Tulalip News

Walk MS raises $90K in Snohomish County

From left, Team 4 Dave members Dennis, Chris and Sarah Coerber round the corner of the final stretch of the Walk MS in Tulalip on April 12.— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner — From left, Team 4 Dave members Dennis, Chris and Sarah Coerber round the corner of the final stretch of the Walk MS in Tulalip on April 12.
— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner

TULALIP — Nearly 600 walkers started and ended their course at the Tulalip Amphitheatre for this year’s Walk MS in Tulalip on Saturday, April 12, and while this represented a slightly smaller turnout than last year’s local event, event organizers still considered it a healthy show of support given the other worthy causes close to home that are calling for people’s time and commitment.

“We understand the community is splitting its attention, with the recent tragedy in Oso,” said Sarah Chromy, communications manager for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Greater Northwest Chapter. “It’s still an impressive number for Snohomish County.”

As of Tuesday, April 15, Chromy estimated that the Walk MS in Tulalip had generated nearly $90,000 for the National MS Society in Snohomish County, out of the $1.6 million in funds raised through this year’s Walk MS events throughout the Greater Northwest Chapter. These numbers are actually up from last year’s.

“The Lumpy Bruisers, with team captain Mitzi Ahles, did an amazing job of recruiting and fundraising this year,” Chromy said. “The Snohomish Goat Farmers, with team captain Ray Emery, led the way as our highest local fundraising team, with more than $16,000. Plus, they always bring out at least two goats to Walk MS, which is a sure crowd-pleaser for the children.”

The Mel Walkers team, with joint captains Bruce and Melissa Groenewegen, ranked second in fundraising, with more than $15,000, while Elaine’s Power Walkers, with team captain Jeff Ponton, came in third with more than $4,000.

“Elaine’s Power Walkers also brought tons of team spirit and balloons,” Chromy said. “The face painter was a big hit as well, painting everything from birds to tigers, and everything in between.”

Chromy explained that more than 77 cents of every dollar raised through Walk MS goes directly to improve the lives of people living with MS. Through its donors and fundraisers, the National MS Society is able to:

Fund cutting-edge research to stop MS, restore lost functions and end MS forever.
Drive change through advocacy.
Facilitate professional education.
Collaborate with MS organizations around the world.
Provide programs and services that help people with MS and their families move forward with their lives.

“Last year, it was pouring rain out here, so everyone was happy to hang around after this year’s Walk MS to catch up with one another, have some lunch and soak up some sunshine,” Chromy said. “Walk MS connects those in our local communities to one another, as we rally together to raise funds and celebrate hope for a future free of multiple sclerosis. It’s an opportunity for everyone affected by MS to meet others who may be going through similar life experiences, and to take action to end MS forever. There’s an incredible network of support, information and resources available, and Walk MS is the rallying point that makes it all possible.”

For more information, log onto www.nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/WAS.

American Indian and Alaska Native death rates nearly 50 percent greater than those of non-Hispanic whites

A patient gets more information about a colonoscopy from his provider at the Alaska Native Medical Center.Photo is courtesy of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. — A patient gets more information about a colonoscopy from his provider at the Alaska Native Medical Center.
Photo is courtesy of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

Source: CDC Media Relations, April 22, 2014

Death records show that American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) death rates for both men and women combined were nearly 50 percent greater than rates among non-Hispanic whites during 1999-2009. The new findings were announced through a series of CDC reports released online today by the American Journal of Public Health.

Correct reporting of AI/AN death rates has been a persistent challenge for public health experts. Previous studies showed that nearly 30 percent of AI/AN persons who identify themselves as AI/AN when living are classified as another race at the time of death.

“Accurate classification of race and ethnicity is extremely important to addressing the public health challenges in our nation, said Ursula Bauer, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “We must use this new information to implement interventions and create changes that will reduce and eliminate the persistent inequalities in health status and health care among American Indians and Alaska Natives.”

CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control led the project and collaborated with CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and other CDC researchers, the Indian Health Service, partners from tribal groups, universities, and state health departments.

Key findings:

· Among AI/AN people, cancer is the leading cause of death followed by heart disease. Among other races, it is the opposite.

