Tulalip News

Tulalip Constitution study sessions start December 4

10 weeks of study will prepare citizens to recommend constitutional amendments

By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News

A concern brought up at the 2013 Annual General Council meeting is the idea that the Tulalip Tribes Constitution and Bylaws are outdated and need to be amended to meet the needs of today’s tribal citizens. The concern was brought up again at the 2014 Semi-Annual General Council meeting. Vice-Chairman, Les Parks said it’s time to address the issue.

“We’re going to bring the membership into a room and give a 10-week review so that we can understand every word [in the constitution],” he said. “At the end of 10 weeks we’ll have a number of members who will fairly well understand what the constitution says.”

Parks hopes to create a constitution review team from that group of participants.

The constitution needs some updates, Parks acknowledged. However, he explained, in order to get the best amendments, we have to know what’s already in the constitution.

“The Constitution was created in 1934, it’s worked ever since. The sanctity of the Constitution cannot be overstated,” Parks explained. “This is a good document. I don’t want to go in with a notion that we’re going to change the world, we’re just going to clean it up. It’s going to be a process of getting everybody to understand what the constitution says.”

Parks compared this effort to the grassroots meeting he held while campaigning, stressing that he wants changes to the constitution to be community based. He’s recruited several tribal employees (Josh Cleveland, Willa McLean, Lori Parks and Elisabeth Williams) to assist with the effort. But, while they may be doing some of the work during office hours, they are not earning extra pay for their efforts. Even meals will be potluck style and not provided by the tribe.

“We want to keep it volunteer,” Parks said. It’s important, he iterated, to have engaged tribal citizens in the sessions. He also encouraged tribal youth to get involved, pointing out that current leadership was raised during a time when some of the most influential sovereignty battles were in progress. Current youth, he worried, may not understand the relevance of protecting the treaty and having a strong constitution.

“I think it needs to be opened up to our youth. We’re looking into whether youth can get school credit for this.”

The agenda for the meetings is simple. Share a meal, pull out the constitution and bylaws and read, discuss and understand the documents.

“We’re going to read word-by-word and talk about the meaning of each sentence. We want to know and understand what the Constitution says from beginning to end. We’ll have legal by our side as we go through the next 10 weeks, and hopefully we’ll get through two pages of the constitution every night.”

After the review of the constitution is complete, the group will go over the amendments that have already been enacted.

“There’s a list of all the amendments that occurred over the years, we’re going to get detail on every amendment, see what prompted the amendment, how many people showed up and how many voted. We want to give our participants a thorough history of why it came about.”

The sessions will be held on Thursdays starting December 4^th and continuing through February 19^th. Dinner will begin at 5:00 p.m., each session lasts approximately three hours. For more information or to receive reminders of the meetings contact: Willa McLean via text or phone 425-905-0632 or email WillaMcLean@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov. If you text or email, please leave detailed contact info including whether you prefer reminders via text, email or phone call.

Constitution study session dates:

December 4^th, 11^th, 18^th

January 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th

February 5^th, 12^th, 19^th

Ancient canoe exhibit inspires thousands at Chickasaw Cultural Center

Chickasaw Cultural Center Director of Operations Brad Deramus admires a huge dugout canoe dating to approximately 1500 A.D. It is on loan to the center from the Department of Mississippi Archives and History to augment the world-class Dugout Canoes: Paddling through the Americas currently on display through May 6, 2015, at the Sulphur, Oklahoma, location.

By: Chickasaw Nation

SULPHUR, Okla. – They were the metaphorical pickup trucks of their day. Native Americans used them to ferry families across rivers, move trade goods to market and a means of travel.

Dugout canoes were difficult to fashion into water-worthy vessels. All were made from a single tree trunk, fire coals placed atop it and then the charred wood was hollowed out with an adze or similar sharp-edged tool made of stone, sea shells and, eventually, metal.

In 2000, a group of Florida high school students stumbled onto what is believed to be the largest treasure trove of dugout canoes in the world – 101 of them dating from 500 to 5,000 years old, according to experts.

That discovery gave birth to Dugout Canoes: Paddling through the Americas, a world-class exhibit on display at the Chickasaw Cultural Center through May 6, 2015.

More than 9,700 people have experienced the exhibit as of Nov. 1. An additional 6,000 have admired a Mississippi vessel displayed away from the main dugout canoe exhibit which is estimated to be 514 years old.

