Cowlitz Country News - Archives - Quinault Indian
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January 2014

Quinault: Recall election keeps most of tribal executive body - Quinault Nation President Fawn Sharp survived a recall election, along with most of the members of the current Quinault tribal executive body. “I deeply appreciate this vote of confidence by the Quinault membership,” Sharp said.


December 2013

Quinault: Tribe recalls one of four leaders - Members of the Quinault Indian Nation voted late Saturday afternoon to oust Vice President Andrew Mail, but retained President Fawn Sharp and two other members of the tribal Business Committee at a special general council meeting held at Taholah School Gymnasium.

Quinault: Tribe to hold recall election for President Sharp and other leaders - Quinault Indian Nation President Fawn Sharp and three other members of the tribal Business Committee are the subjects of a recall vote that will be considered at a special general council meeting next week. In addition to Sharp, the recall is aimed at Vice President Andrew Mail, Treasurer Larry Ralston and Secretary Latosha Underwood. The Business Committee they serve on is the tribe’s governing body. About 50 tribal members signed the petition, which was written by tribal member Coni Wilson.

Quinault: Harvest Moon Howell – Native American Story Teller, Quinault Tribal Ambassador, Master Basket Weaver - “When I am sharing this very first legend,” Harvest Moon Howell begins, “I am actually seeing how good your ears are.” We are at the Shelton branch of the Timberland Regional Library. Native American story teller, Harvest Moon Howell, is beginning her performance. Harvest continues, “I am telling you this, so if you are going to sit there and be thinking about what you are going to have for dinner tonight, or how to balance your checkbook, well then the next legend won’t be as good. But if your ears become larger, then the story will become a big as your ears.”

Quinault: The Quinault Nation’s New Era of International Diplomacy - When it comes to the leadership of a tribal nation, size doesn’t matter. What does matter is its ability to think outside the colonial box and the level of its commitment to self-determination, and the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) has demonstrated this in spades. For decades QIN has played a major role in the contemporary American Indian self-determination movement and it continues elevating it to new levels through its practice of international diplomacy, United Nations style. Earlier this year in May during the meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the Quinaults held a reception to host the ambassadors of several select state governments.

Quinault: Fawn Sharp: Conference Appreciated but ‘We Need More’ - The following are comments by Quinault Indian Nation President Fawn Sharp in advance of today’s 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference, the fifth of its kind since President Barack Obama took office in a way to improve the government-to-government relationship between federally recognized tribes and the United States government.


October 2013

Quinault: Sawmill reopening, will hire 25-30 - A sawmill in Grays Harbor County is reopening and hiring 25 to 30 people, a manager at TMI Forest Products Crane Creek Division confirmed last week. The mill has been shuttered since 2011, said TMI plant manager John O’Brien, who was rehired and started work Tuesday. Recruiting will also be done by the Quinault Indian Nation’s Tribal Employment Rights Office, Lake said, since the mill is on tribal land, just north of Amanda Park on Highway 101 near Lake Quinault.

Quinault: Nation Passes Resolution to Oppose Coal Exports - The Quinault Indian Business Committee has passed a resolution opposing proposals to export coal from the Pacific Northwest. The resolution, passed Monday, specifically addresses a proposal to transport coal by rail from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming through Washington State for export from Cherry Point in Anacortes. There are other locations in Washington and British Columbia under consideration, including Longview, said Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation.

Quinault: Lac-Mégantic Rail Tragedy Resonates in Quinault Nation as Victims Are Memorialized - As hundreds attended a memorial service in Lac-Megantic on Saturday July 27 for the 47 people killed in the train explosion that flattened the center of the 6,000-population town, the horrific accident resonated with a tribe all the way over in the Pacific Northwest. The Quinault Nation is fighting a plan to transport oil by rail through their territory and across ecologically sensitive areas. Comment: I'll start taking protests against oil and coal serious when protesters stop using cars driven by oil-products and electricity generated, often, by coal. Instead of posing nothing but problems by protesting against oil, coal and nuclear, on my main website I promote solutions, such as thorium, "cold fusion" and all-electric vehicles. The first step in solving a problem is to identify that there is a problem. Where oil and coal are concerned, that has already been done, and yet everybody is still stuck on the first step. And that's where we will stay until enough people get unstuck and move to the second step: identifying and supporting the solutions.

Quinault: Advising the new White House Council on Native American Affairs - The Quinault government issued a white paper to the recently formed White House Council on Native American Affairs during its inaugural session in Washington, D.C. Tuesday. The Quinault paper, issued by Quinault President Fawn Sharp, responds to President Barack Obama’s directives to the new Council that it must work to facilitate “efficient delivery of government services” to Indian communities, and engage Indian and Native Alaskan governments for a “true and lasting government-to-government relationship.”


