Tulalip Matters

Tulalip Matters is a weekly news program produced by the Tulalip Tribes Communications Department.

Tulalip Matters is your destination for information about what is happening on and around the Tulalip Reservation. Feature stories, Lushootseed language lessons, news updates, messages from the Tribes’ General Managers and Board of Directors, and a lot more can be found in each edition of Tulalip Matters.

If you have a suggestion for topics or issues you would like to see covered in a future episode of Tulalip Matters, contact the Tulalip Tribes Communications Department at 360-716-4202 or email editor@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov.

Tulalip Matters is replacing the GM Report in the KANU TV schedule. Many of your favorite segments of the GM Report like “Upcoming Events” and “News From Around The Rez” will still be included in each episode of Tulalip Matters.

You can watch Tulalip Matters each week on KANU TV channel 99 and online at www.kanutv.com.

If you would like to watch previous episodes of the GM Report, you can find them here.

A Message from Shelly

It is with mixed emotions that I send this message to all of my team mates at Tribal Government.
I have accepted a new position as the Director of Heritage High School. My new responsibilities will start on July 19th; therefore, my last day as the Tribal Government General Manager will be July16th. The Board is now planning the process for selecting my replacement and will announce that by the end of June.

My advanced degree is in Education and education has always been my love. When I received my Masters degree, both my sister Cecile and I had dreams of being principals someday. Therefore, when the position at Heritage High School became open, presented an opportunity for me to use my skills to serve my community and to follow my dream. The leadership skills training and experience I have learned as your GM will allow me to be a part of the team to continue the vision of Heritage High being the school of excellence that will train the future leaders of our community. More importantly, the connections that I have made with each of you and the community will allow me help make Heritage a community school – one where the community is actively involved and dedicated to improving our youth’s education.

As I look back on these past four and a half years, there have indeed been many challenges: serving the ever-increasing number of Tribal members with little or no budget increases while also dealing with a global economic downturn; But by working together, we learned to do more with less and to raised the level of service in programs to our people. I thank you for the great work you do every day that gave us so many successes which include: consolidating a widely dispersed work force of nearly 300 to the administration building; construction of a multi-faceted cultural center which will be opening in the fall of this year; achieving new levels of performance with our annual performance-based budgets, performance plans and performance evaluations; improving our leadership and management skills through training and being team members who assist and support each other; and realignment of several departments to allow us to more effectively and efficiently serve our people.

I personally have been given many opportunities; I was privileged to represent the Tribe locally, statewide and nationwide. I was fortunate to personally witness growth in many of you as you took on the challenge of new positions or reinvented the ones you were in because you realized the importance of your work to our community. I watched you as you worked with our community and our team to give that hand up, not a hand out. I thank each of you for the lessons that you have shared with me and contributed to my growth as a leader and a person. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me to learn, grow and develop relationships.

I thank our Tulalip Board of Directors for allowing me to serve the Tribal Government team members and our community. It was due to their support, guidance and caring that we were able to make changes, provide training and continue to grow as team members.

I thank my Executive Team. We faced many challenges together and have grown as a team. Each member was a piece of a whole, each of them brought their needed skills sets and ideas to the table so that we were balanced in making decisions not only for today, but also for our future generations.

Once again, I thank each of you for the work that you do every day. You are the ones who are making sure our Tribal members’ needs are met, while still planning for future generations.
As I mentioned at the outset, it is with mixed feelings that I leave. I will miss working with each of you every day. At the same time, I am very excited to be able to utilize all the knowledge I have gained to make our youth’s education a priority. I know that each of you will continue to keep up the great work!

This is not good-bye; I will still be seeing you in the community and may be working with some of you in my new position.

Shelly

I will be seeing you!

Message From Chairman Mel Sheldon

Good afternoon,

Attached is the Tulalip Board of Directors response to Michael Kunde's email that was racist and discriminatory. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your Board of Directors Marlin Fryberg, Jr, Chuck James, Marie Zackuse, Glen Gobin, Don Hatch, Jr., Mark Hatch, and myself.

Thank you,


Mel Sheldon
Chairman of
The Tulalip Tribes Board of Directors

Tribal member Komplex Kai plays Canoes Cabaret

Tribal member Kaiser Jones, Komplex Kai, will be performing at the Canoes Cabaret Monday, May 17^th at the Tulalip Resort Casino. Kaiser, performing his original music, is opening for Outtasite, a hip hop hybrid featuring Sir-Mix-A-Lot. Check out more info on the resort’s website, http://www.tulalipcasino.com/events.aspx.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Salmon Ceremony Practice

Thanks for your input at the Community Meeting!

