Tulalip News

Tests show no signs of ISA virus in Washington’s salmon

The Issaquah Press

Recent tests of salmon from Washington’s waters show no signs of a fish virus that can be deadly to farm-raised Atlantic salmon.

Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus was not detected in tissue samples taken from more than 900 wild and hatchery-produced Pacific chinook, coho, sockeye, chum and steelhead, as well as farm-raised Atlantic salmon, according to a press release from state, tribal and federal resource managers.

The virus is not harmful to people.

Specific strains of the virus have caused a deadly disease in farm-raised Atlantic salmon. Outbreaks with significant losses have occurred in farmed Atlantic salmon in Maine, Eastern Canada, Chile and several European countries.

The virus has not been documented in farmed, wild or hatchery salmon in Washington.

John Kerwin, Fish Health Program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said concerns about the possibility of the virus occurring in Washington’s salmon prompted the recent tests, which are part of a two-year monitoring program specifically designed to detect the virus.

“Our traditional testing protocols would have detected most — but not all — of the disease-causing strains of ISA virus,” Kerwin said. “So, we expanded our program to better detect whether any strain is present in a variety of fish species in Washington. The good news is all the samples came back negative for the virus.”

Elsewhere on the West Coast, there have been no confirmed reports of the virus in wild, hatchery or farmed salmon. In 2011, a Canadian researcher reported detecting the virus in some British Columbia Pacific salmon. However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the federal agency with authority for fish health in Canada, tested fish tissue samples and found no ISAV present.

Bruce Stewart, Fish Health Program manager for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, said the sampling and monitoring program is a great example of tribal, state and federal managers working together to address concerns about the health of salmon and steelhead stocks in Washington.

“While this first year’s results are encouraging, we hope to increase our level of confidence that the virus is not present in Washington by continuing our efforts and including testing of pink salmon,” said Stewart, who noted that most pink salmon return to Washington’s waters only in odd-numbered years.

Andy Goodwin, Fish Health Program manager for Region 1 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the ISAV surveillance program is an important addition to an already comprehensive fish health monitoring effort by the agencies.

“Protecting the health of Pacific salmon populations is a high priority for us,” Goodwin said. “This ISAV surveillance collaboration has really complemented the regular testing that we do on many thousands of fish every year.”

The tissue samples taken for the ISAV monitoring program were analyzed at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Pullman, and at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laboratory in Idaho.

More information on the species and stock of salmon sampled is available on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/research/projects/salmon_anemia/.

The monitoring program — funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — is expected to continue for at least one more year. Participants include the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Additional monitoring programs are under way in Alaska and Canada.

Tribes Disappointed By State Appeal In Culvert Case

– Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Treaty Indian tribes in western Washington are disappointed to learn that the state has filed an appeal in the culvert case ruling.

Federal District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez ruled on March 29 that the state must fix fish-blocking culverts under its roads in western Washington because they violate tribal treaty-reserved fishing rights. The court found that more than 1,500 state culverts deny salmon access to hundreds of miles of good habitat in western Washington, harming salmon at every stage in their life cycle.

“But instead of implementing the ruling as a win-win for the salmon and everyone who lives here, the state has chosen to appeal the case in a further attempt to ignore tribal treaty rights,” Frank said.

As part of his ruling, Martinez issued a permanent injunction against the state’s continued operation of fish-blocking culverts under state roads in western Washington. The injunction was necessary, he ruled, because of the slow pace of state corrections, which has led to an increase in the number of barrier culverts in the past three years. At the current pace, the state would never complete repairs, Judge Martinez said, because more culverts were becoming barriers to salmon than were being fixed.

The state and its Department of Transportation (DOT) were given 17 years to complete repairs. Other state agencies were already planning to have their blocking culverts corrected within the next three years.

Culvert repair cost estimates being provided by the state are higher than the actual repair costs presented in court, Martinez ruled. The state claims that the average cost to replace a state DOT culvert is $2.3 million. But the evidence showed the actual cost of DOT culverts built to the best fish passage standards has been about $658,000. Repairs will be funded through the state’s separate transportation budget and will not come at the expense of education or other social services.

“It’s also important to understand that state law already requires that culverts allow fish passage. The culvert case ruling directs the state to do nothing more than what is already required,” Frank said.

“For decades the state has tried to ignore tribal treaty-reserved rights, even when that means ignoring the best interests of the resource and its citizens,” Frank said. “But the federal courts have consistently upheld our treaty rights.”

