MARYSVILLE — Marysville School District Superintendent Dr. Becky Berg has invited local legislators and leaders from the Marysville and Tulalip community to a roundtable meeting to discuss current educational issues and topics of mutual interest.
“Issues surrounding the state of education have never been more pressing. This meeting will provide us an opportunity to come together and discuss the current state of education, state funding impacts, educational mandates such as TPEP (new teacher evaluation system) and the Common Core State Standards. Our children are our most valuable assets, we must all work together to provide them with the best education possible. I appreciate this time together to discuss these and other important issues” said Dr. Berg.
Participants will meet in the district’s board room beginning at 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 6. Invited guests will hear a brief overview on the district followed by discussion, guest comments, and a time for questions and answers.
Although only invited guest will participate in the discussion, the meeting is open to the public and there will be a designated seating area for those who would like to attend to view and listen to the process.
For more information, email jodi_runyon@msvl.k12.wa.us.
2013 was another good year for Native music. Established young talents Derek Miller and Samantha Crain put out excellent albums; Frank Waln, Leonard Sumner and Nataanii Nez Means embodied the bright future of Native hip hop; and DJ trio A Tribe Called Red continued to define their own genre of “pow wow step” dance music. But those are just a few of the reasons listeners had to celebrate. We asked several of the music cognoscenti to offer their selections for the best of the best.
Janet Rogers’ Picks for Best of 2013
Albums
1. Derek Miller, Blues, Vol. 1. Hot, rough, sexy blues (official site)
2. George Leach, Surrender. Twelve years in the making and every note was worth the wait. (official site)
3. A Tribe Called Red, Nation II Nation. They have created new territory just for dancing. (official site)
4. The Johnnys, Rock. A generous offering of the Thinking Man’s Metal Music (official site)
5. Patricia Cano, Songs from Tomson Highway’s The (Post) Mistress. Sultry vocals with perfect pitch. (indiepool)
Tracks
1. Wanbdi, “Bones” from Where the Fishes Go. Blues inspired female truth (bandcamp)
2. Ghostkeeper, “Horse Chief! War Thief” from Horse Chief! War Thief! Original! Metis nerd punk (bandcamp)
3. A Tribe Called Red ft. Northern Voices, “Different Heroes” from Nation II Nation. Inspired dance track, commands me like a puppet (official site)
4. Jasper, “Inglorious” from Inglorious (EP). Righteous political rock anthem of our times. (reverbnation)
5. Nick Sherman, “Drag Your Words Through,” from Drag Your Words Through. Back-to-basics good music. (official site)
ICTMN contributor Janet Rogers is host of Native Waves Radio CFUV 101.9fm and Tribal Clefs CBC 90.5fm.
Frank Waln’s Picks for Best of 2013
Albums
1. A Tribe Called Red, Nation II Nation. This record is powerful, political and spiritual. ATCR is legendary. (official site)
2. Leonard Sumner, Rez Poetry. These songs are so fresh with a unique blend of musical influence scatted all throughout. Leonard Sumner carves out his own genre with this classic album. (official site)
3. Samantha Crain, Kid Face. Equal parts Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Danger Mouse, this album’s haunting melodies and introspective lyrics will pull you in and never let go. (official site)
4. Dark Water Rising, Grace & Grit: Chapter 1. Heartfelt and dynamic, this album shows Charly Lowry delivering flawless vocals backed by a talented band. DWR mixes southern charm with Indigenous sensibilities in an album that is sure to win your heart over. (official site)
5. Fawn Wood & Dallas Waskahat, Blessings. Powerful, feel good music from one of the best female vocalists out, regardless of genre or ethnicity. (Canyon Records)
Tracks
1. Angel Haze, “A Tribe Called Red.” An aggressive punch to the gut from two of the best Indigenous acts out right now. She honors her Indigenous heritage without exploiting it on this monster of a song. (official site)
2. Tall Paul, “Taurus the Bull.” Channeling sound of classic Midwest MC’s, Tall Paul flexes smart lyrical commentary all over this grim track, proving why he is one of the best Indigenous MC’s to ever touch a microphone. (official site)
3. Scatter Their Own, “Taste the Time.” A beautiful ode to protecting one of the pillars of life, water. Memorable riffs, smart lyrics and a concept that is uniquely Indigenous. The music video rocks too. (official site)
4. Nick Sherman, “Wrong Side of Town.” Nick Sherman is one of the most talented Indigenous songwriters we’ve heard in a long time. This song is warm, relatable and beautiful on many different levels. (official site)
5. George Leach, “Carry Me.” A larger than life sound and great vocal performance push this song into the realm of commercial cross over success. (official site)
Frank Waln is a NAMA-winning hip hop artist.
Vincent Schilling’s Picks for Best of 2013
Albums
1. Frank Waln, Born Ready. Fearless story-telling, symphonic hip-hop from the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. (official site)
2. Inez Jasper, Burn Me Down. A fun and enlightening mix of traditional sounds with contemporary dance music and uplifting vocals. (official site)
3. Nataanii Nez Means, 2 Worlds. Without holding back Nataanii attacks his hip hop tracks fearlessly and covers topics such as AIM, Rez issues and his own father Russell Means. (Bandcamp)
4. Samantha Crain, Kid Face. Amazing folk vocalist with a powerhouse of emotion for a young artist. Watch out for this one. (official site)
5. A Tribe Called Red, Nation II Nation. An immaculate blending of traditional drum song and electronic beats to include dubstep, electronica and even sirens. (official site)
Tracks
1. Nataanii Nez Means’, “The Radical” from 2 Worlds. A gorgeous hip-hop tribute featuring the words of Russell Means (Bandcamp)
2. Tara Williamson, “Come to Me” from Lie Low. Soft vocals, melodic tunes, #1 artist on Native trailblazers June Jamz (official site)
3. Frank Waln and Cody Blackbird, “Hear My Cry” from Born Ready. Traditional infused with Hip Hop with vocals from Both Waln and Blackbird.(official site)
4. Christa Couture, “You were here in Michigan” from The Living Record. Though the album released in 2012, this track, with a folky and catchy melody, had definite staying power long into 2013. A brilliant song. (official site)
5. The Johnnys, “On the Wrong Damn Side of the Law” from Rock. Fun rockabilly-ish gesture-invoking readily playable great music. (official site)
Vincent Schilling covers entertainment for ICTMN and his weekly Native Trailblazers radio show.
Jason Morgan Edwards’s Picks for Best of 2013
Tracks
1. Saving Damsels, “Sweet Girl” from Find My Way. JJ Otero’s signature soul-searching and poetic lyrics really shine through on this particular track from the band’s 2012 release. (official site)
2. Twang Deluxe, “NWO- New Waylon Order.” Pays homage to one of the Navajo trio’s main musical influences, Waylon Jennings. Be sure to look for their debut album in 2014. (facebook)
3. Miracle Dolls, “NeverMind” from Guns n Thieves. The Miracle Dolls solidify their strong foot-hold as the leading Native presence on the alternative/indie rock stage. (official site)
4. Raye, “Drink Me Dry.” This newcomer is lighting up both LA and NYC with her distinctive style and sound. It’s hard not to feel the joys and pains of loves found and lost while listening to this poignant melody of giving all you have inside to that special someone. (reverbnation)
5. The Plateros, “A Motherless Child.” The Plateros continue to lead the charge for classic rock and blues fans. Infusing time-honored riffs with their unique stylings, the Navajo cousins continue to push forward, breaking new musical ground with each performance. This song puts the band’s singing, song-writing and playing on full display. (official site)
Jason Morgan Edwards is a photographer based in New Mexico who writes about music for ICTMN.
LINDSEY WASSON / The Seattle Times Enri Mendoza, left, and Daniel Sandoval, sort geoduck at Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton last week. China, the biggest market for West Coast geoduck, suspended shellfish imports from Northern California to Alaska on Dec. 3 after toxins were detected in two shipments.
