Mark Mulligan / The Herald File, 2011 Hank Gobin, museum director at the Hibulb Cultural Center, listens at the grand opening of the center in Tulalip.
By Bill Sheets, The Hreald
TULALIP — Hank Gobin lived to see his dream come true: the creation of a museum to serve as the focal point of local tribal history and culture.
Gobin, 71, cultural resources director for the Tulalip Tribes, passed away Thursday — a little more than 1½ years after the Hibulb Cultural Center was dedicated in August 2011.
While the museum may be the most tangible testament to his legacy, his role in preserving tribal culture runs much deeper, tribal members say.
“Our community mourns the loss of a truly great man,” Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon said in a written statement.
“He was a prolific artist, activist and traditional scholar, who worked in the areas of art, education, language revitalization, museum studies and traditional foods research.”
Gobin was a force in starting the tribes’ cultural resources program in the early 1990s. This included a program to teach Lushootseed, the Puget Sound tribes’ unwritten native language, to help save it from extinction.
“He was one of the key advocates who pushed for the creation of the Lushootseed program,” said Natosha Gobin, a language teacher for the Tulalips.
“He’s always been a huge advocate for cultural preservation and bringing it all together,” Natosha Gobin said.
Her father, the late Bernie Gobin, was Hank Gobin’s first cousin.
“It was a hard loss,” she said of Hank’s passing.
Henry Delano Gobin was born in 1941 and raised on the Tulalip reservation. He left at age 21 to pursue an education and studied art at several colleges in the West, including the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. and the San Francisco Art Institute. He received a master’s degree in painting at Sacramento State University and later taught art and ethnic studies.
Gobin returned to Tulalip in 1989 and quickly began working on preserving tribal culture, including pushing for the museum. Finally, after a long haul, the tribal board in 2005 approved the building, which opened in 2011.
Gobin used his artistic talent and education to closely supervise the design of the cultural center. The day the $19 million building opened, Gobin recalled a conversation he’d had years earlier with the architects.
“One of the things I want you to do,” he told them, “is to capture the light.”
The 23,000-square-foot building’s main corridor is equipped with skylights. The museum houses traditional tribal cedar baskets, tools, clothing, canoes, totem poles and other items, some of them hundreds of years old. Many of the items had sat stored away in people’s homes on the reservation. Lectures and other programs are held at the cultural center as well.
“I think it’s an exciting time for the Tulalip Tribes and Tulalip people,” Gobin said shortly before the museum’s opening.
Gobin also was instrumental in reviving the annual tribal family canoe journey and setting the traditional protocol for the event, according to an obituary issued by the tribes.
“His spiritual beliefs were a prominent aspect of who he was; and it was this spiritual way of life that enabled him to carry out his responsibilities to protect his people’s cultural and environmental interests,” the obituary read.
“Everything about Hank was genuine and his magnetic personality touched the lives of all those who he crossed paths.”
Gobin is survived by his wife, Inez Bill-Gobin; two sisters and three sons. Services were held Monday.
MARYSVILLE — The local community’s seventh annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration will return to the Totem Middle School cafeteria and gymnasium on Friday, May 3, from 6-8:30 p.m., and all Marysville and Tulalip community members are invited to participate
The free event will include Mexican food, music, dancing and activities. The food will be prepared by the Marysville School District food service students in the School House Café program. Music and entertainment will be provided by the mariachi band Mi Pais, as well as other local groups. Several activities will be geared specifically toward children, such as playing in bouncy houses, breaking piñatas, face-painting, and exploring police and fire vehicles. New this year will be Molina Healthcare’s cat mascot, Dr. Cleo, who will be on hand to lead activities with children, and they will bring a bike to make frozen non-alcoholic drinks.
Thanks to several donors, event organizers have received enough funding to offer Cinco de Mayo as a free event again this year. Monetary donations have been received from the Marysville Rotary, the Marysville YMCA, Molina Healthcare, the Marysville Free Methodist Church and HomeStreet Bank. In-kind and volunteer support has also been instrumental in making this event happen, and has been received from the Marysville School District, Molina Healthcare, Marysville Printing, Belmark Homes, the Mi Pais mariachi band, Sea Mar Community Health Center and various student groups.