· Death rates from lung cancer have shown little improvement in AI/AN populations. AI/AN people have the highest prevalence of tobacco use of any population in the United States.

· Deaths from injuries were higher among AI/AN people compared to non-Hispanic whites.

· Suicide rates were nearly 50 percent higher for AI/AN people compared to non-Hispanic whites, and more frequent among AI/AN males and persons younger than age 25.

· Death rates from motor vehicle crashes, poisoning, and falls were two times higher among AI/AN people than for non-Hispanic whites.

· Death rates were higher among AI/AN infants compared to non-Hispanic whites infants. Sudden infant death syndrome and unintentional injuries were more common. AI/AN infants were four times more likely to die from pneumonia and influenza.

· By region, the greatest death rates were in the Northern Plains and Southern Plains. The lowest death rates were in the East and the Southwest.

“The new detailed examination of death records offers the most accurate and current information available on deaths among the American Indian and Alaska Native populations,” said David Espey, M.D., acting director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. “Now, we can better characterize and track the health status of these populations – a critical step to address health disparities.”

The studies address race misclassification in two ways. First, the authors linked U.S. National Death Index records with Indian Health Services registration records to more accurately identify the race of AI/AN people who had died. Second, the authors focused their analyses on the Indian Health Services’ Contract Health Service Delivery Area counties (CHSDA) where about 64 percent of AI/AN persons live. Fewer race misclassification errors occur in CHSDA data than in death records.

The authors reviewed trends from 1990 through 2009, and compared death rates between AI/AN people and non-Hispanic whites by geographic regions for a more recent time period (1999-2009).

The report concludes that patterns of mortality are strongly influenced by the high incidence of diabetes, smoking prevalence, problem drinking, and health-harming social determinants. Many of the observed excess deaths can be addressed through evidence-based public health interventions.

“The Indian Health Service is grateful for this important research and encouraged about its potential to help guide efforts to improve health and wellness among American Indians and Alaska Natives,” said Yvette Roubideaux, M.D., M.P.H, acting IHS director. “Having more accurate data along with our understanding of the contributing social factors can lead to more aggressive public health interventions that we know can make a difference.”

For more information, the articles from the report will be in the AJPH “First Look” early online section at 4:00 pm EST today. Visit: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/0/0

For information on CDC’s efforts in cancer prevention and control, visit http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the health care law, was created to expand access to coverage, control health care costs, and improve health care quality and coordination. The ACA also includes permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which extends current law and authorizes new programs and services within the Indian Health Service. Visit Healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY/TDD 1-855-889-4325) to learn more.

Preparations under way for president’s visit

Mark Mulligan / The HeraldMembers of the Washington State National Guard sort through debris south of the berm helping drain water from the mudslide site Friday morning. — Mark Mulligan / The Herald
Members of the Washington State National Guard sort through debris south of the berm helping drain water from the mudslide site Friday morning.

By Rikki King and Eric Stevick, The Herald

EVERETT — President Barack Obama will visit the site of the Oso mudslide today, marking one month since the disaster that took at least 41 lives and destroyed a state highway.

The president will meet with victims’ families, survivors and first responders.

Much of those conversations will be private, though some may be able to catch a glimpse of Air Force One landing at Paine Field in Everett about 12:30 p.m.

Few other details were made public Monday about the president’s itinerary.

The confirmed death toll from the slide rose to 41 Monday, with two people still listed as missing. This weekend, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle released the last of its patients injured in the slide.

A local incident-management team is expected to take over command at the site again this week, another sign that the massive operation is shifting gears.

Highway 530 remains blocked. A flood warning is in place for the area east of the slide along the North Fork Stillaguamish River until Thursday afternoon.

The Secret Service began arriving in Arlington, Darrington and Oso weeks ago after Obama’s visit was announced. Military aircraft could be seen flying in Marysville and Arlington over the weekend as the president’s visit approached.

The day will mark Obama’s second visit to Snohomish County while serving as president. He last was here on Feb. 17, 2012, when he toured The Boeing Co. plant in Everett and spoke to factory workers.

That year was the first time in nearly two decades that a serving president visited the county.