China’s suspension of geoduck imports from the West Coast has hit Washington harvesters hard. Tribes, private companies and the state itself are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
On a typical morning, Lief Cofield and his three crew members pile into a 30-foot aluminum boat to harvest hundreds of pounds of geoduck clams.
But for more than two weeks, his boat, the Eagle Scout, has been tied to the dock at Fair Harbor Marina in North Bay, near Shelton — the dive suits stored, the equipment stashed and the crew stuck on land.
“We are supposed to be harvesting 1,500 pounds a day this week,” said Cofield, 26, who is a dive supervisor at Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton. “My guys make $15 an hour plus a 10- to 15-cent per-pound bonus on what they personally harvest; and that can really add up.”
His crew is not alone. Since Dec. 3, when seafood inspectors in China suspended imports of West Coast geoduck and other bivalve shellfish such as oysters after reporting high levels of algae toxin or arsenic, harvesters along tribal, state and private shorelines have all been hit.
Altogether, the state produces more than 6 million pounds of geoduck clams annually, and last year almost 90 percent was sold to China.
But now, tribal harvesting companies have laid off divers. Geoduck farms have reduced hours for many workers, and wild-geoduck divers all around Puget Sound are out of work.
LINDSEY WASSON / The Seattle Times Geoduck are seen in a crate awaiting shipment. Since China’s import cutoff, quotas have fallen drastically.
Meanwhile, the state is missing out on well over $1 million in revenue from the wild harvest. Washington auctions off rights to harvest geoduck on state aquatic lands; this year those rights were worth about $12 a pound.
“We only fished two days last week,” said Cendtary Xeno, a geoduck diver for Global Pacific Seafood. “Everyone has bills to pay and families, and lack of work at the holiday time is pretty bad.”
Currently, state and federal agencies are waiting to get more information from Chinese officials, and the Department of Health is preparing to start testing arsenic levels on Thursday.
While the investigation is ongoing, geoduck harvesting in Washington is essentially at a standstill.
According to the Washington Department of Natural Resources, an average of 50,000 pounds of wild geoduck are harvested weekly by divers such as Xeno, with Global Pacific.
With almost 1.1 million pounds of state-regulated wild geoduck left to harvest before March 31, the department estimates the current ban represents not only lost income for fishermen, but also $600,000 per week in lost revenue for the state.
Some tribes and companies have already completed their harvests for the year. But those who have not are missing out on millions of dollars’ worth of product that would have been shipped to China.
Suquamish Seafoods, run by that tribe, exports almost all of its geoduck to China, and has laid off all 24 of its divers.
The tribe still had 140,000 pounds of geoduck to harvest before the end of the season in March. If the ban is not lifted soon, divers may not be able to finish harvesting, said Tony Forsman, the company’s general manager.
The tribe was selling geoduck for $11.50 a pound before the ban took effect, so the Suquamish Tribe could potentially lose out on more than $1.6 million worth of clams.
Divers receive 40 percent of the take for the geoduck they harvest, meaning each diver is at a risk of losing $67,000 — a large portion of their annual income — right before the holiday season, said George Hill, the harvest coordinator and a diver for Suquamish Seafoods.
“You can’t think about Christmas when you have to think of next month’s bills,” Hill said. “We have bills to pay, and not knowing when we are going to go back to work is very hard on us.”
To make up for the lost income, the 47-year-old Hill, who has five children, may look for a diving job harvesting sea cucumber. He hopes the ban can be lifted in time for the tribe to finish harvesting this year’s quota.
Seattle Shellfish, a company that farms only geoduck and ships exclusively to China, has shifted its 18 divers to other duties, such as geoduck farm maintenance, since they are not currently harvesting the giant clam.
Taylor Shellfish Farms, one of the largest geoduck providers in the state, ships only half of its harvested geoduck to China, which means there is still some work to be done. However, many employees have been moved to half-time and have been given other tasks, company spokesman Bill Dewey said.
Both farms say they will have to consider layoffs if the ban continues much longer.
At the Taylor plant in Shelton, holding tanks are usually packed full of thousands of pounds of live, freshly harvested geoduck. Starting at 11 a.m. each day, the four-man geoduck team, led by Gustavo Hernandez, has to work quickly to sort and pack all the clams before the first truck leaves for the airport at 4 p.m.