The community effort has been lead by Marjorie Serge, with support from Jim Strickland, Victor Rodriguez, Susan Stachowiak, Wendy Messarina Volosin, Anastasia Garcia, Anayelle Lopez and others.
Questions in English should be directed to Marjorie Serge, by phone at 425-350-2064 or via email at Marjorie_serge@msvl.k12.wa.us. Questions in Spanish should be directed to the school district’s information line 360-657-0250.
Last week I wrote about the recent symposium about Native American imagery in sports that took place at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. Everyone quoted in the article was opposed to the use of such imagery, which led many readers to ask why I hadn’t given equal time to the other side.
The answer to that is simple: I was there to cover the symposium, and every single speaker at the event — about three times as many people as I ended up quoting in my column — was opposed to the use of Native American mascots, logos and team names. (The Washington Redskins were invited to have a representative at the event, but they declined.) But it’s true that there are some Native Americans who are fine with the use of Native imagery in sports. In central Michigan, for example, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe recently announced that it had no problem with a local high school whose teams are called the Warriors.
I was curious to learn more, so I contacted the Saginaw Chippewas and spoke with their public relations director, Frank Cloutier. Here’s how our conversation went:
Uni Watch: First, for people who aren’t familiar with the Saginaw Chippewas, please tell me a bit about your tribe.
Frank Cloutier: Our tribe was formed with the ratification of our constitution in 1936. We have 3,292 members, and we live in the territories called the Isabella Federal Indian Reserve in Mount Pleasant, Mich., just north of Lansing. We have the fifth- or sixth-largest Indian-owned casino in the Midwest, so we’re rather successful when it comes to our economic growth and development.
But it’s not just about gaming for us — it’s about our culture. We have a very rich, diverse culture, which is showcased in a world-class, award-winning cultural museum on our reservation. So the situation regarding mascots and team names piques our interest.
Many of the people taking part in this debate see it as a black-and-white issue. Either they’re completely opposed to all uses of Native American imagery, or they have no problem with any of it. What’s your position, or your tribe’s position, on that?
It’s very, very clear for us, because we’ve worked with so many institutions in our area. Our position is that if it’s not derogatory and it’s being used appropriately, with an opportunity to share or cross-share our culture, then it’s fine. There’s nothing derogatory about “Warriors” or “Braves.” There’s nothing derogatory about “Indian.” But terms like “Redskin” or “Half-Breed,” those are derogatory terms to us.
Courtesy of Saginaw Chippewa Tribe Saginaw Chippewas public relations director Frank Cloutier says some Native American mascots are not derogatory and can be educational.
In the study they used, they said these Native children who go to these schools with these mascots are “marginalized.” But if you look at generational trauma and the way Native peoples were treated 300 years ago, it wasn’t until 1924 that we were formally recognized as human beings, and we didn’t get the chance to vote until after women did. That’s what makes these kids feel marginalized — the way their culture and their people were treated. I don’t believe that a menacing-looking brave on the backboard of a basketball hoop is going to marginalize that child as much as that generational trauma.
That said, however, I believe that these schools using these images have an obligation to talk about the truth of Native American history. One of the largest genocides in world history happened right here on American soil, and it happened to Native Americans. So it’s important to talk about the true history about the settling of the United States, and to talk about those things that happened to Native Americans that are often not talked about.
If Native children are struggling, hopefully this kind of education and outreach and help identify why, instead of having us blame it on a mascot.
So when you say it’s fine to use non-derogatory imagery as long as it’s being used appropriately, you’re saying that part of that “appropriate use” is educational content about Native Americans?
Yes. For example, in 2003 we entered into an articulation agreement with Central Michigan University, because they were the Chippewas. As part of that agreement, the tribe and the university each has an obligation. Every year I go in and address every freshman athletic student about our culture and what it means to be a Chippewa, and about the proud, competitive nature of our people. We explain that it’s not about war paint and fake feathers. It’s about honoring the triumph of these resilient, competitive people.
