Tulalip News

Pipeline proponents consider explosives in ocean to scare whales from potential oil slicks

By Stanley Tromp, the Globe and Mail

The proponents of two controversial pipelines to British Columbia’s coast say they would consider deploying underwater firecrackers, helicopters and clanging pipes, among other methods, to ensure whales don’t swim toward any disastrous oil spill that might result from increased tanker traffic carrying bitumen to Asia.

It’s called hazing and documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show the methods have been studied carefully by U.S. scientists before and since the disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill killed 22 orcas in 1989. Last month, the Washington State Department of Ecology asked Trans Mountain to describe any plans it might have to help whales in a spill. In the preamble to its request filed with the National Energy Board, the department notes the proposed expanded pipeline would contribute to “potential cumulative effects on sensory disturbance,” something that “was determined to be significant for southern resident killer whales.”

“NOAA [National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration] identified oil spills as an acute extinction threat to the southern resident killer whales,” the U.S. department says in its request for information from the pipeline project.

“Please describe any Trans Mountain plans to minimize the direct acute threat to marine mammals in general and southern resident killer whales in particular by applying techniques such as the use of ‘hazing’ to drive the animals out of areas heavily affected by surface oil slicks,” says the request for information.

On June 18, Trans Mountain replied that some hazing methods “have historically worked well with killer whales,” and it might consider endorsing them in consultation with Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the lead Canadian response agency.

“The need for and use of marine mammal deterrence activities would be considered prior to or during emergency response operations,” Trans Mountain writes.

It then lists the techniques that might be available, including fire hoses directing streams of water at whales, boat traffic to generate noise, helicopters to make noise and stir up water and other acoustic deterrents.

The response notes that NOAA has approved use of metal pipes called Oikomi pipes for noise and a kind of low-frequency bomb in the event of an oil spill, but Trans Mountain cautions: “No single deterrence technique will work in all situations.”

Northern Gateway’s submission to the National Energy Board last year discussed hazing for three pages, adding “oil response plans (including a marine mammal hazing plan) will be developed with DFO and certified responders before operations.”

Fisheries and Oceans did not reply to The Globe’s questions about hazing.

If both pipelines are approved, tanker traffic plying the B.C. coast would increase by more than 600 ships a year, raising concerns from aboriginals, environmentalists and U.S. officials about the increased potential for a spill on the Pacific coast.

U.S. authorities have closely examined hazing for years. One 1994 study found Oikomi pipes – 2.4-metre-long reverberant metal pipes hung from a vessel and hit to produce a ringing sound – could be deployed from boats spaced 180 metres apart to create an acoustic fence to move whales away.

Underwater firecrackers, also called seal bombs, have also been studied. They are small explosives inside a cardboard tube. When weighted, set with an eight-second fuse, and tossed into the sea, they sink and explode with an acoustic signal. A report of 1986 said they have been used successfully in hazing non-whale marine species.

But despite all the studies, Don Noviello, an oil spill response specialist at Washington State’s Department of Fish and Wildlife and author of reports on hazing, said it’s not clear whether the techniques will work.

“I am unaware that any whale hazing techniques have been, or will be, scientifically tested on actual whales,” Mr. Noviello said.

Added Vancouver Aquarium whale specialist Lance Barrett-Lennard: “I do think that hazing might be appropriate in some circumstances.”

Special to The Globe and Mail

A New PNW Alliance Aims to Shield the Salish From Destruction

Native Americans, environmentalists, and fed-up citizens unite to keep corporations from turning the region into a fossil fuel corridor

The Nawt-sa-maat is fighting to save the Salish Sea from destruction. Photo by Kelton Sears

By Kelton Sears, Wed., Sep 10 2014, Seattle Weekly

On August 4, a dam holding back mining wastewater burst open in Likely, B.C., gushing roughly 6,604,301,309 gallons of toxic waste into the nearby lakes—a spill 78 percent larger than initial estimates. Only a month after the incident, Imperial Metals, the corporation responsible, declared the water safe to drink again.

“One of my friends caught a salmon alive and kicking there last week,” Sundance Chief Rueben George from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation said to a packed Seattle crowd at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center on Sunday. “But when my friend picked it up, the fish’s skin slid off in his hands.”

Salmon have long been spiritual symbols of the Pacific Northwest—aquatic residents of the Salish Sea that have given life to Coast Salish people for 14,000 years and white settlers for 150. That the skin of the Northwest’s spirit animal is melting off is just one of many reasons organizers say they are forming the brand-new Nawt-sa-maat Alliance, a group that has vowed to defeat oil and coal corporations bent on turning the Pacific Northwest into a fossil-fuel corridor.

Nawt-sa-maat, a Coast Salish word that means “One house, one heart, one prayer,” is an unprecedented trans-border coalition of Coast Salish indigenous nations, environmentalists, interfaith groups, and youth activists that met for the first time this past weekend in Discovery Park. The Alliance’s goal? “To protect the sacredness of the Salish Sea.”

“The tribes are the original environmentalists,” Annette Klapstein, a member of the Seattle Raging Grannies and a new member of the Nawt-sa-maat Alliance, said at the initial meeting on Sunday. Klapstein was one of three protesters who sat on train tracks in Anacortes to block the controversial “exploding” oil trains in July. It was her first direct action after years of fruitless writings to the Seattle City Council and visits to Olympia to persuade politicians to do something about the influx of dangerous rail cars.

“It was always very iffy for tribes to work with environmental organizations because these organizations were arrogant,” Klapstein said. “They would tell tribes what to do, which didn’t go over very well. This new alliance, based on respect and understanding, is so important because these different groups’ goals are much the same, and we are so much more powerful together.”

Chief George (right) with civic leader and alliance co-founder Jon Ramer (left). Photo by Kelton Sears

Chief George, one of the three main founders of the Nawt-sa-maat, presided over the initial meeting and made it clear that one of its biggest enemies was the massive energy company Kinder Morgan. “We stand as one, and together we will protect and restore the sacredness of the Salish Sea,” he said. “Together, we are stronger than those who wish to use our home and waters as a mere highway for dirty oil and coal. Together, we will stop them. Kinder Morgan will not win this battle.”

Formed by Richard Kinder, an ex-Enron employee, the oil mega-corporation is proposing a massive $5.4 billion oil pipeline connecting the Alberta tar sands to the Pacific through Burnaby, B.C., tripling current capacity and creating the potential for enormous spills in the North Salish that would directly affect us in Washington. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been pushing the project despite massive backlash from British Columbian activists and the indigenous Tsleil-Waututh, who are now taking the project to court for failing to consult with the First Nations tribe on the federal review.

“You know, I’d like to thank Stephen Harper,” said Nawt-sa-maat co-founder Chief Phil Lane Jr. of the Yankton Dakota and Chickasaw First Nations, “because in his complete unawareness, he’s awakened a sleeping spiritual giant.”

The mood at the meeting was intensely spiritual at times. Four local religious leaders, a United Methodist, a Buddhist, a Sufi, and an Interspirit, came together to bless the gathering in their respective traditions, ending with an indigenous cedar-bough blessing that the crowd happily lined up to receive. Many of the religious groups present vowed to convert their houses of worship to solar energy in an act of good faith.

Being a member of the Nawt-sa-maat effectively means a couple of things. Members are expected to join in a “4 Days of Action” campaign, starting on Sept. 19, that ranges from a salmon homecoming celebration to a climate-change rally at the Canadian border and ends with an international treaty signing that will effectively ratify the new trans-border Nawt-sa-maat Alliance. Members are then expected to join in future actions and work to build the nascent network, which will soon expand its scope to tackle the proposed coal-extraction sites at Cherry Point, sacred land to the people of the Lummi Nation near Bellingham.

“I just want to make this very clear,” Chief George said as he doled out salmon to the Nawt-sa-maat near the meeting’s end, “this Alliance isn’t just for one group. It’s for everyone. The Salish Sea is for everyone, not just corporations. We will win this fight.”

‘Am I Next?’ Indigenous Women in Canada Ask Social Media

Holly Jarrett/FacebookHolly Jarrett, cousin of murdered Inuit university student Loretta Saunders, has begun a social media campaign to push for a national inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada. — Holly Jarrett/Facebook
Holly Jarrett, cousin of murdered Inuit university student Loretta Saunders, has begun a social media campaign to push for a national inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.

Indian Country Today, 9/9/14

It’s the heartbreaking question of our time, at least in Canada, where indigenous women have begun a social media campaign to draw attention to the prevalence of violence against them.

