by Wendy Church, Court Director, Tulalip Tribal Court
It has always been the Tulalip Tribes position that we should protect and cultivate the best future for our children in the Tulalip Tribal community. There is now a new Juvenile and Family Code aimed towards that goal. It fosters a family-centered approach which places family as the primary source for understanding the needs and challenges of the child.
The Court would like all Guardians to be informed that pursuant to the new Code there are some changes that they need to be made aware:
beda?chelh Guardianship Team: beda?chelh has created a guardianship division which will create rules and procedures for reviewing guardianship cases no less than semi-annually for a period of three years. If any concerns are noted by the guardianship review team, the review period may be extended past three years.
Annual Guardianship Reviews: No further Annual Guardianship Reviews will be required once a guardianship is granted unless there is a change of circumstances or a request for Court review is made by the beda?chelh guardianship team. The Court and beda?chelh retain jurisdiction until the child turns 18, marries, is emancipated or adopted.
Letters of Guardianship: Except new Letters of Guardianship which will be issued by the Court beginning on June 1, 2015. These letters will no longer expire annually but will continue until the child reaches the age of 18, marries, is emancipated or adopted. It is the goal of the Court to have all new Letters issued by December 31, 2015. If you have not received new Letters and they have expired you may call the Court and ask that a Clerk issue new Letters. The Court has many new Letters to issue; please do not call for new Letters if your current Letters are still in place. We will be working diligently to get all Guardians their new Letters in a timely manner.
Moving: Guardians should notify beda?chelh, the Court and Tribal enrollment forty-five days prior to moving beyond 60 miles from the Reservation, of the new address, the reason for the move and the plan the guardian has in place for maintaining the child with his or her family and culture. If the family fails to notify beda?chelh, a hearing may be set to determine whether the child should be allowed to move with the guardian or be returned to beda?chelh. A “Notice of Moving” form can be requested from the Court should it be necessary to notify beda?chelh and the Court.
Contact information: The Court is requiring all Guardians to submit a verification of address form so that the Court will have your most up-to date information. It has always been a Guardians duty to keep the Court informed of their current contact information. Please find the ‘Address Verification” form attached. Even if you think the Court has your current information, please return the form as soon as possible so it can be placed in your file.
The Tulalip Tribes appreciates your commitment to our children by accepting the responsibilities of being a guardian. If you have specific questions regarding your duties or rights as a guardian, you should consult an attorney. If you have questions regarding the new Guardianship procedures please call the Court at (360) 716-4773 or see the new Juvenile and Family Code online at http://www.codepublishing.com/wa/Tulalip/.
Thank you again for keeping the promise we all made to the children that they would have a safe, stable, and supportive home.
In early March the See-Yaht-Sub published an article detailing to the tribal membership the plans and goals of the Tulalip Bay Workforce Housing Program that had been implemented in partnership between the Board of Directors and the Tulalip Housing and Construction department. Since its inception, there have been many opinions and questions raised both internally and externally about the practical application of a housing program of this magnitude, with its lofty, some say unrealistic, goals and expectations. We are long overdue for an update on this program’s status.
For those who are unfamiliar with the program, Tulalip Bay Workforce Housing was implemented in early 2014 as a three step process that would drastically change rural Tulalip, for the better. The first step of the process is taking back the land that has for far too long been accommodating to non-Tulalips. More specifically, the land within the 1.7 mile residential area around Tulalip Bay. Piggy-backing off the ideals that led to all the houses being demolished and removed from Mission Beach in 2013, all the non-Tulalip owned homes in the Tulalip Bay area were going to be removed in order to return the land to where it belongs, to Tulalip. As the land leases expire, one by one each non-Tulalip house would be demolished, either by the residing home owner or by the Tulalip Tribes for a fee.
The second step of the Tulalip Bay Workforce Program was to build first-rate homes complete with top of the line appliances, immaculate fenced yards, and the latest in residential housing technology (e.g. Brinks home security systems, intelligent automated thermostats). These would be beautiful homes, as evidenced by the first few that have been built already. Each featuring a multi-million dollar view overlooking stunning Tulalip Bay.
The second step also mandates that after the construction of the houses they will then be made available to Tulalip tribal members only, as either part of a home ownership program or as a rental. While most of the houses will be designated for home ownership, a fair share will be designated as rentals for those who are not in a position to buy a home. These newly built houses will become the homes of many Tulalip tribal members who would not otherwise have the opportunity to live on their reservation, and will help supplement the depleted housing market for our growing tribal membership.