Being Frank: Don’t let First Salmon become Last Salmon

By Billy Frank, Jr, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Chairman

Winter snows are melting up in the mountains and soon the only white stuff we’ll see floating in the air will be cottonwood fluff, a sign that the salmon are beginning to return and a reminder that it is time to celebrate the fish that sustains us as a people.

In gatherings large and small, tribes throughout western Washington will celebrate First Salmon ceremonies this spring and summer to welcome home the salmon.

It is an honor for a tribal fisherman to be asked to harvest the First Salmon, a scout for the Salmon People who live in a village under the sea. With drumming and singing the First Salmon is welcomed and shared. The First Salmon’s bones are then returned to the water to allow his spirit to go home. If the First Salmon was shown proper respect, he will tell the Salmon People how well he was treated, and lead them back to the tribe’s fishing area for harvest.

The return of the salmon means tribal fishermen will be returning to the water as well. As part of the First Salmon Ceremony, many tribes also include a Blessing of the Fleet for protection of tribal fishermen and their boats.

But it is getting harder every year to put our tribal fishermen on the water. While careful harvest management by the tribal and state co-managers is making a strong contribution to the recovery of wild salmon, the keys to rebuilding those runs have always been to protect and restore salmon habitat.

Yet day after day we see salmon habitat being lost and damaged, and little being done to stop or fix it. Our declining salmon populations and resulting lost fishing opportunity are mirrors that reflect the increasingly shrinking quality and quantity of salmon habitat in our region. Conservative fisheries are effective only when they go hand-in-hand with equally strong efforts to protect and restore salmon habitat.

The lack of action on protecting and restoring habitat has gotten to the point that we can no longer make up for declining salmon runs simply by reducing harvest. Those days are gone. Even if we stopped all salmon fishing everywhere in western Washington, most weak wild salmon stocks would still never recover. There simply isn’t enough good quality habitat to support them.

But despite everything that’s thrown against them – dams, pollution, predators and much more – the salmon never stop trying to make it home. We can’t stop either. We all need to work harder to make sure the salmon has a good home when he returns.

We don’t want to ever find ourselves contemplating a Last Salmon Ceremony.

Volunteers Needed: Mountain Stewards Protect Mt. Baker ecosystems

Everett, Wash., May 31, 2013—Want to help keep Mt. Baker pristine? Mountain Steward volunteers are needed this summer to teach day hikers, backpackers and climbers to care for and protect this delicate alpine ecosystem.

Forest Service staff will train volunteers July 13 and 20 in low-impact recreational skills, natural history and back country management. Mountain Stewards commit to work three weekend days during July 13-Sept. 22 on the three busiest trail systems: Skyline Divide, Park Butte/Railroad Grade and Heather Meadows/Artist Point. An optional training is offered Aug. 3 for those who want to volunteer at Heather Meadows.

Apply by June 28. Find applications online and email to brichey@fs.fed.us, fax to 360.856.1934 or mail to Mt. Baker Ranger District, Mountain Stewards, 810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284. Call 360-854-2615 or brichey@fs.fed.us for more information. Volunteers must be 18 years or older with hiking and outdoor recreation skills.

Do You Hike? Want to Help Get Rid of Noxious Weeds?

Become a Weed Watcher

Renee Bodine, Public Affairs Officer, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Service

Everett, Wash. May 31, 2013– Uncontrolled, weeds like oxeye daisy can monopolize alpine meadows, English ivy will cover forest canopies and Japanese knotweed will choke creek-side vegetation. The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and Washington Department of Natural Resources have teamed up with the Mountaineers and King County Noxious Weed Program to train volunteers to find invasive plants on trails. Hikers are needed to monitor trails for infestations in theMt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest’s designated wilderness areas and in the Middle Fork and South Fork Snoqualmie valleys of King County. Classes will train Weed Watchers how to identify invasive species, record and collect data with GPS units and control some weeds. The volunteers will choose which trails they want to “adopt” in a particular area this summer.

June 9, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. -Wilderness Weed Watchers Training

Darrington Ranger Station, 1405 Emens Avenue North, Darrington, WA

June 15, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. -Wilderness Weed Watchers Training

Glacier Public Service Station, 10091 Mt. Baker Hwy, Glacier, WA

June 23, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Upper Snoqualmie & Wilderness Weed Watchers Training

Snoqualmie Ranger Station, Back Conference Hall, 902 SE North Bend Way, North Bend, Wash. 98045

To join the Upper Snoqualmie Weed Watchers contact Sasha Shaw at 206-263-6468. Volunteers can register to train for the Wilderness Lakes Wilderness Weed Watchers on the Mountaineers website and contact Sarah Krueger for more information at 206-521-6012.

