Participants to the Wednesday, May 7, Lushootseed Family Night learned the Little Prayer and basic home phrases. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
A family approach to Lushootseed language
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Tulalip Lushootseed Family Night began their summer series on Wednesday, May 7. The informal classes, held weekly until July at the Hibulb Cultural Center are designed to encourage daily Lushootseed use in the home via basic words or phrases, such as “good morning, how are you” and “clean your room.”
Curriculum is based on participant requests and sections of the Lushootseed Language 101 college course through Northwest Indian College.
Natosha Gobin, Tulalip Lushootseed teacher, will be teaching this summer’s Lushootseed Family Night series. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
“Anyone is welcome to attend whether Tulalip tribal member or not. There is no age limit and although we call it Family Night, anyone is welcome to attend,” said Natosha Gobin, Tulalip Lushootseed teacher.
Through the use of crafts, storytelling, songs and games, kids are able to learn the same curriculum as the adult participants, this helps encourage fluency in the household.
“The classes are laid back and intended to empower the speakers within ourselves,” said Gobin, who stresses that participants needn’t fear mispronunciation or fear of learning the language. “Our goal is to find the best ways to bring Lushootseed into the home.”
Lushootseed Family Nights are held Wednesday’s at 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Hibulb Cultural Center classrooms. Materials and lessons are free of cost, and dinner is provided.
OLYMPIA – Sen. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, has been named to a new Joint Select Task Force on Nuclear Energy.
McCoy, the ranking member on the Senate Energy, Environment & Telecommunications Committee, will be one of eight legislators tasked with studying the viability of increased nuclear power production as a tool in reducing the state’s use of carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
“It’s crucial we take a close look at all potential renewable resources, including nuclear energy,” McCoy said. “At the same time, it’s also important that we gather all the facts and make informed decisions about our state’s clean energy future.”
The task force is expected to hold up to four meetings, including two in Richland. The task force is composed of equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats from the state House and Senate and will report their findings to the Legislature by Dec. 1.
Source: The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition
People and salmon alike will benefit from a new project to protect Smith Island outside of Everett.
The Recreation and Conservation Office recently announced that the restoration of the Smith Island estuary would receive a grant from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. This estuary is part of the Snohomish River system, which provides the second largest volume of freshwater entering Puget Sound from a single source.
“This project will provide immense benefits, restoring salmon habitat and protecting our water quality for the next generation,” said Senator John McCoy (D-Tulalip) . “The WWRP is a critical investment in our outdoors that is essential to preserving our quality of life.”
This single project represents nearly 5% of the entire Puget Sound Ecosystem Recovery estuary restoration target for 2020.
The local match combined with more than $15 million in federal and state grants from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board, and RCO brings the total funding amount to $16,001,958.
In addition to protecting water quality, the restoration of the Smith Island estuary will also provide new recreation access. Visitors will be able to witness wildlife in a rich tidal marsh habitat minutes from Everett’s urban core.
“Two thirds of WWRP projects protect or restore Puget Sound. This level of success would not be possible without dedicated legislators like Senator McCoy,” said Joanna Grist, executive director of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. “Smith Island is a prime example of how we can increase access to the outdoors while preserving the purity of our natural treasures.”
AP Image In this aerial photo taken from WTHR Chopper 13, FBI agents work around the home of 91-year-old Donald Miller in Waldron, Ind. on Wednesday, April 2, 2014. Authorities seized thousands of Native American, Russian, Chinese and other artifacts that have “immeasurable” cultural value from Miller’s private collection, the FBI said Wednesday. The items, which also came from Haiti, Australia, New Guinea and Peru, were collected by Miller over eight decades, FBI Special Agent Robert Jones said at a news conference.
The recent discovery by the FBI of a giant horde of Native artifacts and remains held by Don Miller in Rush County, Indiana offers an opportunity to take a deeper look into the eccentric, obsessive and sometimes shadowy world of such collecting.
Miller, 91, has been well known by as a collector of Indian and other artifacts for years. His collection includes the remains of over 100 Native ancestors, according to tribal leaders consulted by the FBI in the case. Many of the remains are labeled with names that can be traced to Native families alive today. “He had a head with an arrowhead stuck in it, like a skull and all kinds of Indian artifacts from arrowheads to hatchets to peace pipes to just anything,” neighbor Joe Runnebohm told theIndianapolis Star.
According to Drew Northern, FBI Supervisory Special Agent, the agency is reaching out to Tribal Historic Preservation Officers for assistance in repatriating items and remains found at Miller’s home. Within days of the find, the FBI coordinated a conference call and face-to-face meeting with THPO leaders at the Indianapolis office. “Building lasting relationships with tribes and repatriation is our goal,” Northern said.