They also have areas on campus that are dedicated to the presence of the Chippewa Nation. So it’s a good cross-cultural exchange. And when they go out there and compete, they’re Chippewas, they’re fighting like a Chippewa, fighting to win. We’ve made that university our school of choice for Native Americans, because our tribal community is close by, so we can help support those Native students.
What if a high school or university wasn’t interested in doing these types of cultural exchanges and educational efforts? What would your feelings be about their use of Native imagery?
It would be completely different. If they’re not willing to celebrate and show the culture, they shouldn’t have the privilege of depicting it.
What about states that have already banned all Native imagery from their high schools, like Wisconsin and Oregon?
I think that’s a missed opportunity for the type of cultural exchange and education that I just described.
How do you feel about the NCAA’s regulations restricting the use of Native American imagery but allowing it when permission is granted by a local tribe, as in the case of Florida State University and the Seminole Tribe?
I think that’s absolutely fine. That’s basically what we do with CMU.
Many teams say that their use of Native American imagery is meant to be an honor, especially when they use team names like “Warriors,” which is meant to symbolize American Indians’ fighting spirit. But there are others who say this plays into stereotypes of Indians as savages who aren’t good at anything except making war. How do you feel about that?
Once again, it goes back to the responsibility of the school. If they’re using a menacing-looking Indian and trying to intimidate the other team because they might get scalped, that’s inappropriate. But if they’re using an image that evokes spirit and competition, and they’ve celebrated the culture, then they’ve done their job and they’ve earned the right to proudly display that logo.
Everything we’ve discussed so far is about schools, which can offer the type of educational programs you’ve mentioned. But what about professional teams that use this imagery, like the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves. They’re not in the education business. What’s your feeling about them?
If they’re not going to educate and they feel no obligation [to do so], then they have no right to use this imagery. They shouldn’t have that privilege if they’re not going to celebrate where it comes from.
As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s an increasing movement to have the Washington Redskins football team change its name. Any thoughts on that?
I think that would be most appropriate.
One of the most contentious issues that comes up in these discussions is whether white people’s opinions — or any non-Natives’ opinions — should even matter. Should non-Natives have a voice in this debate? Should we simply have a vote among Native Americans and let them decide?
I have to chuckle when I hear that. We all live in this wonderful globe together. If there’s a negative impact on any one group, that impacts all of us as a whole. I think everyone, collectively, can have a voice in this. We have many brothers and sisters in various minority groups who know what it means to be marginalized, so of course we welcome their voices.
And that would also apply to white Americans?
Absolutely. If we’re going to have this debate and bring it to a positive conclusion, we’d be doing ourselves a disservice by limiting it.
Last question: Have you had discussions with people in your tribe, or from other tribes, who see this as more of a black-and-white issue?
That’s the wonderful thing about having our own free will and personal opinion. There are members of my tribe who are very steadfast and who say, “Enough’s enough — it’s time to put a stop to this.” And there are those who see, as I do, the opportunities for outreach and healthy dialogue. I celebrate that diversity of opinion, because I think it makes us more well-rounded.
LUMMI RESERVATION — Those who knew Fran James well used the same word to describe her: humble.
James, a renowned weaver who shared her skills with her Lummi Nation community and many others, died April 28 at 88. She was widely known as “Auntie Fran.”
“She definitely gave more than she received,” said Darrell Hillaire, a former chairman of the Lummi Indian Business Council. “She definitely decided to share her life with the world, and through her weaving she was able to do that. … She thought that was representative of weaving our lives together.”
Hillaire and others said James taught a lot more than weaving. Her life itself was an example — a life that Hillaire described as “pure, simple, hard-working and generous.”
“She did those first things in order to be the last thing,” Hillaire said. “She gave everything, most importantly her time. She treated everyone with respect. … She always said that people should keep their hands busy. It kept them out of mischief.”
James’ weavings have appeared at the Seattle Art Museum, and are for sale at the Stonington Gallery in Seattle. She and her son Bill James, traditional hereditary chief of the Lummi people, have played an important role in keeping weaving and other traditional practices alive.
Makah Nation weaver Carl Irving credited Fran James with inspiring new generations to carry on the weaving tradition. Tribal communities from Alaska to California are mourning her passing, he said.