Window blinds are drawn almost like a secret is hidden in the Aapisa Art Gallery at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.

The lights are dimmed too, along with a sign warning visitors not to touch – a departure from many exhibits more than 300,000 people have enjoyed since the center’s opening in 2010.

Director of Operations Brad Deramus swings open the door and extends an invitation to step foot inside and behold an item made in 1500 A.D., discovered intact and preserved from a swamp in the Mississippi Delta.

Most likely the immense 26-foot long dugout canoe was made by Chickasaws.

“Think George Washington’s great-great-grandfather,” Deramus remarks to illustrate the age of the ancient vessel.

It was discovered in Steele Bayou Lake in Washington County, Mississippi, decades ago. It is on loan from the Department of Mississippi Archives and History to augment Dugout Canoes: Paddling through the Americas.

Weighing in at more than 1,000 pounds., it is made from a single bald cypress tree and is manufactured in the ancient Chickasaw tradition. It is the perfect complement to Dugout Canoes: Paddling through the Americas, a display thrilling adults and children, Deramus said. Interactive kiosks, art endeavors, ancient canoes and signs abound encouraging visitors to touch many of the displayed items.

A 400-year-old pine tree dugout canoe, along with tools dating to 600 A.D. and remnants of some of the 101 dugout canoes discovered by the students are included in the exhibit. Many of the display items are hands-on. Some of the more ancient items are behind glass enclosures. CCC cultural experts are on hand to assist visitors who have questions.

While none of the 101 dugout canoes discovered by the Gainesville, Florida, students in drought-stricken Newnans Lake 14 years ago are displayed, remnants of some of the ancient vessels are at the Chickasaw Cultural Center to be enjoyed.

In fact, while some of the canoes discovered by students are fully intact, most were left in place at Newnan’s Lake because excavating them would prove destructive after centuries of protection by water and mud.

About American Indian Heritage Month

Efforts to establish a time to honor Native American Heritage began as early as 1916, when the governor of New York officially declared “American Indian Day” in May of that year. Since that time, a number of states have designated specific days or weeks to celebrate Native American heritage. Since 1976, Congress and the president have designated a day, a week or a month to honor American Indian and Alaska Native people. November has been set aside for the celebration since 1991, when a Senate Joint Resolution was passed authorizing and requesting the president to proclaim each month of November thereafter as “American Indian Heritage Month.”

Marysville school shooter’s text: ‘Bang bang I’m dead’

By: Associated Press, source: KOMO News

MARYSVILLE, Wash. (AP) – A detective investigating the shooting at a Marysville high school that left five teens dead says in court papers that the young shooter’s texts turned dark the week before he opened fire, with references to his funeral and the message: “Bang bang I’m dead.”

Moments before Jaylen Fryberg, 15, shot his fellow students Oct. 24 in the Marysville Pilchuck High School cafeteria, he texted more than a dozen relatives, describing what he wanted to wear at his funeral and who should get his personal possessions, the detective’s search warrant affidavit says.

The boy asked relatives to apologize to the families of his friends “who get caught up in the (expletive) tomorrow” – referring to the day after the shooting. He also sent texts in the previous days to a female friend talking about his death and funeral.

The popular teen fatally shot four friends he had invited to lunch and wounded a fifth teen before killing himself.

The victims are Gia Soriano, Zoe Galasso and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, all 14, and Andrew Fryberg, 15. All were shot in the head. Nate Hatch, 14, was shot in the jaw and is recovering. Andrew Fryberg and Hatch are the shooter’s cousins.

Investigators have found no evidence to support a rumor that students had expressed concerns about Jaylen Fryberg to school authorities before the shooting, police spokeswoman Shari Ireton said Wednesday.

The Daily Herald of Everett obtained the Everett police detective’s affidavit, which provided details of the boy’s last text messages, but not their full contents. The detective had been seeking a judge’s permission to examine the boy’s cellphone. Multiple agencies are investigating the shooting and are sifting through hundreds of text messages and social media posts.

While the boy had publicly posted some angry messages on social media starting in late July, his posts otherwise were “pretty normal,” the detective wrote. The change began Oct. 18.

Detectives learned that he had been upset by something that happened between him and a 15-year-old identified in the affidavit only by her initials and described as a “close friend.”