The movement was started by Holly Jarrett of Hamilton, Ontario, according to CBC News. Jarret is a cousin of Loretta Saunders, a grad student at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia who was murdered earlier this year, allegedly by her tenants when she went to collect rent. The 26-year-old, pregnant Saunders had been researching the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada—more than 1,200 unsolved cases over the past few decades, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)—for her thesis when she went missing herself.

Most recently, across the country in Manitoba, the body of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine was pulled from the Red River in Winnipeg in August, wrapped in a bag. The homicide investigation is ongoing.

The call was raised once again for a national inquiry into the issue. Soon after Fontaine’s remains were found, the premiers of all the provinces met with the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and came out advocating for a roundtable. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has long held that an inquiry would not yield any answers and thus was not the way to go.

It’s not just First Nations calling for such an inquiry. President Terry Audla is also advocating for an inquiry, as is Métis National Council President Clément Chartier. Both also attended the meeting with premiers. The premiers as well support the roundtable idea—a meeting with federal ministers to discuss the issue, according to CBC News—and aboriginal leaders have agreed to that as a first step.

Meanwhile across Canada, women are posting selfies of them holding signs bearing the slogan “Am I Next?” and posting them to social media under the #AmINext hashtag, as CTV News reported. There is also a petition at Change.org calling for an inquiry, started as well by Jarrett.

“Our family is Inuit, and Loretta has now become one of the over 1186 missing or murdered Aboriginal women she was fighting for,” wrote Jarrett on Change.org. “It is time for our government to address this epidemic of violence against Aboriginal women. Our family is gathering strength and we will not let her death be in vain. We will fight to complete Loretta’s unfinished work.”

Radio transmitters lead biologists to salmon

Gary Chittim, KING 5 News

NEAR ENUMCLAW, Wash. — Tribal Biologist Justin Paul said a program that uses radio transmitters is designed to help slow down the number of salmon dying. The salmon in question were captured at a dam near Buckley then trucked around the dam and released upriver.

Paul said a number of factors could cause the deaths, including predators like otters and bears, injuries suffered during capture or the stress of being loaded into tanks and trucked around the dam.

When they are captured at the dam, workers insert radio transmitters into wild, female chinook. The tiny wires put off a strong enough signal to be picked up by a hand-held receiver. Paul walks up and down the river until he gets a ‘hit’ then follows it to the fish.

Sometimes they are just carcasses left behind by predators, sometimes they are fish that died naturally after spawning, and sometimes they are alive and tending to their nests, or redds.

By locating the salmon, they can get an idea of problem areas in the river system and places where salmon need more protection or more access.

Jade Parks, finding her own beauty

A story of weight loss, self-esteem and learning who you are beyond the scale

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

Jade Parks and her fiancé’ Leonardo Carela before her sleeve gastrectomy. Photo courtesy/ Jade Parks — Jade Parks and her fiancé Leonardo Carela before her sleeve gastrectomy.
Photo courtesy/ Jade Parks

TULALIP – On January 17, of this year, Tulalip tribal member Jade Parks was in Mexico, following a major surgery, she was 350 pounds and a dress size 26. She was alone except for her best friend and had just started a journey that would alter her life drastically to reveal a woman she never knew existed.

Growing up, Jade was always larger than her peers. Shopping in plus size stores became regular as she entered adulthood. She didn’t shy away from life despite her larger size, she learned to accommodate it instead. Yet as her weight continued to increase, her usual bubbly personality began to shrink, eventually leading to depression after years of losing and gaining weight. Something had to change.

Parks sought help from her tribal council to pay for a surgical procedure to help her lose weight. Due to a policy that required her to be experiencing two major health issues as a result of her weight, she was denied. She weighed over 300 pounds and suffered high blood pressure and sleep apnea. These did not qualify.

Despite being denied the monetary help, Parks was determined to lose weight. Through diet, exercise and enrollment as an outpatient in treatment for food addiction, Parks lost 73 pounds in 9 months. But it didn’t last. Parks eventually gained back the pounds she lost, plus seven more.

“It was extremely depressing. I was really sad and I didn’t know what I was going to do. You wake up in the morning not wanting to eat bad things, wanting to make good choices, wanting to work out and then you look in the mirror, and you just feel like a failure because of your weight. You think, how could I let myself get like this,” said Parks, about a typical day for her.