“It is because of her encouragement that I became the weaver I am,” Irving said. “She is the one who told me, ‘You keep going! You keep going!’ There are numerous lives she has touched — uncountable. … It’s like losing the Queen of England to the British people, that’s how big of a loss it is to us. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
Lummi Nation member Freddy Lane said he made a point of dropping by James’ home to share his catch every time he went clamming.
“She’d shake my hand and give me a little bit of gas money,” Lane said. “Every year we would have a clambake for her.”
Once, Lane said, Auntie Fran told an acquaintance that he had been doing his clambakes wrong.
“She said, ‘You’re using the wrong kind of seaweed. You’ve got to use the lettuce, the really light green seaweed.'”
As Lane explained it, a traditional clambake on the beach uses rocks in a pit, heated with a wood fire. The big horse clams are piled in first, with smaller butter and steamer clams on top. Then the whole thing is covered with seaweed while the clams cook.”
The different seaweed has a different taste and it salts them differently,” Lane said, adding that the first time he tried it Auntie Fran’s way, “The clams were exquisite.”
Shirley Bob, a niece, said she never knew her Auntie Fran to hold a grudge against anyone.
“She taught me a lot, just the way she carried herself, being humble and kind to everybody,” Bob said. “She showed me how to knit. She showed me how to do baskets. She would say, ‘Love love!’ That meant she loved us. I’m going to miss that.”
Report explains what was measured, how it was done, and top health issues that need work
Source: Snohomish Health District
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – Prenatal care? Violent crime? Illegal dumping? For the past year, the Snohomish Health District and its Public Health Advisory Council (PHAC) have delved into the world of health statistics to discover what the most pressing health issues are for Snohomish County residents. The Health District compiled the findings in a “report card” presented to community leaders April 30.
Snohomish County data for 80 different health indicators was compared to Washington state and U.S. data; trends in the measure over time, whether improving or worsening; and national goals such as Healthy People 2020, or goals set by a professional association. The report card highlights areas the community does well in and areas that need work.
The Health District expects the report will lead to community engagement in developing community health improvement plans that tackle the top priorities.
The top-scoring six health issues that emerged from the Community Health Assessment were
·youth physical abuse
·youth and adult obesity
·suicide
·dental decay in children
·access to a primary care physician,
·first trimester prenatal care
These priorities are based on the number of people impacted, the seriousness of the issue in terms of health effects, and whether there are proven community-based interventions. The PHAC also considered community values and the presence of local organizations which might assist in tackling the topic.
The Snohomish County Health Leadership Coalition, led by Premera, has already identified youth obesity as a priority after meeting to identify ways of reducing health care costs. The group has targeted increasing activity levels in 10,000 5th graders in the county.
The PHAC will work with Snohomish Health District staff to engage the wider community in actively developing Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIP) for the top three priorities (marked in bold) in 2013-2014. If you or your organization would like to get involved in a Community Health Improvement Plan or learn more, please call 425.339.8618 or e-mail healthstats@snohd.org.
The report card is posted on the Snohomish Health District’s website and available by request.
The Public Health Advisory Council is appointed by the Board of Health to consider public health issues and recommend policies and actions to improve the health of Snohomish County. Members are community leaders who volunteer their time for three-year terms, except the youth representative who serves for one year. The council was created in 2009 and expanded in 2012.
Established in 1959, the Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier Snohomish County through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. Find more information about the Health Board and the Health District at http://www.snohd.org.
EVERETT, Wash. – “Keeping Our Traditions Alive” is the theme of the 21st annual Hibulb Powwow May 11 at the Everett Community College Fitness Center, 2206 Tower St. in Everett.
“The powwow honors cultural survival and the perseverance needed to celebrate and maintain Native identity into the 21st century,” said Paula Three Stars, EvCC’s 1st Nations Club advisor.
The Hibulb (pronounced hee bulb) Powwow features traditional Native American dancing, drumming, singing, arts and crafts. Grand entries are at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. The Powwow is free and open to the public.
The event will honor the foster care program “Our Shared Children and their Caretakers,” Native American children who are in the foster program and cared for by non-Native families.