Last Thursday, the men raised the lid on the holding tank and stared down at the measly 1,000 pounds of geoduck, stacked in orange crates, that had been beach-harvested the night before. They didn’t start packing and sorting until 2 p.m. and were in no hurry.
“This is usually the busiest time of year,” said Hernandez, 35. “But without exporting to China, we just don’t have a lot to do.”
Geoducks first caught on as a banquet delicacy in Hong Kong, and the clams’ appeal has spread to other parts of China.
Geoduck harvesters, the state Department of Health, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) all have been scrambling to understand the suspension.
Fish inspectors in China identified high levels of arsenic and a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, in two shipments of geoduck — one from Washington and one from Alaska.
Friday, state and tribal officials closed the 135-acre geoduck harvesting area outside Federal Way where the Washington geoduck shipment originated.
The 385-pound shipment was harvested by the Puyallup Tribe in Poverty Bay, on what the Department of Natural Resources calls the Redondo Tract.
PSP is a biotoxin produced by algae that shellfish eat. In humans, high levels of either PSP or arsenic can lead to severe illness or even death.
However, testing in October by the Department of Health found PSP levels in the Redondo Tract well below internationally accepted limits.
Because there is no federal safety standard in place for arsenic, the last arsenic testing done in the area was in 2007. Levels found at that time were not of concern for human health, according to an agency spokesman.
The Department of Health originally had focused on investigating PSP levels, but last week the agency learned the Washington shipment was blocked because of arsenic, while PSP was the issue with the shipment from Alaska.
“The last thing I would want to have happen is for someone to get sick,” said Cofield, from Taylor Shellfish. “But closing down the whole West Coast because of two shipments seems a little heavy-handed.”
The Alaska shipment of geoduck originated from outside Ketchikan, and that state has also provided federal agencies with detailed reports, said Jerry Borchert, the marine biotoxin coordinator with the Washington Department of Health shellfish program.
Borchert said China uses a different unit of measure when reporting PSPs, and officials here don’t know how Chinese inspectors tested the arsenic levels. “So we don’t know how they came up with the level they have reported,” Borchert said.
“We are full of questions and are looking for some answers,” he said. “We are waiting for more details.”
NOAA, the federal agency working directly with the Chinese, sent a report with the health department’s PSP findings to Chinese officials, along with questions about how the toxicity levels were measured. Federal officials also are awaiting more information from China, and it is still unknown when the ban might be lifted.
Information from The Seattle Times archive was used in this report.
Coral Garnick: 206-464-2422 or cgarnick@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @coralgarnick
Monday was a key deadline for the Affordable Care Act. In order to begin insurance coverage on January 1, 2014, people were supposed to sign up by December 23, 2013, for that shiny new policy.
(On Monday the White House announced the deadline is extended a stay. That’s a good thing for people trying to navigate the web site at the last minute.)
How many American Indians and Alaska Natives signed up for this new program? Who knows? But you’d think that something this important would have so much information posted about it that it would almost be annoying. There should be posters, flyers, signup fairs, reminders and banners. This should be a big deal.
Instead this deadline whizzed by, hardly making a sound in Indian country.
But this is why the deadline – and health insurance matters. From this point forward every American Indian and Alaska Native who signs up for some form of insurance, through a tribe or an employer, via Medicaid, or through these new Marketplace Exchanges, adds real money to the Indian health system.
How much funding? Healthcare reform expert Ed Fox estimates the total could exceed $2 billion. But what makes that $2 billion even more important is that it does not need to be appropriated by Congress.
Most of that funding stream will come from the expansion of Medicaid, the primary mechanism for expanding coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This is a particularly thorny problem for Indian country because only about half of the states with significant American Indian and Alaska Native populations have expanded Medicaid. That’s why it so important for Indian country to keep pressing for this critical funding source.