The National Forest Foundation provided a grant to inventory weeds in the Mt. Baker, Noisy-Diosbud, Boulder River, Henry M. Jackson, Clearwater and Norse Peak Wilderness Areas. Learn more about noxious weeds, workshops and events from the King County website.

Bodies and Bones: What Is Science For?

Peter D’Errico, Indian Country Today Media Network

Berlin’s Museum of Medical History has entered the controversy about exhibition and repatriation of human remains. As The New York Times reports, the curators are “re-evaluating the principles that govern their displays as they confront a growing debate over what cultural organizations should be doing to preserve the dignity of the dead.”

Museums around the world have been grappling with consciences and protests about this for several years. Indigenous peoples bodies in particular have been the object of scientific collection and study, sometimes while they are alive—witness Ishi in the University of California: he was a research subject and assistant at the same time.

A truly bizarre chapter of science and bodies was discussed in a letter from Clark Mills, a 19th century American sculptor, in the Times, on May 22, 1882. Mills referred to the then-current debate about whether Indians could be “civilized or Christianized” after they were adults, or only while they were children, at the Hampton Institute. An Indian boarding school/concentration camp of the worst kind.

Mills’ first attempt to answer the question involved comparing casts of heads of “wild” Indians imprisoned in Fort Marion, Florida, under Captain R.H. Pratt, with casts of heads from “New York Indians, who had been civilized for a hundred years.” He made a subsequent effort with casts of “wild Indian children” brought to Hampton, to be compared with casts made after some period of “education.” Believe it or not: The catalog of Clark’s casts is at the Smithsonian Institution, with an explanatory letter from Pratt.

Nowadays, phrenology is considered a joke, if not a delusion. The fact that many 19th century thinkers took it seriously is just another pimple on the face of the history of science, although there is a “new phrenology” today, wherein neuroscientists are trying to pinpoint cognitive functions within the head (more precisely, within the brain). It seems that the lure of reducing everything to physiology still appeals.

The lure of dead bodies still appeals. A typical statement in opposition to the Berlin reevaluation and to repatriation efforts is that scientists have “more to learn” from the remains, especially now that DNA testing is available. DNA, by the way, is also a mode of science on living bodies, as evidenced by the Human Genome Diversity Project.

There are many examples of an unquestioning belief in the rightness of science. We hear them all the time. Sociologist Tiffany Jenkins, author of “Contesting Human Remains in Museum Collections,” quoted by the Times, says, “There’s a whole host of research that isn’t being done because it’s too sensitive.” The assumption seems to be that “sensitivity” is bad and “research” is good.

But look at the history of what we call scientific knowledge: it is not a straight line and it is not only and always “progress.” The brutality of some events—the Nazi medical experiments and the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service—are well-documented and generally denounced today. What do they imply about science in general? At a minimum, they raise larger, deeper questions: What is science for? What role should it play in our lives?

Amidst the debates about skulls and blood and bones in museums and laboratories, not many people focus on these big questions. They argue about particular situations and specific museum collections, the small questions of science that may obscure the big issues.

The atrocities of science are enough to demonstrate that “scientific” is not synonymous with “good.” The atrocities prove we cannot say that whatever scientists want to do should be done, or whatever they want to study should be studied.

Odd as it may sound to those who think that science is the root of understanding, the real task is to understand science. And that means doing something “sensitive,” like asking moral and social questions, philosophical and ethical questions. We must have a standpoint of knowledge outside science, a way to evaluate what we know or think we know.

These questions bring us into the domain of what has been called epistemology, the theory of knowledge. It’s enough to make your head spin. I’m not arguing that science is “bad” or “good.” I’m not suggesting that there is a way to answer the deep questions once and for all. I am arguing that blindly following scientists is the blind leading the blind. I am suggesting that no scientific inquiry is exempt from question.

Much science is aimed at control and destruction: how to dominate and how to blow things up. How did we get here and where are we going? How much of what we are doing in the name of life is bringing death? The fact that money dominates science means that science is pursuing greed. There are those who say that greed and domination and destruction are inevitable. I say that’s open to question. It’s just another belief, not a scientific conclusion.

Peter d’Errico graduated from Yale Law School in 1968. Staff attorney in Dinebeiina Nahiilna Be Agaditahe Navajo Legal Services, 1968-1970. Taught Legal Studies at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1970-2002. Consulting attorney on indigenous issues.

LA Courts to Mandate Tribal Sign Off in Psych Drugs Prescribed to American Indian Children

By Levi Rickert, Native News Network

LOS ANGELES – In a move that may prove to have national implications, a Los Angeles Superior Court subcommittee, Psychotropic Medication Committee, is in the process of mandating permission from American Indian tribes before American Indian children in the foster care system in Los Angeles County can be prescribed a psych medication.