Investigators know what happened between the two but decided against including specifics in the search warrant documents to protect her identity, court papers said.

On Oct. 18, Fryberg texted: “Ohk (sic) well don’t bother coming to my funeral.” The girl stopped responding and ignored other text messages. On Oct. 22, the boy texted: “I set the date. Hopefully you regret not talking to me,” ”You have no idea what I’m talking about. But you will” and “Bang bang I’m dead.” When the friend asked Fryberg to stop, he replied: “No. You don’t care. I don’t care.”

When she stopped responding, Fryberg tried to reach her through another friend. The morning of Oct. 24, Fryberg used Facebook to send that friend a picture of a gun sitting between his legs, court papers said. He told the friend to have the girl “call me before I do this.”

That message was sent minutes before the shooting started.

The detective met with two of Fryberg’s uncles the day of the shooting, the Daily Herald reported. One man said he and 13 other relatives received a text from the boy minutes before the gunfire. The message was titled: “My Funeral (expletive).”

Detectives later searched the boy’s room.

“My hope was that we could find a note or something that would help explain what happened,” the detective wrote. “Nothing of evidentiary value was located in Jaylen’s room.”

Naloxone kits now available in Snohomish County

naloxone-first-responder-kit-for-emergency-responders

Potentially lifesaving drug

Source: Snohomish Health District

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – In 2013 there were 86 opioid drug overdoses in Snohomish County, and 580 within Washington State. The availability of naloxone (sold under the brand name Narcan) could potentially cut down on deaths due to heroin and prescription opioid drugs (morphine, oxycodone/OxyContin, methadone, hydrocodone/Vicodin, and codeine). The Washington State 911 Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Law lets bystanders give naloxone if they suspect an overdose. This law protects the victim and those helping from prosecution for drug possession. Washington State law states that anyone at risk for having or witnessing a drug overdose can obtain an overdose reversal kit (containing naloxone). This would include drug users, family, and friends. Naloxone cannot be used to get high and is not addictive.

Naloxone is available as an easy to use nasal spray that is given to someone who is exhibiting the symptoms of a drug overdose:

· Excessive sleepiness

· Not responding when someone rubs the middle of the chest

· Shallow breaths or not breathing

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington offers additional information on Naloxone and its uses at www.stopoverdose.org.

Naloxone kits are now available at a number of pharmacies in Snohomish County. These kits are available just by asking the pharmacists, there is no need to see a doctor to obtain a prescription. The cost of the kits is around $125. Pharmacists will provide education to those being given a Naloxone kit on how to use it and when to use it. Below is a list of the pharmacies that currently carry the kits:

Providence Pharmacy

19200 N Kelsey St

Monroe, WA

3601-794-5555

QFC Pharmacy

27008 92^nd Ave NW

Stanwood, WA

360-629-0662

Haggen Pharmacy

3711 88^th St NE

Marysville, WA

360-530-7761

Bellegrove Pharmacy

18800 142^nd Ave NE

Woodinville WA

425-455-2123

According to Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Snohomish County’s Health Officer and Director of the Snohomish Health District, “Even a single death due to opioid overdose is unacceptable.” Although helping drug users to quit is the best approach, Dr. Goldbaum notes that “Naloxone can be life-saving.” He urges anyone who has a friend or family member who uses drugs to consider keeping Naloxone easily accessible.

You can find more information about injection drug use on our website at http://www.snohd.org/Diseases-Risks/Injection-Drug-Use

It’s Nearly Thanksgiving: Try One of These 6 Recipes From the College Fund

This image of another variation on sweet potato soup is from TheVegan8.com, which provides 8-ingredient vegan recipes.

Indian Country Today

The American Indian College Fund is featuring six Native recipes to help families prepare for a wonderful family dinner, whether it’s for Thanksgiving or any time.

