Tulalip News

U.S. Tribes Unite to Testify Against New Tar Sands Oil Pipeline in Canada

Richard J. Seward of Sto:lo First Nation and Pilalt Tribes welcomed the Washington Tribes with songs and ceremony. Chilliwack is the traditional lands of the Sto:lo people.

New pipeline threatens way of life of Coast Salish tribes

Brad Angerman, Pyramid Communications

CHILLIWACK, British Columbia—Tribal representatives from four U.S. tribes spoke in unified opposition today against oil giant Kinder Morgan’s new proposed tar sands oil pipeline. The announcement took place in Chilliwack, a rural town of 80,000 about 50 miles (86 kilometers) east of Vancouver, B.C. Tribal elders, fishers, leaders and youth presented testimony opposing the project to Canada’s National Energy Board, which will make a recommendation on the future of the pipeline to Canada’s federal government, the ultimate decision-making body for the project.

Swinomish Chairman and NCAI President Brian Cladoosby with Cultural Coordinator of the Swinomish Tribe and members of First Nations.

“We can no longer allow the Salish Sea to be used as a dumping ground,” said Swinomish Chairman Brian Cladoosby. “For more than 150 years we have lived in a pollution-based economy, and today face increased threat of an oil spill in our traditional fishing grounds on the Salish Sea—an event that would very likely lead to irreparable damage to salmon and shellfish habitat, and destroy our way of life along with it.”

The Kinder Morgan proposed oil pipeline would roughly triple the capacity of the existing pipeline, from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 per day. It would run alongside an existing pipeline that stretches from the Alberta tar sands oil fields to an oil shipping terminal in Burnaby, B.C., a suburb of Vancouver, greatly increasing the traffic of oil tankers carrying diluted tar sands bitumen through Canadian and U.S. waters.

“The proposed pipeline, if approved, will increase the risk of oil spills and cause more disruption of our fishing fleet. The Suquamish Tribe has a duty to stand up to further threats to our Salish Sea fishing grounds, which have sustained our people since time immemorial,” said Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman.

Glen Gobin, Tulalip Tribal Member and Tulalip Tribe Board of Directors Treasurer along the shores of the Fraser River after the ceremony.

“If the pipeline is approved, there will be a massive increase in tanker loadings,” said Tulalip Board of Director Glen Gobin. “This increased traffic will directly interfere with access to traditional and treaty-protected fishing areas, and put the safety of tribal fishers at risk—not to mention drastically increase the chance of a catastrophic oil spill,” he said. “My father, Bernie Gobin, fought side by side with leaders such as Billy Frank Jr. to ensure that salmon, the very essence of who we are as Coast Salish peoples, live on from generation to generation. We fight for our past and our future.“

Canada’s Coast Salish First Nations also oppose the oil pipeline, and testified before the National Energy Board last week. Those tribes included Shxw’owhámel First Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Kwantlen First Nation, Musqueam Indian Band, Peters Band. Katzie First Nation and Hwlitsum First Nation also provided testimony.

“Like the sea, Coast Salish people acknowledge no boundaries. We are united to protect the Salish Sea,” said Chemainus First Nation member Ray Harris. “It’s a danger to the environment, a violation of aboriginal fishing rights, and a threat to all people who call this unique place home,” he said.

Coast Salish peoples are the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, and have traditionally lived along the coasts of Oregon and Washington in the United States, and in British Columbia, Canada. The Salish Sea is a network of waterways between the southwestern tip of British Columbia and the northwestern tip of Washington State, and includes the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Haro Strait, the Strait of Georgia and the Puget Sound.

From left, Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman, Suquamish tribal member Shaylene Jefferson and Suquamish tribal member Cassia Rose pouring waters from their homelands on the Port Madison Indian Reservation alongside the Fraser River.

What to know about federally run Indian schools

In this photo taken Sept. 25, 2014, students walk between buildings at the Little Singer Community School in Birdsprings, Ariz. on the Navajo Nation. Like other schools in the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Education, remoteness, extreme poverty, bureaucracy and a lack of construction dollars have enhanced the challenges at Little Singer. The Obama administration is pushing ahead with a plan to improve the schools that gives tribes more control. But the endeavor is complicated.