August 2013

Quinault: Lake Quinault closed to all nontribal uses - The president of the Quinault Indian Nation says Lake Quinault has been closed to all nontribal uses, including fishing, swimming and boating.

Quinault: History Sails Full Circle as Tall Ships Escort Northwest Native Canoes - The first tall ships that visited Quinault territory were harbingers of European and American empirical designs. And not all of those visits ended well. The first European visitors were, presumably, Spanish explorers, arriving off what is now Point Grenville in the schooner Sonora on July 11, 1775 to claim the land for Spain.

Quinault: Crude-by-rail projects moving through environmental review - Imperium Renewables has secured a shoreline substantial development permit from the City of Hoquiam and the state Department of Ecology, while Westway Terminal Co.'s permit is tied up in appeals. Earthjustice, an environmental law firm, wrote a lengthy letter on behalf of the Quinault Indian Nation outlining a number of problems with the Imperium project.

Quinault: Tribe reopens Lake Quinault to swimming - The Quinault Tribal Nation has reopened Lake Quinault to swimming, although the tribal president says she remains concerned about water quality. The tribe closed the Olympic Peninsula lake last month to swimming and other non-tribal activities, citing pollution problems, unsafe activities, invasive species issues and diminished fish runs.

Quinault: Fawn Sharp Calls for Seating of Indigenous Nations in United Nations - Following the two-day international conference of indigenous nations in Alta, Norway on June 12, where the Alta Outcome Document and goals for the 2014 United Nations World Conference on Indigenous Peoples was established, Quinault Indian Nation President Fawn Sharp applauded the outcome of the conference. Comment: The Quinault tribe ceded title to most of their land in exchange for a 10,000 acre reservation, but several generations after the reservation was expanded to its current size of more than 200,000 acres to accommodate allotments for members of several other tribes, the Quinaults began a policy that continues to this day of stealing allotments from individual allottees. See History of the Quinault Reservation


June 2013

Quinault: Indians preparing for possible First Lady visit - Members of the Quinault Nation along the Washington coast said Tuesday there is a chance First Lady Michelle Obama will attend this summer’s Tribal Journey. The annual event draws thousands of Native Americans from the Northwest.


May 2013

Quinault: Nation Opposes Crude by Rail - On Thursday, the Quinault Indian Nation submitted a letter to the City of Hoquiam and Washington Department of Ecology opposing the first of at least three proposed crude by rail facilities at the Port of Grays Harbor.

Quinault: Tribe closes Lake Quinault to non-tribal fishing - The Quinault Indian Nation is closing Lake Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula to non-tribal fishing until further notice. President Fawn Sharp said Tuesday the emergency measure is aimed at protecting water quality in the tribe-owned lake.

Quinault: Applauding the President’s Drug Control Policy - We enthusiastically applaud President Obama’s announcement today that his Administration will pursue a 21st Century Drug Policy to replace the ‘tough on crime’ policy with a new ‘smart on crime policy’,” said Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

Quinault: Nation Ask for Further Crude Review - Millions of barrels a year: that’s how much crude oil is projected to be coming by rail to Washington under a proposal that’s being challenged by local tribes and community groups. Public News Service reports that Tyson Johnston, First Councilman with the Quinault Indian Nation, said his tribe wants to see the same kind of environmental review for oil transported to the new proposed crude oil terminal as currently takes place when oil is pumped via a pipeline.

Quinault: Taholah High School athletes blackballed - Student athletes at Taholah High School were concerned last December when four local school districts voted to dissolve their athletic league and become independent. Then the districts decided they would rather forfeit the remaining games than play Taholah's athletes, most of them members of the Quinault Indian Tribe. The tribe sued. Tribal members believe the district's actions are racist. Comment: It could be worse; President Sharp could be continuing a policy of stealing land their ancestors ceded from the American Indian land owners to whom the land was allotted. Oh, wait, she is. Never mind.

Quinault: Tribe Opposes Proposal to Turn Grays Harbor into an Industrial Crude Oil Zone - On April 18, 2013, the Quinault Indian Nation submitted comments to the City of Hoquiam and Washington Department of Ecology opposing the first of at least three proposed oil shipping facilities that could transform Grays Harbor into an industrial crude oil zone.

Quinault: Tribal Leader Honored by White House - On Thursday, the White House honored twelve citizens, businesses, and community leaders who are Champions of Change for working to prepare their communities for the consequences of climate change. This includes Quinault Indian Nation member Edward Johnstone of Taholah.