“It’s our hope and the hope of the state Department of Social and Health Services employee Lisa Powers that we keep our shared children in touch with their tribal affiliations and encourage them to participate in cultural activities,” Three Stars said.
This year’s head dancers are Reuben Twin Jr. and EvCC student Christine Warner. The master of ceremonies will be Arnold Little Head. Tony Bluehorse will serve as the arena director. The host drums are Young Society and Eagle Warrior.
The Hibulb Powwow was founded in 1990 to honor Native ancestors who once lived near the mouth of the Snohomish River. Hibulb was of the stronghold of the Snohomish peoples that thrived in the site just below Legion Park in Everett. Hibulb had an estimated population of 1,200 and was once the largest trading center in the Pacific Northwest.
Descendants of the people of Hibulb live today in the neighboring community of Tulalip as well as other nearby tribal reservations representing many different tribal bands.
For more information, contact Paula Three Stars at 425-388-9281 or Matt Remle at 360-657-0940.
Quil Ceda-Tulalip Elementary is recognized for incorporating Native American practices in plan to raise academic achievement.
By Sharon Salyer, The Herald
MARYSVILLE — The staff of Quil Ceda-Tulalip Elementary School has received a cultural awareness award from the Washington Education Association for its efforts to use Native American cultural practices as part of its plan to increase academic achievement.
The award was presented Thursday at the education organization’s annual convention in Bellevue.
Quil Ceda-Tulalip Elementary School has 540 students in kindergarten through fifth grades.
Arden Watson, president of the Marysville Education Association, nominated the school for the award, citing its dedication for integrating Tulalip and American Indian culture and academic improvement.
The program for integrating culture with increased emphasis on academic achievement was funded through a federal School Improvement Grant. The grants were awarded to low-achieving schools in each state, as measured on statewide tests.
While the school was under pressure to made big academic gains, “the staff did not bend from their core belief that culture matters,” Watson said.
“They have been intentional about weaving in Native American culture in their school and in doing so that empowered kids to feel like they can be successful,” Watson said.
Irene Bare, an academic support coordinator at the school, said that initially the staff’s focus was to have the students believe in themselves. “That work transferred to us,” she said.
Staff has seen the results of their efforts, she said. As one example, last year about 5 percent of entering kindergarten students knew 12 letter sounds. By the end of the school year, 95 percent of students had reached that goal, she said.
The result, she said has been “a turnaround wave” of progress. “Sometimes it might not show up on the state assessment tests right away, but we can see the kids have grown,” she said.
Anthony Craig, co-principal at the school, said that each day starts with a morning assembly lasting seven to 10 minutes.
There’s traditional drumming and singing led by students, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Many students who aren’t members of the Tulalip Tribes participate in the drumming, too, he said, “learning from kids who do this every day.”
Craig said he also likes to deliver a daily message to the students, such as perseverance when things get hard.
Manya McFarlene, a third grade teacher, said that when the school’s assemblies were first begun, only a few students would step up to join a teacher who was a member of the Tulalip Tribes leading the daily singing.
“Now our students are leading the assembly,” she said. “The girls are dancing. It’s beautiful to see. The older ones are showing the way.”
McFarlene said she’s also seen a difference on how students prepare for testing. Pre-test drills used to upset students. “They knew that they didn’t know the information,” she said.
Teachers responded by telling the students that they understood that they didn’t know all the answers. The pre-test drills were to help teachers identify what specific problems the students were having.
“Now you see the smiles,” McFarlene said. One third grade student wrote on her pre-test drill paper: ‘I don’t’ know this yet, but I will know it after you teach it to me.”
Not all students reach where they need to be, but they’ve all made improvements, McFarlene said. “That’s what we pay attention to, the growth that’s been made.”
Bare said it meant a lot to have people outside the school recognize what’s been accomplished.
“I wish the whole staff could have been there with us,” Bare said of being in Bellevue to accept the award. “They deserve to have that celebration.”We’re so immersed in the work we often don’t take the time to celebrate.”