“It is hard. For plus size people, when you walk into the room everyone knows your issue. It is not something you can hide. I can’t hide my addiction. I can’t hide what my issue is, because it is the first thing you see when you see me, because it is my weight. A lot of times drug addicts can hide their substance abuse, people do not know that they abuse drugs. For us, as soon as we walk into a room, every single person is going to know and that makes it hard. It came basically down to: I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t live at being 350 pounds. I decided to pay for the weight loss surgery on my own, so I went to Mexico because it is cheaper.”

Although risks can be associated with medical treatment in other countries, Parks’ research led her to a private hospital and a surgical staff that she was comfortable with and she made plans to travel.

“I have never had surgery in my life before. I was worried about it, but I was more worried about not ever being able to have kids because of my weight,” said Parks, who developed polycystic ovary syndrome as a result of her weight, which caused her to stop menstruating.

Parks had a sleeve gastrectomy, which involves a portion of the stomach being separated and removed from the body. According to the Mayo Clinic, the “remaining section is formed into a tube-like structure. The smaller stomach cannot hold as much food. It also produces less of the appetite-regulating hormone ghrelin, which may lessen your desire to eat. However, sleeve gastrectomy does not affect absorption of calories and nutrients in the intestines.” This type of surgery, unlike other weight loss surgeries such as the gastric banding, is irreversible and still considered a relatively new procedure in America, meaning its long-term effects are still being evaluated.

Jade Parks, six months after her sleeve gastrectomy in January 2014. Photo courtesy/ Jade Parks — Jade Parks, six months after her sleeve gastrectomy in January 2014.
Photo courtesy/ Jade Parks

“People think that weight loss surgery is the easy way out, but I am here to say that it is not an easy way out. It is extremely hard, because you still battle cravings and wanting foods. I can eat about four bites of food and I am full,” said Parks, who had 80 percent of her stomach removed during the surgery and can only take quarter sized bites while

After her sleeve gastrectomy surgery in January 2014, which removed 80 percent of her stomach, Jade Park, with fiancé Leonardo Carela, has lost 131 pounds and wears a 14 pant size, at the time of the article.

eating.

“There are a lot of people who get weight loss surgery and abuse it. They stretch out their stomachs and gain the weight back. I have followed the diet from the doctor very strictly. For instance, you cannot eat and drink at the same time. You have to do it within half an hour of each other, and that’s because there is not enough room. If you do, it will stretch out your stomach,” explains Parks, who also cannot have carbonated beverages and will need to maintain the strict diet for the rest of her life.

Due to the diet’s strict portion control, Parks takes a regimen of vitamins to ensure she receives the proper amount of nutrients for her body, including choosing portion options that include the natural nutrients in them.

Weight loss surgery creates dramatic changes in physical appearance, causing unexpected emotional impacts in patients. These sudden changes often leave patients unprepared to cope with the lifestyle and dieting required following surgery, leading to a continuance or return to the eating habits that led to their weight gain. A majority of patients view weight loss surgery as a cure-all to their weight issues which can mislead them, resulting in unsuccessful weight loss. Patients considering weight loss surgery should consider the pros and cons related to the surgery and following it.

“You have to be careful because you are getting rid of one of your addictions,” said Parks, who was on a liquid diet the first month following her surgery. “That first month I was a wreck. I couldn’t smoke. I couldn’t workout and I couldn’t eat. Those are my vices. I did a lot of crying, a lot of sitting with my feelings and having to just deal with life. At the same time, it helped to prepare me for the rest of my weight loss journey, because I can’t continue to use food as my coping mechanism. It helped me learn to sit with my feelings and learn that feeling emotions is not going to kill you, and that you have to let yourself feel emotions.”

“My biggest fear about getting the weight loss surgery was that I would get the surgery and then I would regret it. There is nothing that I have experienced through this journey that has ever made me regret my surgery. It truly is the best decision I have made for myself,” said Parks, who has lost a total of 131 pounds at the time of this article.

Although weight loss surgery is not recommended for everyone, or may not be successful for everyone who has it, Parks explains that the nine months following her surgery has taught her more about herself than she ever expected.

“I have always known I am a strong woman, but now I truly believe it. To know that so many people get weight loss surgery and it just doesn’t work for them, it makes me feel stronger and gives me such a sense of pride to know have come this far. That I am able to follow the rules and stick to what I am supposed to and not throw up, is a huge thing. Now I don’t need a seat belt extender on an airplane. When I park really close to another car, I can squeeze out without my car door hitting the other car. I can fit into chairs. I can cross my legs. I have had to move my seat up in my car. I have been able to shop in non-plus size stores. Normal jewelry fits me,” said Parks about the little things she enjoys about her weight loss.