But even without the Medicaid expansion, many in Indian country are eligible for special considerations through the Marketplace exchanges. Most people won’t have to pay out-of-pocket costs like deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance depending on income. And American Indians and Alaska Natives have a sort of permanent open enrollment period, so the signup can occur anytime.
But, as Dr. Fox writes, “Unfortunately, fewer than 10 percent of those American Indians/Alaska Natives eligible for subsidies will purchase qualified health plans, even fewer American Indians/Alaska Natives likely if they currently receive services at an IHS-funded health program.”
But the Affordable Care Act is an alternative. This is the deal: The Indian health system has never been fully funded. And that is not likely to change in our lifetime. No Congress or president in the history of this country has ever presented a budget that meets the health care needs of Indian country.
But the Affordable Care Act opens up a new way of tapping money, exchanging complexity and paperwork for more money that does not have to go through Congress. Money that can go directly and automatically into the Indian health system. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nine in ten American Indians and Alaska Natives qualify for some sort of assistance to get coverage.
The Affordable Care Act’s potential revenue stream is particularly important right now because the appropriations process in Congress is so completely broken.
But. Wait! American Indians and Alaska Natives have a treaty right to health care. There is no need to do anything, right?
Then I was re-reading my tribe’s treaty with the United States, the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868. Article 10 says: “The United States hereby agrees to furnish annually to the Indians the physician, teachers, carpenter, miller, engineer, farmer, and blacksmith, as herein contemplated, and that such appropriations shall be made, from time to time, on the estimates of the Secretary of the Interior, as will be sufficient to employ such persons.”
And there is that word: “appropriations.” The process that Congress uses to spend money; a framework that has never even once considered full funding for Indian health.
I hear from many folks who say this is all too much. Let’s repeal the law and start over. Ok, then what? Repealing the law is not going to change the dismal funding of the Indian health system. Congress cannot even agree on regular spending, let alone something like that. But for all the complications, for all the confusion about web sites and paperwork, the Affordable Care Act opens up a check book with a couple billion dollars. We can watch deadlines whiz by. Or, we can say, there it is. Take it.
Mark Trahant is the 20th Atwood Chair at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He is a journalist, speaker and Twitter poet and is a member of The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Join the discussion about austerity. Comment on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/TrahantReports.
On Thursday, Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) signed a controversial “mascot” bill making it harder to force public schools to drop tribal, Native nicknames.
The law requires at least 10 percent of a school district board members to sign a complaint which would be reviewed by the Department of Public Instruction, with hearings in front of an administrative law judge. The new law also places the burden on those who file a complaint to prove that a race-based mascot or team name promotes discrimination, pupil harassment or stereotyping. Under the old law, the burden of proof was on the school district.
Many Native groups are outraged.
“[The bill] is an example of institutionalized racism in content and process,” Barbara Munson, an Oneida Indian who chairs the Wisconsin Indian Education Association’s mascots and logos task force. She also told the Associated Press, “It’s a poke in the eye with a sharp stick to all Wisconsin tribes, and it is an act of discrimination leveled directly at our children.”
Brian Cladoosby, president of the National Congress of American Indians said in a press release that these mascots do not honor Native people. “I was deeply saddened to hear that Wisconsin Governor Walker signed a misguided bill that protects racist stereotypes reinforced by using Native American names and images as school mascots,” Cladoosby said. “Wisconsin just took a big step backward in the journey toward a more inclusive and respectful society.”
The bill, which was proposed by state Republicans, passed the Wisconsin legislature in November, but sat on Walker’s desk for several weeks. It officially became law yesterday despite challenges from state Democrats and many other groups that the law was “racist.”
In a statement, Walker said that he signed the law because he didn’t want to stifle speech by preventing schools from choosing their mascots. He also said that a person’s right to speak doesn’t end just because what they say is offensive. “Instead of trying to legislate free speech, a better alternative is to educate people about how certain phrases and symbols that are used as nicknames and mascots are offensive to many of our fellow citizens.”
The new law repeals a measure passed by a majority-Democrat legislature in 2010. That law was signed into law by former Democratic Governor Jim Doyle.