The third and final step of the Tulalip Bay Work Force Housing Program involved the collaboration of both the Tulalip Housing department and the inherent responsibility of Tulalip tribal members. As the newly constructed homes near completion and are put on the market one by one, Tulalip tribal members, whether it’s for home ownership or to rent, must make themselves viable candidates in order to call a Tulalip Bay house their home. To have suitable, qualified Tulalip citizens and families stake their claim on the Tulalip Bay houses being built for them this means doing the necessities when it comes to preparing to buy or rent a new home on the Tulalip Reservation. Ways to be ready include meeting with a Housing department representative to discuss the qualifying considerations, and meeting with a 184 loan specialist and applying for a 184 loan if you want to become a Tulalip Bay home owner. The standard operating procedures currently in place are to protect both you and the Tribes’ interests.
Now, to address the present. There is growing concern amongst the tribal membership that none of these homes will sell, for various reasons. The most common reasons voiced were no Tulalip tribal members would be able to afford the houses, no one would choose to purchase a house that came with an attached monthly land lease, and no Tribal members would be approved for the 184 home loan. Opinions like these spread like wildfire through the community. Concern grew to the point that the Board of Directors put a sudden and abrupt halt to the program. The Housing and Construction department received a mandate to complete construction on existing houses under the workforce housing program before any new homes are to be built. Thereby putting the entire program on a pause to give ample time to finish homes already in the works and see what happens when they hit the housing market.
Under the new mandate, there will be a total of thirteen homes completed under the Tulalip Bay Workforce Housing Program; eight falling under home ownership and the remaining five to be rentals. The most common misconception about the houses for sale are that they have been available for months and they are not selling. That thinking is erroneous. Presently, there have been only a handful of houses to hit the home ownership market, plus a set of duplexes available for rent…and, wait for it, three of the houses have indeed been SOLD. Additionally, there are two other houses that have received 184 loan pre-approval letters from potential buyers who are just waiting for the paper work to be cleared. That would bring the total of Tulalip Bay workforce homes sold to five.
That is five Tulalip tribal families who were approved for 184 home loans, saw the investment to their families’ future and community, and are able to afford the costs that come along with purchasing a house on tribal lands. One of these newly minted Tulalip Bay homes has been purchased by a Tulalip tribal elder who has resided in Oregon as of late. This elder seized the opportunity to become a homeowner on his own reservation and move back to be a part of his traditional community. These are all things that it was said wouldn’t be able to happen. But it has happened and will continue to happen as Tulalip tribal members and their families break free of the poverty mindset that has a stranglehold on so many and begin to realize what they are capable of, both financially and socially.
As the construction of the remainder of the authorized Tulalip Bay workforce houses draws to completion, it will be interesting to see how, if any, the perception of this housing program changes. When the new Tulalip tribal home owners and renters have moved in to their houses, and the community is able to bear witness to the tangible, what will the opinions be then? It’s not easy to draw false conclusions when the evidence of the contrary is staring you directly in the face; Tulalip families owning and residing in the new Tulalip Bay homes.
For those interested in taking advantage of the Tulalip Bay Workforce Housing Program while it’s still available, don’t hesitate to contact the Tulalip Housing department to meet with a representative to discuss the qualifying considerations and tour the homes that will be hitting the housing market very soon. This includes the ‘Cedar House’ that will undoubtedly be the prize gem of the Tulalip Bay Workforce houses. The Cedar House should be completed and hit the market in 6-8 weeks, so get your 184 and housing applications in now.
Two dozen years after her death, Harriette Shelton Dover continues to be a guide and an inspiration far beyond the Tulalip reservation.
What it must have been like to sit and have a chat with her … to be fortunate enough to hear her share the stories that elders had shared with her about the times before the treaties … to learn about what she had witnessed on the road from the assimilation era to the Tulalip Tribes’ economic and political resurgence.
Dover, who walked on in 1991 at age 86, continues to pass on the teachings of her elders and bear her own witness in an inspiring, no-holds-barred oral history, Tulalip From My Heart: An Autobiographical Account of a Reservation Community (University of Washington Press, 2013). This 308-page book is the product of a series of tape-recorded interviews between Dover and anthropologist Darleen A. Fitzpatrick, conducted once a week from 1981–83. Fitzpatrick is also the author of We Are Cowlitz: Traditional and Emergent Ethnicity, University Press of America, 2004.