Snohomish County Executive John Lovick said he is looking forward to speaking with Obama.

“To meet the president is just going to be beyond words for me,” Lovick said Monday.

Lovick was raised in Robeline, La., where the population now is just 179 people, he said.

“I never thought I would meet a city councilman let alone the president,” Lovick said.

Many local police officers and firefighters also are expected to play a role in today’s visit. They were unable to provide details, though, deferring questions to the White House.

The presidential visit two years ago cost local police and fire departments and county government more than $30,000. The expenditures included overtime staffing and fuel.

After visiting Snohomish County, Obama is scheduled to go to Asia, with stops in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia, according to the Associated Press.

Lives continue to be disrupted by the slide.

On Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that assistance had been approved for people in the Arlington, Darrington and Oso areas whose commutes to work, school and medical appointments are detoured around the slide, through Skagit County. That will happen through individual FEMA assistance applications.

Businesses that need help should contact the Small Business Administration at www.sba.gov/disaster or 800-659-2955.

The Arlington School District has been sending a school bus to pick up students in Darrington, most of whom have opted to stay in the district for the rest of the school year.

Many students who live east of the slide are staying with family and friends in Arlington on school nights. At least two families have transferred students between the Arlington and Darrington school districts to avoid the lengthy detour, school officials said.

Also on Monday, two high-ranking prosecutors urged people to be aware of potential fraud related to the mudslide. Western Washington’s U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan and Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe warned people thinking about scamming mudslide victims or the government that they will face the full brunt of the law if they are caught.

“We will not be here to throw the book at you,” Roe said. “We will be here to throw the whole library.”

So far, there have been anecdotal reports of possible fraud, but no concrete evidence, Durkan said.

The prosecutors said fraud has been a common problem after other national disasters and they want to get in front of it in Oso.

The National Center for Disaster Fraud has documented many cases that resulted in prosecutions. In one instance, a woman was sentenced to three years in prison after falsely claiming she had a home in Mississippi that was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. She also received temporary shelter from a charity where she stole the identities of hurricane victims and charged thousands of dollars on credit cards she took out in their names. “We will protect the victims and we will prosecute those that try to turn this tragedy into criminal profit,” Durkan said.

Among other tips, the prosecutors said people making donations should never be feel pressured to contribute and should never give personal or financial information to anyone who solicits money. They also referred anyone suspicious of fraud in relief efforts to contact the National Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or by email at disaster@leo.gov.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Patrol continues to remind people that there is no public access to view the mudslide. The roadblocks are several miles away.

The Patrol continues to turn away as many as two dozen cars a day, trooper Keith Leary said.

“The area is not a tourist attraction, and the high level of respect for those who are still missing and their families is our priority,” Leary said.

10 Planetary Facts for Earth Day 2014

The Earth as seen from Saturn is a reminder: The Universe is big, and we are not. Happy Earth Day!Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI — The Earth as seen from Saturn is a reminder: The Universe is big, and we are not. Happy Earth Day!
Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

By Phil Plait

Slate.com April 22, 2014

Today is Earth Day, a worldwide celebration of our home planet. I know you’ll be hearing a lot of talk about the environment today, humanity’s global impact, and more … which is great, and I wholly support that conversation (obviously).

But as an astronomer and science dork, I do love me some fun factoids. So I gathered together/calculated a few to give you a better appreciation of our planet’s place in the Universe. You might want to check out the ones I posted last year, too. You can’t know too much about Earth.

1) Earth Day is April 22 every year. On average (jumping over leap years and such), between subsequent Earth Days our planet moves about 940 million kilometers (580 million miles), the circumference of its orbit around the Sun. That means it’s faster—way faster—than a speeding bullet: about 30 km/sec (18 miles/sec)! Typical rifle bullets travel 1-2 km/sec, so the Earth outpaces them handily.

2) It’s not a small world after all. The surface area of the Earth is about 510 million square kilometers, or 197 million square miles. It’s not a perfect sphere (see listing No. 4 here), but if it were, using the surface area to find the Earth’s diameter would give you a ball 12,742 km (7,900 miles) across.

3) The Earth is the biggest of the terrestrial (rocky, as opposed to Jupiter-like gas giant) planets in our solar system.