By Kimberly Hefling, AP Education Writer

WINSLOW, Ariz. (AP) — The federal government finances 183 schools and dormitories for Native American children on or near reservations in 23 states. The schools are some of the nation’s lowest performing.

An effort is underway to improve them.

Five things to know about the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Education schools:

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THE IMPROVEMENT PLAN

The Obama administration wants to turn day-to-day operations of more of the schools over to tribes, bring in more board-certified teachers, upgrade Internet access and make it easier to hire teachers and buy textbooks. The plan also seeks to provide more support to schools to advance American Indian languages and culture.

But many the schools are in poor physical condition. An estimated $1.3 billion is needed to replace or refurbish rundown facilities, and not much money is coming from Washington. There also is much mistrust of the federal government, given the history of forced assimilation.

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TAINTED HISTORY

The system of government boarding schools to educate Native American students was established in the 19th century as part of an assimilation policy to “eradicate Native cultures and languages through Western education,” according to a government study group.

One of the first to be run directly by Washington was the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, which opened in 1879. It was founded by Richard Henry Pratt, an Army officer who said, “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man,” according to Jon Reyhner, an education professor at Northern Arizona University.

Many commissions have called for improvements to Indian schools. One, in the 1920s, said the students should be treated as “human beings.”

In 1966, what was then called the Rough Rock Demonstration School opened in Chinle, Arizona, a prototype of the schools that are today owned by the federal government but run by tribes.

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MODERN HISTORY

While about 7 percent of Indian students attend a bureau school today, the great majority are at traditional public schools.

Only a few bureau schools fully immerse students in a Native American language or culture. Others offer them in lesser degrees. But this type of instruction is a draw for parents.

About 6,900 students live in dorms operated by the bureau.

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ONE SCHOOL

Little Singer Community School outside Winslow, Arizona, was the vision in the 1970s of a medicine man who longed for area children to attend a local school. Today, it serves 81 students and school leaders emphasize a nurturing environment. But the rundown classroom buildings have problems with asbestos, radon, mice, mold and flimsy outside door locks. The school has been on a government priority list since at least 2004 for new construction.

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PERFORMANCE OF NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS

Indian students overall score higher overall on assessments than those who attend bureau schools.

Native American students overall have high school graduation rates that are lower than the student population as a whole, 68 percent compared with 81 percent, according to government figures from 2011-2012. They also lag peers on a national assessment known as the “nation’s report card” and have lower rates of college completion.

In a 2011 survey conducted as part of the national assessment, 56 percent of Native American and Alaska Native students reported knowing some or a lot about their tribe or group’s history. The rest reported knowing little or nothing.

We can no longer allow the Salish Sea to be used as a dumping ground

By Bill Everitt, castanet.com

Tribal representatives from both sides of the border spoke in unified opposition today against oil giant Kinder Morgan’s proposed oil pipeline.

Elders, fishers, leaders and youth presented testimony opposing the project to Canada’s National Energy Board in Chilliwack. The NEB will make a recommendation on the future of the pipeline to Canada’s federal government, the ultimate decision-making body for the project.

The proposed oil pipeline would roughly triple the capacity of the existing pipeline, from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 per day. It would run alongside an existing pipeline that stretches from the Alberta tar sands oil fields to an oil shipping terminal in Burnaby, greatly increasing the traffic of oil tankers carrying diluted tar sands bitumen through Canadian and US waters.

“If the pipeline is approved, there will be a massive increase in tanker loadings,” said Tulalip treasurer Glen Gobin. “This increased traffic will directly interfere with access to traditional and treaty-protected fishing areas, and put the safety of tribal fishers at risk—not to mention drastically increase the chance of a catastrophic oil spill,” he said. “My father, Bernie Gobin, fought side by side with leaders such as Billy Frank Jr. to ensure that salmon, the very essence of who we are as Coast Salish peoples, live on from generation to generation. We fight for our past and our future.“

“We do find lots of support from far and wide, actually surprising support from the Mayors of the Lower Mainland, huge environmental groups that are on our side. I got lots of faith in the future. Hopefully that’ll be there for our kids and grandkids.”

Tulalip councilwoman Deborah Parker said she hoped the protest would be a day for healing.