Dover had a unique position from which to witness the struggles and survival of her people after the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855. She was born in 1904, 49 years after the signing of the treaty; her granduncle, Steh-shail, was a treaty signer, and her paternal grandfather was present at the signing. Her father, William Shelton (1868–1938), was a hereditary chief of the Snohomish and spent much of his life trying to bridge the divide between Coast Salish people and whites. Her mother, Ruth Sehome, was the daughter of Sehome, a leader of the S’Klallam people.
Dover grew up listening to elders’ firsthand accounts of the hardships her people experienced after moving from their villages to the reservation on Tulalip Bay: inadequate food and water, harsh economic conditions, religious persecution, and the outlawing of potlatches and traditional ceremonies. She experienced the hardships and prejudices of the assimilation era and spent 10 months of every year for 10 years in an Indian boarding school, where children were treated harshly and loving kindness was rare.
But Dover was unyielding in retaining her Coast Salish identity—she was Hiahl-tsa, the daughter of Wha-cah-dub and Siastenu. She was unyielding in her sense of justice. She knew her people’s history, she knew what the treaty said, and she knew her people never gave up their right to continue their traditional lifeways, their right to govern themselves, their right to coexist.
“We have been here for a long, long time,” she says near the book’s close. “We have always been here.”
She also believed, as did her father, that people from different cultures could learn to understand each other and look beyond their differences. Dover, who had witnessed troubled marriages between Native women and non-Indian men, was married first to a S’Klallam/Tsimshian man, then later to a white man.
In her book, Dover tells of treaty time, settling on the reservation, finding work in the early days, the first memories of white people, the elders’ teachings, the boarding school experience, treaty rights, public school (she graduated from Everett High School in 1926), political and social conditions, and her people’s legacy.
She was there when her father built the first traditional longhouse of the new era in 1913, and was present at the first Treaty Day commemoration in January 1914. In 1927 she assisted her father in the case brought before the U.S. Court of Claims, seeking proper payment for lands ceded in the treaty.
She was elected to the Tulalip Tribes Board of Directors in 1939 and later served as chairwoman; she also served as postmaster of the U.S. Post Office at Tulalip. She was, like her father, a bridge between the Native and non-Native communities—she was a member of the Everett Business and Professional Women’s Club and Everett Church Women United, wrote as a periodic contributor to the Seattle Post-Intelligencerand served on the Marysville School Board.
Dover shared information about cultural items and her people’s history with anthropologists, and worked with academic linguists to help preserve her people’s language. In the 1970s, she helped revive the ancient First Salmon Ceremony, honoring the year’s first salmon that is caught. She testified in the 1974 federal court case of United States vs. Washington, which affirmed her people’s treaty right to harvest salmon “at all usual and accustomed grounds and stations.” She earned a degree at Everett Community College while in her 70s.
In her book, Dover still teaches about standing up for what is right, about living a life of honor, love, resilience and respect.
“For many people she is still a personal guide, and the memory of her courage and commitment to the well-being of her people is still a force for good in the community,” one book reviewer wrote of Dover. “There is information here that you will find nowhere else about [Tulalip] in the early years of the 20th century.”
A new oil refinery is the last thing you might expect Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration to be courting. After all, Inslee has developed a national reputation as a champion of curbing the use of fossil fuels.
And yet, Inslee’s administration has worked for months to facilitate such a project along the Columbia River. A Texas-based energy company wants to site a combined crude oil and biofuel refinery in Longview, Washington. The company’s goal is to capitalize on low carbon fuel standards championed by West Coast political leaders, including Inslee.
The refinery is a project Inslee could have the final say in approving.
Inslee is a politician on a tightrope: He’s cultivating the reputation of a national leader on climate change policy. And he’s also the head of a government that is working with businessmen whose project calls for three trainloads of North Dakota crude oil to be hauled into his state each week by way of the Columbia River Gorge.
Since then, Inslee has said publicly that he knows next to nothing about the project.
“Have not heard much about it other than what you have reported in the media,” Inslee told reporters when asked about it at a May 28 news conference.
Emails obtained through a public records request by OPB and EarthFix tell a different story when it comes to Inslee’s administration. They document how Inslee’s cabinet and staff have been in discussions with Riverside Energy CEO Lou Soumas for nearly a year.
