Halloween fun!

I love this time of year. We get to see everyone all dressed up, having fun and just getting together for the good times. This morning our Montessori children came trick or treating at the new administration building. It was so good to see everyone having a good time. I want to thank all our staff who turned out this morning to hand out candy. Things like this are so important to our kids.

Thanks again and have a happy and safe Halloween. Be sure to wear reflective clothing and know the route your children and their chaperones will be travelling if you’re not going with them. And for your older kids be sure you know where they’re going to be and what time they’re expected home. And it may seem basic, but remind your kids that it’s not okay to go inside the house or get into a car of someone they don’t know.

And don’t forget, the tribe is holding a Halloween Party tomorrow, Saturday, October 31^st, from 3:00pm to 6:00 pm in the tribal gym. Hope to see you there and Happy Halloween!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Next Vaccination Clinic

Hi everyone,

Please see the below message from Rochelle James in Emergency Management about where and when to get your H1N1 Vaccination. Please be sure you make time to get vaccinated, and remember to get your regular flu vaccine as well. And thank you to Rochelle and all our staff a the health clinic for the work you are doing to keep our people healthy!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

By now we all know that one of the best ways to protect ourselves and our families from H1N1 is to get vaccinated. The Tulalip Tribes Pharmacy is hosting the second vaccination clinic this Saturday October 31st, 2009 at the Pharmacy from 9a-3p. At this time the vaccination clinic is open to all Center for Disease Control priority one groups and those include:

-Pregnant women

-Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age

-Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel

-All people from 6 months through 24 years of age

-Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza (chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, hematological, neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders or immunosuppression).

-Teachers and Professional childcare workers

Another clinic with the same priority groups will be held on November 2^nd from 9am-3pm at the Tulalip Tribal Center. This will be open to all tribal members, tribal employees and their families and anyone else in the community who would like to get vaccinated!

The H1N1 vaccine has been given to hundreds of thousands of people across the country SAFELY. As of today there have been no reports of death or harm from this vaccine, making it just as safe as the seasonal flu shot.

Please fill out the consent form in advance to save time! Dress appropriately so we can access your arm. If you attend the vaccination clinic at the pharmacy dress warm as the line may extend outside.

Respectfully,

Rochelle James

360.716.5945

Vaccination Clinic

Please read the below message from our Emergency Management Coordinator Rochelle James. Remember, unlike seasonal flu, younger people are at higher risk than older people.

cisanla;
Shelly L. Lacy


Good Afternoon Everyone,

One of the best ways to protect ourselves and our families from the H1N1 virus is to get vaccinated. We have a limited supply of the H1N1 vaccine at this time. We will open the first vaccination clinic this Saturday October 24, 2009 at the Tulalip Health Clinic from 9a-3p. Because of the limited supply we will only be vaccinating those at the highest risk of developing complications from the H1N1 virus; those groups are pregnant women and children ages 6months - 4years old.


As more of the H1N1 vaccine becomes available we will open additional vaccination clinics. I urge you to get vaccinated since it is the best way to protect yourself and your family from continuing to spread the H1N1 virus.


The H1N1 vaccine has been given to hundreds of thousands of people across the country SAFELY. As of today there have been no reports of death or harm from this vaccine, making it just as safe as the seasonal flu shot.

If you are (or know someone) who is pregnant or have children between the ages of 6months- 4years old please get vaccinated this Saturday, October 24, 2009 from 9a-3p at the Tulalip Health Clinic. This clinic is open to the whole community.

Respectfully,
Rochelle James
360.716.5945

Starting Construction on New Youth Center

We’re having a blessing and ground braking ceremony at the Tribal Gym on Friday, October 9^th. Although it’s not a new building, we’re celebrating the new purpose of the gym as our Youth Center. We’re really excited to finally have a facility dedicated to our youth. I want to thank the Tulalip Construction crew for all the work their going to do, and all the departments who are coming together to make sure our youth services truly meet the needs of our children and teens.

The Blessing will start at 10:00am and the groundbreaking will begin at 11:00am, and lunch will follow. I hope you’ll join us to commemorate this new gathering place for our kids. And to our young people, I hope you’ll continue to give us your input about programs. We really need you to tell us what your needs are, what services will help you be successful and where we are missing the mark.

I look forward to seeing you Friday!

cisanla;

Shelly L. Lacy

Important Notice Regarding H1N1 Influenza Virus

I wanted to give you an update and let you know that we do have a confirmed case of the H1N1 influenza (swine flu), in the new Administration building.

We are taking a series of measures to limit the spread of H1N1 influenza as we do in fact have a confirmed case of the virus. The person diagnosed with H1N1 is doing well and is at home getting better, which is what each of us should do, stay home if we are sick.

This is a good time to remind everyone to take the following precautions to keep the spread of germs to a minimum.

Be sure to take infection-control measures below:

1. When coughing (sneezing), cover your nose and mouth with a handkerchief or tissue or use your arm sleeve.
2. Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer FREQUENTLY. Please remember that sanitizing is not as good as washing your hands with soap, so WASH – WASH – WASH your hands.
3. Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth.
4. Sanitize and wipe down your work area frequently.
1. When you get the symptoms such as FEVER, and coughing, refrain from reporting to work to eliminate exposure to co-workers who may have family members in their home with compromised immunities.

Individuals should be aware that the symptoms of H1N1 or Influenza like Illness are as follows:

Fever

Cough

Sore throat

Muscle Aches

Joint Pain

Weakness

Employees who knowingly report to work with symptoms, will have their temperature taken. If a fever is present, the employee will be sent home.

There will not be any special leave granted. Employees will be allowed to use their own sick leave. In addition, a variance will be submitted to the Board for consideration for absences that occur related to the H1N1 virus.

We will keep you posted with dates, times and places for flu vaccines and any additional information as we get it.

cisanla;

Shelly Lacy

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

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 3^rd starting at 12:00. I look forward to seeing you there!

cisanla;

Shelly Lacy