Last night we held our third Community Meeting of 2010. It was a fairly small turnout, but it was a great meeting! I know beda?chelh is always a sensitive subject. We care so much about our children and we want always want them to be with their families, so when anything happens to threaten that togetherness, we get very upset about it. Lead Case Manager Dan Althoff and Prevention Worker Drew Wilson took the time last night to walk us through the process and explain why how beda?chelh staff do the things they do.

One thing is very clear, beda?chelh staff members don’t just take children. When a referral is done, there is a preliminary investigation about the call, then that information goes to tribal court. It’s actually the judge that decides whether there is enough risk to do an emergency pick-up. The court makes the final decision, not beda?chelh staff. Dan also cleared up several myths about beda?chelh. One of the myths is that case managers receive a bonus for every child they pick up. This absolutely not true. Another myth is that all beda?chelh case managers are non-native and that case managers don’t care about kids. That is not true either. Of the eight case managers, five are native and they all care about kids.

After the presentation we had some great participation in the discussion groups. Some of the feedback we got was that families need more support and prevention before there is a CPS (Child Protective Services) referral. That our community wants to address problems before they get serious. Other members said we need to have better education and wrap-around services when something does happen. We also had a request for more parent support and outreach to connect parents to resources. And some members asked for a revision of the youth code so that it reflects our community and values instead of mirroring the State’s code.

Community members also asked for information in more places, not just the See-Yaht-Sub or KANU TV, but also in community gathering places, at community events and on-line and take home materials. Please tell me what you think. What information would you like to see about beda?chelh? Is there something you’ve seen in another community that worked better than what we’re doing here? How do you want the information? Would you sign up if the tribe had a Facebook, MySpace or Twitter account, do you want material you can take home or is the See-Yaht-Sub and KANU TV working for you? Feel free to leave comments here on my blog or on our concern line, 360-716-4006.

At our next Community Meeting, on May 27^th, we’ll learn about the Maplewood Development. I hope to see you there!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

9th Annual Tribal Bingo Night, April 26th!

Hello everyone. It’s that time of year again. Get your bingo dobbers ready and let’s play! April 26^th is Annual Tribal Bingo Night. This is one of those fun times when we can get together and enjoy each others company, have a meal together and hopefully win some great prizes. Bingo has a wonderful night lined up for us, including 10 regular games at $1,000 each. The doors open at 3:00pm for elders and seniors (age 50 and older), doors open at 4:00 for the general membership. Can’t wait to see you all there!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Sign Language for Children

Early Childhood Parent Coach Melinda Contraro is holding another class about sign language today at the Tulalip Childcare Center. This is the second signing class, but they’ll go over the previous signs for new participants. For more information contact Melinda at 360-716-4904, or 360-722-2491.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

COME ON OVER! JOIN US for Part 2!!

Learn American Sign Language to use with babies, toddlers and even special needs kids

In this workshop, you’ll learn more signs and there will be a review of signs covered previously.

Tulalip Child Care Center

Wednesday April 7, 2010

5:30pm

DINNER & CHILD CARE PROVIDED

Contact Melinda @ 360-716-4904 or 360-722-2491 to sign up!

Emergency Management Plan update

Our office of emergency management is updating Tulalip’s Emergency Preparedness Plan. Please take the time to answer a survey about which natural disasters you think are most likely to affect our reservation. If you have any questions about the plan, contact Emergency Management Coordinator Rochelle James.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We need your help! The Tulalip Tribes Office of Emergency Management wants to hear your thoughts on what natural disasters you are most worried about, from windstorms to earthquakes. Please take a moment to fill out this survey so that we can make the most effective plan to prepare for natural hazards and save lives.

The survey is available here:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGltSkswRlVtM2UyTEJmamcxZURmMFE6MA

It is open to everyone who lives OR works in the Tulalip area. There will be paper copies of the survey placed at the following locations for people that do not work for the Tribe or do not have internet: Tulalip Administration Building, Tribal Court and the Tulalip Health Clinic.