Before her sleeve gastrectomy surgery, Jade Parks weighed 350 pounds. Parks with her nephew Cyles Parks and niece Kerrigyn Parks shortly before her surgery. Photo courtesy/ Jade Parks — Before her sleeve gastrectomy surgery, Jade Parks weighed 350 pounds. Parks with her nephew Cyles Parks and niece Kerrigyn Parks shortly before her surgery.
Photo courtesy/ Jade Parks

“You really have to know that this is something that you want and you are willing to make the sacrifices it takes to get it done, and do it the right way. A lot of people think they are ready because they are just tired of being big for so long, but it is a hard road. It is a good idea to be in therapy or something to help you through the journey, because when you can no longer use food as your coping mechanism, you need to be able to work through your emotions and whatever life is throwing at you. In the end it is worth it. I wouldn’t take it back for anything,” said Parks, who plans to continue her doctors’ diet plan, working out and living a healthier life.

“I am never going back to 350 pounds. I am never going to go back to a size 26. I am never going back to using food as a way to deal with life.”

September is National Preparedness Month

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

According to Ready.gov, research indicates individuals “who believe they are prepared for disasters often are not as prepared as they think,” while others may not be prepared at all. Imagine you are at work when an earthquake strikes your city leaving phone lines down, roads inaccessible, and you separated from you family. What is your plan?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency states that most disaster situations strike when families are not together. Being prepared beforehand can help reduce stress and length of time apart, and prevent further emergency situations.

Knowing who to call, where to meet and what to pack should be included in your family emergency plan, along with practicing that plan on a regular basis.

FEMA suggests sending text messages to contact one another in the event of emergency as phone lines become overloaded and calls are disrupted. You can also create contact cards for each family member that includes how you will communicate in different scenarios, and list out-of-state family members to notify that you are safe. Programming an “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) contact in your phone is also suggested. This can cut down time in an accident for emergency personnel to notify your family of your well-being.

An escape route should also be included in your emergency plan, such as meeting at a local store near your home. It is a good idea to include multiple meeting places in your plan according to your place of work, school, or children’s after-school activities, as disasters can happen at anytime.

Assembling an emergency kit for your home and car can increase your chance of survival until help arrives. Your kit should include enough supplies for at least three days and include important medication, non-perishable food and a gallon of water for each person in your house. Other things that should be considered for your kit include, flashlights, batteries, first aid kits, whistles to signal help, battery powered or solar cell phone chargers, tarps and duct tape for shelter, and a battery-powered radio or hand crank radio.

Knowing your communities emergency plan during different disasters will help your local first responders focus more on aiding people in critical incidents such as fires and collapsed buildings.

Getting involved in your community and receiving training through community emergency response teams, Medical Reserve Corps or your local emergency organizations can help keep your family and community safe from further risks and threats due to disasters.

For more information on preparing an emergency plan for your family, please visit the website www.ready.gov or search Tulalip Medical Reserve Corps at www.medicalreservecorps.org.

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

Burke Museum Hopes To Bring Original Kwakwaka’wakw Seahawks Mask to Seattle

By Kelton Sears, Seattle Weekly

During the apex of Seahawks fever earlier this year, U.W. art students began researching the origins of the team’s logo. When they asked Burke Museum curator Robin K. Wright, she remembered a conversation she had with a past curator who identified the source as a photo in a 1950’s book of Northwest coastal art.

After a bit more research, students found the inspiration was a photo of a transformation eagle mask from the Kwakwaka’wakw—an indigenous tribe from British Columbia. After poking around some more, the director of the Hudson museum at the University of Maine revealed that the original mask was in their collection, and are now willing to lend the mask to the Burke for display in November.

The Burke Museum has launched a Power2Give campaign to pay for the conservation, insurance, and shipping of the mask. Those who donate will get an early look at the mask during the exhibit’s opening.

Until then, check out some amazing Kwakwaka’wakw dance:

“If We Cannot Escape, Neither Will the Coal”

Northwest Tribes and First Nations block fossil fuel exports.

Eric de Place (@Eric_deP) and Nick Abraham, Sightline Daily, September 8, 2014

Across the Northwest, Native communities are refusing to stand idle in the face of unprecedented schemes to move coal, oil, and gas through the region. It’s a movement that could well have consequences for global energy markets, and even the pace of climate change.