Ron Andrade, executive director of the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission

Psychotropic medication is prescribed to individuals with emotional and behavioral problems. In recent years the drugs have become controversial because some experts maintain the drugs lead to depression and even suicide. “60 Minutes” did a segment on the ill effects on children of psychotropic medication in a segment that aired in February 2012.

The Psychotropic Medication Committee is led by Los Angeles Superior Court Michael Nash, who presented advanced a draft letter that serves as an example of a document that would be sent to a child in the foster care system who is a member of an American Indian tribe for tribal approval.

The draft letter obtained by Native News Network reads in part:

Dear Tribe

A physician is proposing to treat the above named child with psychotropic medication which is medication for emotional and/or behavior problems. The request is being reviewed by Juvenile Court.

If you do not agree for this child to take the recommended psychotropic medication and /or continue the psychotropic medication that the child is currently taking, you must complete the form JV-222, and file it with the court within two days of receiving this notice.

The actions by the Psychotropic Medication Committee are welcomed by Ron Andrade, executive director of the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission. Andrade’s Los Angeles commission has been aggressively bringing awareness to the problems associated with psychotropic medication and the need for more tribal involvement before the drugs are prescribed to American Indian children in the foster care system.

“The Old Ones have always told us that it is our responsibility to protect and defend the lives of our children,”

commented Andrade to Native News Network.

“While this new policy may require new actions on the part of the tribal leadership and community leaders, we feel it is a responsibility that the leadership should eagerly accept. With the help of many Indians and non-Indians we can better protect our children wherever they live. We need to remember that we were Native people with responsibility for our people long before the European and American people came to Turtle Island.”

While there were questions on the timeline from those attending the subcommittee meeting, there was no opposition to the proposed new policy.

Judge Nash stated that he would try to have the policy finalized by the next subcommittee meeting.

175th Commemoration of “Trail of Tears” Bike Ride Kicks Off Thursday

This year's Trail of Tears Bike Riders (l to r) Blake Henson, Hestin Lamons, Paige Carnes, Noah Collins, ride instructor Chad McCarter, Sarah Holcomb, Carter Copeland, Jon Ross, Ben Keener, Joseph Keener, Latasha Atcity, Lane Holcomb and Marshall Smith. — This year’s Trail of Tears Bike Riders (l to r) Blake Henson, Hestin Lamons, Paige Carnes, Noah Collins, ride instructor Chad McCarter, Sarah Holcomb, Carter Copeland, Jon Ross, Ben Keener, Joseph Keener, Latasha Atcity, Lane Holcomb and Marshall Smith.

– Native News Network, Posted May 28, 2013

TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA – Fifteen Cherokee students will spend the next three weeks retracing their ancestors’ footsteps along the Trail of Tears, which this year marks the 175th anniversary.

The students will ride more than 950 miles on bicycles, beginning in New Echota, Georgia, and follow the northern route Trail of Tears through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas, ending June 21 in Oklahoma. The ride was started at the Cherokee Nation in 1984 so Cherokee youth would never forget the hardships of their Cherokee ancestors who made the same trek on foot.

On Thursday May 30 at 10 am cdt, the Cherokee Nation will host a send off for the 2013 Remember the Removal Bike Ride participants at the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex, 17675 South Muskogee Avenue in Tahlequah.

Of the estimated 16,000 Cherokees forced to make the journey to Indian Territory, an estimated 4,000 died due to exposure, starvation and disease. The Cherokee Nation also joins other riders from the Eastern Band of Cherokees for the ride. Follow the journey on www.facebook.com/removal.ride »

The 2013 riders include the following:

Claremore
Benjamin Keener, Rogers State University
Joseph Keener, Northeastern State University
Lillie Keener, Abilene Christian University
Noah Collins, Verdigris High

Fort Gibson
Blake Henson, Fort Gibson High

Hulbert
Marshall Smith, Tahlequah High

Stilwell
Haydn Comingdeer, Sequoyah High
Robert Ketcher, Eastern Mennonite University

Tahlequah
Hestin Lamons, Tahlequah High
Paige Carnes, Tahlequah High
Jon Ross, NSU
Latasha Atcity, NSU

Tulsa
Carter Copeland, Jenks High

Vian
Lane Holcomb, Sequoyah High
Sarah Holcomb, Carl Albert State College

Wilma Mankiller’s Struggle to Bring Water to Cherokee Community Now in Film

– Native News Network

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA – During the early 1980s, the small rural community of Bell, Oklahoma gained national attention when Wilma Mankiller led the struggle to build an 18 mile waterline to bring fresh drinking water to the small town.