Quinault: Man lauded in D.C. as a 'Champion of Change' - Edward Johnstone of Taholah was one of 12 people from across the country honored as a “Champion of Change” at a White House ceremony Thursday for his work preparing his community for the effects of climate change.


April 2013

Quinault: Nation Opposes Basin Flood Mitigation Projects, Asks Governor Not to Provide Funding - The Quinault Indian Nation has asked Gov. Jay Inslee to preserve its treaty-protected fishing, hunting and gathering rights by not funding the recently-proposed flood relief projects in the Chehalis Basin. Providing the basin with the requested $28 million would "severely and adversely affect our ability to exercise our treaty-protected rights," Quinault President Fawn Sharp wrote in a letter to the governor. Basin flood relief should not rely on projects that sacrifice natural resource to benefit "a few property owners in the Chehalis Basin," she added.

Quinault: Flood Authority Discusses Quinault Opposition to State Funding - At a Flood Authority meeting here Thursday, members of the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority discussed the Quinault Nation’s announcement that they will not support state funding for flood mitigation projects. In a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee, Fawn Sharp, the Quinault president, asked the state to preserve the tribe’s treaty-protected fishing, hunting and gathering rights by not funding the $28 million requested by Chehalis Basin leaders.


March 2013

Quinault: Indian Nation suing neighboring school districts for discrimination - The Quinault Indian Nation is suing four neighboring school districts for racial discrimination, stemming from a decision made earlier in the year by those districts to dissolve a high school athletic conference. The dissolution of the Coastal Conference, the federal lawsuit contends, left a fifth, largely Native American public school in Taholah with virtually no teams to play.

Quinault: Tall Ships to Escort During Paddle to Quinault 2013 - The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain will take part in the “Paddle to Quinault 2013” event scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 1.


February 2013

Quinault: 5 months for sentence delayed 2 years - A 22-year-old Aberdeen man turned himself in for sentencing earlier this month — two years late. Johnathon L. Pluff pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine in 2010 and was released prior to sentencing. On Jan. 3, he turned himself in.


January 2013

Quinault: Tribe is host for Paddle Journey 2013 - In late July a crowd of 7,000 to 10,000 made up of canoe pullers on the annual tribal Paddle Journey, the pullers’ support crews, their canoe families and spectators is expected to arrive at La Push. That’s the report Rio Jaime and Miss Ann Penn-Charles from the Quileute Ocean Going Society gave to the Forks Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Dec. 19. Jaime said Quinault is the location of the site of the gathering in 2013 for the annual summertime tribal Paddle Journey, with over 100 canoe teams expected to participate this year.

Quinault: Twin Harbors receive more than $670,000 in salmon recovery grants - The Quinault Indian Nation was awarded $170,440 for controlling knotweed along the Lower Quinault River, $32,000 to design a project to remove fish barriers on the Salmon River, $71,224 to remove four culverts that are blocking fish passage in Moses Prairie, which is south of the Queets River, and $16,598 to replace a fish-blocking culvert with a bridge, giving coho salmon access to nearly a half-mile of habitat on an unnamed tributary to the Quinault River.


November 2012

Quinault: Quinault President, Fawn Sharp, Receives Highest Award From Gonzaga Alums - Fawn Sharp, president of the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington and of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, was presented the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Merit Award, October 18 from the Gonzaga University Alumni Association.


October 2012

Quinault: Nation Awarded Grants to Improve Law Enforcement - The Quinault Indian Nation is among 14 Washington Tribes that will benefit from over 200 grants awarded yesterday by the Department of Justice to enhance law enforcement practices.

Quinault: First Stewards Resolution Asks U.S. Congress to Formally Recognize Ecological Knowledge of Coastal Indigenous People - Ed Johnstone, Quinault Indian Nation fisheries policy representative, speaks at the First Stewards symposium in Washington D.C. about the cultural and spiritual importance of the Quinault homelands to him. A resolution was drafted by the coastal tribes of Washington—the Hoh, Makah and Quileute tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation, the hosts of the call to action. The resolution sent to the U.S. Congress and President Obama requests formal recognition of the coastal indigenous people and their expertise in understanding and adapting to changes in their natural systems.

Lower Elwha Klallam-Quinault: Grants given to Quinault, Elwha tribes - Crime-prevention programs operated by the Lower Elwha Klallam will receive more than $1 million, while those of the Quinault tribe will get more than $500,000, the Department of Justice said. The Lower Elwha will get a total of $1,293, 271. The Quinault Indian Nation was awarded $561,732.