In February, Soumas wrote to the Port of Longview that the Governor’s office had asked for updates on the project and when it could be announced, according to an email obtained by Columbia Riverkeeper and shared with news organizations.
“They are anxious to tie us in with their just issued draft Clean Fuels Standard process and other activities important to the (state’s) energy and commerce plans,” Soumas wrote. “I’m meeting with several of Inslee’s direct reports on Wednesday in Olympia and they hope for a positive update on concrete progress on the project.”
A week later, Brian Bonlender, the state’s director of commerce, and Matt Steurwalt, Inslee’s executive director of policy, held a meeting with Soumas in Steurwalt’s office, documents show.
When asked about the emails during an appearance on The Seattle Channel earlier this week, Inslee said he expects his staff to have such discussions.
“So I think I’d probably categorize these as: we’re trying to figure out what they have in mind,” Inslee said. “This does not presage any agreement whatsoever or opposition whatsoever because you have to know what you’re doing.”
Environmental groups, including the Columbia Riverkeeper and the Seattle-based think tank Sightline Institute, say such discussions should be happening in public view to ensure an honest process.
“It’s very concerning, it’s very worrisome that this kind of communication, this kind of lobbying would be happening with the governor’s office outside the view of the public, on an issue of this magnitude,” Sightline Policy Director Eric de Place said. “We’re talking about a very environmentally risky project in a key part of the region.”
Energy projects on the scale of Riverside’s proposal must undergo a review by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. It’s designed to assess whether projects comply with state statute.
Jim Luce, an attorney who chaired the council between 2001 and 2011, said he always cautioned the governor not to comment on proposed projects.
“When I was EFSEC chair, working with the governor’s staff, I encouraged — in fact, the staff encouraged — the governor to say nothing regarding a potential application because the public might conclude that there had been a predetermination or a predisposition toward a specific outcome on a project, which the governor would then have to finally decide,” Luce said.
But, he said, staff in the governor’s administration must toe a fine line. They advise on and promote the governor’s energy policies, yet the governor ultimately must make an independent decision on projects that might benefit those policies.
The refinery outlined in Soumas’ pitches to the Port of Longview and state officials aligns with Inslee’s push for cleaner fuels. With California, Oregon and British Columbia having passed low carbon fuels regulations, Soumas has said he sees Washington’s adoption of those rules as a matter of time.
Soumas has pitched his project to economic leaders in Longview as “the U.S. largest advanced renewable fuels facility” having “the lowest carbon footprint of any U.S. refinery” and capable of meeting the state’s proposed low carbon fuel standards.
Two thirds of the facility’s production would handle crude oil shipped by train from the Bakken shale of North Dakota. The other third would handle used cooking, seed and vegetable oils.
The refinery would rely on new technologies to create a mix of low carbon jet fuel, gasoline and other petroleum products for use in Portland and Southwest Washington.
Soumas has also estimated the refinery would generate 400 construction jobs and $8 million in tax revenue.
Inslee’s office told the Longview Daily News it sees opportunity in the project.
Keith Phillips, Inslee’s special assistant on climate and energy, said Riverside’s proposal is intriguing.
“The idea that they’re bringing biofuels and green jet fuels and cleaner gasoline — that’s all intriguing, and we’re very interested in it,” Phillips said. “But we haven’t made any explicit link to the clean fuels standards in part because we are working respectfully with the Legislature on ‘can we reach agreement on how to move forward.’”
Phillips said he and other staff have intentionally limited Inslee’s involvement in such discussions.
“We have been very careful with him and he has insisted on that,” he said. “He knows there have been clean refineries proposed. But has not met with the proponents, and has not been briefed by staff on the details. He’s waiting to see whether he has to perform a former legal role on the project.
de Place of the Sightline Institute said the track record of Northwest biofuel ventures is “one of failure.”
Two projects initially built as biofuel refineries in the Pacific Northwest now handle fossil fuels. Facilities in Clatskanie, Oregon, and in Hoquiam, Washington, failed as biofuel projects and now handle crude oil.
“The prospects of adding a third such site in the same region strikes me as one that’s really just a stalking horse for the conventional oil industry,” de Place said. “And as such I don’t really see why the governor’s office would be participating in the way they are alleged to be participating.”
KUOW/EarthFix reporter Ashley Ahearn and Northwest News Network reporter Austin Jenkins contributed to this report.