Although early news reports described the FBI removal of the artifacts and remains from Miller’s home as a raid, later reports indicated that Miller is cooperating with authorities and had invited them into his home to take the items.
The exterior of Don Miller’s home in Rush County, Indiana, where artifacts were found. (Pember)
Although Agent Northern would not discuss how Miller came to the attention of the FBI, it seems likely that the collector may have been trying to sell or donate his artifacts. According to the Greensburg Daily News, Miller recently offered his collection to the Rush County Historical Society. Since the organization has limited space, leaders declined his offer.
Many of today’s natural history museums collections are based on donations from wealthy antiquarians wishing to leave personal legacies, says Christopher Moore, professor of Anthropology at the University of Indianpolis. “As colonial empires expanded in the 18th and 19th century, wealthy travelers would bring strange things back with them, often amassing huge collections that they displayed in their homes.”
This colonial practice continues today. Miller amassed his collection during 52 years of world travel as a missionary. He made no secret of his collection and frequently invited school groups and neighbors in to see his private museum, that included not only Native artifacts and remains but also cultural items from all over the world. A 1992 piece in the Indianapolis Star told the story of Miller and his personal museum.
Although some of the items in his collection may have been acquired illegally, no charges have been brought against Miller. Many of the artifacts were found by Miller during his travels, but he has so many items that it seems reasonable to assume he also bought or traded.
According to a Native artifacts dealer who asked to remain anonymous, Miller was a regular at artifact shows in the region.
Miller could not be reached for comment. Several prominent signs are currently posted along the property line of his Rush County home warning that trespassers will be prosecuted.
We may never learn complete details about Millers great horde and what drove him to amass it. His story, however, brings up tantalizing questions about those who are compelled to dig the earth in search of such treasures.
The subculture of artifact hunting, collecting, trading and selling spans an enormous spectrum from benign to bizarre, and involves a vast array of participants, from aging missionaries to meth heads.
Although the general public opinion regarding the legality and damage of digging for and collecting artifacts is slow to change, authorities are stepping up efforts to address this practice.
Bambi Kraus, President of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers describes the FBI’s handling of the Miller case as a sea change for the agency. “This has never happened before that I know of, “ she said of the FBI’s decision to bring in tribes at the beginning of such an investigation.
“It was worth all those years of urging people to work with Indian tribes,” said Kraus.
Ben Barnes, second chief of the Shawnee tribe of Oklahoma, drove to Indianapolis to participate in the tribal consultation meeting with the FBI. He was impressed by agents’ displays of respect and concern especially regarding remains.
“The agents have been very active in making sure the ancestors are being taken care of; they are treating them respectfully and storing them in a special place away from other evidence.”
Past FBI investigations and seizures of Native artifacts have not ended as well such as the 2009 case in Utah.
One of those arrested during what then Interior Secretary Ken Salazar described as the biggest bust of Native artifact thieves, committed suicide. Residents of the region were outraged over what they described as heavy-handed tactics used by the FBI and the Bureau of Land Management, whose officers bust into suspects homes armed and wearing flak jackets.
Agent Northern did not respond directly to questions regarding the impact of the Utah case on the FBI’s handling of this case. “Our goal is to be as transparent,” he said, “mindful and respectful as possible and try to learn from what hasn’t gone well in the past.”
source: Waddington’s, via theglobeandmail.com Lot 22 – ‘Northern Plains Indian Child’s Tunic, early 19th century fringed and with beaded collar, showing signs of central bullet trauma.’
When the Toronto-based Waddington’s auction house held a pre-show viewing of items to be sold during its auction of the late William Jamieson’s collection, a blood-stained “Northern Plains Indian Child’s Tunic,” complete with a bullet hole, was among the items. An outpouring of anger ensued, and Waddington’s soon pulled the item from the listing.
Responding to the outcry, Waddington’s President Duncan McLean told the Globe and Mail, “We don’t want to upset anybody, so are withdrawing the item and returning it to the consignor.”
Though Waddington’s responded by removing the item to be auctioned, several more native artifacts were auctioned from April 29th to May 1st, including a Pair of Lakota moccasins said to have been owned by Sitting Bull, which sold for $9,000, a Sioux Saddle blanket and pouch, which sold for $3,120, an Iroquois False Face Society Mask, which sold for $2,640, and more.
