Residents of San Juan Island, Washington, the original home of the Lummi, Samish and Songhees peoples, are raising money for the care and preservation of house posts that overlook the harbor in the port town of Friday Harbor.
The house posts were carved by noted artist Susan Point, Musqueam, and acquired by residents 10 years ago to publicly honor the indigenous heritage of the island. The house posts, titled Interaction, tell the story of the interdependence of humans and animals in caring for the environment that sustains them.
“From the time of its unveiling, Interaction has become a gathering place for islanders and visitors—especially children, awed by the sculpture’s size, engaging motif, and deep, colorful carvings,” Barbara Marrett writes, in an article posted to SanJuanJournal.com. “Because children are drawn to touching the cougar scratches on the woman’s leg, over the years the paint and wood [have] been worn down in this area and other places where they have been loved and climbed upon.”
‘Interaction’ house posts by Susan Point. Source: susanpoint.com.
Interaction, which cost $65,000 in 2004, is now estimated to be worth $400,000, according to Marrett.
The house posts will be restored and repainted by a team of artists from Point’s studio. A community/Tribal celebration will follow the completion. Questions: Linda@sjihome.com.
Tracy Rector/Longhouse Media The Heiltsuk First Nation is hosting 31 canoes from Pacific Northwest indigenous nations. That number was provided by the manager of the Paddle to Bella Bella Facebook page. Canoes arrived July 13; the week of cultural celebration continues through July 19.
En route to the territory of the Heiltsuk First Nation, pullers in the 2014 Canoe Journey traveled through territory so beautiful it will be impossible to forget: Rugged, forested coastlines; island-dotted straits and narrow, glacier-carved passages; through Johnstone Strait, home of the largest resident pod of orcas in the world, and along the shores of the Great Bear Rainforest, one of the largest remaining tracts of unspoiled temperate rainforest left in the world.
They also traveled waters that are increasingly polluted and under threat.
Pullers traveled the marine highways of their ancestors, past Victoria, British Columbia, which dumps filtered, untreated sewage into the Salish Sea. They traveled the routes that U.S. energy company Kinder Morgan plans to use to ship 400 tanker loads of heavy crude oil each year.
Canoes traveling from the north passed the inlets leading to Kitimat, where heavy crude from Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway pipeline would be loaded onto tankers bound for Asia, a project that Canada approved on June 17.
Canoes from the Lummi Nation near Bellingham passed Cherry Point, a sacred and environmentally sensitive area where Gateway Pacific proposes a coal train terminal; early site preparation was done without permits and desecrated ancestral burials.
Canoes from Northwest indigenous nations arrived in Bella Bella, British Columbia on July 13; the gathering continues until July 19 with cultural celebrations, a rally against Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, and an indigenous economic summit. The ceremonies are being livestreamed online at Tribal Canoe Journeys 2014 :: Qatuwas Bella Bella.
Mike Williams Sr., chief of the Yupiit Nation and member of the board of First Stewards, noted that the Canoe Journey route calls attention to the fragile environment that’s at stake. First Stewards, an indigenous environmental advocacy group, will host a symposium on “Sustainability, Climate Change & Traditional Places” from July 21–23 in Washington, D.C.
“The Canoe Journey is a really big statement to us to hang onto our culture and our way of life, and to bind people together,” said Williams, who is also a well-known musher. “In the Iditarod, there are pristine places but there are also old mining towns [on the route] where we’re told not to drink the water.”
The parallels between the water issues encountered on the Iditarod and the Canoe Journey are unmistakable, he added.
“In the Canoe Journey, there are pristine waters and there are waters that contains toxic substances,” Williams said. “There’s oil and the continuous leaking of pipelines. It happens.”
Not only does it happen, but it does not go away. Prince William Sound has never totally recovered from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Williams said. Likewise, he added, if the Northern Gateway pipeline, the coal trains and increased shipping come to fruition, an environmental disaster is inevitable.
“It’s going to happen,” Williams said. “There has to be total, thoughtful conversation for everyone—consider all the possible impacts. And there has to be meaningful consultation with the tribes. They have to weigh in on that. We’ve got to make it 100 percent fail-safe or don’t do it.”
The Heiltsuk First Nation’s hosting of the 2014 Canoe Journey included a rally against the Enbridge pipeline. Canoes arrived in Bella Bella, B.C., on July 13; the week of cultural celebration continues through July 19. (Photo: Tracy Rector/Longhouse Media)
State Senator John McCoy, D-Tulalip, is a citizen of the Tulalip Tribes. He is the ranking member of the Senate Energy, Environment & Telecommunications Committee, which focuses on such issues as climate change, water quality, toxic chemical use reduction and cleanup, and management of storm water and wastewater.
“I think the message is, pollution is occurring everywhere,” McCoy said of the takeaway from the Canoe Journey. “It’s a worldwide problem, and it needs to be addressed. If we keep polluting our water, we’re going to be in big trouble. Water is the essence of life.”
Canoes were underway for Bella Bella on July 9 as Governor Jay Inslee announced that he wants to increase the recommended fish-consumption rate in the state from 6.5 grams to 175 grams a day—that’s good news for indigenous peoples, for whom fish is important culturally, spiritually and as a food. But for 175 grams of fish to be considered safe to eat, businesses that pollute will have to conform to tougher pollution control standards.
Inslee’s plan for how toxic substances will be controlled in expected in December. It will require legislation, McCoy said.
Jewell James is coordinator of the Lummi Treaty Protection Task Force and a leader in the effort to prevent a coal train terminal from being built at Cherry Point, a sacred area for the Lummi people and an important spawning ground for herring, an important food for salmon.
James said environmental degradation is just part of a series of historical traumas set upon Indigenous Peoples: First, the diseases that came after contact; then the treaty era and the relocation to reservations; then the cultural and spiritual oppression of the boarding school era, and then the termination era.
“Yet we continue to exist,” James said. And the Canoe Journey, now in its 23rd year, has helped “revitalize and breathe new life into our cultural knowledge” given that journey gatherings are venues for the passing down of stories about how the ancestors lived in and cared for the environment that sustained them.
James hopes people on the Canoe Journey connect with and carry on those stories and values.
“There are messages in those stories,” he said. “And within those stories there are sacred symbols that mean something—that you have to be careful with what you do, and others have to be careful with what they do, to Mother Earth.”
Alabama Forestry Commission officials say firefighters from throughout the state are helping respond to wildfires in Oregon and Washington state.
Officials said in a release Tuesday that five firefighters have been sent to tackle wildfires in Oregon and two have been sent to battle a blaze in Washington State.
Alabama State Forester Greg Pate says Alabama Forestry Commission firefighters accepted a 16-day assignment through an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service and have previously helped fight western wildfires in recent years.
Forestry officials say Alabama has seen measurable rainfall this summer while many western states are faced with drought conditions. Officials say the dry conditions allow wildfires to quickly become difficult to control.
Ben Woodward looks up at a sign commemorating the moment of the Oso mudslide. The wooden memorial was attached to a towering spruce tree, one of the few in the debris field left standing after the disaster. (AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Joshua Trujillo)
EVERETT, Wash. – The Snohomish County sheriff’s office says search and rescue personnel believe they have located the last body from the deadly March 22 mudslide that killed 43 people at Oso.
Although the search for victims ended in April, workers have been screening debris and watching for the body of 44-year-old Molly Kristine “Kris” Regelbrugge.
Details were expected to be released at a news conference Tuesday afternoon in Everett.
Her husband, Navy Cmdr. John Regelbrugge III, also was killed in the slide that hit their home. His body was one of the 42 recovered earlier.
The discovery came on the same day that a team of scientists released the results of a report into the causes of the deadly mudslide.
The report says intense rainfall likely played a major role in triggering the slide, but that many other factors also contributed, such as previous landslide activity that also weakened the slope that collapsed.
The team says the slide, the deadliest in U.S. history, occurred in two major stages. A fast-moving mudflow remobilized a 2006 slide, bringing down old slide deposits across the valley. Another slide followed a few minutes later.
The report makes several broad recommendations that include doing an examination of landslide risks and communicating the information to the public.
Indigenious to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon-Grape resembles the Holly with its green leaves and produces deep bluish purple berries that have a tart taste when consumed, and are part of the traditional diet of tribes located in the Pacific Northwest. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil
Spotlight on the Oregon-Grape
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
You might have noticed the blooming of flowers, foliage, and other plant species occurring as our summer season kicks into high gear. The abundance of sunshine has increased outdoor activities where these blooming specimens have been the main attraction for people out for a stroll.
As you grab your walking shoes to enjoy some of that summer sun, keep your eyes peeled for a flowering plant native to western North America called the Oregon-Grape, or M. aquifolium for you plant enthusiasts.
The Oregon-Grape is a cousin to the Goldenseal plant and known to be bitter due to a presence of alkaloids including berberine. There are many types of Oregon-Grape, but the tall variety can grow up to 8 feet tall, while the dwarf variety will only grow a few feet in height. Other types include cascade, low, and creeping Oregon-Grape.
All varieties feature stiff branches with leaves that will remind you of Holly with their glossy prickly leaves, which are deep green on top and silvery underneath. Flowers are yellow and bloom in late spring, followed by the presence of small bluish-black berries sprouting in clusters from its branches resembling true grapes, from which it takes its namesake. Berries, ripe from July until September, and have a tart taste with earthy undertones.
As a Northwest perennial, Oregon-Grape is prized for its beauty and heartiness which has made it an excellent choice for city landscapers.
The plant also has a variety of medicinal uses thanks to that bitterness, which has been used by Coast Salish tribes to help stimulate liver function, aid digestion, and used as a laxative.
