Saturday, September 19, 2009

Tulalip has a Vision

Now that we’ve moved into our new Administration Building I want to revisit the Tulalip Tribes mission, vision and values. Our vision is: “We gathered at Tulalip are one people. We govern ourselves. We will arrive at a time when each and every person has become most capable.”

What does that mean? We gathered at Tulalip are one people. We are definitely not just a business, or a government organization. We’re a family. We’re a family in the sense that we’re related to each other, but we’re also a family because we love each other and are working together to provide the best possible present and future for our people.

“We are one people,” doesn’t just apply to tribal members. It also means our community. It’s the people who have married into our tribe. It’s our friends and supporters. It’s the people that work for the tribe. All of these people are working to make our reservation a better place, and to make our tribe stronger.

“We govern ourselves,” seems pretty self explanatory as well. But what does it mean to govern ourselves? It means we do pass laws and ordinances. We have jurisdiction over our reservation and we have a law and justice system to enforce law on the reservation. But to me, it also means we remain a sovereign people, a nation within a nation. Our tribe has always had the intrinsic right to exist as a people and to decide our future, and who we are. It means that we protect our culture, language and the natural resources we need to continue into the future.

“We will arrive at a time when each and every person has become most capable.” This is the tribes’ sincerest goal. We don’t just want people to leave here with a pay check or a per-capita. We don’t want them to be forced to depend on a welfare system or to come to work at a job that they hate. We want each person to find that passion, that thing that speaks to their heart. And then we want to give them that hand up. Once they’re ready, we’ll give them that little push to leave the nest and fly.

That’s not just for people who don’t have jobs or who are going through difficult times. It’s the person who is stuck in a dead end. The person who is just going through life putting one foot in front of the other and not looking for the next opportunity. I know a lot of people have heard the word re-organization or restructure, and I know that sometimes it has negative feelings attached. But all these growing pains we’re feeling, they’re leading us to that, “time when each and every person has become most capable.”

Thanks for taking to the time to read, and remember, I have an open door policy. I’m always here for my people and if you have questions or concerns you need to discuss, you can always leave me a message here on the blog, or on my concern line, 360-716-4006.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Administration Building is open!

It’s been a busy, busy week. But we are officially moved. As I was finishing up my work on Friday, I thought it was just fitting to be the last person out of the building. While we were moving, it was a really happy week for me, but it was really sad too. It seems like Tulalip is growing so quickly. I’m amazed by the changes I’ve seen in my short time as General Manager, and I can’t wait to see what the next few years bring. But I’m also sad to see some of the great achievements our leaders have made forgotten or eclipsed by the “new”.

I want to take some time and just remember some of the leaders who made a difference in my life. Not just the really visible leaders, but people like my Auntie Uppy, Caroline Thornberry, who took care of her community. She didn’t do it by running for the Board, or by being a General Manager, but just by being herself and passing on those teachings that she had. She made sure that our family knew who we are and where we come from. She made sure that we knew how to take care of our people.

Debbie Brown taught me that our employees come first; we need to support them in their work. That mistakes are learning opportunities; but we just ask that they let us know up front about the mistake and learn from it and do not make the same mistake twice. Linda Jones taught me that we need to look out for the needs of Tribal members, but ensure that we are giving them a hand out, not a hand up. That we provide programs that will allow them to improve their lives.

Of course, my first mentors were my parents; they taught us our work ethic, but more importantly they told us that we could be and do anything that we wanted with our lives and then they supported me in the decisions that I made. There are numerous other elders, leaders and community members who have touched my life, supporting me and teaching me to help me be the person that I am today. I thank and love each of them.

And that’s what this new building means to me. It’s not just the walls and the technology that have changed, it’s that we’re focusing more on the way we help our people and work with our teammates. I know that a lot of people are having a tough time with the change. I understand that change is hard; I’m struggling with it too. But I know that once we get used to it, we’ll find that these new offices help make our work more efficient and more meaningful.

I had a really touching experience during our move. One of the workers who helped build these offices was really touched. He said that every project he works on is special, but this one is even more special because it’s for us. For the Tulalip Tribes and all our people. I can’t say enough how proud I am of my staff and everyone who made all of this possible. And I can’t wait to see tribal members’ faces as they see it all for the first time.

If you haven’t had a chance to stop by the Administration Building we’re having our Grand Opening and Open House on October 3rd starting at 12:00. I look forward to seeing you there!

cisanla;

Shelly Lacy

Friday, September 4, 2009

Food Vouchers for Tulalip Days


Good Morning, I hope you all will join in with our festivities this weekend. Tribal members will receive food vouchers for a total of $20.00 – they can be redeemed with Les Parks, the Youth Service Softball Concession or at the Kenny Moses Sla Hal Concession. These tickets can be used Saturday, Sunday and Monday. They must be signed for at the information table, which will be set up next to first aid.


Thursday, September 3, 2009

Welcome back Mike Johnsen!

Officer Mike Johnsen from the Tulalip Police department is back to work. Mike left the Police Department in July 2008 when he was deployed to Iraq. He served in the Washington Army National Guard as part of the 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team. The Tulalip Police Department welcomed Mike back on September 2nd. They presented him with a plaque commemorating his service and the keys to his brand new patrol car.

It takes a very special person to serve in the armed force, to sacrifice that time with the family and be away from home while they fight for our nation. I can’t say enough how glad I am to have people like this serving on our police force. There are 12 veteran’s serving in our police force, Mike and Detective Sherman Priutt are the only active duty personnel. I just want to say thank you Mike for your service to both our country and the Tulalip community.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Construction work progressing


Our new traffic light at 64th and Marine Drive is working! Please be careful as you travel along Marine Drive, it will be a little dangerous as people get used to the new signal. But I have to say I’m excited, it’s just another sign of progress as we get closer to our move into the new Administration Building. The traffic signal includes a pedestrian crosswalk and the new road will feature sidewalks all the way up to the new Administration Building.

The Construction and Leasing Department is still working with Reece Excavating to repave roads in the Hermosa Beach area. Hermosa residents, I want to let you know that the Utilities Department is shutting off water to the area at 10:00am on Tuesday, September 8th. The water will be off for a minimum of four ours due to the construction. I know it’s been frustrating for a lot of the residents and I want to apologize. Because of water pipe breaks during the construction process, a lot of people have unexpected lost water pressure or completely lost water service. Again I know it is very inconvenient to do without water, and I want to thank you all for your patience. I can’t wait to see the new roads when they’re finished.

It seems like every year our reservation looks different. The rapid pace of construction is one of the reasons why documents like the Comprehensive Plan and Vision Plan are so important. We recently had a Community Meeting about the vision plan, unfortunately there was a very small turnout. If you missed the meeting, you can watch it again on KANU TV, Tulalip 99 the week of September 14th. Just as a quick reminder, the Community Meetings are held the fourth Thursday of every month. Our next meeting will be with our beda?chelh staff. Hope to see you there!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Police Chief Jay Goss

Yesterday, Chief Jay Goss officially began working again for the Tulalip Tribes. Chief Goss served the tribe for seven years before resigning in the summer of 2007. He is currently employed under a three year Today is only his second day and he’s already working hard. He’s taking a look at the structure of the department and making sure that our police department is meeting the needs of our community.

I want to thank Jay Goss for accepting a position as our Chief of Police. Jay is a great guy who has already done a lot for our community. He knows Indian Country and I know our police department will do nothing but improve under his leadership. Welcome back Jay!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy