Suquamish Remembers Chief Seattle
Every year, for as long as anyone can remember, the Suquamish Tribe — alongside friends and allies — has gathered in late August at the grave of Chief Seattle to remember their great ancestor and his many accomplishments.
This year, things must be done a little differently, but we can still gather together to remember. Please join Suquamish Elder Marilyn Wandrey in this special Chief Seattle celebration at his grave site in Suquamish.
Music credit:
Bearon’s Floor Song
Sacred Water Canoe Family
Composed by James Old Coyote
CKA and other local schools to start school year online
The Chief Kitsap Academy School Board told parents it would begin the upcoming school year with all classes completely online.
The decision comes as other schools in the area – including the Bainbridge Island, North Kitsap and Central Kitsap school districts – have all announced similar plans.
The announcement comes in the wake of a July 27 determination by the Kitsap Public Health District that it was not safe “to open schools for traditional classroom learning in August or September” amidst rising rates of COVID-19 infections throughout the county and state.
In a letter to parents July 28, CKA Principal Lucy Dafoe said the school would hold a series of meetings for students and parents leading into the new school year, which starts Sept. 2.
“There will be an online Educational Forum moderated by Robin L.W. Sigo. We will have grade-level student and parent orientations. We hope to schedule the meetings in-person, socially distanced and held outside,” wrote Dafoe. “We will also have an online orientation if you do not feel comfortable attending in person. We want to make sure everyone has good information as we start distance learning.”
Dafoe encouraged parents to reach out with any questions or concerns.
“We will get more information out to you soon. In the meantime, please turn in enrollment applications so that we have accurate student counts,” said Dafoe.
For those still considering school options for the coming year, CKA – a 6th- through-12th grade school, which led the region in providing online education as the pandemic started – is still accepting applications for new students for the coming term.
Suquamish Government hosts online Q&A forums for Tribal members
The Suquamish Tribal Government is holding a series of online forums for Tribal members to hear the latest from government departments and ask questions of program leaders.
The forums are held every Tuesday and Thursday, starting at 4:30pm Suquamish Time. These forums are for Tribal members only.
A link to each forum is sent via the Suquamish Updates Now (SUN) text and email service. (If you haven’t signed up for the free SUN service yet, you can do that here.)
Here’s the schedule for the upcoming forums:
July 23
Housing, Community Development, and Land Use
July 28
Health, Wellness, and COVID response, including behavioral telehealth efforts
July 30
Finance and Budget
Aug 4
Fisheries, Natural Resources, Treaty Protection, with a focus on cockles, forestry, and U&A battles
Aug 6
Suquamish Police Department, with a focus on community-oriented policing and de-escalation
Aug 11
Education, with an emphasis on school re-opening plans
Suquamish Tribe files notice of intent to sue King County for ongoing sewage spills
‘The People of the Clear Salt Water’ say Puget Sound community deserves better
SUQUAMISH, WA – The Suquamish Tribe announced its intention to sue King County for repeatedly releasing untreated or improperly treated sewage into the Puget Sound.
In a letter dated July 21, 2020, the Tribe gives King County officials 60 days’ notice of the Tribe’s intent to file a lawsuit for the county’s ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act and its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
According to public records, King County discharged hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated or improperly treated sewage from the West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, located on the shores of Seattle’s Discovery Park, into Puget Sound in 2018 and 2019. King County is also responsible for a number of NPDES permit violations, discharging effluent wastewater into Puget Sound between 2015 and 2020. These discharges occurred at the West Point Treatment Plant, as well as other treatment facilities, and Combined Sewer Outfalls, on the shores of Centennial Park on Elliot Bay in downtown Seattle, and near Alki Beach in West Seattle.
“The waters of Puget Sound and the entire Salish Sea are the Tribe’s most treasured resource. We are obliged to protect these waters, not only for ourselves but for all who rely on them for healthy seafood, recreation, and cultural practices,” said Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman. “We acknowledge that King County has invested and will invest more to improve their wastewater treatment system, but the Suquamish Tribe and its members are frustrated by the ongoing sewage releases and King County’s other pollution violations in Puget Sound, which continue to harm marine water quality and the Tribe’s ability to exercise reserved treaty rights and engage in cultural activities. We are running out of time and need swifter action. We look forward to discussions with King County, through our long-standing government-to-government relationship, during this 60 day notice period.”
In the July 21 letter, the Suquamish Tribe notified King County that it is responsible for at least 11 significant illegal discharges of untreated sewage from the West Point Treatment plant into the Tribe’s treaty-protected fishing areas, with individual discharge events ranging from 50,000 gallons to 2.1 million gallons.
The Tribe also notified King County that between 2015 and 2020, it violated effluent wastewater discharge permit limits for pH and chlorine at the West Point Treatment Plant, as well as the Elliott West and Alki Combined Sewer Outfalls.
In 2013, King County entered into a Consent Decree with the State of Washington, and the Environmental Protection Agency to address serious and ongoing sewage discharges from its wastewater treatment facilities and combined sewer outfalls that were in violation of the Clean Water Act. Notwithstanding a series of enforcement actions against King County, Clean Water Act violations have continued, including major releases from the West Point Treatment Plant.
The Suquamish Tribe – known as “The People of the Clear Salt Water” in their Southern Lushootseed language – have fished and gathered shellfish in and near the Puget Sound since time immemorial. The waters of Elliott Bay and other waterways into which King County has been discharging untreated sewage make up much of the Tribe’s treaty-protected fishing and shellfish harvesting areas.