Oregon-Grape is a great addition to gardens with its vibrant foliage, flowers and berries which will create a colorful splash in shady or woodland plantings. Its ability to survive summer droughts and its tolerance for poor soils make it an easy plant for gardeners to enjoy.
Oregon-Grape is used in herbal remedies for infections and to improve digestion and live function. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
Oregon Grape planted near the Tulalip Administration Building is used as a natural filter to clean water runoff before it reaches the Tulalip Bay, and should not be harvested for traditional use. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
WORLEY, Idaho (AP) — A Native American tribe has canceled an Aug. 4 concert by Ted Nugent at its casino.
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe on Monday said that the cancellation of the concert at the casino in the northwest Idaho city of Worley was because of the rocker’s “racist and hate-filled remarks.”
The tribe says it booked Nugent without realizing he espoused “racist attitudes and views.” The tribe did not detail which of Nugent’s specific views it opposes.
Officials for Nugent’s music management company were out of the office on Monday and not available for comment.
Nugent in the past has referred to President Barack Obama as a “subhuman mongrel.” Nugent later apologized “for using the street fight terminology of subhuman mongrel.” But he maintained that Obama was a “liar” violating the Constitution.
The National Indian Education Association will be returning to Alaska for their 45th Annual Convention and Tradeshow. The four-day Convention will take place at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in downtown Anchorage from 15-18 October 2014.
The 2,000 teachers, school administrators, tribal leaders, and higher education faculty expected to attend NIEA 2014 will have daily agendas packed with more than 100 workshops focusing on advancing educational programs for Native students.
NIEA President Pamela Agoyo noted that, “Being home to 229 federally recognized tribes, Alaska is rich in Native history and educational leadership at the tribal level, which makes it the ideal location to host our 2014 annual conference.”
Native education stakeholders incorporated NIEA in 1970. The membership-driven organization has since been dedicated to the mission of advancing quality education for all American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian peoples. The Association’s 2,500 members work each day to strengthen Native educational opportunities while also preserving the unique cultures and languages of Native Americans.
For more information about NIEA 2014 or to inquire about attending the convention as a member, sponsor, or tradeshow exhibitor, please visit their website at www.niea.org
The drought in California is exacerbating the effect that illegal marijuana farms have on the Yurok ’s water supply, and on July 21 federal and state agencies raided several properties on or adjoining the reservation along the Klamath River.
The raid was conducted at Yurok officials’ request, the Los Angeles Times reported, and involved the California National Guard, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Justice’ North State Marijuana Investigation Team, and Yurok police. Operation Yurok, as it was called, was coordinated by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Drug Enforcement Unit.
The Yurok are not the only ones contending with the effects of illegal pot grows on their lands. The Hoopa Tribe has been actively combating incursions as well.
Even without the ongoing and worsening drought, the farms put a strain on Yurok life in a number of ways. Rat poison kills sacred fish and other animals, lower water levels become too warm and unhealthy for salmon to spawn in, and water pressure is just about nil on the reservation.
“They’re stealing millions and millions of gallons of water, and it’s impacting our ecosystem,” Yurok Tribal Chairman Thomas O’Rourke said during the raid, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We can no longer make it into our dance places, our women and children can’t leave the road to gather. We can’t hunt. We can’t live the life we’ve lived for thousands of years.”
Not only that, but access to one sacred ceremonial site is blocked by a pot farm, O’Rourke told the Los Angeles Times. And growers have become brazen enough to trundle supplies to and from the farms in broad daylight.
“We are coming close to being prisoners in our own land,” O’Rourke said. “Everything we stand for, everything we do is impacted.”
So far, more than 150 homes in Washington state have been destroyed in what veteran firefighters are calling the worst fire season in decades.
Fires have scorched thousands of acres of ranchland in southeast Oregon.
Credit Brooke Nyman / Oregon Cattleman’s Association
In neighboring Oregon, firefighters are stretched thin by more than a dozen blazes burning at once.
Veteran firefighter Al Lawson came to a community meeting in central Washington to meet with residents displaced by the raging Carlton Complex Fire. It’s among the largest wildfires in the state’s recorded history.
“In my 30 years, I’ve never seen fire behavior like this,” he said. “Nothing to compare.”
Governor Jay Inslee toured the devastation over the weekend. He called it an unprecedented firestorm.
“Our state is stretched beyond imagination,” he said.
Inslee says the fact that it’s only mid-July is an ominous sign.
“Typically the fire season doesn’t really get going until August,” he said. “So we have at least two more months in the fire season and we have already burned twice as many acres as the average.”
Oregon has been spared the same level of devastation in terms of lost property. But the Oregon Department of Forestry says so far the sheer number of acres burned this summer is seven times more than a typical fire season.
On a more positive note, the agency’s Cynthia Orlando says cooler weather for the next few days could help slow things down.
“We’re getting a lit bit of a respite but you know, everybody’s on alert here,” Orlando said.
Temperatures are expected to soar back into the 90s by the end of the week.