Thank you for your help! Contact Rochelle James, Emergency Management Coordinator, with any questions or for more information. (360) 716-5945

Census Jobs

If anyone is interested in becoming a census taker, TANF will be holding one last class to qualify people. See the information below if you’re interested in a temporary job working for the Census. And don’t forget, on March 26^th we’ll be holding a Census Party. If you bring in your original census form, we’ll mail it for you and enter you in a raffle for some great prizes. The party will be held at the Tribal gym from 11 to 3, so come by, enjoy a meal and drop off your census form. Look forward to seeing you there!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Final Call -- Know anyone who could use a $13 - $19.50 / hour temporary (1-2 month) job helping Tulalip Tribal members with their Census forms?

What: FINAL employment workshop for Census Jobs: $13 - $19.50 / hr.

When/where: Thursday, March 18 10 a.m. Tribal Admin Building (Training Room 2-A / second floor)

Jobs: Census Takers & Crew Leaders (April/May), Census Clerks (ongoing)

To Register: TANF info line at 360-716-4724 / email Charlene James at TANF

1) Benefits: good pay, temporary/part time jobs, flexible hours, up to 40 a week, and mileage reimbursement (50 cents/mile) for field jobs.

2) How long: jobs are from a couple weeks to a month+ of work. But if they are hired, they could be kept on for other operations other than Census takers.

3) Particulars:

a) You have to be a US Citizen at least 18 years of age. You are not required to have a car but having one may give you more employment options.

b) You MUST have 2 pieces of valid ID – such as tribal id, drivers license or passport.

c) You will be coached on a very short practice test, then you can decide to take the real 30 minute test that qualifies you for positions. If you aren't satisfied with your score (which Census staff gives you confidentially right after taking the test) you can take a break and come back to retest to get a better score.

d) Test is confidential and not hard.

It’s an important job for our Tribes as Census reporting helps Tulalip obtain funding for our youth, family and elder programs. Census data is the basis for over $1 billion dollars that annually flows into Indian Country. More counted households provides more funding for tribal housing, maintenance and construction of roads, employment and training programs, head start children services, tribal elder services, health care and more grants for other Tribal programs/services.

INVITATION FOR BID

SMOKEHOUSE COMMITTEE IS ACCEPTING BIDS FOR COOKING THE FOLLOWING DINNER:

Dinner will be held on Monday, March 15th, 2010 for Tulalip Tribes-Closing/Sweep In the Smokehouse. Food will be served in the Kenny Moses Sr.-K.M.B.

The bid will be to feed 300-500 people and is as follows:

(These items will be provided or purchased by the smokehouse committee)

• Deer/Elk Roasts/Grilled Fish
• Boiled Potatoes-quartered or Mashed
• Gravy
• Vegetable: Corn or Green beans
• Bread: Rolls or Frybread
• Green Salad/Potatoes Salad/Macaroni Salad
• Beans w/bacon
• Pies (please have a few sugar free dessert available)
• Cake w/Berries and whip cream
• Seafood if provided
• Extra meats if Deer/Elk are not available
• Coffee/Tea/Juice/Water

Due to Seasonal change menu could change: committee will keep cook informed if menu is to change per event.

• 200 sandwiches/snacks will be made and put in lunch bags to be handed out in the smokehouse later in the evening.
• The bid includes the following:

• Preparation of all food
• Serving of sandwiches/snacks and drinks when provided: committee will notify cooks.
• Serving of food, making sure servers are keeping areas clean and served @ all times
• Clean up of the kitchen and tables and serving areas
• Paying for any helpers or bid helpers
• If there is leftover food, it will need to be wrapped and set out for people to take.

THE BID PACKAGE NEEDS TO INCLUDE HEALTH FOOD CARDS FOR EACH PERSON WORKING IN THE KITCHEN (AND THE PERSON MAKING BID) The successful bid winner will receive payment after job and clean-up is complete. Committee member has up to 72hrs after event is complete to pay bid winner due to the fact of making sure job is completed. A review/evaluation will be made about bid winner for future references of cooking for any smokehouse/ceremony event.

PLEASE HAND INTO BONNIE JUNEAU (360-716-4369) Contact: J.K. Tsoodle (425-870-4875) Bids will include a timestamp from front reception. BIDS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 4:00P.M. Friday, March 12th, 2010 Bonnie is located 3rd floor administration building. Please check in with proper reception to make bid complete and proper.