“This lawsuit is not just about how these dangerous spills affect the Suquamish Tribe,” said Chairman Forsman. “The entire Puget Sound community deserves clean water. The shellfish, the orca, and all sea life rely on clean water, and all of our children – and children’s children – deserve clean water.”
“This is why the Clean Water Act was created. It’s time for King County to increase their commitment to protecting our shared waters,” said Chairman Forsman.
A copy of the letter of intent is available here.
Updated: COVID-19 Housing Relief Application
NOTE: This should not be confused with the Suquamish Tribe’s COVID-19 Financial Assistance, which you can apply for here. The following is for relief of housing costs only. If you have already applied for either program, you do not need to reapply.
The Suquamish Tribal Council is aware of the financial hardship and uncertainty our membership is facing during this COVID-19 pandemic. We have met to discuss ways in which we can help alleviate the financial stress our membership is currently facing. One way to relieve some financial stress is to assist our tribal tenants who are unsure how they will make their upcoming housing payments.
The COVID-19 Housing Relief Application is designed for tenants who reside in Suquamish Tribal Housings, including Elder Housings, NAHASDA Housings, Suquamish Steps Program, and Mutual Help Homeownership programs affected by COVID-19 “Stay at Home” order. Residents may be eligible for payment deferment for their housing payment from May 2020 to December 2020 due to financial hardship.
Deferment of housing payment is not payment forgiveness. A repayment plan will be created at a later date.
COVID-19 Housing Relief Application does not apply to residents that only pay water fee or sewer fee to the Suquamish Housing Program.
You can download the application here or fill out the online form below.
Suquamish Tribe’s Toolkit for Businesses
In response to the Suquamish Tribal Council’s facial covering policy (Resolution # 2020-104) and overall COVID–19 response, the Suquamish Tribe’s Emergency Operations Center would like to assist our Port Madison Indian Reservation businesses during this global public health emergency.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the social and economic vitality of our local community. But we can lessen these impacts and recover from this public health pandemic when business owners like yourself take steps to reduce your risk and take steps now to recover. Working collaboratively with employees, the public, and local government, businesses can help strengthen both public health and community response in a manner that protects us all.
To support this effort, the Suquamish Tribe’s Office of Emergency Management has compiled this tool kit of resources with links to useful tools that are drawn from the following authoritative sources:
Suquamish Tribal Government
Face masks now required in public spaces on Reservation
Downloadable PDF of this tool kit
Kitsap Health District
The Role of Employers in Effective Contact Tracing
Kitsap County COVID-19 Risk Assessment Dashboard
Kitsap County
Kitsap County Pathway to Recovery Playbook
Washington State Department of Health
Business Information for Administrators and Employees
Food Workers and Establishments Guidance on COVID-19
Guidance for Daily COVID-19 Screening of Staff and Visitors
Checklist for Businesses with Suspected or Confirmed Cases of COVID-19
Guidelines for Grocery and Food Stores
Food Pantries Phase 2 Guidelines
Food Worker Employee Health & Decision Strategies
Safe Cleaning and Disinfection Guidance for Public Space
Posters
Be a Germ Buster. . .Wash Your Hands
COVID-19 – General Information
Washington State Coronavirus Response
Safe Start: Business Guidance, County Status and What’s Open
Overview of COVID-19 Statewide Face Covering Requirements
Department of Labor Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
Posters
“What does six feet look like?”
Help keep Grocery store staff and customers safe
Workplace Safety
COVID-19 Phases 1 and 2 Workplace Safety and Health Requirements
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Considerations for Restaurants and Bars
Planning Guides & Checklists
Get Your Workplace Ready for Pandemic Flu
Get Your Mass Gatherings Ready for Pandemic Flu
Pandemic Flu Checklist: Workplace Administrators
Pandemic Flu Checklist: Event Planners
Posters
Don’t Spread Germs at Work (Employers)
Stay Home if You’re Sick (Employers)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
COVID-19 Best Practice Information: Economic Recovery
FEMA Recovery & Economic Support
Public Assistance Disaster-Specific Guidance – COVID-19 Declarations
Face masks now required in public spaces on Reservation
The Suquamish Tribal Council approved a new resolution requiring a face covering in all public spaces on Port Madison Indian Reservation where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
This applies to areas including, but not limited to:
• Inside any Tribal-owned buildings, including any Tribal business, that are open to the public.
• Inside all other businesses open to the public.
• In healthcare settings, including Human Services Department, Wellness Department, and Health Benefits.
• While in or on a Tribal Government-owned boat with more than one occupant.
• While operating a Tribal Government-owned vehicle with more than one person.
• In outdoor public areas, including Tribal-owned and/or operated parks, trails, streets, sidewalks, lines for entry, exit, or service, and recreation areas, when a distance of at least six feet cannot be maintained from any non-household member.
This policy does not apply to children under five years old, although children two- to four-years-old are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings in public when they are unable to maintain a six-foot distance from non-household members. Anyone with a medical or mental health condition or disability that prevents them from wearing a mask is also exempt.
Face covering are not required in your own home, and – provided you can maintain a six-foot distance from others – while seated at a restaurant, while engaged in indoor or outdoor exercise activities, while in outdoor areas, among a few other specific exemptions.
Online Forum: Covid Q&A
In this online townhall, Suquamish Tribe Treasurer Robin Little Wing Sigo hosts a special Q&A forum with the Tribe’s community health nurse Barbara Hoffman and Dr. Lisa Pratt, from the Wellness Center.