“Really my hopes are that the NEB and Kinder Morgan will hear our words. and I know they will be some pretty powerful words,” she said. “The words need to keep coming forward so we’re not living in this fear and in as much pain we have been.

“I hope today is not only a day to hear and to listen, but a day to heal.”

Coast Salish peoples are the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, and have traditionally lived along the coasts of Oregon and Washington in the United States, and in British Columbia, Canada.

The Salish Sea is a network of waterways between the southwestern tip of British Columbia and the northwestern tip of Washington State, and includes the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Haro Strait, the Strait of Georgia and the Puget Sound.

What you need to know about the Tulalip Bay Fire Department Emergency Services Levy

Tulalip Bay Fire Chief Teri Dodge, pictured third to last in back row, with a handful of the volunteer firefighters that serves the northern half of Tulalip from Priest Point area to Fire Trail Road. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News — Tulalip Bay Fire Chief Teri Dodge, pictured third to last in back row, with a handful of the volunteer firefighters that serves the northern half of Tulalip from Priest Point area to Fire Trail Road.
Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP – Firefighters at the Snohomish County Fire District #15, known as the Tulalip Bay Fire Department, are asking Tulalip tribal members to consider them when voting in this year’s general election, held on November 4.

The fire department, which services 12,000 people living in an area of 22 square miles on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, is seeking permanent funding by way of an Emergency Services Property Tax levy. The levy will expand the department’s services to include Basic Life Support ambulance transport and improve current emergency medical services if passed.

Tulalip Tribes Board of Directors supports the levy and has promised to match the requested $80,000 in the levy. This will provide funding for additional staff to transport patients to local area hospitals during medical emergencies.

The fire department receives 700 calls a year, with 90 percent requiring medical transport. If the levy passes, Tulalip Bay Fire Chief Teri Dodge states the funding will minimize the department’s need for private ambulance services and provide essential training for staff.

“With the addition of the Tulalip Early Learning Academy in Tulalip, the need to have our own transport has increased,” stated Dodge.

“We’ve never had a levy not pass, but we need a 60 percent majority for it to pass,” said Fire Chief Dodge.

The station currently has a rotating shift of 32 volunteer firefighters, but due to a lack of funding the department has not been able to staff for their own ambulance transport.

If the levy passes it would eliminate wait times for ambulances and cut patient costs.

According to the Tulalip Bay Firefighter’s Association, if the levy is passed, “the maximum tax increase per $200,000 assessed valuation will not exceed $50 per year or approximately $4.16 per month.”

“This levy will help us help the people who are like family to us. We have a great history with the community. This department is different than any other fire department. Our staff goes through extensive cultural training and it is reflected in the diversity of our staff. If the levy passes the cost will be a third of what it is now for our community,” said Dodge.

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

Suquamish Tribe, agencies restore eelgrass beds on Bainbridge Island

An eelgrass transplant consists of tying five eelgrass rhizomes together with a twist-tie and attaching it to a landscaping staple. The staple is then buried in the subtidal area where eelgrass is expected to flourish. More photos can be viewed by clicking on the photo.

By Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Work will begin this week on the final phase of a major eelgrass restoration project located just outside Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island.

The project is at the site of the former Milwaukee Dock, near Pritchard Park. The dock, removed in the early 1990s, historically served the Wyckoff creosote plant; the area is now a Superfund cleanup site.

The dock was constructed in a dense subtidal meadow of eelgrass, which was further impacted by navigation channels that left two large depressions too deep for eelgrass to grow and flourish.

Eelgrass is recognized as one of the most valuable ecosystem components in Puget Sound. This project will contribute to the Puget Sound Partnership’s goal of increasing the amount of eelgrass habitat by 20 percent over the current baseline by 2020.

“The importance of eelgrass meadows to salmon and other fish and invertebrates is well documented,” said Tom Ostrom, salmon recovery coordinator for the Suquamish Tribe. “The depth of these depressions is what has prevented eelgrass from growing. Because the surrounding eelgrass is so dense and so robust, it makes this site a prime candidate for restoration.”

The Elliott Bay Trustee Council, which includes the tribe, began restoring the smaller of the two depressions in 2012; work begins this week on the larger depression. The work is being coordinated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The work takes place in three stages: The existing eelgrass is temporarily transplanted from the edges of the depression to nearby areas. The depression then is filled with clean sediment. After the sediment settles, the eelgrass is re-planted in the filled depression and is expected to fill out the former bare area.

