February 2016 - Tulalip News

Tulalip Heritage High senior focuses on community, helping youth

Dan Bates / The HeraldTulalip Heritage High School senior Mikaylee Pablo is involved in school activities including ASB, cheerleading, volleyball and the Tulalip Youth Council, yet still finds time to be a mentor to elementary students. — Dan Bates / The Herald
Tulalip Heritage High School senior Mikaylee Pablo is involved in school activities including ASB, cheerleading, volleyball and the Tulalip Youth Council, yet still finds time to be a mentor to elementary students.

By Diana Hefley, The Herald

TULALIP — Mikaylee Pablo is a senior at Tulalip Heritage High School. Teachers say 17-year-old Mikaylee is always willing to volunteer her time to give back to the community. She is a good mentor to younger students.

Question: What is your favorite class?

Answer: My favorite class is probably Native Arts. I like drawing. It’s an escape for me.

Q: What activities are you involved with at school?

A: Cheer and I did volleyball. I am the ambassador for ASB. I’m on the Tulalip Youth Council. I’m the co-chair for the council.

Q: How long have you been a cheerleader?

A: This was my first year. I love music and dancing. I’m known for my dancing.

Q: How long did you play volleyball?

A: Two years. It’s a fun sport.

Q: What is the Tulalip Youth Council? How are you involved?

A: It’s a youth organization outside of school for grades sixth through 12. We are a group who works to better our community and make a better path for generations behind us.

Q: How did you get involved?

A: It’s held at the youth center, and I’ve been going there for years. I ran for co-chair. I had to write an essay and it was like a job interview. I help write the agenda and run the meetings.

Q: What kind of activities does the youth council take part in?

A: We helped name the skate park. We do community clean-ups. We meet with other youth councils and we’ve hosted other tribes here as well. We attend (Tulalip Tribes) Board of Directors meetings and are the voice of the youth.

Q: Why did you get involved?

A: My dad encouraged me to do it. My dad thinks me and my sister should be that voice and help make changes.

Q: How are you involved with ASB?

A: I’m the ambassador. I have to go once a month to school board meetings to tell them what we’re doing and what they should change.

Q: It’s sounds like you’re comfortable with public speaking. Is that right?

A: Not really. It depends on where I’m at.

Q: What are your plans after high school?

A: I really don’t know. I know I’m going to go to college. I don’t know where or for what. I’m leaning toward early childhood development or cosmetology. I know, those are totally different.

Q: What is your favorite way to spend a Saturday?

A: At my house we stay home and watch movies. I like to hang out with my family.

Q: Do you have a big family?

A: A huge family. I have five brothers and I have four sisters. On my mom’s side I have 25 first cousins. It’s about the same on my dad’s side.

Q: What’s it like to come from a big family?

A: There’s always someone who’s going to be there for me. I know I’ll always have support.

Q: Do you go to school with many relatives?

A: I think I’m related to about 95 percent of the people here. I think that’s pretty cool. There’s always someone to eat lunch with.

Q: How would you describe your high school?

A: It’s a closely-knit family community. We are really close here. Students call teachers by their first names.

March 2, 2016 syəcəb

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March 2 2016 syəcəb

Harold Belmont

Adiya leads Lady Hawks past Seattle Lutheran, 48-37

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (21-0) went undefeated during their regular season, won out to claim the District 1-1B title, and were looking to keep their dominant run in tact as they played the Seattle Lutheran Saints (13-7) in the Tri-District Tournament semi-finals. The game was played on Tuesday, February 16 at Mount Vernon Christian High School.

It was obvious from the early going that the Saints had no answer for senior standout Adiya Jones, as she routinely got to her spots, hit shot after shot, all the while collecting rebounds. Adiya started the game red hot; connecting on 7 of 8 shot attempts and chipped in three free-throws. At halftime she had 18 points and more importantly the Lady Hawks held a 9 point lead, 28-19.