Celebrate tradition and stay healthy with this vegan soup:

Sweet Potato Soup

If you’re cooking salmon, these potato cakes are a perfect complement:

Smoked Oyster Potato Cakes

This tasty vegetable dish can be a light lunch, served with tortillas and cheese, or used as a side dish with your favorite Southwestern meal:

Calabacitas

Clay Oden’s lean, hearty meatloaf is wonderful with a side of mashed potatoes, sweet potato fries, or just sliced up and served on bread:

Buffalo Meatloaf

Warm, multigrain muffins are a wonderful way to start the day, and blue corn is a staple among Southwestern Pueblos. Add some butter and preserves for a decadent breakfast:

Blue Corn Buttermilk Muffins

Want a hearty vegetarian meal with some kick? This delicious posole, a traditional dish among the Southwestern Pueblo peoples, is spicy and satisfying:

Posole With Red Chile

Check out the educational pieces the College fund is featuring for Native American Heritage Month below:

Brian Cladoosby Lays Out NCAI’s Priorities in Time for Lame Duck Session

Swinomish Tribal Chairman Brian Cladoosby

Gale Courey Toensing, Indian Country Today

The National Congress of American Indians members passed more than five dozen new resolutions at its annual meeting recently, but one of the first things the organization will deal with during the lame duck session – the period of time between Election Day and when the new legislators enter Congress in the new year – is a three-year-old resolution opposing the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline.

“As Congress opens the lame duck one of the first issues will be the Keystone XL Pipeline,” Brian Cladoosby, NCAIpresident and chair of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, told ICTMN following NCAI’s 71st Annual Convention & Market held this year in Atlanta. “NCAI has a resolution opposing Keystone as tribes in that region are concerned about the potential impact to their aquifer.”

NCAI members’ resolutions set the organization’s policies and guide its advocacy until the issue is resolved or the resolution is withdrawn. In the case of the pipeline, NCAI members passed its resolutionin June 2011 opposing the $8 billion pipeline that would transport oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico. The resolution cites the pipeline’s negative impacts on cultural and environmental resources and expresses solidarity with the First Nations in their struggle to protect their communities, aboriginal lands and treaty rights against the pipeline and other extraction industries’ devastation.

The Keystone issue flared up in 2012 but receded from the headlines until recently when House Republicans in their post-election victory mode suddenly brought it to the floor for a vote. On Friday, November 14, the House voted 252-161 to pass legislation that would force the $8 billion TransCanada pipeline project to move forward. The Senate rejected the bill on Tuesday, November 18. Fifty-nine senators voted for the bill, one short of the 60 votes needed to clear a filibuster. Fourteen Democrats joined the Senate Republicans in voting for the bill. The vote was 59-41.

So with its Keystone and other older policies in place and more than 60 new resolutions pointing the way, NCAI is ready to deal with the new post-election political landscape – even if it’s a little obscure at the moment.

“NCAI is fully committed to strong and effective action to advance tribal priorities. First, we will be navigating the lame duck session of Congress, and then next year will be a new environment in Congress particularly with the new leadership in the Senate,” Cladoosby said. “It is too early to predict exactly how next year will go, but we are already identifying opportunities.”

In addition to the Keystone pipeline issue, appropriations and spending will loom large during the lame duck session. Congress has not yet finalized a spending plan, Cladoosby said. “We are strongly urging adoption of House Interior Appropriations, as it has higher spending levels for both Indian Health and education,” he said.

In July the House Committee on Appropriations voted 29-19 to approve the fiscal year 2015 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. The legislation includes funding for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and various independent and related agencies. In total, the bill includes $30.2 billion in base funding, an increase of copy62 million above the fiscal year 2014 enacted level and a reduction of $409 million below the President’s request.

Indian country won a victory this year with the passage of the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014, but here’s more work to be done in the area of tax reform. Tax extenders are up for renewal during the lame duck, Cladoosby noted. There are nearly 55 tax provisions, known as extenders, which expire at the end of this year, including important charitable giving incentives. Congress needs to renew the provisions in order for people, businesses and tribes to use them in filing taxes in 2015. “Tribes have some very important tax incentives for job development in Indian country that are up for renewal. That includes accelerated depreciation and the Indian employment tax credit,” Cladoosby said. “We really need to make these tax incentives permanent, and these discussions will be a springboard for tax reform discussions in the next year.” Cladoosby said NCAI will advocate for reforms to the tax code that will “respect tribal sovereignty and create jobs in tribal communities.

Energy legislation, trust reform and transportation reauthorization are also NCAI priorities. NCAI has been “strongly supporting” Sen. John Barrasso’s (R-WY) tribal energy bill – the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Acts Amendments of 2014(S. 2132). The bill will give Indian tribes more tools to develop their energy resources and to remove unnecessary barriers to economic development. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, of which Barrasso is vice chairman, passed the bill unanimouslyin May.