4) Venus, the closest planet in the solar system to Earth’s size, has a diameter of 12,104 km (7,504 miles), 95 percent the width of Earth. It has about 82 percent the mass of Earth, too, making it our twin. However, its thick atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, it rains sulfuric acid, the air pressure on its surface is 90 times Earth’s, and the average temperature is a lead-melting 460 C (860 F). So it’s more like our evil twin.

5) Nearly 2,000 confirmed exoplanets (worlds orbiting other stars) have been found so far. The smallest, Kepler-37b, is barely bigger than our own Moon! Another, KOI-314c, has the same mass as Earth but is so hot it’s puffy, with a huge atmosphere. The planet that has the best chance of being most like Earth is Kepler-186f, which has 1.1 times the Earth’s diameter and is the right distance from its star to have liquid water. We really don’t know what it’s like beyond that, though. It might be more like Venus, or Mars.

6) We’ve only just started looking for other planets, though. There may be billions of Earth-size planets in our galaxy alone.

7) Coming back home again, Earth has something no other planet we know of has: a lot of water on the surface. It’s about 71 percent water by area, dominated by the Pacific Ocean, which covers a staggering 155.6 million square km (60 million square miles) of the surface. That’s nearly a third of the planet.

The vast majority of the Southern Hemisphere is water. This is more obvious when you look down from over the South Pole.Photo by Google Earth — The vast majority of the Southern Hemisphere is water. This is more obvious when you look down from over the South Pole.
Photo by Google Earth

8) Most of the Southern Hemisphere (by a long shot) is covered in water: About 80 percent of the planet’s area south of the equator is water. North of the equator it’s about 60 percent.

9) Water exists naturally in all three physical states on Earth’s surface: solid (ice), liquid, and gas (water vapor). Due to a peculiar property of water—called its triple point—it can even exist in all three states at the same location and time. So now when things go wrong, you can say, “Well it could be worse: It could be raining and snowing and steaming!”

10) The more we look, both in our neighborhood and in deep space, the more we find that our Earth is one-of-a-kind. Even if we do eventually spot those billions of other planets similar in size to Earth, it’s unlikely they will be just like ours, with our exact balance of chemistry, temperature, and life. Heck, in the distant past the Earth didn’t look like it does now, and it’s the same planet.

What this tells us is that what we have now is precious, unique, and vital to us and ours. We don’t have an emergency backup, a summer home, a spot we can retreat to. The Earth is all we’ve got. We need to treat it that way.

Phil Plait writes Slate’s Bad Astronomy blog and is an astronomer, public speaker, science evangelizer, and author of Death from the Skies! Follow him on Twitter

Spoil Mom Silly This Mother’s Day At Tulalip Resort Casino

SPOIL MOM SILLY THIS MAY 11
Earn “Brownie Points” with Brunch and a Visit to the T Spa at Tulalip Resort Casino

Tulalip, Washington — Give Mom something to brag about this Mother’s Day…be the kid who got her out of the kitchen, making her the toast of the table. On Sunday, May 11, children of all ages can celebrate the special woman in their lives at an opulent brunch in the Tulalip Resort Casino Orca Ballroom, with seating at 10:30am and 1:00pm.

Every matriarch will feel like a diva dining her way through a dazzling array of breakfast and lunch favorites, including Carving, Omelet and Egg, Pasta, Quiche, and French Toast/Waffle stations. If Mom’s a salad lover, she can select among six – from Seafood Pasta with bay scallops and shrimp to Tossed Mexican Caesar with avocado vinaigrette. Hot entrees run the gamut from Chicken Saltimbocca to Ginger Lemongrass Steamed Clams and Mussels. Assorted breakfast pastries such as muffins, croissants, and Danish complement the menu.

The dessert buffet could be a meal on its own. Colorful French Macarons beckon enticingly as does springtime Strawberry Shortcake Trifles. Whole Tropical Fresh Fruit Tarts hold court, alongside decadent Chocolate Fondant Cakes with raspberries and cream. If Mom likes her chocolate straight up, she can finish her meal with Milk, White and Dark Chocolate Ganache Disks. Cheesecake lovers need not despair, as there will also be an alluring assortment of minis.