In the 2^nd half, Adiya picked up a technical for commenting on a sketchy foul call. The resulting technical meant she would have to sit a stretch. With Adiya on the bench, the Lady Hawks did their best to score buckets and grab rebounds. Keryn Parks and Cyena Fryberg were rewarded with their hustle play, as both finished the game with 9 rebounds apiece.

The Saints managed to carve away at the Lady Hawks lead and towards the end of the 3^rd quarter they only led by 5 points, 33-28. Enter Adiya back in the ball game. From that point on the Lady Hawks finished the game strong by holding the Saints to only 9 points the remainder of the way. In the end, the Lady Hawks won by 11 points, 48-37. Adiya led all scorers and had a very impressive stat line: 32 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals and 4 blocks.

Up next for the Lady Hawks is the Tri-District championship game where they will face off against the Mount Vernon Christian Hurricanes. The Hurricanes almost handed the Lady Hawks their first defeat the last time they played back in the District playoffs. In that game the Lady Hawks managed to escape with a 39-38 victory thanks to a last minute bucket by Aliya Jones.

Look for all the details of the Tri-District championship game and Regional coverage in the next issue of the syəcəb.

Lopsided 2nd quarter dooms the Hawks in 48-68 loss

by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

On Saturday, February 13, the Tulalip Heritage Hawks (14-9) traveled to Seattle Lutheran High School to play their opening game of the Tri-District Tournament. Their opponent was the Shorewood Christian Lions (16-3). It would be a matchup of #2s, as the Hawks finished #2 in the Northwest 1B league and the Lions finished #2 in the SeaTac 1B league.

The Hawks were hoping to build off their play-in victory over the Muckleshoot Kings just days before.

In the 1^st quarter, the two teams traded baskets repeatedly with Robert Miles doing his best to match the scoring output of the Lions’ best player, Jovi Fevaleaki. At the end of the quarter the Hawks were very much in it, trailing by only 1 point 14-15.

However, things turned drastically for the Hawks in the 2^nd quarter. The offense completely disappeared for the Hawks. They repeatedly settled for long-range, contested jumpers and were unable to attack the rim. Add in their turnovers and it’s no wonder that the Lions opened the quarter with a 15-0 run. The Hawks didn’t score until late in the quarter when Willy Enick connected on a 3-pointer. Willy added in another basket to give his team their only 5 points of the 2^nd quarter. At halftime the Hawks trailed 19-36.

Following the halftime intermission things didn’t get any better for the Hawks. The offense continued to struggle with the size and athleticism of the Lions, while defensively they were unable to contain Jovi Fevaleaki who finished with a game high 27 points.

The Hawks lost the game 48-68, and would be put in a loser-out game vs. their league rivals the Orcas Christian Saints.

Hawks defense steps up big time in 43-37 win

Following the loss to Shorewood Christian, the Tulalip Heritage Hawks (14-10) found out their post-season hinged on a loser-out game vs. in league rivals, the Orcas Christian Saints (15-2). It wasn’t a matchup that appeared to be in the Hawks favor, as they had lost all three regular season matchups with the Saints. In fact, the Saints had won those three games by an average margin of 18 points per game. But in the playoffs anything can happen.

After the 1^st quarter the Hawks found themselves trailing 7-11 and struggling to find their offense. On the positive side, the Hawks were liking their defensive intensity, especially on Saints point guard Michael Harris. Harris, who had given the Hawks defensive fits all season long, was constantly hounded by Nashone Whitebear.

Things continued in the 2^nd quarter with the Hawks not converting their shots, but continuing to play strong defense and not letting Harris beat them. At halftime the Hawks trailed by only 4 points, 15-19. It was by far the lowest scoring 1^st half the Hawks had been a part of all season.

During the intermission, the Hawks realized the ball was sticking too much on offense and wanted to move the ball more in the 2^nd half; more passing to open up quality looks for their shooters. On defense, they just wanted to keep up the tempo and to continue making everything difficult for Harris while continuing to crash the boards.