NCAI will continue to prioritize legislation for the elusive “Carcieri fix” to restore the Interior Secretary’s authority to take land into trust, and will support voting rights initiatives, and the Department of the Interior Tribal Self Governance Act of 2014, Cladoosby said. It also backs reauthorization of The Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Actof 1996 (NAHASDA), which provides grants and financing guarantees to tribes for affordable housing. A couple key NCAI priorities, Cladoosby said – are a reportjust released from the Attorney General’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence “that will drive attention and I believe there will be a need for hearings,” proposed new regulations for the right of way on Indian lands, trust land in Alaska, and federal recognition.

And in the very near future, there is President Obama’s sixth White House Tribal Nations Conferenceto look forward to on December 3 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. The conference will provide leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes the opportunity to interact directly with the president and members of the White House Council on Native American Affairs.

“I think tribes will be working up even more ideas for administrative action as we head into the summit with the president in the first week of December,” Cladoosby said.

Tulalip Healing: Understanding Grief

By Kara Briggs-Campbell, Tulalip News

Grief is a natural human response to losses of all kinds.

The death of a beloved grandparent or an elder parent or a spouse after a long illness typically results in what psychologists call normal or uncomplicated grief. Psychologists say that violent tragedies or unexpected deaths such as occurred in the Tulalip and Marysville communities on Oct. 24 are more likely to result in what they call complicated grief.

In complicated grief a sense of sorrow for the injury and the loss of beautiful, young people may be mixed with feelings such as fear, anger, rage, guilt or a profound sadness and depression. And could be further infused with past hurts or disappointments, including unresolved grief from earlier deaths and traumas.

According to Tulalip Tribes mental health counselor Kay Feather many in the Tulalip tribal family are experiencing these types of mixed emotions as the days turn to weeks since the shooting and the funerals.

The Tulalip Tribes and other tribes across North America have ancient traditions for processing grief and loss that allow extended family and community to share the burden with the immediate family and friends.

In 1969 author Elizabeth Kübler Ross identified the stages of grief as denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These stages are still recognizable, but psychologists say these are only a starting point to understanding the complex experience of grief.

“A person can get mad one minute, and the next minute they are crying, then they get comfort from someone and yet a minute later, they fall apart and say, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me,’” said Dr. Dolores Subia BigFoot, director of the Indian Country Child Trauma Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

BigFoot said that part of the reaction in grief response is to assist the mind and body to not overstress and better cope with the enormity of the loss.

The feeling for an individual in grief might be that of having lost their moorings or the sense that this kind of thing isn’t supposed to happen. For children whose parents died in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York, there was a sense that parents are supposed to come home after work, not die in an unthinkable act.

In our Tulalip and Marysville communities, some people are responding to the recent tragedy with anger. Experts say anger may be understandable, but is also a way to protect oneself from deeper, more raw emotions.

“Anger is a secondary emotion to primary emotions like fear, disappointment or sadness,” BigFoot said. “The way this works is the first emotions surface then are immediately replaced with this secondary emotion. This happens because the primary emotion is overwhelming to the person and it is easier for the person to deal with anger or to be angry than to become completely engulfed by feelings of unbelievable sorrow.”

Feeling the underlying emotions is not a bad thing; rather it leads a person toward a level of acceptance, of being able to return to life, said Tulalip Tribes mental health counselor Kay Feather.

In counseling sessions with people in grief, Feather compares grieving to waves in the ocean. The first wave is a tsunami of trauma. Every memory is a wave, and in time as grief is dealt with, the waves get smaller.

“Grief never goes away,” Feather said. “But it gets softer.”

In time, those who grieve can find a place of acceptance. Although people who survive loss know that nothing will ever be the same, there is a different way of living that is accepting and honors both those lost and those yet alive.

“We all have the capability to grow from tragedy,” BigFoot said. “We have the potential of incorporating our grief and loss into our experience and then turning it into something meaningful that we give to others.”

Where can I call for help?