For the wee folk, there is a kid’s knee high buffet featuring Chicken Strips, Macaroni Cheese Bites, and Mini Pizzas.

Celebrate Mom in the grand style she deserves at Tulalip Resort. Mother’s Day brunch, including a welcome Mimosa, is priced at $42 inclusive for adults. Children 4 to 12 are $18. Call 360-716-6888 for reservations.

Those looking for a Mother’s Day gift idea as special as the recipient should consider the T Spa’s “Wildflower Pedicure.” A perfect post buffet treat, Mom can literally feel the stress ebb during this 60 minute treatment. A floral foot soak infused with Linden and Orange blossom essence is followed by a gentle, but invigorating exfoliating scrub. This spa pedicure includes a warmed stone massage for tired tootsies, foot mask and paraffin treatment. For reservations and additional information, call (360) 716-6350.

# # # #

About Tulalip Resort Casino
Award winning Tulalip Resort Casino is the most distinctive gaming, dining, meeting, entertainment and shopping destination in Washington State. The AAA Four Diamond resort’s world class amenities have ensured its place on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold and Traveler Top 100 Resorts lists, as well as Preferred Hotel & Resorts membership. The property includes 192,000 square feet of gaming excitement; a luxury hotel featuring 370 guest rooms and suites; 30,000 square feet of premier meeting, convention and wedding space; the full-service T Spa; and 7 dining venues, including the AAA Four Diamond Tulalip Bay Restaurant. It also showcases the intimate Canoes Cabaret and a 3,000-seat amphitheater. Nearby, find the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve, Cabela’s; and Seattle Premium Outlets, featuring more than 110 name brand retail discount shops. The Resort Casino is conveniently located between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. just off Interstate-5 at Exit 200. It is an enterprise of the Tulalip Tribes. For reservations please call (866) 716-7162.

Native language bill passes overwhelmingly after protest in Capitol

Alaska Natives beat the drum during a protest in front of Sen. Lesil McGuire's Capitol office as her chief of staff, Brett Huber, in tie, prepares to address them. The protesters wanted McGuire, R-Anchorage, the chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, to release the Native language bill and send it to the Senate floor. Huber told them that she would and that she supported the measure, which passed the House unanimously. RICHARD MAUER — Alaska Natives beat the drum during a protest in front of Sen. Lesil McGuire’s Capitol office as her chief of staff, Brett Huber, in tie, prepares to address them. The protesters wanted McGuire, R-Anchorage, the chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, to release the Native language bill and send it to the Senate floor. Huber told them that she would and that she supported the measure, which passed the House unanimously. RICHARD MAUER

By RICHARD MAUER

rmauer@adn.comApril 20, 2014

UPDATE: The Senate passed the language bill at 3:15 a.m. Monday. The vote was 18-2, with Sens. John Coghill and Pete Kelly, both Fairbanks Republicans, the only no votes. Among the Senators to give impassioned speeches in favor of the bill was Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, who said there wasn’t anything the state could do about what happened to Native language speakers in the past, but it could help people into the future.

ORIGINAL STORY:

JUNEAU — Fearing their language bill was getting caught up in end-of-session politics, Alaska Natives held a demonstration in front of Sen. Lesil McGuire’s Capitol office Sunday, demanding she send it to the Senate floor before it was too late.

After 30 minutes of drumming, dancing, speeches and story telling, McGuire’s chief aide, Brett Huber, said McGuire would do just that, put it on Sunday’s Senate calendar. He said she supported the measure.

The bill, House Bill 216, had broad backing in the House, where it passed 38-0 on April 16. It would recognize 20 Native languages as official languages of the state, though it would require only that English, the state’s first legal language, be used in official documents and meetings.

Though of little practical effect, Native speakers said the measure was rich with symbolic significance, a recognition that historical efforts by the dominant culture to forbid them their languages was wrong — and had failed. Many in the hallway Sunday had been in the gallery last week as the bill passed the House, cheering after the roll was taken and the tally was unanimous.