In the 3^rd quarter, the Hawks finally got their offense going. They scored 15 points in the 3^rd, as much as they scored in both the 1^st and 2^nd quarters combined. The solid defense was still in effect and to this point they had held the Saints best player to only 3 points. Going into the final quarter the Hawks had taken a 30-29 lead.

The ball continued to move well for the Hawks and they found open looks for Josh Iukes who came up huge for his team in the clutch. Josh and Robert Miles both scored a game-high 15 points and it would be good enough in the low scoring game to take the victory. After losing their first three matchups with the Saints, they made the necessary adjustments and found the will to win in a 43-37 thriller for the Hawks. With the victory the Hawks season remained alive and they were guaranteed two more Tri-District games.

Tulalip Hawks get pummeled by Neah Bay, 45-106

Just when things were looking up for the Heritage Hawks (15-10), after a hard fought victory over the best team in our league, things came to a crashing halt at the hands of the Neah Bay Red Devils (16-3). The two teams played on Wednesday, February 17, at Evergreen Lutheran High School in a 3^rd round matchup of the Tri-District tournament.

The game started out as a competitive one, with the Hawks and Red Devils both executing their offense. Just under four minutes into the 1^st quarter the game was tied at 11-11. Then it all went south for the Hawks. The Red Devils finished the quarter on a 20-2 run to take a commanding 31-13 lead.

The Hawks did what they could offensively, scoring 17 points in the 2^nd quarter, but they just had no answer defensively for the Red Devils who were shooting lights out. At halftime the Hawks trailed 30-55.

Things only got worse in the 2^nd half for the Hawks, as Neah Bay continued to pile on the points with little fight from Tulalip. Getting outscored 6-27 in the 3^rd quarter and 9-24 in the 4^th quarter added up to a 45-106 loss for the Hawks. This game goes down as easily the worse loss for the Heritage Hawks basketball program in years.

Luckily, the Hawks get a shot at redemption with a huge upcoming game against Lummi Nation. With a win, the Hawks will play on at Regionals, but if they lose their season will be over.

Healthy food and healthy community are key to diabetes prevention

By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News

Exercise, laughter and hugs, fresh air and a sense of accomplishment were some of the gifts about 50 community members gave themselves on Saturday, February 20. The Healthy Gardening Gathering, hosted by the Karen I. Fryberg Health Clinic’s Diabetes Care and Prevention Program, was much bigger than a seminar on gardening and preparing healthy meals; it was a reminder that peer pressure can be a good thing. The effort, which involved preparing new garden beds for the Clinic gardens, more importantly provided a place to build fellowship and support for wholesome living.

Members of the WSU Master Gardeners program were onsite to offer their knowledge and enthusiasm about gardening. Many of the volunteers who joined in have worked with each other before, some have helped out at the Hibulb gardens, some are part of the Diabetes Prevention Program, others participate in the Wisdom Warriors program. Their common ground (pun intended) is a desire to live well and enjoy life.

Toddlers, elders and all ages in between joined the fun. If you are interested in learning to garden, if you want to eat healthier and exercise more, or if you’re just looking for some fun people to hang out with email Veronica Leahy for more information vleahy@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov.

Coming up, the Diabetes Program has two field trips, one for a Padilla Bay nature walk on March 11, and one for a Heronswood nature walk and plant sale, April 2. Upcoming classes and education include Diabetes Day March 3, a set of Diabetes comprehensive classes March 9, 16, 23 and 30. Additional gardening opportunities will be available at the Clinic gardens April 16 and June 11, and at the Hibulb Gardens March 5 and 12.

Skate On: New skate park opens at Tulalip

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

It was back on May 3, 2014 that the Tulalip Board of Directors made a motion to approve funding to build a community skate park. The skate park’s purpose is to give Tulalip youth another recreational opportunity, while offering alternative sport modalities to youth not interested in the most popular reservation activities, such as basketball, volleyball, and weight lifting. Nearly 21 months after the Board motion, after much careful planning and collaboration with Tulalip skateboarders, the Debra Barto Memorial Skate Park officially opened on Friday, February 19.