To report an emergency dial 911
National Suicide Prevention Line: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Snohomish County Crisis Line: 1-800-584-3578
Crisis TEXT Line: Text “Listen” to 741-741
24 Hour Crisis Line: 1-866-427-4747
TEENLINK: 1-866-833-6546
Indian Country Child Trauma Center: 1-405-271-8858
Tulalip Tribes Behavioral Health Family Services: 360-716-4400

Keystone XL Pipeline bill rejected: Indigenous people arrested after chant of joy

By: Chrissa, UnitedWomen.org

After it was announced Tuesday evening, that the Keystone XL Pipeline bill had been rejected by the US Senate – just one vote shy of the needed 60 yes votes – the poignant sound of Native American Indians’ joy/relief filled the Senate Chamber.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Lakota Oyate), whose land would have been transversed by the pipeline, had strongly opposed the pipeline. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe vowed to prevent the pipeline project from crossing its land and declared Congress’s intent to do so, an act of war.

After the House passed the bill last week, Rosebud Sioux President Cyril Scott, expressed his outrage and was quoted in “Indian Country Today,” stating, “The House has now signed our death warrants and the death warrants of our children and grandchildren. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe will not allow this pipeline to cut through our lands. We are outraged by the lack of intergovernmental cooperation. We are a sovereign nation, and we are not being treated as such. We will close our reservation to Keystone X. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people.”

The 100-member House Chamber on Tuesday cast 59 aye votes on a version of the bill that was sponsored by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Landrieu had been urging fellow Democrats to support the bill. The TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL Pipeline has support in oil-producing Louisiana, an oil-producing state, where Landrieu is facing a run-off election in December.

Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, had been thought a possible 60th “yes” but had said on Tuesday he would vote no. “Congress is not – nor should it be – in the business of legislating the approval or disapproval of a construction project,” King stated in a presss release.

Energy companies say the pipeline would create jobs as 800,000 barrels of oil would be transported 1,700 miles from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. But environmental groups point out that the oil is simply crossing the nation, not creating anymore than 50 or so jobs within the United States and they point out the irony of a nation advocating for clean energy while approving a pipeline through the heart of the nation.

On its web site the League of Women Voters states: “The XL Pipeline will threaten the safety of our drinking water, promote a bad energy policy and increase the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere that contribute to climate change. This pipeline is a risky adventure that is not in our national interest. “

Within the US Senate Chamber, upon the announcement that the bill had been rejected, that joyous sound of indigenous people’s reaction in the gallery was met with the sound of Sen Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) gavel and call for order. It was a victory for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to have stood up for their nation against the bill that aimed to slice right through lands promised them by US Treaty and that ignored any affect on the Sioux and other indigenous people. It was also a victory for environmental groups and grassroots organizations and the American public. But one cannot help but feel the uncomfortableness of reaction to the Native American Indians chant. Three women and two men were arrested outside the US Senate Chamber after expressing their relief and joy. One would think the rejoicing of Native American Indians’ defeat over a land grab would be something all Americans would rejoice along with. There is something unsettling about American Indians’ cry of relief resulting in their arrest. At the time of this writing, however, there were no charges.

About Chris Sagona: Chris is the National Elections Director for UniteWomen.org. She has covered religion, crime and foreign news as reporter, managing editor, associate producer and foreign news editor for Fox News Channel, News12/CNN affiliate and Community Life, and has been published in The Herald News and The Record. She’s won Press Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Press Association for Best Feature Writing, Best Deadline Reporting, Best Breaking News Reporting and Excellence in Journalism for Distinguished Public Service.

Tulalip athlete seeks help through fundraising

Invited to play basketball in Italy, Adiya Jones needs community support

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP – Former Heritage High School Lady Hawk and Tulalip tribal member Adiya Jones is joining the ranks of Tulalip athletes who are showcasing their skills internationally. Jones, a junior at La Connor High School, has her sights set on Italian basketball courts, where she hopes to join an elite group of players from across the globe, to compete and test their skills while representing their countries. The only thing that can stop her isn’t fear, it’s fundraising.

Jones was nominated to join Team USA, which consists of 12 other girls selected from across the United States, by a coach who saw her play.

To help her raise the $4,000 needed by March 2, Jones has created a fundly.com account, which works like Gofundme, where people can donate funds to her cause or benefit, in Jones’s case, her trip to Italy.