The demonstrators, from little children in Easter clothes to elders who needed help to walk, began arriving around noon. The legislative calendar showed that the language measure was parked in the Rules Committee Saturday, a limbo zone for legislation, especially in the waning days of a session. Bills can leap out of Rules and land on the floor, or die there when the session ends — which explains why the word “powerful” often precedes the title, “Rules chairman.”

It’s unclear why McGuire was holding the bill, or even if she was. She was in and out of meetings all day and unavailable for comment. As the demonstration was gathering steam, she walked out of the her office in a bright yellow dress and strolled past the crowd without turning or saying a word. Later, she texted that the majority leader, Sen. John Coghill, R-Fairbanks, had a concern about the bill.

“I am putting it up though, no matter what,” she texted. “Always was going to.”

Coghill later said he didn’t have time to talk, but at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Coghill said he was concerned that the bill would supersede the 1998 voter initiative that made English the state’s official language and which won by a landslide. He suggested that the bill be changed to declare the Native languages only “ceremonial” and not “official,” but the original bill was left intact.

Before Huber’s announcement, the group was clearly anxious about what would happen.

“It’s real disappointing after what happened on the House side,” said Beth Geiger. “With all the momentum it had, it’s shocking it’s sitting like that.”

X’unei Lance Twitchell, a Native language professor at the University of Alaska Southeast, said he had heard many expressions of support by legislators and was puzzled by the bill’s apparent lack of traction.

“If they support this bill, why don’t they use their political power?” he said.

Later, after Huber announced McGuire would push the bill forward, Twitchell said he was happier but still wanted to see it through. The demonstrators had no plans to leave the hallway, he said.

“We’re going to stay till it passes,” Twitchell said. “If they want us to enjoy our Easter, they’ll put it on the floor first.”

Reach Richard Mauer at rmauer@adn.com or (907) 500-7388.

Dream catcher weaved in Halifax to honour souls of missing, murdered aboriginal women

By Christine Bennett For Metro

April 16, 2014

Halifax community members gathered on Wednesday to weave a 10-foot dream catcher to honour missing and murdered aboriginal women.

The Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre on Gottingen Street hosted the event with support from the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

They’re making 824 small dream catchers to hang off the large one, each of those representing one of the aboriginal women currently missing in Canada.

“A dream catcher is to help you have good dreams and take the bad dreams away, but in this case, those women who are missing, their dreams are gone,” said Debbie Eisan, who works at the centre. “We want to make sure that their dreams are not going to be forgotten and their lives won’t be forgotten.”

The purple ribbon on these dream catchers represents the missing woman, and the black bead represents the mourning of that woman.

The bead usually goes in the middle, but this time it’s at the bottom because there’s nothing to celebrate, Eisan said.

This idea came after the death of Loretta Saunders, an Inuit woman who was murdered in February while she was studying at Saint Mary’s University and writing her thesis on missing and murdered aboriginal women.

Eisan is calling on the government to provide equal and fair treatment to aboriginal cases.

“I just want these cases to be treated with the same respect, importance, and dignity as they would any other missing and murdered woman,” she said.

Cowboys and Indians Ride on DC, Protesting Keystone XL for Earth Day

Manuel Balce Ceneta/APThousands gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday February 17, 2013 to hold President Barack Obama to his promise to combat climate change. — Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Thousands gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday February 17, 2013 to hold President Barack Obama to his promise to combat climate change.

Vincent Schilling, Indian Country Today Media Network

Next week, April 22, former Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate Winona LaDuke and the Cowboy and Indian Alliance made up of Native people, farmers and ranchers will ride on horseback into Washington, D.C. to show their opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline.

The protest on Tuesday will be one of many activities kicking off Earth day 2014 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. LaDuke’s organization, Honor the Earth will be joining forces with the Cowboy and Indian Alliance a group of about 30 Oglala Lakota Indians as well as a group of non-Native ranchers and farmers from North Dakota and Nebraska that have all joined forces in protest.

Additionally on the final day of protest, thousands have been invited to protest in unison against the pipeline and the Canadian Tar Sands. On Saturday April 26 at 11 a.m. at the National Mall between 7th and 9th streets, the Cowboy and Indian Alliance will make closing arguments against the pipeline.