SCUBA divers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Sequim (PNNL) have transplanted eelgrass back into the smaller depression and begun removing eelgrass from the larger depression in preparation for filling.

PNNL scientists will monitor the restoration site annually for at least five years to document how well the transplanted eelgrass is growing and to assess the overall success of the project.

The first phase of the project, restoring the smaller depression, was funded by the Elliott Bay Trustee Council from funds set aside for restoration efforts under a legal settlement with Pacific Sound Resources. The settlement addressed natural resource damages resulting from the contamination at two Superfund sites in Puget Sound, including the Wyckoff facility in Eagle Harbor.

Most of the funding for restoration of the larger depression is from a $1.76M grant awarded to the Suquamish Tribe from the Puget Sound Partnership through the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund, a state

fund program that targets high priority restoration projects that benefit salmon recovery. The grant is administered by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will manage filling the larger depression.

More information about the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration program

The Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration (PSAR) program was created in 2007 to help implement the most important habitat protection and restoration priorities. Funding is appropriated by the Legislature through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, based on a request from the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP). PSP works with local entities to identify and prioritize the highest impact, locally-vetted, and scientifically-rigorous projects across Puget Sound. This funding is critical to advancing the most effective projects throughout our region.

Eelgrass Facts

Scientific name: Zostera marina
True flowering plant
Eelgrass meadows have very high primary production rates and are the base of numerous food webs
Roots and rhizomes stabilize the seabed
Meadows contribute to local oxygen budget, both above and below the seabed
Utilized for foraging, spawning, rearing, and as migration corridors by many commercially important fish and invertebrate species, marine mammals, and birds
Sequesters carbon, thus ameliorating the effects of ocean acidification

Elliott Bay Trustee Council

The Elliott Bay Trustee Council consists of The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce; the U.S. Department of the Interior, represented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe; the Suquamish Tribe; and the Washington departments of Ecology and Fish and Wildlife.

Squaxin Island tribe snorkeling for juvenille coho

Candace Penn and Michael West, Squaxin Island tribal staff, look for juvnille coho that might be using a small stream in the Deschutes watershed.

By Northwest Indian Fisheries

The Squaxin Island Tribe is conducting snorkel surveys throughout the Deschutes River watershed, looking for stretches where coho go to feed and grow.

Each spring for the last three years, the tribe has released 100,000 juvenile coho into the Deschutes. They then follow up for months with snorkel surveys to see where the fish go. “What we’re looking for is coho habitat to protect and restore,” said Scott Steltzner, salmon biologist for the tribe. “And, obviously, the coho know where the best coho habitat is.”

The problem, however, is that low runs of coho to the Deschutes in recent decades mean there aren’t even enough coho to fill the available habitat. “We can guess what sort of habitat coho want, but the best way is to get out there and find out first hand,” Steltzner said. “But, to find where the good coho habitat is in the Deschutes, we need to put some coho in the river first.”

Because coho salmon spend an extra year in freshwater before heading out to the ocean, they are more dependent on river habitat than other salmon species.

In the past, the Deschutes River was the largest producer of coho in deep South Sound. Coho have been returning in low numbers for over 20 years since a landslide sent tons of sediment into the river. “The landslide wiped out coho in their main stronghold on Huckleberry Creek and they haven’t been able to re-establish themselves,” Steltzner said.

New forest practice rules put into place since the landslide would likely prevent the same type of catastrophic event from happening again.

The tribe will use the information from the snorkel surveys to plan on-the-ground restoration and protection efforts. “Finding where salmon rear in the Deschutes is the single largest data gap in proceeding with much-needed habitat work,” Steltzner said.

Because the upper Deschutes River is relatively undeveloped – less than 10 percent has been paved over – it’s still possible to restore salmon habitat and productivity. “There is a chance here to restore salmon productivity to historic levels,” said Andy Whitner, natural resources director for the tribe.

“Our way of life, our culture and economy have always been based around natural resources,” Whitener said. “Protecting and restoring salmon habitat is the most important thing we can do to restore salmon in the Deschutes and protect our treaty right to fish.”