Now is a good moment for pausing to examine some of the seminal moments of resistance from tribal opposition to fossil fuel exports. Yesterday, the second Totem Pole Journey came to an end with a totem pole raising ceremony at the Beaver Lake Cree Nation in Alberta. As it did last year, the journey showcased the tremendous breadth and depth of indigenous opposition to coal and oil schemes—spanning Native communities from coastal forests to the high plains interior of North America.

The journey was a reminder not only of the particular moral authority of the tribes and First Nations in the face of fossil plans, but also the fact that they are uniquely equipped to arrest these export plans.

British Columbia

Like the United States, Canada is in the midst of a natural gas boom. The industry is trying desperately to move its products to foreign markets, but concerns about public health, fishing rights, and environmental damage have First Nations raising red flags.

Many of the First Nations in British Columbia have banded together against a liquid natural gas facility at Fort Nelson in northeast BC. At what is now being called the “Fort Nelson Incident” Chief Sharleen Gale gave a rousing speech, saying:

My elders said, you treat people kind, you treat people with respect… even when they are stabbing you in the back. So I respectfully ask government to please remove yourselves from the room.

Gale later asked LNG representatives to leave as well, and the event galvanized the BC aboriginal community. Since then, no fewer than 28 BC First Nation organizations have signed a declaration to put the facility on hold.

Elsewhere in the province, aboriginal communities have been in a long standoff with proponents of the highly controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline, a proposal that would move tar sands oil from Alberta to port facilities in BC where it would be transferred to tankers that would move the crude to Pacific markets. At least 50 First Nation leaders and 130 organizations have signed the “Save the Fraser Declaration.” Citing concerns over water quality, fishing, treaty rights, and sovereignty, nine coastal First Nations even went so far as to preemptively ban oil tankers in their territorial waters.

The Canadian federal government gave approval to the Northern Gateway Pipeline in June, and women of the Gitga’at Nation did not take it lying down. In protest, they stretched a 4.5 kilometer (2.7 mile) crochet chain across the narrow channel near Kitimat, where the export facility is proposed to be built.

“It’s to show that we’re prepared to do what it takes to stop them because we can’t let it happen. It’s the death of our community, our culture,” said Lynne Hill, who generated the idea.

Now, similar opposition is mounting against Kinder Morgan’s planned Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion in southern BC, and BC First Nations are challenging it in court.

Lillian Sam, aboriginal elder from the Nak’al Koh River region, put the situation in perspective:

You cannot eat money…you see the devastation of the oil sands: a huge part of that land is no good. What’s going to happen to us? What’s going to happen to our children?

The US Northwest

Like their neighbors to the north, Washington Tribes have had major concerns over fossil fuel exports, not to mention the way they have been treated by proponents of the projects.

In 2011, the would-be builder of the Gateway Pacific coal terminal near Bellingham got into hot water with permitting agencies after it was discovered that they had begun construction without approval. Not only did construction crews destroy acres of sensitive wetlands, they also damaged local Lummi Nation burial grounds.

It was a not-so-subtle “accident” and was the last straw for many in the local tribal community. The Lummi subsequently burned a mock check from the terminal proponents at the site of the planned coal terminal. It was a pivotal moment for activism in the Northwest.

Opposition from the tribes can be a tremendous barrier for the coal, oil, and gas industries to surmount. Above and beyond their sovereignty, most of the Northwest tribes have specific fishing rights guaranteed to them in their treaties with the US government, rights that were subsequently reaffirmed and clarified by the Boldt Decision of 1974. Those tribes have firm legal footing for demanding access to their “usual and accustomed” fishing grounds, which include most of the places where fuel terminals would be located.

Other Puget Sound tribes have also made it publicly clear that they are firmly against coal exports. In April of last year, tribal leaders joined then-Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn in the Leadership Alliance, a coalition against coal export.

Said Tulalip Tribes Chairman Melvin Sheldon:

When it comes to coal… the negative potential of what it does to our Northwest—we stand with you to say no to coal. As a matter of fact, the Tulalip say ‘hell no’ to coal.

Brian Cladoosby, chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and one of the state’s most influential Native American leaders, declared:

For thousands of years, Washington State tribes have fought to protect all that is important for those who call this great state home. We as leaders need to protect our treaty resources, our economies, and the human health of our citizens and neighbors.