The 2010 law was the first of its kind in the United States to set up a process that allowed a single school district resident opposed to a race-based mascot, nickname, logo or team name to file a complaint with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, which would decide whether to take action against the district.
CARNATION, WA. – Inside the Snoqualmie Tribe Food Bank in Carnation, volunteer Fred Vosk said it is an all you can eat place where all are welcome.
Becky Fredrickson volunteers at the food bank too, and added that they do not ask a lot of questions.
“We don’t say show us what you make. They are here. They need food. We have food. We help them,” said Fredrickson.
But in a matter of days they will shut the doors.
“It breaks my heart because there’s many people who need extra food. I see a lot of children in here,” said Fredrickson. “It hurts.”
“We are open Christmas Eve and then that’s it,” said Vosk.
The Snoqualmie Tribe, which sponsors the food bank, decided it was time to close.
Jaime Martin, the Communications and Public Relations Officer for the Snoqualmie Tribe, emailed the following statement:
“The Snoqualmie Tribe is always looking to become more efficient and because of that the Snoqualmie Tribal Council has made their decision to close the Snoqualmie Tribe Food Bank. The tribe was going to close the Food Bank in September but they decided to keep it open through the holidays. The Tribe has donated more than $3.5 million to Puget Sound nonprofits, including multiple food banks, and will continue to do so.”
Vosk said the Snoqualmie Tribe has kept the food bank going for 38 years.
“They backed us so nicely,” said Vosk.
Now food bank volunteers hope to work with the city of Carnation. If they can get a new building to operate out of and a truck, they will try to reopen.
SEATTLE — Staff for the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center have started an online fundraising effort to offset around $280,000 in debt. The center, which operates in Seattle’s Discovery Park, has struggled in the wake of grant and other program cuts.
“It is a really urgent situation. We really have to pay attention and get our bills paid for,” said Jeff Smith, board chairman of the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation which operates the facility.
Smith said staff considered closing Daybreak Star in September, when it appeared the situation was a “crisis”.
Since then, explained Smith, staff has been cut and the budget of the non-profit has been balanced. It now has six months to pay back about half of its debt.
“We’re motivated to work really hard to raise money so it doesn’t go out of business,” said Smith.
Daybreak Star opened in 1977, seven years after about 100 Native Americans scaled the fence at what was then Fort Lawson, demanding part of the property which was being decommissioned by the federal government.
The confrontation led to the City of Seattle setting aside land for Daybreak Star in Discovery Park.
Smith does not believe Daybreak Star will close. It runs five programs in the community for Native Americans which he said are in solid shape.
Online fundraising for Daybreak Star is on Indiegogo.com.
Andy Bronson/Bellingham Herald Lummi’s Deion Hoskins misses Neah Bay’s Josiah Greene in the 1B Washington State Football semifinal game at the Tacoma Dome last month.
Neah Bay High School and Lummi Nation High School are rival Native high schools in Washington State. But they have a few more things in common.
Neah Bay won the Washington State 1A Football Championship this fall for the second time in three years; Lummi Nation won it in 2010, and has made it to State several years in a row.
Lummi High has about 100 students and Neah Bay Jr./Sr. High has about 168 and because of these small enrollment numbers, 8-man football is preferred for these rival schools over the traditional version of that varsity sport.
“There is no difference as far as the rules,” said Lummi Nation Head Coach Jim Sandusky. “There are three less guys on the field, so instead of seven guys on the line, you have to have at least five. That’s pretty much it.”
Lummi Nation is a tribal school located just a few miles from the Canadian line. Neah Bay, a state school, is located on the northwestern tip of Washington. Both football teams came into prominence in recent years and their proximity to each other has created a friendly rivalry.
And arguably, the success at each school can be traced back to the two coaches: Tony McCaulley at Neah Bay and Sandusky at Lummi Nation.
Sandusky, a Colville descendent, coached Ferndale youth football. He built a football field on his own property because there was no place for the football players to practice. His son Rocky was on the youth team that he coached, as well as Jake Locker, now quarterback for the Tennessee Titans in the NFL.