Instructions on the Reject and Protect website state:

4 days after the Cowboy Indian Alliance tipis first go up on the Mall, we’ll gather at 11 AM on Saturday the 26th at the encampment to make our closing argument against the pipeline. As we gather, everyone there will be asked to make their thumbprint mark on a tipi. Then we’ll hear from the farmers, ranchers, tribal leaders and refinery community members who will be directly impacted by Keystone XL and the tar sands — and who have pledged to lead the resistance should it be approved.

Then, those leaders will carry our painted tipi to present to President Obama, with thousands of people standing behind them. This tipi will represent our hope that he will reject the pipeline, and our promise that we will protect our land, water and climate if he chooses to let the pipeline move forward.

Once the tipi is delivered, we’ll return to the encampment in song and make our pledge to continue resistance to the pipeline should it be approved.

In an e-mail campaign sent from the Honor the Earth Foundation LaDuke writes that many opposers to the pipeline will be in D.C. and will set up at the tipi camp at the National Mall and will ride to the White House “to show Obama and the world that Native Nations will stand firm in asserting our human and constitutionally protected treaty rights in saying NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline.”

In an interview with ICTMN, LaDuke said, “Our communities are continuing our spiritual work in opposing these pipelines – these pipelines threaten our water and our way of life.”

“My sister and my son will be riding horses, I might ride. They have asked me. There will be 30 Cowboys and Indians on horseback going all the way up to the White House on horseback to fight the Keystone pipeline. This is a continuation of that spiritual ride,” LaDuke said.

“To not have the pipeline is what we want, every time you look there is someone else at the White House. President Obama should do the right thing. I have enjoyed the fossil fuels era as have you, but I would like to gracefully exit it not crash my way out. We need to gracefully exit into renewable energies fuel efficiencies and bio diesels with a lot less impact. I have enjoyed it now I’m ready to go.”

LaDuke also said how people can support the cause. “They can support all of this by joining us in D.C. and sending us money, we are in the middle of fighting three pipelines and we are thinly staffed.”

Easter Bunny visits Tulalip Montessori

By Andrew Gobin

Tulalip Montessori Students were visited by an elusive Easter guest last Friday. Lining the playground fence to start their hunt for treasured Easter Eggs, they were ecstatic to see the Easter Bunny hiding eggs.

As the children ran about, scouring the playground for the highly prized eggs, the Easter Bunny visited with kids, passing out hugs and more eggs.

And they're off! Children race to find the most Easter Eggs. Photo: Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News — And they’re off! Children race to find the most Easter Eggs.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Click photos to enlarge

Andrew Gobin is a reporter with the See-Yaht-Sub, a publication of the Tulalip Tribes Communications Department.
Email: agobin@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Phone: (360) 716.4188

Campaign To Get Sherman Alexie Book To Idaho Students Tops Goal

File photo of Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian."Kraemer Family Library Flickr — File photo of Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.”
Kraemer Family Library Flickr

By Jessica Robinson, NW News Network

Two women in Washington have raised enough money to send 350 copies of a controversial book by Sherman Alexie to students in Meridian, Idaho.

It’s a reaction to the Meridian school board’s decision to suspend use of “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” Parents complained about profanity and sexual content in the novel.

University of Washington student Sara Baker and a friend in Spokane set up an online campaign to buy and distribute the book to Meridian students with the help of a local teacher. Baker says they received more than $3,000 from Idaho, Washington and at least 15 other states.

“I’ve heard from students that said they read the book and really loved it,” says Baker. “I’ve had English teachers tell me that they teach it in their curriculum and it engages students that hate to read. And then just general fans of the book that can’t believe the people who want to ban it even read the same book.”

The superintendent of the Meridian school district says a committee of teachers, administrators and parents is reviewing the high school reading list and may decide to retain “Part-Time Indian” next fall.

The 2007 young adult novel is inspired in part by Alexie’s own experience growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. The book often requires parental consent to read and is frequently targeted for removal. Earlier this winter, the school district in Sweet Home, Ore., considered pulling it from the classroom after parents complained, but the district ultimately kept the book.

In Idaho, the attention generated by the controversy has given Alexie a bump in local libraries and bookstores. There are more than 60 holds on “Part-Time Indian” at the Boise Public Library.