This story is now on film in “The Cherokee Word for Water.” Filmed in Oklahoma in 2011, the film will have its Virginia premiere Sunday, June 9, at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. The Virginia premiere is part of the SkyFest Native American Festival taking place at the 17th Street Park at the Virginia Beach oceanfront.

“The Cherokee concept of “gadugi” means working together to solve a problem. That’s just what happened in the tiny town of Bell 30 years ago. Cherokee Wilma Mankiller, along with Charlie Soap, led an all volunteer workforce which had endured a legacy of being dehumanized and dispossessed of their land and identity in creating a nearly 20 mile long waterline to provide, for the first time for most, fresh running water and indoor plumbing to homes in Bell”

said group spokeswoman and head female dancer for SkyFest, Emelie Jeffries.

“The success of this project inspired the Cherokee nation as a whole and gave Native people the inspiration to take back control of their lives and life circumstances. It sparked a movement of similar self help projects that continues across the Cherokee nation to this day and led to Wilma Mankiller becoming the first female principle chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1985. The film highlights cultural assets of courage, resiliency and determination of Native people and seeks to reshape public perception of them. It’s an important film for those of all ages to see,”

added Jeffries.

Mankiller served as Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1985-1995. During her administration, the tribe constructed several health clinics and re-established its judicial system, tribal marshal service and a tax commission. She met with Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton. She was married to Charlie Soap, her partner in leading the waterline project and the film’s director and a producer, from 1986 until her death from cancer in 2010.

Kimberly Norris Guerrero plays Wilma Mankiller. Moses J. Brings Plenty portrays Charlie Soap. Guerrero, a veteran of many television shows and films, is perhaps best known as a girlfriend of Jerry Seinfeld from the “Seinfeld” episode “The Cigar Store Indian.” Brings Plenty is also a veteran of both mediums, having appeared recently in “Cowboys vs. Aliens.” Deanna Dunagan, the Tony Award-winning actress from the play “August: Osage County” portrays Mankiller’s mother in the film.

“I’d like people to know more about Wilma and the hope and resilience in the Indian community,”

Soap said of the message that he hopes “The Cherokee Word for Water” will convey.

“Wilma thought then that too many people would come out to Cherokee Nation lands and only see poor people and bad conditions, and not that there were people ready to change their situations if just given the opportunity. That’s what she did. I think it’s important to leave a legacy for her. I never realized the importance of a legacy until she was gone and so many people told me how they looked up to her and that she made them believe, “If she can do it, we can too.” It’s a powerful feeling that she’s left with us, and plenty of people tell me that they still feel her presence here today,”

he added.

Bill Would Restore GI Bill Benefits for Millions of Veterans

Indian Country Today Media Network

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) has introduced new federal legislation that would repeal what he calls unfair and arbitrary time limits under the GI Bill, reports the Associated Press. Currently veterans have 10 years to use their Montgomery GI Bill (or 15 years to use their Post-9/11 GI Bill). The so-called delimiting date is determined by the veterans last discharge date.

For veterans to be eligible for training and education benefits in the program, service members must pay copy,200 before leaving the military and must use their benefits within 10 years of separating from the service. Blumenthal said more than 2 million veterans have been denied the benefits despite paying the copy, 200 because they missed the 10-year time limit.

“The G.I. Bill has provided millions of veterans vital educational opportunities to improve their lives and careers, enriching our economy and strengthening communities at the same time. However, millions of veterans are currently denied these opportunities due to restrictive, unfair and arbitrary time limits now in place,” Blumenthal said. “Given the changing nature of today’s job market and economy, many veterans are now choosing to go back to school and receive additional training and expertise more than a decade after separating from the military. These wise decisions should be supported for all veterans. The Veterans Back to School Act provides a simple fix to eliminate the unjust and unfair restrictions, and allows current and future generations of veterans to use these hard-earned benefits whenever it makes best sense for their futures, families and careers,” Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal announced his new bill May 28 at Capital Community College in Hartford. It would repeal the time limit and restore a Vietnam-era program that helped education institutions provide outreach and support to students who are veterans.

While the bill would not have an immediate effect on Post-9/11 vets, it would restore the GI Bill for many Vietnam, Cold-War, and Gulf-War era veterans who were unable to take advantage of their benefits within the 10 years after discharge, notes Military.com’s Terry Howell.

Track the bill’s progress in Congress here.