The child’s tunic was of interest to Jamieson because the garment had a bullet hole in the center of the chest and visible blood stains. Jamieson was known in the rare-item collectors world as the “Master of the Macabre” — a label backed up by his collection of items on auction at Waddington’s. In addition to the Native artifacts, other items listed at Waddington’s included an electric chair, a bone model of a guillotine, a medieval wrought-iron ‘Shame’ mask and more.
The items on sale at Waddington’s also caused an outcry from First Nations communities in Canada. In particular, the Haudenosaunee Council forbids the sale or exhibition of medicine masks.
Hayden King, a member of Beausoleil First Nation who teaches history and native politics at Ryerson University, told the Globe and Mail, “I’m generally of the belief that they should be returned. Some government agencies and museums agree, but the market includes many players who do not.”
“It all reflects this apparently endemic belief that native people are extinct, so we can do whatever we want with their stuff,” said King.
Sean Quinn, Waddington’s decorative arts specialist who appraised the tunic to be worth $2,000 to $3,000 told the Globe and Mail, “It was very, very difficult for me to catalogue [the tunic], because of its relation to a terrible period of history, the death of any child is horrific.”
When Jamieson died in 2011, his fiancée Jessica Phillips took to selling his collection, which also included authentic shrunken heads and necklaces made of human teeth. Though she says she agrees the tunic is a piece of history, it is up to the executors to decide where it ends up.
TAHOLAH — About two months ago, Marco Black heard the Pacific Ocean knocking at his back door.
“I was in the house at the time,” recalled Black, “The whole house shook.”
The Taholah native was experiencing a severe storm at his waterfront home. One wave broke the seawall separating the town from the ocean, forcing the barrier to collapse and knocking his smokehouse off its foundation.
More urgent than Black’s smokehouse are all the homes within Taholah. The town sits in a tsunami zone, and parts of the main community flood three-to-four times a year.
Since the storm, the Army Corps of Engineers has repaired the 36-year-old wall, but called it “a band-aid”, and not a permanent solution.
In search of something long-term, the tribe is pushing for a new tactic, one that has been talked about for decades but may finally happen.
Moving the town to higher ground.
“I think it’s a foregone conclusion,” explained tribal secretary Larry Ralston, “Taholah’s moving up the hill.”
Ralston said land has already been chosen for a new town, and a three-year study to find ways to make the move happen is currently underway.
The main issue is tsunami danger, but the rising tide of the Pacific Ocean is also a major concern.
“It’s not going to be easy,” continued Ralston, “There’s going to be some people that will hold out. They’ll refuse to leave.”
The main part of Taholah includes around 1,700 residents, the school, police and fire departments, the mercantile, the post office and a retirement home.
It’s also the location of many of the most important pieces of the Quinault Tribe’s ancestry.
“All that will go away,” said Ralston, “It’ll be just a memory.”
Black, whose family has lived near the ocean for decades, admits he’ll lose his land to the ocean one day. It’s a realization made reluctantly, but with the knowledge there are few other choices.
“It’s kind of my home land,” he said, “We’ve lived here all our life. If we have to do it, I guess we’ll have to do it.”
It is unclear how much it will cost to move Taholah. Action by the tribe and federal agencies could be years away, Ralston said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department issued an emergency order Wednesday requiring that railroads inform state emergency management officials about the movement of large shipments of crude oil through their states and urged shippers not to use older model tanks cars that are easily ruptured in accidents, even at slow speeds.
The emergency order requires that each railroad operating trains containing more than 1 million gallons of crude oil — the equivalent of about 35 tank cars — from the booming Bakken region of North Dakota, Montana and parts of Canada provide information on the trains’ expected movement, including frequency and county-by-county routes, to the states they traverse. The order also requires that railroads disclose the volume of oil being transported and how emergency responders can contact “at least one responsible party” at the railroad.
Much of the oil from the region is being shipped across the U.S. and Canada in trains of 100 cars or more that accident investigators have described as “moving pipelines.” The trains traverse small towns and big cities alike. Local and state officials, fire chiefs and other emergency responders have complained that they often have no information on the contents of the freight trains moving through communities and their schedules. Nor are they able to force railroads to provide that information, they say.
The department also issued a safety advisory urging shippers to use the most protective type of tank car in their fleets when shipping oil from the Bakken region. The order recommended that to the extent possible shippers not use older model tank cars known as DOT-111s. Accident investigators report the cars have ruptured or punctured, spilling their contents, even in accidents that occurred at speeds under 30 mph.
The tank cars are generally owned by or leased to oil companies that ship the crude, not the railroads.