Food Handlers Class

For those of you who are interested, there will be a food handler’s class next Wednesday at the Senior building from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The class is limited to 25 people. It’s open to tribal members and employees. For more information contact Vincent Cook, 360-716-5129, vcooke@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Thanks for attending our Community Meeting

Around 30 community members attended our Community Meeting last night, which is great! I know that sometimes it’s hard to make it to these meetings, so it was wonderful to see so many people turn out. Enrollment Officer Rosie Carter and Enrollment Specialist Ada Anderson gave a presentation about our enrollment process. They highlighted some of the requirements for enrollment, including direct descendency and residency. They explained how the process works, the complete application is reviewed by the Enrollment Committee, then the committee makes a recommendation to the Board of Directors. From there the Board either approves or denies the application.

During the discussion groups our community was asked if they thought our enrollment ordinance needed to be revised, whether the process was fair, if Tulalip should use a blood quantum requirement for enrollment, if members are satisfied with the minor’s trust accounts and what type of information the Enrollment Office should provide to better help tribal members.

We had some lively discussions. A lot of our citizens feel that the Enrollment Ordinance needs to be revised, but there wasn’t a consensus on how to change it. There was concern about families who are able to enroll some children, but not others. There was concern about whether we should require residency when there is limited access to housing on the reservation. Some members thought we should delay giving out minor’s trust accounts until our kids are older, maybe age 21 or even 25. And some tribal members asked Enrollment to provide more information on the process for amending our constitution.

Overall it was a very good meeting. It made me happy to see so many tribal members gathered together to talk about how our enrollment process and how to change it to better reflect us as Tulalip people. Chairman Mel Sheldon reminded us that we’re not the only ones who have struggled with these questions. In the past leaders like George Williams also struggled with issues like enrollment.

We want the process to be fair and we want to make sure that our people are taken care of, but how do we define ourselves as a people? Is it based on who your parents are and where they lived? Is it based on the percentage of Indian blood or how in touch you are with your tribe? For that matter, how can you measure culture or participation in culture? These are tough issues, so it was great to see the discussion from our members, and to get your opinions.

During our next Community Meeting, February 25^th, we will be talking with our Legacy of Healing staff. Future meetings this year will include our beda?chelh case managers, information about the Maplewood development, TERO department, Solid Waste and Recycling, Youth Services, Problem Gambling and Treaty Rights/Intellectual Property Rights. We’ve got most of the year planned out, but we have room for a couple more Community Meetings. If you have an idea, and don’t see a meeting set up to address it, please call my office or leave a comment on the blog.

We really welcome your ideas and input, so once again, thank you for attending our community meetings and helping us decide the future direction of the tribe.

cisanla;

Shelly Lacy

First Community Meeting of 2010

We’re holding our first Community Meeting of 2010 this Thursday, January 28^th. Please join us to learn about the Enrollment Department. Enrollment Officer Rosie Carter and Enrollment Specialist Ada Anderson will be walking us through some of the Ordinances that govern enrollment here at Tulalip. They’ll talk about Tulalip’s enrollment requirements, how to document residency and descendency, minors' trust accounts and more.

As always, after the presentation we’ll ask you for your input. We want to know if you’re satisfied with the Enrollment Department or if there are things we can do to make the processes more user friendly. The meeting will be held at the Administration Building, a light dinner will be served at 5:00pm and the meeting starts at 5:30pm. Please join us to learn about Enrollment.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

FIREWOOD

Tribal members, please see the attached notice from Forestry about a woodcutting area at Mission Highlands.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

FIREWOOD

There will be an area opening for tribal member woodcutting. It is located at the mission highland housing development on Turk Drive. There is a limited amount of firewood, so this area will only be open 1/29/10-02/15/10. There will be no log length loading, all wood must be 24” or less in length. Wood cutting will only be allowed on designated piles outside of active construction areas. These piles will be marked with wood cutting by permit only signs. Permits are required for all woodcutting. These will be available at the front desk at the main office.

Marysville Schools info fair and Kindergarten Registration Kickoff

Parents, are your children ready for Kindergarten? Are they four years old? Then it’s already time to sign up! Marysville School District is holding an Information Fair and Kindergarten Kickoff event on Saturday, January 23^rd from 9:00 to 11:00 am at Totem Middle School. Come in and meet teachers, learn about the importance of Kindergarten and register your child for the 2010-2011 school year. In order to register you’ll need to bring your child’s original birth certificate and their health and immunization records.

Also on the 23^rd, you’ll have a chance to review fourth and fifth grade curriculum videos, talk to school and district staff and ask any questions you may have about next year. I really encourage anyone with students in the district to attend this event. This is our chance to talk to the teachers and administrators about our concerns and to just get to know the people who are educating our children.