Marysville Powderpuff Football Team during a scrimmage game against the Arlington Eagle Mamas on October 13, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
MARYSVILLE – They are a team of 31. They are tough. They are proud and they play with heart. They are moms who play football to support their kids. Through a combination of tackle and flag football, called “flackle,’ the Marysville Powderpuff team raises funds for youth in the Marysville Youth Football League through ticket sales. While the goal is to raise money for the kids, these moms say they also play for themselves.
Marysville Powderpuff is comprised of mothers with youth playing football and cheerleading through the MYFL. Ticket sales from each game go to support MYFL through uniforms, protective gear, and travel costs. This year the team boasts three Tulalip tribal members.
Mytyl Hernandez is in her second season. She joined to help support her daughter who cheers through MFYL. But that isn’t her only reason. “I love the competitive aspect of it and being with this amazing group of women a few days a week. I don’t love the bruises, most of the other girls love their bruises but that isn’t my favorite part.”
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil
Team organizer Kym Gallo has been playing since the start and is now in her sixth season. She knows it might be strange to see moms suiting up for practice right along with their kids who are running drills on the opposite side of the field, but says the kids think it’s awesome. And the large ticket sales on game day show people are intrigued to see these moms showcase their skills in one of the fastest growing sport across the nation.
Women’s football is becoming a role model for young women by breaking barriers in traditionally assigned gender sports. More and more girls are joining flag and tackle football teams, such as the professional women’s tackle football team, Everett Reign.
“In the first year we struggled just to get 17 women playing. Now we have 31 on our roster.” Gallo credits this appeal to play football to those early women who were brave enough to break the stereotype of football as a male only sport.
Gallo explains other moms in MYFL and women attending game day who caught the flackle bug quickly signed up to join Powderpuff.
“They see us on game day and they want to try it. Our kids are so proud of us; that just helps boost us up. Each one of these women make you want to come back and be around them, not only are we learning football, we are picking each other up. We are a sisterhood,” said Gallo.
Tulalip tribal member Veronica Iukes #20 if known as the “Wreckingball” for her hard hitting style. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil
This sisterhood is what drew Tulalip tribal member Veronica Iukes, known as “Wreckingball” on the field, who is playing her first season as a Powderpuff.
“I lost my sister almost two years ago and have had a hard time adapting. I feel like I gained 20 more sisters being on this team. We have created a bond. When one of us is having an off day, everyone is there to pick one another up. They are the strongest mammas I know who will go above and beyond for their kids,” said Iukes, who has two daughters who cheer for MYFL and a son who plays football and encouraged her to start playing this year.
Also a newcomer to this year’s season is Tulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams whose son has played with MYFL for the past six years. Although interested in joining she was unable to find the time until now.
“When suiting up with full gear it’s game time, whether we are in a game or getting in a good practice. We get a glimpse of what our kids do on the field. The real MVPs are these amazing kids,” said Williams.
“These women are doing what mom’s do best, working hard for their kids. I know some younger girls that can’t wait to play for our team,” continued Williams, who hopes her daughter will join her on the field some day.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil
While the idea of women playing football is still a new concept it has gained popularity as women athletes challenge stereotypes.
“We break the stereotype just by looking at us,” said Hernandez. “We are all different ages and sizes in full gear. We are more than just a bunch of moms. This is a sisterhood. We all want to see each other do our best so it’s a constant stream of encouragement, positivity and helping each other get stronger and better. It’s really quite amazing.”
“I would strongly recommend and encourage all mother, aunts, sisters and guardians of children who participate in MYFL or Marysville Junior Cheer Association to play,” said Clarissa Young-Weiser who played with the team last year. “You have a better understanding of the sport and what your child has to go through when playing. There is no other intensity like football.” An injury this season is preventing Young-Weiser from playing this year. She hopes to return the following season.
Marysville Powderpuff team plays their first game on June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Quil Ceda Stadium at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. You can check out their Facebook page at Marysville Powderpuff Football for more information on tickets and team updates.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
Yvonne Williams Photo courtesy of Yvonne WilliamsTulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams #58 gets ready to perform a play during a scrimmage game against Arlington Eagle Mamas on October 13, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil
Tulalip tribal member Mytyl Hernandez known for her speed is in her second season with the Marysville Powderpuff Football Team. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. MontreuilPhoto/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. MontreuilMarysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills before their upcoming game against the Lakewood Cougar Moms on June 26, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. MontreuilTulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams #58 gets ready to perform a play during a scrimmage game against Arlington Eagle Mommas on October 13, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. MontreuilMarysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. MontreuilMytyl Hernandez Courtesy of Mytyl Hernandez
WASHINGTON, D.C. (link)—Today,Reps. Rick Larsen, WA-02, Mike Coffman, CO-06, and Suzan DelBene, WA-01, introduced a bill to help pay for improved security measures in schools, such as training for staff and students, and deterrents like lighting and locks. The School Safety Act of 2015 would reauthorize the Secure Our Schools program, which provides matching grants to local, state and tribal governments to meet schools’ individual security needs.