Gale Courey Toensing, Indian Country Today Media Network
In late February, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation issued a provisional emergency regulation denying indigenous prisoners access to items used in religious ceremony – sacred medicines like kinnikinnick, copal, and osha root; sacred pipes and pipe bags; drums and other instruments; water dippers; cloth for prayer ties; beads and beading supplies; animal hides and other objects.
The draconian restrictions have given rise to a backlash of protest and now a tribal organization is spearheading an effort both within the United States and in the international arena to stop California and other states from depriving American Indian and Alaska Native prisoners of their right to practice their traditional indigenous religions.
Time is of the essence, Huy Chairman Gabriel S. Galanda said. All written comments must be received by the close of the public comment period May 7, 2013, at 5:00 p.m. Also, a public hearing will be held on May 7, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Sacramento, specifically in the Kern room, located at 151 S Street, North Building, 95811. “The CDCR will then consider comments, evaluate proposed alternatives, and issue a final rule. We urge your timely written and public comment in opposition to the State of California’s unlawful effort to unduly restrict American indigenous prisoners’ freedom to believe, express and exercise traditional indigenous religion,” Galanda said. Galanda is a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, a lawyer with Galanda Broadman in Seattle, and director of the National Native Bar Association.
Huy explains the new CDCR restrictions in a blog posting on Galanda Broadman’s website. A prison order from Soledad Prison in California from May 9, 2011 shows the variety of items inmates were allowed to possess under the “Authorized Personal Property Schedule” back then. The items included but were not limited to sacred herbs, including sage, sweet grass, cedar, kinnikinnick, copal, bitter root and osha root; prayer fans; beaded items such as wristbands, headbands, bandannas; cloth to be used for prayer ties, beads and beading supplies including needles, looms, and thread; pipes and pipe bags; hand drums, flutes, rattles, and clap stick; gourd water dippers; soft leather from a variety of animals; and coyote and bear teeth.
By contrast, the new emergency regulations includes a “Religious Property Matrix” that prohibits kinnikinnick, copal, and osha root, cloth for prayer ties, beads or beading supplies, pipes or pipe bags, drums or other instruments, water dippers, leather, teeth, or other items. “The new Matrix should not affect the use of tobacco in ceremonies. Prisoners were not previously allowed to possess tobacco personally, though they were allowed to use it for religious purposes. … Thankfully, the regulations regarding tobacco have not been amended,” Huy’s blog entry says.
Equally as drastic as these prohibitions is the CDCR’s curtailment of indigenous prisoners’ sweat lodge ceremonies – a restriction that presents a potentially disastrous impediment to indigenous prisoners’ spiritual rehabilitation, said Kristen Eriksen, a criminal defense lawyer with a former client in Soledad with whom she has kept in touch. In addition to speaking with him on the phone, Eriksen has sent her former client “spiritual packages” of items used in ceremony several times a year for around three years. She asked that his name be withheld.
Eriksen said she doesn’t know why the CDCR imposed the new restrictions. “I haven’t looked into the limitations on other groups but from what my client has said they don’t have those same limitations,” she said. Reporting on a recent conversation with her former client, she said, “The Native Americans used to have every weekend for sweat lodge and there are 70 of them and there are two yards so they’d have eight sweat lodges a month – now they’re down to one, sometimes two a month. They’re really being ignored and really to their detriment. The sweat lodge is very rehabilitative for them and it’s been something that’s really bound them together and helped them to develop their own spirituality, their connection to their culture, to each other, to themselves – everything, you know? – and I just can’t believe that anything positive can come from limiting that,” Eriksen said. “And it’s not as if there’s been any kind of problem. There’s been nothing,” she added.
Eriksen’s former client has filed a complaint seeking administrative review of the new restrictions “because it’s really quite severe in terms of taking away so many privileges and so many items that they previously had,” Eriksen said. “He’s in contact with the Imam of the Muslims who agreed to talk to the board with him, but the Imam said none of the other spiritual advisors would assist,” she said.
In addition to her legal work, Eriksen is in charge of her school district’s Native American Parents Advisory Committee. “We have these ceremonies a couple times a year and [my former client] has been really cool about making jewelry and medallions and things that we’ve been able to utilize to give to kids in our school. It’s been really nice. He’s gotten a lot of joy from beading and it’s been really good for him to be able to be creative and he’s improved a ton and it’s been beneficial to us too. Now they’re no longer allowed to bead,” Eriksen said. “It’s so wrong. There’s no reason for it and I truly believe it’s partly because they don’t have an advocate.”