The money she raises will pay for hotels and meals as Jones travels around Italy with Team USA. To guarantee her slot on the team, Jones is using the same type of dedication she shows on the court to fundraise as much as she can before the deadline. In addition to her fundly.com account she has created a lottery board where you can purchase one or more squares for a fee. If you choose the wining square number you win half the money the board generated.

“I need to have half the money by a certain date. I plan to use some of my Christmas bonus money to help. The Tribe is also going to help with matching funds I raise,” said Jones, who is also planning a spaghetti feed with the help of her grandmother to raise more funds. Jones will also be participating in the annual Tulalip Tribes All Native Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament, held November 28-30, to test and sharpen her court skills and hopefully do a little fundraising.

“I am excited but also nervous. Once we started the board I started to get really nervous, like, this is it,” said Jones about her anxiousness to travel abroad for the first time by herself.

Jones, who has aspirations to play basketball at Washington State University, said, “I am looking forward to meeting new people. Just the experience of getting to play basketball with a whole new team, and learning some new moves and about the culture is going to be amazing.”

To support Adiya’s fundraising attempts, please visit her fundly.com account at http://fundly.com/my-trip-to-italy.

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com

Senate Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline Bill, In A Close Vote

Pipes for Transcanada Corp.'s planned Keystone XL oil pipeline are stacked at a depot in Gascoyne, N.D. The House of Representatives approved the Keystone XL pipeline Friday; the Senate voted against it on Tuesday. — Pipes for Transcanada Corp.’s planned Keystone XL oil pipeline are stacked at a depot in Gascoyne, N.D. The House of Representatives approved the Keystone XL pipeline Friday; the Senate voted against it on Tuesday.

By Bill Chapell, NPR

The controversial Keystone XL pipeline project to expand an oil pipeline running from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico has failed the approval of Congress, after the Senate voted against the project Tuesday. The House passed its version of the bill Friday.

An early tally showed 35 for and 30 against the bill; subsequent calls for senators’ votes failed to net the 60 votes needed for passage. The decisive 41st “No” vote came with 55 votes in favor, and the final tally was 59-41.

The vote came after President Obama stopped short of saying he would veto the bill, but he encouraged Congress not to take action before a long-awaited State Department review of the project is fully complete.

The two chambers of Congress moved to vote on the measure shortly after this month’s midterm elections, which left a Senate seat in Louisiana up for grabs in a runoff election between Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, and Rep. Bill Cassidy, a Republican. That vote is slated for Dec. 6, as we reported last week.

Several Democrats spoke against the Keystone extension during a floor debate before this afternoon’s vote.

“We’re going to see higher gas prices because of this,” said Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, the chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, predicting that oil from the Keystone project would be exported instead of being used to supply American markets.

Republican Sen. John Hoeven disagreed, saying that his state of North Dakota would benefit from the pipeline, using it to help move its oil that currently relies heavily on a congested rail system.

Landrieu responded to Hoeven by thanking him for his leadership and work on the bill. She went on to tell her colleagues, “This is for Americans, for American jobs, to build a middle class.”

We’ll note that a researcher who has studied the bill told NPR’s S.V. Dáte that of the jobs the project might create, none will be in Louisiana.

“I don’t think it goes through that state,” said Cornell University’s Sean Sweeney, who co-authored a 2012 report scrutinizing the project. “This is less about jobs numbers than it is about advancing the fossil fuel industry’s agenda.”

As we’ve reported, the Keystone issue has been contentious:

“Energy company TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline would carry tar sands oil from Canada to Texas; it has been a polarizing issue, pitting those who say it would create thousands of jobs against environmentalists who say tar sands oil is too expensive and toxic to refine. Where one side says the plan would bolster the energy industry, the other says it would increase greenhouse gases.”

Earlier today, NPR’s Scott Horsley and Jeff Brady laid out “What You Need To Know About The Keystone XL Oil Pipeline.”

As they explained, part of the pipeline is already in place:

“About 40 percent of the total project has been built so far, in two segments: a 298-mile stretchfrom Steele City, Neb., to Cushing, Okla., and a 485-mile segment between Cushing and Nederland, Texas. Oil is flowing through these pipelines from the increased production currently happening in the middle of the U.S.”

Senate Bill 2280 would authorize “TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline and cross-border facilities specified in an application filed by TransCanada Corporation to the Department of State on May 4, 2012,” according to the bill’s summary on the congressional website.