The Nisqually Tribe likewise has submitted thorough public comment in opposition to a giant coal terminal planned for Longview, Washington. Beloved tribal leader Billy Frank, Jr., who recently passed away, was a persistent voice in opposition to Northwest fossil fuel exports. In one of the last things he wrote, he declared his solidarity with the Quinault Nation, who are fighting against a trio of oil terminals proposed in Grays Harbor Washington. Frank wrote:

The few jobs that the transport and export of coal and oil offer would come at the cost of catastrophic damage to our environment for years. Everyone knows that oil and water don’t mix, and neither do oil and fish, oil and wildlife, or oil and just about everything else. It’s not a matter of whether spills will happen, it’s a matter of when.

East of the Cascades, too, Native opposition has been fierce. The Yakama Tribe came out publicly and powerfully against Ambre’s proposed coal export facility in eastern Oregon, once again citing tribal fishing rights. Yakama protests and tenacity, in conjunction with other regional tribes like the Warm Spring and the Nez Perce, were a major factor in the proposal not being permitted. In Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation also joined the Yakama in opposition to coal on the Columbia River, batting down ham-fisted attempts by the industry to buy tribal support.

Networks of tribes, like the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), also voiced their strong concerns about what the proposals would be mean for their communities. The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission also declared its strong opposition to oil exports from the proposed site at Grays Harbor, highlighting fishing disruption in the Puget Sound, health problems in their communities, and pollution.

In fact, the 57 nations that make up the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians unanimously voted in May of 2013 to officially oppose all fossil fuel export facilities in the Northwest.

Paul Lumley, executive director of the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, may have put the tribal community’s view most clearly:

Our communities are wedged between the railroad and the river. We’ve got nowhere to escape. If we cannot escape, neither will the coal.

Lumley’s words are proving prescient. Last month, yet another Northwest coal export terminal was dealt what was likely a fatal blow. The Oregon Department of State Lands denied a crucial permit to Ambre Energy, which plans to ship coal from a site on the Columbia River. Among the most influential factors the state agency cited for its decision: tribal sovereignty.

The decision was, in some ways, recognition of the power that the region’s tribes and First Nations can exercise over the fossil fuel infrastructure projects that are cropping up across the Northwest. By asserting treaty rights and voicing cultural concerns, tribes are presenting a major barrier—are a key part of the thin green line—to a reckless expansion of coal, oil, and gas schemes.

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Marysville educator recognized for advocating for Natives

Anthony Craig, co-principal of Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary, received the “Outstanding Young Educator” award on Sept. 2.

Christopher AnderssonAnthony Craig (center), co-principal of Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary, stands with his wife and children next to him and Marysville education leaders behind him after being given the "Outstanding Young Educator" award during the Sept. 2 Marysville School Board meeting. — Christopher Andersson
Anthony Craig (center), co-principal of Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary, stands with his wife and children next to him and Marysville education leaders behind him after being given the “Outstanding Young Educator” award during the Sept. 2 Marysville School Board meeting.

By Christopher Andersson, North County Outlook

The co-principal of Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary, Anthony Craig, was recognized by a prominent Washington education group as their “Outstanding Young Educator” of the year.

Craig, who is of Native American heritage himself, was recognized for bringing “culturally competent” practices to his school and being an advocate for Native American students.

The Washington State Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (WSASCD) announced the award during the Sept. 2 school board meeting.

“The Outstanding Young Educator award is our way of recognizing an emerging educational leader and share his or her exemplary practices with the education community at large,” said Art Jarvis, executive director of WSASCD.

Craig said he was humbled with the award and thanked his colleagues and everyone who has helped him to serve the students.

“I do this to serve my community, but also because my grandmother worked very hard so that I could go to college and be a teacher,” he said. “I once asked her what she wanted to do and she said ‘I wanted to be a teacher, but Indians didn’t go to college then, so you can do that.’ So I stand on the shoulders of a lot of people that came before me.”

Craig completed his Doctorate in Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington in 2012.

Since then he has become a published author in the Journal of Staff Development and will write a full chapter in the upcoming book “Narrowing the Achievement Gap for Native American Students: Paying the Education Debt.”

Craig is committed to social justice and advocating in various roles for his students, according to a peer statement read by director of teaching and learning at the district, Kyle Kinoshita.