If you have questions or want more information contact Sibyl Martin at 360-653-0818.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Treaty Days

Treaty Days is Friday, January 22^nd. On January 22^nd, 1855 our Treaty was signed, and in 1912 we held our first Treaty Days celebration. I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about Treaty Days, such as whether it is a day we should celebrate, or if it is a day that we should be sad. There have been different message from elders as I have talked to them about Treaty Days.

Many say that was the day we practiced our Winter Ceremonies because the Agency and the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) thought we were celebrating the treaty. Whereas others say that was the day they brought all the children from the boarding school, where they came and sat in the bleachers. Even though the children did not get to talk to their families, at least the families were able to see the children that day. For me personally, it is more about honoring our ancestors, their sacrifices, and their wisdom they had to lead us to where we are today.

I hope tribal members will come and join us. At 3pm work will commence, we’ll be cleaning the floor. Dinner will be at 5pm, and the actual work will start at 6pm. We will start with a prayer, and then we invite all the Tulalip people to the floor to sing the “Welcome Song” to welcome all our guests. I hope you will join us for Treaty Days.

Also, we still need bids for the treaty days dinner. Below is the information for submitting a bid.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

SMOKEHOUSE COMMITTEE IS ACCEPTING BIDS FOR COOKING THE FOLLOWING DINNER:

Dinner will be held on Friday, January 22^nd, 2010 for Tulalip Tribes/Treaty Days in the Smokehouse. Food will be served in the Kenny Moses Sr.- K.M.B. The bid will be to feed 300-500 people and is as follows:

(These items will be provided or purchased by the smokehouse committee)

Deer/Elk Roasts

Boiled Potatoes-quartered

Gravy

Vegetable: Corn or Greenbean

Bread: Rolls or Frybread

Green Salad/Potatoes Salad

Beans w/bacon

Pies (please have a few sugar free desserts available)

Cake w/Berries and whipcream

Seafood if provided

Extra meats if Deer/Elk are not available.

Coffee/Tea/Juice/Water

200 sandwiches/snacks will be made and put in lunch bags to be handed out in the smokehouse later in the evening.

The bid includes the following:

Preparation of all food

Serving of food

Clean up of the kitchen and tables and serving areas

Paying for any helpers or bid helpers

If there is leftover food, it will need to be wrapped and set out for people to take.

THE BID PACKAGE NEEDS TO INCLUDE HEALTH FOOD CARDS FOR EACH PERSON WORKING IN THE KITCHEN (AND THE PERSON MAKING BID) The successful bidder will receive payment after job and clean-up is complete.

PLEASE HAND INTO BONNIE JUNEAU (360-716-4369) Bids will include a timestamp from front reception. BIDS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 4:00P.M. FRIDAY, JANUARY 15^TH, 2010

Men’s Wellness Day

Gentlemen, it’s that time of year again, time to head down to the Health Clinic and look after yourself by getting check-ups and learning about common health problems. This Friday, January 8^th, the Health Clinic is holding their 3^rd Annual Men’s Wellness Day, and I hope you all can make it down. I know you don’t always take that time to make sure you’re healthy, but all of you dads, uncles, brothers and cousins, you mean a lot to our community and we need you healthy!

The Men’s Wellness Day begins at 9:00 am and continues until 3:00 pm. Staff will be there to screen for Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Prostate Cancer (Blood Draw only), Body Mass Index, HIV testing, Dental Screens, Cholesterol Screens with a full lipid panel and much, more. Please take the time and make sure you get those tests! The Clinic also has some great incentive items for participating and they’re raffling two Chainsaws, a set of golf clubs, a tablesaw, a tool set, a fishing pole, a roadside safety kit, a back revitalizer, a massage pillow, a dart board, a golfers putting game, two thermoses, two Seahawk cooler bags with coffee mugs, and Tulalip Bingo donated some gift Certificates for Bingo. You do not need to be present to win, but you do need to participate.

And just as a reminder that employees, with their supervisor’s approval, may have two hours to attend the Men’s Wellness Day. If you have any questions about the Wellness Day, contact the Health Clinic, 360-651-4511.

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Learn about minors trust accounts

On January 7^th, Enrollment is holding an informational meeting about Minors’ Trust Accounts. During the meeting we’ll learn about investment options, and how to manage your child’s account. Remember, any changes for 2010 have to be made by January 31^st. The meeting will be held at 5:00pm at the Administration Building (first floor training room), dinner will be served. Hope to see you there!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy