develop, which is why it comes down what people want.
While the plans for the building aren’t complete, there are some general ideas about the size. The gathering hall itself, not counting lobby, offices restrooms, etc., is estimated at 14,000 square feet. For comparison, the Orca Ballroom is 12,000 square feet. It has a capacity of approximately 2,000 people and will include 428 parking stalls. The kitchen is an additional 10,000 square feet and includes spaces for cooking, cleaning, banquet set up, storage and support areas.
Site A – the Administration Building
When the current Administration Building was constructed, the site was prepped with plans to house a gathering hall as part of future expansion. This means that the site already has utilities, and the Administration Building generator was oversized to serve an additional building. It’s also right next to much of the existing services provided by Tulalip and Tulalip Transit services the area, and both buildings can share parking. Because of its elevation, the soils are better for building and high water table and wetlands are not as much of an issue.
The downside of the site is that it’s right next to one of Tulalip’s primary workspaces and gatherings may impact the workforce. Also, there is a single road currently entering and leaving the site. While another road can be constructed, the steep grade of both roads is a concern in winter and bad weather. For funerals, walking to the cemetery would likely not be an option due to the grade of the hill and distance from the cemetery.
Site B – Old Boom City
This site provides some of the best views of the bay. It’s proximity with the Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic, Betty J. Taylor Tulalip Early Learning Academy, Tulalip Boys and Girls Club, Elders Village and the Marina mean that it’s centrally located and already a commonly accessed area. The site holds many fond memories for the community and was a favorite in the room.
The cons of this site include its natural composition. Surrounded by wetlands and fill soils, it’s not the ideal site for building. Much of the fill would need to be removed and replaced, and wetlands would have to be mitigated. In order to accommodate the size of the building and parking, the road may need to be moved. For funerals, walking to the cemetery would be a challenge. Additionally, the area has previously been proposed as a community park, if chosen for the gathering site, it would no longer be available as a park site.
Site C – Autoshop
Centrally located near the Don Hatch Youth Center, the Autoshop site seems ideal for many events. It’s within walking distance of the cemetery and several neighborhoods, and is serviced by public transportation. The site can be built to provide shared parking between the Youth Center and Gathering Hall, and both spaces can be opened for a campus feel during some events. There are currently adequate utilities and good road access to the site.
Unfortunately, the shared space can also be a detriment when two events happening at the same time have a different feel, for example, a funeral and a tournament. The shared parking can mean that simultaneous events can put the parking lot over capacity.
Community comments
Approximately 10 community members attended the meeting; four gave input. Most of the comments focused on the need to be connected to the bay, and the potential expense or workability of the sites. Jay assured the community that each of the sites is workable, and while the price tags may look big or small, from a personal budget standpoint, none of the sites is cost prohibitive.
The below comments were provided by the four community members who spoke.
Site B, Boom City – Re: the size of the site
“That’s not a big challenge, you’ve got land above and across the road, below you have to worry about the fill.” Don ‘Penoke’ Hatch
Site A, Administration – Re: the cost of the sites
Does one cost more or take longer? No, about the same? The Admin Sit is the least costly site to build on relative to the other two.” Willa McLean
Site B, Boom City – Re: proximity to Tulalip Bay
“We’re water people. We don’t barely have any place to look at the water, we have a limited amount of space for tribal members to make use of, we should look at it as a tribe. I think we should be close to the water.” Virginia Carpenter
Site C, Autoshop – Re: parking
“If you utilize the parking, you eliminate activities at the gymnasiums.” Don ‘Penoke’ Hatch
Site C, Autoshop – Re: parking/current facilities
“I don’t think there’s a conflict if we add more than 428 stalls. This is the only site that would displace existing business. I personally think we need more than 428 stalls.” Margie Santibanez
Site C, Autoshop – Re: previous intentions for the site
“Ginny, you probably remember when your dad was on there. Part of that was dedicated to recreation. They already got that on recreation land That’s dedicated by our ancestors to take care of recreation. Years ago, by our ancestors, that was dedicated, that land. I don’t know how far it went, but it’s there.” Don ‘Penoke’ Hatch
Site C, Autoshop – Re: current uses
“If we have that in mind for multiple events, why hasn’t the Board thought about centralizing Auto Maintenance and make that a true youth campus or get rid of Auto Maintenance and uproot it and put it somewhere else.” Willa McLean
All sites – Re: costs
“I know you said don’t be motivated by costs, but do you have a cost figure?” Margie Santibanez
Response: the lease expensive site is the Administration site, next is the Authoshop site, the most expensive is the old Boom City site.
Site A, Administration – Re: proximity to Tulalip Bay
“You can’t see the water from here, that’s out, we need to be on the water.” Willa McLean
Site C, Autoshop – Re: shared use
“I think we should be looking at the building separate from recreation because now, when we have a funeral, we are looking for parking. It should be totally separate from the ballfield. Too much congestion.” Virginia Carpenter
Site B, Boom City – Re: emergency uses
“The Early Learning Center, the Boys and Girls Club, our kids could just run to that building.” Virginia Carpenter
Site B, Boom City – Re: site work
“Boom City, move the road up, eliminate the road, and bring the two roads down and you can make it happen. Cut to the chase, we can go over and over, just move the road up and move the building up. I realize it’s wet grounds, I worked at the Boys and Girls Club and helped put it in, I think we aught to just cut to the chase. Look at all the congestion we have now. I don’t want people trying to do their job there, or at the Y-site, you have people playing basketball, soccer and people praying across the road.” Don ‘Penoke’ Hatch
All sites – Re: building uses
“Do we have a marketing plan for the Gathering Hall? Not just used for funerals…as a tribal member, if I make a decision, I want to look at the whole. Are we using it for General Council? I’m looking at how it’s going to impact elders, etc.” Margie Santibanez
All sites – Re: extravagant building
“We as Tulalip people want to have a Rolls Royce every time we build a building, I don’t think we need to spend the money every time. We just need a Ford or Chevy, we don’t need one where we have everything in the building. I think we’re looking at it. Look at some of the buildings we built, but that Early Learning Center was so expensive and almost run us broke. We need to make sure we have a Ford or Chevy not a Rolls Royce, so we can have it and get it built. We don’t have to have something seems like we’re outshining Puyallup and Muckleshoot. It’s a gathering hall, we’re going to sit comfortable, we always want to have something better than someone else.” Don ‘Penoke’ Hatch
Site B, Boom City – Re: wetlands/emergency management
“William was talking about what they did with building the Clinic, they had to run the runoff to the lower pond. Might have to do likewise and run the runoff to the lower pond, so the fish would go to the lower pond and not the runoff of where the clinic is. I appreciate what Virgnia was talking about, the safety factor, look at where the children are at the Boys and Girls Club, they could walk right to that building, if you look for the biggest part for the safety of our children.” Don ‘Penoke’ Hatch
All Sites – Re: Cost
“With the ELA because it cost nearly twice as much as it should, should consider hiring a superintendent. I’m living in the construction world right now, I’m learning about , it’s all right to have people working on the interim, but we need people to work on that problem, we have over and over and over.” Willa McLean
“The biggest thing is have a good architect so that what is requested is put in there, because if we want to change it’s on the tribe. But the district, on the school board, we made sure we had that architect that knew what he or she was doing, if we allow that to happen, that’s what happen on this early learning center, there were so change orders.” Don ‘Penoke’ Hatch
Site B, Boom City – Re: including existing departments
“I agree with the Boom City site, but bring in your departments, we know we need to replace the utilities in that area, get it all together so that everything that is going to impact is up front. That’s the problem, we break ground then oh, we need this person in there.” Margie Santibanez
If you would like to provide your input, there is still time. Please email Jay Napeahi at Jnapeahi@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov.
Misty Napeahi, Tulalip Tribes General Manager and Mel Sheldon, Tulalip Tribes Chairman, signing the government-to-government child welfare agreement between the Tulalip Tribes and the State of Washington. Photo/Micheal Rios
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Few events are more traumatic for children than being removed from their families and entered into the foster care system. The trauma is even worse for Native children because usually when a government agency removes a child, they take them from not only their family but their culture and reservation as well. Such displacement can often lead children down a path to a deeply troubled life.
Here in Tulalip, like countless reservations across the United States, we’ve been forced to bear witness to tribal parents losing their tribal children to the State, of families being torn apart because of a government agency who knows very little about the Native way of life.
There are a lot of Native citizens who don’t understand how this continues to happen, since Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 in an effort to stop Native families from having their children removed by the State and local officials for invalid and misconstrued reasons. Yet 38 years later, Native children are still much more likely to be removed from their families and placed in foster care than non-Native children.
The Tulalip Tribes leadership, along with the Office of the Reservation Attorney, and beda?chelh, have long fought for a solution that accurately reflects Tulalip values while being anchored by our inherent sovereignty. Back in 2011, the Tribe entered their first formal child welfare agreement with the State, but that was a general boiler plate model that laid the groundwork for a specifically Tulalip tailored agreement to follow. After years of steadfast dedication and due diligence, the solution may have finally arrived in the form of an updated government-to-government child welfare agreement between the Tulalip Tribes and the State of Washington. The agreement is reflective of Tulalip’s cultural values, aims to keep families together, and, as much as possible, minimize disruption to tribal children. The official agreement was signed into effect on January 13, 2016 by Chairman Mel Sheldon, General Manager Misty Napeahi, and officials from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and the Children’s Administration.
The signed agreement formalizes the government-to-government relationship between the Tribe and the State with child welfare cases. It’s based on the fundamental principles of the government-to-government relationship acknowledged in the 1989 Centennial Accord and recognizes the sovereignty of the Tribes and the State of Washington and each respective sovereign’s interests. What does this mean? It means the State of Washington now officially recognizes Tulalip has jurisdiction over Tulalip children wherever found and that Tulalip desires to assert its jurisdiction and authority to protect Tulalip children and keep families together whenever possible.
“I would like to thank everybody for coming out today and pay a special tribute to Michelle Demmert, our reservation attorney, for all the hard work she has done and for understanding my vision to protect our children and families,” said Misty Napeahi, General Manager of the Tulalip Tribes, during the document signing. “With this agreement we are doing what’s in the best interest of Tulalip children. That’s who we are here for. This is a road map that will help guide us and allows us to work in the best interest of our children.”
The overarching purpose of this agreement is the safety and well-being of Tulalip Tribal children. To this end, the specific purpose of this agreement between the tribe and the state is to clarify the handling of Child Protective Services and Child Welfare Services cases involving Tulalip children and their families.
Pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act and our sovereignty, the Tulalip Tribes have jurisdiction to handle all child abuse and neglect cases for our children. Some may be wondering, haven’t we always had that jurisdiction? The simple answer is no. In certain situations state agencies were able to, and would, circumvent the tribe altogether in cases involving allegations of child neglect or abuse. Now, with this agreement in place, the tribe can no longer be circumvented. Going forward, any time a state agency comes to investigate an allegation of child neglect or abuse, a beda?chelh case manager will be on the scene.
For instance, if there’s a child abuse referral made by a teacher who sees something that isn’t good for a child. Say at school a child is coming in late all the time and one day comes in and has bruising on his face or arms. That teacher or school would call the CPS hotline and provide those details. That would trigger a series of events. If the child was Tulalip, then the State would notify beda?chelh and they would tag the case an emergency or not (24 hour vs. 72 hour contact by beda?chelh and State representatives). If it’s an emergency, then this new agreement lays out the State is required to contact beda?chelh and a beda?chelh case manager would need to be involved in the process from the get go.
This agreement ensures Tulalip staff and representatives are always actively involved in any and all cases involving our children, and that we are taking the lead when the opportunity is there. The bottom line is we want our primary goal to be child safety, and to make sure any services or treatment families are receiving is defined by the tribe. That’s why this agreement also lends itself to the creation of a Tulalip Family Intervention Team (FIT), which will contact families of low-risk assessment and provide skill based services to parent their children, so that no court intervention is necessary.
FIT aims to keep families together and act as a proactive solution offering culture based services to families, while getting parents actively involved. It’s a way to handle things more traditionally between the Tribe and the families.
It may be an agreement of this nature is long overdue, but it took many days and long hours from individuals across several different tribal and state agencies to carefully craft and fine tune in order to get it right, not just for Tulalip children and families, but for all Native children and families. With Tulalip leading the way, there are sure to be multiple tribes who model their own government-to-government child welfare agreements after this one.
“I would like to thank the Tulalip leadership that allows us to do our job and work in the best interest of this community and the children,” said reservation attorney Michelle Demmert. “So many voices do not have someone who is championing their cause. Being an attorney for 24 years people think I should be doing something else rather than focusing on issues involving children or domestic violence, but these are the issues where people do not have a voice in the community. They need someone who can speak for them and understand their situation. Being a Tlingit woman, I have that perspective and can bring out their voice. This agreement does that and so much more. It benefits not only the Tulalip families and community, but other tribes who will follow suit.”
Representatives from the Tulalip Tribes, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and the Children’s Administration signed the official agreement on January 13, 2016. Photo/Micheal Rios