Working for Tomorrow Every Day

Lorraine Loomis, Chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

I am honored and humbled to follow in the footsteps of Billy Frank Jr. as chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Of course no one can ever truly replace our longtime chairman and friend Billy Frank Jr. It will take all of us to do that.

Billy wrote this column for many years. The tribes decided to keep the name to honor him and remind everyone what this column is about: Frank, honest talk from the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington who are co-managers of the natural resources.

Like many people, I drew much strength from Billy over the years. But the biggest source of strength for me has always been my family, especially my parents.

My dad, Tandy Wilbur, was the first general manager of the Swinomish Tribe. He and my mother, Laura, worked tirelessly to secure the funding that founded the Swinomish tribal government. When he passed away in 1975 my mother continued their work. She went on to serve for 50 years in the tribal senate and was instrumental in tribal advances in housing and health care before her passing in 1997.

I started out in the fish processing business in 1970. It was hard work and long hours. I switched to fisheries management following the Boldt decision in 1974. I thought that maybe fisheries management might be a little bit easier than working 14-15 hours a day, seven days a week.

I was wrong.

My dad told me that it would take about 10 years before the Boldt decision would operate as it should. There was a lot of fighting with non-Indian fishermen in the early days after the Boldt decision. You never knew what to expect when you went out on the water. It was 1982 before true co-management became a reality through development of the first joint Puget Sound Salmon Management Plan by the tribes and state.

As my tribe’s fisheries manager for 40 years, I’ve seen incredible advances in salmon co-management, both regionally and internationally.

I am especially proud of tribal involvement in developing and implementing the U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty that governs the sharing of salmon between the two countries. I continue to serve on the Fraser River Panel that manages sockeye and pink salmon through the treaty. I also continue to coordinate tribal participation in the North of Falcon fishery planning process with the state of Washington. I have served as an NWIFC commissioner for the past 30 years, most of them as vice-chair.

I love fisheries management. When we have a fishery opening – and salmon fishing is not open a lot these days – you see the happy faces of the tribal fishermen. You know you have done your job. I live for that. It’s my life.

None of us tribal natural resources managers are working for today. We are all working for tomorrow. We are working to make certain there will be salmon for the next seven generations.

We face many challenges in the years to come. Salmon populations continue to decline because we are losing habitat faster than it can be restored. As the resource continues to decline, salmon management becomes increasingly difficult because there is less room for error. That puts our tribal treaty rights at great risk.

We need hatcheries and habitat to bring back the salmon. We need hatcheries to provide salmon for harvest, support recovery efforts and fulfill the federal government’s treaty obligations. We need good habitat because both hatchery and wild salmon depend on it for their survival.

We also need to work together, because that is always best. We’ve known for a long time that cooperation is the key to salmon recovery, and that we must manage for tomorrow every day.

Seattle Refined: 5 of Wash. state’s best pumpkin patches

Fox Hollow Family Farm has a bonfire, s’mores and hot chocolate, horse-drawn carriage rides, a hay-bale maze, concessions, and more. (Photo Courtesy: Fox Hollow's Facebook Page) — Fox Hollow Family Farm has a bonfire, s’mores and hot chocolate, horse-drawn carriage rides, a hay-bale maze, concessions, and more. (Photo Courtesy: Fox Hollow’s Facebook Page)

By Jenny Kuglin, Seattle Refined

Halloween is just around the corner, pumpkin-spice-everything is everywhere, and the rain is back in full force. To me, this means it’s time for a visit to my favorite U-pick pumpkin patch! Since most of our area’s best spots have corn mazes, petting zoos, and more, you can definitely make a day trip out of it for you and your family.

Here are five of Washington’s best pumpkin patches that are about an hour away from Seattle:

Remlinger Farms

32610 NE 32^nd Street

Carnation, WA 98014

Attractions other than pumpkins: 4-H animal barnyard, hay maze, steam-powered train ride, farm theatre, fruit pies, and more

When it is open: The complete farm experience is only open on Saturdays and Sundays. The hours are 10 to 5. There are self-guided tours available on weekdays.

Cost for entire experience: $15.75/person, seniors are $13.75/person, 12 months and under are free

Fox Hollow Family Farm

12031 Issaquah-Hobart Rd. SE
Issaquah, WA 98027

Attractions other than pumpkins: Bonfire, s’mores and hot chocolate, horse-drawn carriage rides, hay-bale maze, concessions, and more

When it is open: October 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31 (Halloween Party)

Cost for entire experience: $10.00/person, 12 months and under are free

Mosby Farms

12754 S.E. Green Valley Rd
Auburn, WA 98092

Attractions other than pumpkins: Corn maze, tractor-pulled hayrides, farm stand with locally grown fruits and veggies

When it is open: the rest of October, 10 to dusk, the corn maze is only open on Saturdays and Sundays

Cost for corn maze: $9.00/person 12-99 years old, $6.00/person 3-12 years old, under 3 is free

Thomasson Family Farm

38223 236th Ave. SE
Enumclaw, WA 98022

Attractions other than pumpkins: Corn maze and junior corn maze, bubble table, duck races, cattle roping, hay maze, and more

When it is open: The rest of October, 9:30 to 5:30

Cost: There are several options, so visit their website

Bob’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Farm

10917 Elliott Rd
Snohomish, WA 98296

Attractions other than pumpkins: Hayrides, trike track with John Deere tricycles, playground, pony rides, face painting, an apple cannon and more

When it is open: Every day for the rest of October, 10 to 7 (certain attractions are only open on the weekends)

Cost: Free to enter the pumpkin patch, check the website to see specific costs of activities

What’s your favorite pumpkin patch in Washington? Let me know in the comments!

Indian Country Remembers Misty Upham; Family, Friends Gather for Wake

Source: facebook.com/beautifulmistyuphamCandles, flowers, balloons, and photographs memorialize Misty Upham in a display on the Muckleshoot Reservation. Source: facebook.com/beautifulmistyupham — Source: facebook.com/beautifulmistyupham
Candles, flowers, balloons, and photographs memorialize Misty Upham in a display on the Muckleshoot Reservation. Source: facebook.com/beautifulmistyupham

Indian Country Today, 10/21/14

On the Muckleshoot Reservation, in Washington, grieving for the late actress Misty Upham has been ongoing. The Upham family has sent out the following details of the coming days’ events:

The family of Misty Upham would like to thank everyone for their support. The funeral arrangement includes:
A wake Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and a Memorial service on Saturday, October 25, at 2:00 pm at the The Pentecostal Church at Muckleshoot 39731 Auburn Enumclaw Rd SE, Auburn, WA 98092 (Pastor Kenny Williams cell: 253-261-6003)

Misty will arrive at noon on Wednesday October 22, 2014.

For those who would like to bring flowers, food, financial support, or help in any capacity, donations are being accepted at the The Pentecostal Church at Muckleshoot

Online, expressions of grief and love have poured forth from all over Indian country. Here are just a few of them from Twitter and Facebook:

Gil Birmingham (via Facebook)
An incredibly tragic and heartbreaking farewell to a courageous spirit artist warrior. RIP Misty Anne Upham… our hearts will always be with you and your family.

Julia Jones @JuliaRJones
We lost a beautiful soul and a great talent this week. RIP Misty Upham. Wish we had more time with you.

Michelle Thrush (via Facebook)
Shocked and saddened that you left.. RIP Misty.. You fought a good fight sister. May you finally be at peace

You gave so bravely.. Until our next walk together we will all miss your smile my friend..

American Indian Film Institute (via Facebook)
To our dear friend Misty Upham, we are so grateful to have known you as a person, actress and TTP youth mentor. Your hard work and dedication will live on forever, we ARE and WILL always continue to be big fans of yours. With heartfelt condolences to your parents, family and friends. You are a treasure and a shinning star for all to see.

Roseanne Supernault (via Facebook)
My most heartfelt condolences to the Upham family, Misty’s friends and community. I admired your work Misty, I looked up to you, and I pray that you have safe travels on your journey. Please take a moment today to meditate/pray upon this beautiful and talented woman’s spirit. Please send love & light to her family & friends. Hiy hiy.

Leonard Sumner @LeonardSumner
@MistyUpham was so badass in August: Osage County… She stole the thunder in that movie. So sad to hear about her passing.