The emergency order follows a warning two weeks ago from outgoing National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman that the department risks a “higher body count” as the result of fiery oil train accidents if it waits for new safety regulations to become final.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the moves at a Senate committee hearing Wednesday, saying the department was moving as fast as possible on new safety regulations for crude oil shipments. He said the department sent a proposal last week to the White House that included new tank-car standards and regulations on train speeds, and the safety classification of oil based on its volatility. He said he anticipated final regulations before the end of the year.
Unlike the emergency order, the safety advisory on tank cars is voluntary, noted Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. Pointing out that oil trains move through “every major city it in the Northwest … hitting every urban center in our state,” she pressed Foxx to move even faster on tougher tank-car standards that would have the force of law.
There have been nine oil train derailments in the U.S. and Canada since March of last year, many of them resulting in intense fires and sometimes the evacuation of nearby residents, according to the NTSB. The latest was last week, when a CSX train carrying Bakken crude derailed in downtown Lynchburg, Va., sending three tank cars into the James River and shooting flames and black smoke into the air. No one was injured, but the wreck prompted an evacuation of nearby buildings.
Concern about the safe transport of crude oil was heightened after a runaway oil train derailed and then exploded last July in the small town of Lac-Megantic in Canada, just across the border from Maine. More than 60 tank cars spilled more than 1.3 million gallons of oil. Forty-seven people were killed and 30 buildings destroyed in resulting inferno.
U.S. crude oil production is forecast to reach 8.5 million barrels a day by the end of this year, up from 5 million barrels a day in 2008. The increase is overwhelmingly due to the Bakken fracking boom. Fracking involves the fracturing of rock with pressurized liquid to free oil and natural gas unreachable through conventional drilling.
Railroad and oil industry officials had no immediate comment on the government’s action.
Self-taught Tulalip flutist, Cary Micheal Williams finds inspiration for his melodies from birds such as the water bird, owl and eagle. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Drummer and singer, 24 year-old Tulalip artist Cary Micheal Williams, is among a handful of Native American flute players paving the way in Tulalip for the instrument. As a self-taught flutist he is working on his first music album featuring original melodies. His overall goal is not to become commercialized, but rather to teach the craft and sacredness of the flute to the next generation.
Recently, Tulalip News/See-Yaht-Sub was able to sit down with Williams and discuss his music, teaching, and current music project.
SYS: How long have you been playing the flute?
Williams: I would say a solid seven years. I will be playing for the rest of my life, and teaching it too.
SYS: You are also a drummer so how did you get into playing the flute?
Williams: Yes and I also sing. It first started with me going to my grandpa. He was upstairs in his art room and I said, “I want to play the flute.” He said, one second, and went downstairs. My grandma and grandpa had already bought a flute and he brought it upstairs and gave me that flute. He said, “Your grandma said you better take care of it. It’s a really expensive flute.” Right when he handed me the flute I played a song. Instantly I knew how to play and it was amazing. I went downstairs and played a song for my grandma. The song has changed over time because the flute is different. I was going up a hill after playing on a cliff side and I fell and the flute broke. I recently bought this new flute and it sounds similar to that one.
SYS: How did you choose your flute?
Williams: This flute fits to me naturally. When I was in a prayer ceremony, I kind of felt this change. I was playing my other flute and a different note came out of it as I was playing. Later on down the road I bought this current flute. That connection was just there, so I picked it up. It is made of really high quality; it is yellow cedar, red wood, and turquoise. It has a yellow cedar borough too, so it has a different tone that will come out of it with different melodies.
SYS: It sounds like the flute is more than just an instrument to you, and there is a sacredness to be being a flutist.
Williams: Yes, because it is like its own life. I am honored to give the life into it and the melodies come from the birds. Every now and then I will just get a melody flowing through me and I will start playing it. The flute is very versatile, it can send out a message without much interaction. I noticed if you beat a drum, you shake everything up, but if you were to play the flute you would attract way more people, and unity is what we need. That is what I stand behind with my flute, is bringing people together. I’ve always been that guy off to the side playing my flute.
SYS: You mentioned a difference between playing the flute and the drum; how do you go from hitting a drum to controlling your breathing in order to play the flute?
Williams: Singing really helps. It really opens up my diaphragm. My singing diaphragm is way lower so I am allowed to get more air out through the flute to my songs. When I stand up my diaphragm is more open, but also when I sit, I have more control over it. From being a singer from a young age my uncle taught me how to do techniques, he would make me lay on the floor and put books on my stomach and tell me to breath.
SYS: How often do you practice?
Williams: There’s just times where I will get this feeling and I’ll go grab my flute and start playing. I make sure I always have it with me wherever I go, even if I am in the city. If there is someone I run into, it’s like, “Hey I want to play you a flute song.” It’s not only healing for them but for me too.