There has always been a passion for skateboarding amongst Tulalip youth, but they didn’t have an outlet for that passion or a location to showcase their skateboarding skills on the reservation until now. The newly minted Tulalip skate park cost an estimated $400,000 and is nearly 12,000 square feet in size. It features a variety of skating elements including half-pipes, quarter-pipes, ramps, bowls, and grinding rails.

Ours is but one of the growing number of skate parks being built on Pacific Northwest reservations to address the recreational needs of Native youth. Recently, the Port Gamble S’Klallam, Muckleshoot, and Lummi reservations have opened skate parks of their own.

Seattle-based Grindline Skatepark, Inc was contracted for the design and construction of Tulalip’s skate park. Grindline emphasizes community engagement during the design process, and that was displayed during a number of collaboration meetings Grindline designers had with Tulalip skateboarders and the Board of Directors.

Grindline, who also built the Port Gamble S’Klallam skate park, is well-known for creating progressive and engaging skate parks with a design philosophy that each be tailored to its users and existing surroundings. To tailor to the Tulalip location, key aspects of our culture can be found in the skate park as stylized representations of a lake, river, waves and even an orca tail fin.

Prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony held at the skate park, there was a presentation to honor the skate park’s namesake Debra Parto. According to those who knew her best, her friends and family, Debra was a beautiful, kind and gentle spirit who had a nurturing energy to all. She loved helping people and supporting the youth in the Tulalip community.

Debra was familiar with skateboarding through her children and their friends. She became a big supporter of the sport and all of the youth who participated in it. For many years, she would listen to the youth’s dream of having their own skate park in Tulalip and she started dreaming with them. Debra was determined to see the youth’s dream to have skate park built on the reservation come to fruition. She supported youth in the request for funding in 2014.

Debra passed away June 24 of breast cancer at age 49, but her determination lived on through her children and all those youth she dreamed with. Now, we are able to honor her for her fight, encouragement, support and love with what is now the Debra Barto Memorial Skate Park.

“She wanted to make sure the young ones were happy and they have a fun, safe place to go,” said Debra’s son Shane McLean. “When you’re out there skating, you fall down a lot and get a lot of scrapes and bruises. That’s how I think my mom’s life was, with a lot of ups and downs, but she always got back up and kept on doing her thing.”

Having a skate park in our community will address many of the goals the Board and Youth Service workers are tasked to achieve for our Native youth. Understanding the need to support the youth who wish to pursue healthy, active lifestyles and provide them a safe and fun area to progress in their athletic interests has remained a constant mission for the Tulalip Tribes.

The commitment to Tulalip youth is commendable and goes to show we will continue to invest in them. As Board of Director Theresa Sheldon said at the ribbon cutting ceremony, “The true leaders are our youth, and any time we can give them a voice and a platform then that’s what we’ll do.”

In the next syəcəb issue we will be detailing the opening of the Alpheus Gunny Jones Sr. Ball Field. With the additions of the ball field and our skate park, the popular Tulalip Youth Center will continue to grow in capacity and further diversify the activities local youth can participate in.

Contact Micheal Rios: mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Charles “Dennis” Hudson (1958 – 2016)

Charles “Dennis” Hudson, 57 was born March 11, 1958, to Theodore Hudson and Loretta Lee Young-Contraro in Forks, Washington. He passed away February 18, 2016, in Portland, Ore. Dennis was a fisherman most of his life. He worked in maintenance at the Tulalip Bingo and for housing in Hoh River. He loved to drive near and far. Dennis lived his life as a traveling man spending time in both Hoh River and Tulalip, Wash. He is known and loved by many up and down the coast and would visit as many as he could fit into one day. Wherever he was he would spend time at the water getting lost in the moment, listening to the water and watching the eagles soar above. He leaves behind his three daughters: Ginger, Tashina, and Nicole; lifelong friend, Patti Ann; 13 grandchildren; one great-grandson, Ayden Charles (his birthday present because they shared the same birthday); brother, David (howee-shata) (Barb); sisters, Martina Hudson and Alexandria (Pumkin); numerous nieces and nephews in Hoh River and Tulalip; and his significant other, Josie Fryberg-Birdwell and family. Visitation will be held Wednesday, February 24, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. at Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home with an Interfaith service to follow at 6:00 p.m. at the Tulalip Gym. Funeral Services will be held Thursday, February 25, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. with burial to follow at Mission Beach Cemetery.