Although Huy, which means “See you again/we never say goodbye” in the coastal Salish language, is focused on the CDCR’s immediate lawmaking effort, the organization has reached far to draw attention to abuses of indigenous prisoners’ religious rights across the country.
On April 19 Huy wrote to U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples seeking “an investigation into the pervasive pattern in the United States of increasing restrictions on the religious freedoms of Indigenous Peoples who have been deprived of their liberty, particularly by American state corrections agencies and officers.” The letter notes that Peoples in the U.S., have the highest incarceration rate of any racial or ethnic group – 38-percent the national rate.
The letter charges the U.S. with “failing to fulfill its duty to protect the religious freedoms of American indigenous prisoners” in violation of both domestic and international law, citing the U.N Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Although the letter to Anaya did not mention the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its protection of religious freedom, Galanda told Indian Country Today Media Network that the restrictions on indigenous religious practice clearly violate international human rights law. “The pervasive pattern of state violations of American indigenous religious liberty that we are seeing not only impinges upon international indigenous rights and American constitutional and civil rights but also universal human rights,” Galanda said.
Huy has also gained the support of NNABA, which passed resolution that Galanda proposed at its annual meeting April 10 in support of religious freedom for incarcerated American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. On April 24 the NNABA wrote to the American Association of State Correctional Administrators, the American Correctional Association, the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the American Association of State Correctional Administrators, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, and the National Congress of American Indians asking for their official support for American indigenous prisoners’ freedom to believe, express and exercise traditional indigenous religion; to condemn any unduly burdensome or patently illegal federal or state restrictions on the Indigenous Peoples’ religious liberty; and to help explore how federal, state and American indigenous governments can jointly develop and advance shared goals concerning American indigenous prisoners.
Every year, the Lummi Nation releases a million coho yearlings from its Lummi Bay Hatchery in two batches of 500,000 fish. The fish are spawned at the Lummi Bay Hatchery and reared at the state’s Kendall Creek hatchery until they are yearlings. Then the fish are transported back to Lummi Bay where they are released.
A more accurate state fish consumption rate should be in place by next year, Maia Bellon, director of the state Department of Ecology, told tribal leaders and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials at a meeting Thursday.
The fish consumption rate is part of a human health criteria used by state government to determine how much pollution is allowed to be put in our waters. The rate is supposed to protect Washington residents from more than 100 toxins that can cause illness or death.
“We don’t need more debate. We have the science and we have had all of the discussions,” said Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. “Time is running out and we must move forward. We need the governor to work with us to make this happen,” he said.
“This is a public health issue for everyone who lives here,” said Brian Cladoosby, chair of the Swinomish Tribe. “We have worked hard with the state for the past eight years to revise our state’s fish consumption rate and water quality standards. We did not expect this issue to be kicked down the road, but that’s what happened. Now the debate is over and we need to move toward implementing a new rate, but we need a firm commitment from Gov. Inslee that he will help make that happen.”
Tribal, state and federal leaders agree that current rate is not accurate and that actual fish consumption is much higher. Tribes suggest a rate of at least 175 grams per day – the same standard recently adopted by Oregon – as a starting point for discussions.
The state’s current fish consumption rate of 6.5 grams per day – about one 8-ounce seafood meal per month – is one of the lowest in the nation, despite the fact that Washington has one of the highest populations of seafood consumers. That rate has been in place for more than 20 years and is not protective of most residents, especially tribal members and others who consume large amounts of seafood. Furthermore, tribal treaty rights depend on fish and shellfish being safe to eat.
The tribes and state Department of Ecology had been working to increase the rate when the effort was stalled last summer by business interests who complained to state government that a rate change would be too costly for them to implement. Since then tribes have been working with Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to get the process back on track.
“This is not a choice between a healthy environment and a healthy economy. Both of those things can go hand in hand,” said Russ Hepfer, vice chair of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.