SYS: Do you have a favorite melody so far?
Williams: I think all my songs are my favorite. I remember all my songs from my first flute to the one that I just received. I have this library of songs that run through my head.
SYS: Do you have a name for your album yet?
Williams: I think it would be named Sounds of the Birds, because every time I play I see birds on my flute, just bouncing around and I connect with them. I can hear all the birds singing with me.
SYS: Is there a particular bird that you draw inspiration from?
Williams: There isn’t one particular bird, more like a couple of birds. There is the eagle, woodpecker, blue jay, hummingbird, owl and I can’t forget the water bird. I get a lot of my songs from the birds and from the trees too. My favorite noise is when I tap on my flute keys. I don’t know why, but it is settling. Sometimes I have to play in front of a whole bunch of people and it is my way of grounding myself before I play.
SYS: Do you use sheet music for your songs?
Williams: No, it is all in my head. I have a friend that knows how to transfer the music into the periodic table and is working on putting it onto sheet music.
Some children have it [musical talent] naturally and some children have to learn it a different way. If I can master both the teachings [styles] then I will be able to hand it over. That’s what I am aiming for. I have been working on it for a long time. I didn’t know it would become my personal mission, but the flute is a gift for all people.
Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
SYS: There aren’t a lot of Tulalip flute players; there are mainly drummers and singers. Do you feel like you are helping to create a space for flutists in Tulalip?
Williams: Yes, for future flutists most definitely. My nephews are going to be flutists. I have them blow in the flute and I will push the keys for them. They are literally using their air, so it shows them that their air that is booting through the flute can do it.
SYS: Where do you want to take your music?
Williams: I believe I can take flutist of the year. I just have to keep moving down that road. My main drive is to allow the next generation to pick up the flute, because everyday it is there for me. I think it could be there for our children too, or whoever wants to learn. It is really good medicine for yourself and I found also it is good medicine for others, so I am always willing to share it. I was told that the melodies, harmonic tones and vibrations from the flute have healing power. It can heal wounds and feelings. Don’t limit it.
Brill Lee an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers, appraises a basket brought in by Tulalip citizen Lois Landgrebe, during the Hibulb Appraisal Day on May 3. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – It was basket extravaganza at the second Hibulb Appraisal Day on Saturday, May 3, when the center welcomed Brill Lee, an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers and independent appraiser, for the second time.
Almost a dozen guests attended the event, bringing more than a dozen items to be appraised. Items, unlike the first Hibulb Appraisal Day, were mainly baskets made by local Native American artists and Alaska Native weavers. The baskets displayed a wealth of weaving skill and tribal history.
Brill Lee examines a basket brought in by a tribal fisherman. The basekt-like structure was rescued from the Nooksack River and features weaving patterns and materials no indigenous to this area. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
The surprise of the day was a basket-like item rescued from the Nooksack River by a tribal fisherman. The basket featured weaving patterns and material not indigenous to this area and was referred to the Seattle Burke Museum for further study.
The center was gifted a pair of leather beaded gauntlet gloves, donated by guest Troy Jones. The gloves were a trade item in 1930 to a service station in Granite Falls for work completed on a vehicle. The gloves have been in his family since the trade. Lee appraised the item at $3,000 to $3,500 due to the current market value, condition, material used, and artist skill.
A pair of leather beaded gantlet gloves, commonly used in rodeos, were donated by guest Troy Jones. The gloves are appraised at $3,000 to $3,500 due to current market value, condition, material used, and artist skill. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
Combined value of items appraised during event totaled more than $8,600.
If you are interested in having an item appraised, you can check out Brill Lee’s website at www.brillleeappraisals.com or by telephone at 425-885-4518. For more information about events happening at Hibulb or the next Hibulb Appraisal Day, please visit their website at www.hibulbculturalcenter.org.
Brandi N. Montreuil:360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
A basket featuring the “rolling logs” pattern, which is sometimes confused with a swastika, was brought in by Bothell resident, Jim Freese to the May 3, Hibulb Appraisal Day. The unique weaving and emblem was considered good luck and used in the early 1900s. The basket was appraised at $125- $175. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
Snohomish resident, Bart Marzolf, brought in a sign that hung over a main road entering the town of Snohomish in 1920. The carving features a fish similar to a salmon and features a clam shell pearl for the fish’s eye. The carver is unknown and the item was valued over $1,000. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
Jim Freese learns how his parents’ basket collection demonstrates a wealth of weaving skill and tribal history from tribes located in Washington. One of the baskets was appraised at $1,000 for its rarity. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