Tulalip Tribes Stickgame Tournament, June 3-5 Tulalip Amphitheatre

Tribes Contribute Millions of Dollars to Washington Communities, Non-Profits

Quil Ceda VillageNestled between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, the Tulalip Indian-owned Quil Ceda Village offers gaming, luxury accommodations, entertainment, shopping, fine dining and more. — Quil Ceda Village
Nestled between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, the Tulalip Indian-owned Quil Ceda Village offers gaming, luxury accommodations, entertainment, shopping, fine dining and more.

Richard Walker, Indian Country Today

SEATTLE – Casinos operated by 22 Native Nations in Washington State generated millions of dollars in contributions to communities, non-profits, and smoking-cessation and problem-gambling programs in 2013 and 2014, according to a report by the Washington State Gambling Commission.

In accordance with compacts, or agreements, with the state, Native Nations contribute 0.5 percent of machine gaming net receipts to nonprofit and charitable organizations; up to 2 percent of table-game net receipts to governmental agencies; 0.13 percent of machine gaming net receipts to smoking-cessation programs; and 0.13 percent of Class III net receipts to problem-gambling programs.

Staff members of the state commission presented “Tribal State Compact Tribal Contributions” to commissioners on Jan. 15. Commissioners and reporters had the opportunity that day to ride along with enforcement agents, watch gaming-machine compliance tests, and tour a forensics lab.

The mission of the gambling commission is “Protect the Public by Ensuring that Gambling is Legal & Honest,” and Native Nations with casinos help in that mission through the compact and, in many cases, with their own gaming commissions.

According to the report: Native Nations with casinos distributed nearly $6.5 million in community impact funds in 2013, and $6.6 million in 2012; contributed copy2.6 million in 2013 and copy1.8 million in 2012 to non-profits and charities; allocated $2.4 million in 2014 and $2.2 million in 2013 for smoking-cessation programs; and allocated $2.8 million in 2014 and $2.5 million in 2013 to help prevent and treat gambling addictions.

Community impact funds are invested in local law enforcement, public safety, and roads. Charitable funds benefit local food banks, disaster relief organizations, sports and recreation programs, United Way, veterans organizations, YMCA, YWCA, youth organizations, and others. Smoking-cessation and problem-gambling contributions help pay for the state Department of Health’s 1-800 Quit Line, community behavioral-health programs, and programs operated by local health care authorities.

Contributions for 2015 were not available.

Jobs Providers

For most if not all Native Nations that have casinos, gaming is only part of a larger economic development portfolio. According to Julie Saw’Leit’Sa Johnson, Lummi, chairwoman of the Native American Caucus of the Washington State Democratic Party, Native Nations – or Tribes – are collectively the fourth-largest source of jobs in Washington state.

The Quinault Nation, owner of the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino, as well as other ventures, is the largest employer in Grays Harbor County. The Suquamish Tribe’s Port Madison Enterprises, which manages the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort, White Horse Golf Club, and other ventures, is the second-largest private-sector employer in Kitsap County, west of Seattle. The Tulalip Tribes town of Quil Ceda Village, home of Tulalip Resort Casino, Tulalip Amphitheater, Seattle Premium Outlets, and other dining, entertainment and retail businesses, is the third-largest source of jobs in Snohomish County.

Many casino-resorts have evolved beyond gaming and become convention, dining and entertainment destinations, as well as showcases for cultural art. Guests at the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort Hotel can take a shuttle to the Suquamish Museum and other cultural sites. The new Yakama Nation Legends Casino Hotel is being built a half-mile from the Yakama Nation Museum & Cultural Center.