In 2003, Sandusky was hired as Lummi’s coach and athletic director. That year, they went 4-5 and missed the playoffs in the last game of the season. “Ever since [2004], we’ve made it,” said Sandusky, explaining that the team has made it to the playoffs every year since then.
McCaulley’s coaching career was somewhat similar to Sandusky’s. His son Ty started youth football and McCaulley coached him. He coached and played at Clallam Bay, a rival school just down the road from Neah Bay. He’s been coaching Red Devils for six years.
“We’ve been to the state semi-finals five of the six years. The worst year I had [was when] we lost in the state quarter-finals,” McCaulley said. But, Neah Bay was dominant this year. “We were undefeated and blew a lot of teams out,” McCaulley said.
Many of the Red Devils players have played together since eighth grade and all but one of the 39 players are Makah tribal members. Two players in particular are looking to play college football next year. One is the coach’s son, Ty, who plays fullback and the other is Josiah Greene, the quarterback.
At Lummi, only a few players have been on that team since 8th grade. “Dean Hoskins started for me ever since he was an 8th grader,” Sandusky said. “He just got All-State selection along with two other of our kids.”
Note the similarities: Each community had youth football programs with fathers coaching the kids. Sandusky and McCaulley were then hired by the schools to coach high school football. Since those two coaches have taken over, each program has had rather remarkable success: high ratios of wins to losses, and state championship wins with teams made up almost entirely of Native American players.
If Jake Locker can make it to the pros, then why not Ty or Josiah or Dean or Rocky or one of the other outstanding 8-man Native American high school football players.
Now that we are at the height of the Christmas and holiday season, all of those little Elves and Santa will surely be making their way into your kitchen to sample some of those Christmas snacks and goodies.
Not wanting to disappoint our dear readers, in this light, we are introducing a few luscious holiday treats “Native and Pow Wow Style.”
Enjoy the Native deliciousness!
1. A Gingerbread Longhouse
In the midst of the Squamish Nation (about 40 miles North of Vancouver), Alice Guss took the time to teach Rachel, her daughter, and her daughter’s friend to create an amazing Gingerbread Longhouse (pictured above). The template was created by Alice’s brother Rick.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time. We put candy on the longhouses and blinking lights to make it look like fire,” said Guss. “I just did a workshop for seven-year-olds, and they piled so much candy on the roofs [that] the roofs started to collapse!”
2. Healthy Snack Bites (Healthy? Yes, and Yummy!)
86Lemons.com
Using earthly, fun-food treasures, such as sunflower seeds, agave and cacao powder, you can have an easy and cholesterol-free snack bites to offer Santa.
He’s eaten so many cookies, he’ll probably be appreciative!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup each: raisins, coconut and sesame seeds
2 tbsp. each raw agave nectar and cacao powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Steps – Food process Sunflower seeds and raisins until coarse, add agave and cacao powder. Roll into a golfball-sized ball, coat with coconut or sesame seeds and chill.
Wait a minute, do we even need to add a description here? I was a sucker at Pumpkin chocolate! Add the word “cookie” and the show is over. Sign me up!!
The recipe’s from TwoPeasandTheirPod.com. Turns out, there is a healthy, and even healthier version. It’s a win-win, YUM!
In 2011, Laura Hahnefeld of the Phoenix New Times named Chocolate Fry Bread from the Fry Bread House as one of the top 100 Favorite Dishes of 2011.
I don’t know about you, but I think Santa would come running full-speed to come get a taste of this one!
5. Nopalitos (Cactus) Salad
Last but not least, a “guilt reliever” dish.
Not wanting to “over-sweet” your Christmas or holiday season, let’s at least throw in a salad to offset some goodie calories. Not just any old salad, but a cactus salad, that’s a pretty cool indigenous-themed dish!
Nopales are the edible cactus leafs or pads that are cultivated in the mountainous areas near Mexico City. It is also known as prickly pear and, surprisingly, can be found at many specialty grocery stores such as Whole Foods Market.
Check out the full recipe, which includes Nopales, onion, tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado and lime, at WhatsCookingMexico.com.