“Over the years he worked at Tulalip he provided exceptional instructional leadership,” read Kinoshita. “The evidence was seen in the classroom where instructional improvement was traceable to how Anthony modeled, supported and led the learning of the teachers he worked with and demonstrated some of his early leadership capabilities.”

This leadership led him to become co-principal of Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary and help provide space for all his students.

“Dr. Craig has shown a deep commitment to serving the students in the school and creating an identity-safe place for all students. He has had the courage to confront racism and elitism in a culture of low expectations and done so in a way that unites people, rather than as a way that divides,” wrote Marysville superintendent Becky Berg in a statement.

Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary still sees low scores on state assessments, however Berg points to the improvements that early grades have shown with high levels of achievement in district assessments.

She says the culturally competent practices and data teams implemented by Craig have helped to better engage with Native American students.

Despite the scores, Berg praised the school as “one of the most successful she has ever seen” when it comes to rebuilding education for tribal students

“Yes, the students are not at an acceptable state achievement level yet, but it takes more than three years to reverse decades of malpractice when it comes to the needs of First Nations children,” she wrote.

Coal Export Backers Appeal Permit Denial For Columbia River Project

By Cassandra Profita, OPB

The developer of the proposed Morrow Pacific coal export project, as well as two project supporters, have appealed the state of Oregon’s decision to deny a permit for a dock on the Columbia River.

The state of Wyoming, the Port of Morrow and project developer Ambre Energy have all challenged the state’s permit denial by requesting a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge, according to Julie Curtis, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of State Lands. The deadline to request a hearing is Monday.

Leaders at the Port of Morrow and the governor of Wyoming have expressed support for the project in the past because of the economic benefits and jobs it would create.

The Morrow Pacific coal export project needs a permit from the Oregon Department of State Lands to build a dock for coal barges on the Columbia River. The project would ship nearly 9 million tons of coal from Wyoming and Montana to Asia. It would transfer coal shipments from trains to barges at the Port of Morrow in Boardman, Oregon, and load the coal onto ships at a dock downriver in Clatskanie, Oregon.

Last month, the state denied the company’s coal dock permit application, saying that the project conflicts with the state’s policy of protecting its water resources and fisheries on the Columbia River.

Everett King, president and CEO of Ambre Energy North America, explained his company’s decision to appeal the state’s permit denial in a news release.

“The permitting process for a rail-to-barge facility should be project-specific and not influenced by the commodities involved,” he said. “It’s pretty clear the politics of coal overshadowed this process from the beginning.”

In its appeal, Ambre Energy argues that the state did not fairly evaluate the company’s permit application and improperly elevated “special interests” above “long-standing” port industrial uses. It also argues that the state went beyond the scope of review it has done in the past for similar permits.

“DSL exceeded its lawful authority while ignoring its legal obligations,” the company wrote in its appeal. “The decision must be reversed.”

Gary Neal, general manager of the Port of Morrow, said the state’s permit denial could have negative implications for his port that extend beyond the Morrow Pacific project.

“Not only does this permit denial create a road block for the well-designed Morrow Pacific project – it sets new regulatory precedent that has the risk of shutting down future development opportunities at the Port of Morrow,” he said. “We are appealing so that this political decision does not limit economic opportunity in rural Oregon.”

Opponents of the Morrow Pacific project criticized the company’s decision to appeal.

“The State of Oregon and the people of Oregon overwhelmingly rejected coal export because we are choosing a better future,” Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper, said in a news release. “Ambre’s appeal is a last-minute and desperate attempt to just keep hanging on. Coal is too dirty and would degrade our salmon economy.”

The Oregon Department of State Lands allows anyone who participated in the public comment process and who would be adversely affected by the permitting decision to appeal. The Oregon Department of State Lands director will decide whether the appeals have legal merit before setting a hearing date before an administrative law judge.

The permit denial followed a dispute between Columbia River tribes and project developer Ambre Energy over tribal fishing at the proposed dock site. Members of four Columbia River tribes told the state they fish at the proposed dock site, and asked the state to deny the permit to ensure their treaty fishing rights are upheld. Ambre Energy disputed those claims and argued that the dock wouldn’t interfere with tribal fisheries.

The Morrow Pacific project is one of three coal export proposals in the Northwest. The two others would transfer coal from trains to ships in Longview, Washington, on the Columbia River and near Bellingham, Washington, on Puget Sound.