“Schools must be a place where our students feel safe. I introduced this bill to help schools and communities assess and meet their unique safety needs. Sadly our country has not seen the end of violent crimes. Congress must do much more to make our schools and communities safer and shrink the cycle of violence. This bill helps empower schools to focus on what they do best: teaching our students and preparing them for their futures,” Larsen said.
“School violence has hit my district and Colorado hard and I am committed to finding ways to make our schools safer. This bipartisan, common sense legislation will help fund important school safety programs across the country. From education to improved technology, our schools can be made safer through a comprehensive approach to dealing with school violence. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand with me in fighting to make our schools a safe place to learn,” Coffman said.
“I’m strongly committed to ensuring the safety and security of our students. While there is no one law that will prevent every single instance of senseless violence, like last year’s tragic shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, we can and must do more. The School Safety and Security Act is an important first step and I’m honored to help introduce it. This bipartisan legislation will provide critical resources to keep our schools safe, ensure teachers and administrators are adequately trained in security procedures, and improve notification and response technologies in schools across the country,” DelBene said.
Violence in schools has continued at a steady pace in recent years, with tragic shootings at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Wash., in October 2014, and at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., in December 2013.
The Washington State School Directors’ Association has endorsed the bill.
The Secure Our Schools program takes a comprehensive approach to preventing violence in schools based on schools’ unique needs. Matching funds can pay for physical deterrents, security assessments, security training and coordination with local law enforcement. The Act reauthorizes the program and updates it to allow funding to cover emergency communications systems with local law enforcement.
From 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 29, Tulalip community volunteers teamed up with the Wisdom Warriors to participate in the Tulalip Health Clinic’s second ‘Grow your own fruits, vegetables and edible flowers’ community event. The volunteers came together at the Tulalip Bay Wellness Garden and Trail to grow food and community.
The Tulalip Health Clinic’s Diabetes Program is determined to teach the tribal membership how to live a healthy lifestyle that minimizes the risk of diabetes and welcomes any and all community volunteers to become a part of the Wellness Garden. Sponsored by the Diabetes Program, volunteers are provided with seeds, plants, apple trees, blueberry bushes, and raspberry vines among various other fruits and vegetables that are then planted in the Wellness Garden. Master gardeners from Washington State University along with local gardening experts were on hand to answer questions and provide useful gardening tips whenever necessary.
“It’s an opportunity for the people to come back and work with the Earth, their cultural lands and restore it,” says Veronica “Roni” Leahy, Diabetes Program Coordinator of the community gardening events. “The land, this place, is what deserves the recognition. We’re just caretakers and we’re doing what we can to take care of it. Just like we do in the Health Clinic. No different from what we are doing for people on the inside of Health Clinic to restore health, we’re doing the same for people and this land on the outside of the Health Clinic.”
Community members are excited to taste their fresh produce bounties.
One of the many highlights of the day’s event was the opening of the Wisdom Warrior produce stand. With the assistance of the Diabetes Program, the Wisdom Warriors set up a produce stand on the sidewalk of Totem Beach Road, alongside the Wellness Garden, to give away free organic produce. The purpose of the produce stand is primarily to ensure the produce grown in the Wellness Garden goes out to the community and to give community members a convenient sample to add organic vegetables to their diet
Volunteers add new vegetables and edible flowers to the Wellness Garden.
Every person who walked by or drove by and stopped at the produce stand was given a bag of freshly harvested vegetables. Amongst the vegetable bounty were carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, various herbs, kale and lettuce. The kale and lettuce were harvested from the Wellness Garden, while the other vegetables are grown in the Wellness Garden they were not ready to harvest. Instead the not yet ready to harvest vegetables were purchased locally to demonstrate what vegetables are currently being grown.
The Wisdom Warriors estimate they gave away 60+ bags of fresh organic produce to community members.