Renee Roman Nose @ReneeRomanNose
My love and prayers to Misty’s family and friends. What a sad day for Indian Country.

Bird Runningwater @BirdRunningH2O
RIP Misty. Prayers for your journey.

Michelle Hall Shining Elk (via Facebook)
Dang it! This is not how this was suppose to end. Thoughts and prayers go out to Misty’s family during this most difficult time. May her new journey be forever pained free.

Wambli Eagleman @InfamousWambli
My heart is Broken….Rest Well @MistyUpham …my thoughts and prayers go out to the family…

Sonny Skyhawk (via Facebook)
What a loss tour people and her family, she was such a talented young lady. When I read ” No signs of foul play ” and heard the families pleas to the Auburn Police for help to find her, the word FOUL PLAY applies and belongs to them, due to their failure to asses the situation as bi-polar breakdown and assist accordingly, but that was not the case. Being INDIAN on a reservation can sometimes work against you with local police. My friends Aunt and Uncle burned to death because the fire was across the road from the fire station on a reservation , and they were “unauthorized” to cross the road.

Tatanka Means (via Facebook)
RIP super talented Indigenous woman, Misty Upham. So sad. Such a huge loss to the acting world and Indian community. She was a star who inspired me. I was a fan of her work. She will be greatly missed and remembered for her amazing performances on the big screen. I wish I had gotten the opportunity to work with you. ‪#‎mistyupham‬

Sandra Hinojosa @ms_sandrah
So saddened by the death and loss of two influential actresses this week. RIP @MistyUpham and #ElizabethPena you are remembered

Kat’ela @theyfearher
@MistyUpham my friend,I can’t believe you’re gone..Thank You for being my friend and keepin it REAL…I will miss you always..#MistyUpham 🙁

Digital Drum @ourbeat
A sad day in Hollywood yet again. RIP @MistyUpham A Life taken too early. Sending prayers to all family and friends

Shawn Michael Perry (via Facebook)
GOOD MORNING FRIENDS….!!!! IT IS WITH A HEAVY HEART THAT I MOURN THE LOSS OF MISTY UPHAM….!!!! HER QUIET BEAUTY WILL BE WELCOMED BY OUR LORD,OUR GOD,THE CREATOR…..!!!!

Star Idlenomore Nayea (via Facebook)
RIP Misty Upham, wish you didn’t have to leave us so soon.. I cried tonight when I heard the news, realizing what a tragic loss this is. Myself with a group of youth here in Klamath Falls, were writing a song you would have loved! Its for ALL victims of Violent Crimes..Its called “Start By Believing”. For all those afraid to come forward because they think no one will believe them..You would have loved to hear all these youth singing the words of encouragement, to those in harms way, telling them to believe in themselves! I don’t know why, but I was thinking of you all night. I am so deeply sorry you have left us..I am thinking of your family sending sincere condolences, also to the countless who are now grieving your loss. I am terribly sad we didn’t cross paths more, seems as though we would have been fast friends..From what I hear, there was NO ONE, like you. & prayers, safe journey home special one…

Mary Kim Titla (via Facebook)
I just watched August: Osage County. Misty Upham did so great. Sad to hear of her passing. RIP

Lise Balk King (via Facebook)
rest in peace misty. heart so heavy.

Baby Orca Missing In Puget Sound And Presumed Dead

A calf born this year to a resident Puget Sound orca has not been seen recently and scientists think it may have died. | rollover image for more

By Ashley Ahearn, KUOW

Orca enthusiasts rejoiced when a newborn calf was spotted 7 weeks ago.

But as of Tuesday morning, the endangered killer whale calf has not been seen.

L120 was the first calf born in the past 2 years. The calf’s mother was spotted three times since Friday. Her baby was nowhere to be seen.

Orca experts believe the calf is dead, though no carcass has been found and it’s unclear how it died.

Orcas in Puget Sound are known to have high levels of toxic agents in their bodies. The pollution can be transferred from mothers to their offspring during gestation and while nursing.

Lack of food is another potential cause of death. Southern Resident killer whales rely on chinook salmon, which are also endangered.

There are now just 78 resident orcas left. That’s about how many there were back in 2005 when the animals were first put on the endangered species list.