Kenny Dobbs performs his aerial display, wowing everyone in attendance by dunking over several community members. Photos/Micheal Rios
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
On Thursday, May 28, the Higher Education Department held a special event for Tulalip’s youth at the Greg Williams Gym. They made it possible for the youth to come together for an evening consisting of every youth’s choice of dinner, pizza and Gatorade, while experiencing the unique talents of super dunker and motivational speaker, Kenny Dobbs. Every youth who attended the event also received their choice of a Kenny Dobbs ‘Fly’ or ‘Dream Catcher’ t-shirt.
Dobbs is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Phoenix resident and professional basketball player, but is most notably recognized as the self-proclaimed ‘King of the Dunk Game’. He has toured the NBA while being sponsored by Sprite as a celebrity dunker, performing in front of sold-out stadiums during halftime shows, celebrity games and NBA All-Star Weekends. Becoming a Sprite Slam Dunk Champion and International Slam Dunk Champion means Dobbs’ dunking talents have become globally recognized. As his reputation has soared sky high, like his vertical leaping ability, Dobbs never forgot where he came from and who he is representing. He now tours across the nation, going reservation to reservation as a motivational speaker for tribal youth to share his story of hope and to perform his dunking abilities while doing so.
Dobbs proves the legend of the 48″ vertical is no tall tale! Photo/Micheal Rios
“I’m so excited to be here and you guys are so lucky to be able to grow up in such a beautiful community,” Dobbs said to the estimated 150 Tulalip youth in attendance. “Today, the main theme is for me to be able to come out and have a good time with you guys. It’s going to get personal as I share who I am and what I’ve come from. By sharing my story I want all of you to know that I’m somebody that you relate to and can learn from. Today, I stand before you all as an International Slam Dunk Champion, but before any of that became reality there was a lot of challenges and difficulties I was facing in my life. Similar to a lot of you I’m sure.”
As an adolescent, Dobbs grew up in a drug and gang related neighborhood in Phoenix and found himself going down the wrong road. After a series of personal conflicts with his parents, run-ins with the law, dropping out of high school, and a lengthy stay in a jail cell, Dobbs realized his life had become a nightmare and the only way out was to make wholesale changes to his lifestyle. After being set free from his self-made incarceration, Dobbs began to set himself free from everything else that had been holding him back in life. He started with his friends; anyone who had drug or gang affiliations he cut ties with, anyone who brought more negative energy than positive energy was also cut loose.
As mentioned earlier, Dobbs dropped out of high school. He was 15 years-old at the time and got into a physical fist fight with his dad and was kicked out of his house. Soon after followed his stint in jail. At 17 years-old he found himself with no real high school education, no place to call his home, and no future prospect other than what he believed he could do. To hold himself accountable and to ensure he was staying on the right road for future success, Dobbs created what he calls his ‘Dream Journal’.
Myrna Red Leaf and Aliyah Jones show off their free Kenny Dobbs t-shirts they received for attending the event. Photo/Micheal Rios
“I began writing down all my goals and dreams on paper. In that notebook I began to explain how I wanted to become a professional athlete and positive role model for my family, my home, and my community,” explained Dobbs. “I wrote down all my goals, big or small, and from that point on I continued to learn from that process. It was taking the goals and the dreams from my mind and my heart and actually putting them down on paper. They became something that I not only thought about, but that I saw as well. I began to write the steps it was going to take for me to accomplish those goals and dreams, so as I took them out of my mind and onto paper now I could read them and see them. They became reality to me and to this day I still keep myself a dream journal and all that went into there was, what are my goals, what are my dreams, and then I’d break it down step by step so I knew what I’d have to do to accomplish my goals and reach my dreams. The very first goal I ever set in my life was getting my high school diploma.”
At the time Dobbs had no clue how much work and dedication it would take him to achieve the goal of receiving his high school diploma, but he was determined and that’s all that mattered. It would take two hard years, no winter breaks, no summer breaks, all day and evening school sessions for Dobbs to accumulate enough credits to reach his goal. He remained focused and grinded every day at his studies until he received his diploma.
“To this day that was the very first goal I set, stuck with, and accomplished in my life. Now when I went to school that day and they handed me my high school diploma that was a sense of accomplishment I never felt before. I committed two years of non-stop grinding, of blood, sweat and tears that I committed to achieving my goal. Now, there is no possibility of me accomplishing that goal and dream and staying focused on it on a daily basis if I would had still been using drugs and alcohol, if I had been still hanging out and going to parties, chasing the girls, and stayed involved with the friends who were getting me into trouble. There would have been no possibility for me to accomplish my goal and dream of getting my high school diploma.”
Realizing what was possible if he remained focused and dedicated to his goals and dreams opened up a whole new world of possibility to Dobbs. Soon after receiving his diploma he attended a junior college where he walked-on as a player for the basketball team. By chance he would receive an invitation for a celebrity Slam Dunk Contest and after wowing the crowd with never before seen dunks, he would be crowned Slam Dunk Champion for the first of many times yet to come. He would go on to travel the world showcasing his talents, from south Florida to South America, from Rome to Romania as a celebrity dunker for both the NBA and Sprite.
After founding his own organization ‘UpRise Youth Movement’ with the mission of empowering youth of all ages with a challenging, yet empowering message of hope, Dobbs now travels across the country to educate youth on Native lands. For three years he served as the chairman on the Arizona State Youth Advisory Council for Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention. He also had the privilege of serving as an ambassador for Nike’s N7 division. He knows that if you want to grab a youth’s attention, dunking is a good way to do it.
“I accomplished my goal of being one of the top dunkers in the world,” Dobbs says. “But most important to me is the UpRise Youth Movement. The dunk shows get the youth inspired and open to listening to what I have to say, then I’m able to deliver a powerful message of hope that will encourage them to rise up and become leaders in their home, school and community. I believe this is the reason I’m here, and I thank God I am now living out His purpose for my life. This is what makes my job the best in the world!
“Each one of us has a purpose, a plan and a destiny for our life, but some of us may never reach that potential if you don’t believe in yourself right now. Write your dreams and goals down and what you think are the steps to achieving them. Separate yourself the negative influences that you’re facing and begin to take that step of getting off the bench and getting into the game that is your purpose in life.”
Tulalip youth pose with their free t-shirts and comic books they received at the event. Photo/Micheal Rios
By Lorraine Loomis, Chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
It has been a long year since Billy Frank Jr. walked on from this world on May 5, 2014. We deeply miss our longtime leader and good friend. We will continue to stay on the course he set for us as sovereign nations with treaty-reserved rights who co-manage the natural resources given to us by the Creator.
During this past year, Billy’s life as a champion of tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and natural resources has been honored widely by tribal, state and federal governments, conservation organizations and others.
His March 9 birthday has been declared a holiday by many of the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. At the Squaxin Island Tribe, a street leading to the tribe’s natural resources building has been named Billy Frank Jr. Way.
The state of Washington gave Billy a Medal of Merit to honor his lifetime of service to all of the people of Washington. The award recognizes that Billy’s “courage, determination and leadership resulted in unique and meaningful contributions to our state and helped make Washington a better place to live,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
The state Senate passed a resolution recognizing his legacy. “Through his lifetime of kinship with the natural world, Billy Frank Jr. helped create a healthy environment that can sustain salmon, achieved change, and brought diverse communities together around shared desires through nonviolent means,” according to the resolution.
At the federal level, a bill to rename the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge for Billy has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Denny Heck. The bill also would create a national historic site at the refuge to mark the place where the Medicine Creek Treaty was signed in 1854.
There is no question that all of these awards and honors are sincere and well-deserved. They are important because they help us to remember Billy and what he stood for: the protection of tribal cultures, sovereignty, treaty rights and the natural resources that sustain Indian people.
Mike Williams, KRITFC chair, speaks at a recent meeting of the NWIFC.
But it is a recent event in Alaska that is perhaps the best example of Billy’s legacy.
When the indigenous Yupik people of southwestern Alaska were being denied their right to harvest salmon by state and federal fisheries managers, they called Billy. He visited several times to provide encouragement and help the Yupik achieve their dream of co-managing their shared natural resources.
On May 5, the first anniversary of Billy’s passing, 33 Yupik villages on the river came together to create the Kuskokwim River Inter-tribal Fish Commission. Through the KRITFC, the Yupik will no longer serve only in an advisory role, but will work as co-managers with state and federal fisheries managers.
“It was a great day for the Yupik people,” said Mike Williams, who was elected as the first chairman of KRITFC. “The legacy of Billy Frank is stronger now than ever before, and will get stronger,” he said.
We will continue to honor that legacy by carrying on Billy’s work to recover salmon and safeguard our treaty-reserved rights as co-managers of the natural resources that have always sustained us.