July 2012

Quinault: Treaty Rights Warrior Walks On, Leaves a Lasting Legacy - Guy McMinds, of the Quinault Indian Nation, was laid to rest July 13 at Quinault Indian Nation Tribal Cemetery after a funeral ceremony that drew hundreds of family and friends from near and far. Many expressed admiration for McMinds and said his influence reached tribes across the country. McMinds graduated from Moclips High School in Moclips, Washington in 1955 and served two years in the U.S. Army. In 1966, he received a fisheries science degree from the University of Washington before returning to work for the Quinault Indian Nation. He served for many years as the nation’s fisheries manager and natural resources director. In 2010, he retired as advisor to the president of the Quinault Indian Nation.


June 2012

Quinault: Wash. cedar mill used as cover for meth trafficking ring - Federal drug agents busted a meth distribution operation on Quinault tribal land that used a cedar shingle mill as cover, arresting seven people and seizing more than 12 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a spare tire, U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan said. The leader of the drug smuggling organization, Jose Naur Sanchez, 34, of Amanda Park, Wash., allegedly sought to disguise his trafficking activity with the operation of a cedar shingle mill. “These defendants, who have ties to Mexican cartels, wrongly thought they could hide their drug activity in a rural area and on tribal land,” Durkan said.


May 2012

Quinault: Former Copalis Beach Woman Convicted of Embezzling Quinault Tribal Funds - Louise Ludwig, 48, was convicted on May 21, 2012, of twenty counts of embezzling money from the Quinault Indian Nation.

Quinault: SuperSonics Star to Ride Tandem with Tribal Member for Charity - Not often is one presented with an opportunity to ride a two-person bicycle with an international basketball star. But come Saturday, Vicki Hanna, a member of the Quinault Tribe, may have the opportunity to do just that.

Hoh-Makah-Quileute-Quinault: Coastal tribes create national symposium on climate change - The inaugural First Stewards symposium, to be held July 17-20 in Washington, D.C. is a national event that examines the impact of climate change on indigenous coastal cultures and explores solutions based on of traditional ecological knowledge. The Hoh, Makah and Quileute tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation created the symposium because indigenous coastal people are among the most affected by climate change.

Quinault: Aberdeen Liquor Store Sells to Interesting Buyer - The rights to Aberdeen's only independent liquor Store sold for just over $95-thousand, and the winning bidder, is a Quinault Indian Nation executive. Myrna Figg, Accounting Manager for the Nation is listed as the winning bidder for the Aberdeen location on Heron street.


April 2012

Puyallup-Quinault: Let's not stand for high rate of tribal youth suicide - CDC data from 2005 show the rate of native youth suicides is 2.2 times the number of people in all other ethnic groups. Suicide is their second-leading cause of death, and Indian Health Services numbers indicate kids between 15 and 19 are the most likely to kill themselves.

Quinault: Daffodil Royal Court Honors the Memory of Chief Leschi Princess During Parade - While Saturday’s Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade was bright with sunshine and smiles all the way down Sumner’s Main Street, the loss of Alexandria Cole, the Chief Leschi princess who died of an apparent suicide last week, was felt throughout the Royal Court.

Quinault: Chief Leschi Schools Daffodil princess, Alexandria Cole, dies - John Weymer, a spokesman for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, confirmed today that Cole's death is "under investigation as an apparent suicide." Cole, who was a member of the Quinault Nation, had expressed that she was feeling stressed but nothing extreme, he said.


March 2012

Quinault: Budget cuts leave hatchery fish going hungry - The State Fish and Wildlife fish hatchery at Humptulips has a million mouths to feed and not enough food to feed them. Budget cuts and other problems are taking a toll. The Quinault Indian Tribe kicked in some money and local fishing groups will provide free labor, but the hatchery still doesn't have enough money to raise 250,000 coho.

Quinault: Tribe Sends Sharp Message - A reply letter from the Quinault Indian Nation says they plan to move ahead with a QMart2 store near B street 7-11 in Aberdeen. President Fawn Sharp said in her letter that a best-use analysis led to the plans for a convenience store with fuel, and seafood.


February 2012

Quinault: Moclips homicide suspect in custody - Grays Harbor Undersheriff Rick Scott tells KXRO that deputies have a suspect in custody of the possible homicide of 51 year-old Richard Luce of Moclips.

Chehalis-Quinault: State agencies, tribes say earthen dam study is lacking - State agencies and officials from both the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis and the Quinault Indian Nation blasted the first draft of a study looking at the potential impact on fish if an earthen dam would be built on the upper reaches of the Chehalis River Basin to help control flooding. They say the study’s preliminary results and simulations "simply fly in the face of reality" and contain "unreasonable assumptions."


January 2012

Quinault: SeniorNet To Launch New Center on Quinault Indian Reservation - SeniorNet announces the opening of its sixth Indian Reservation Learning Center in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED). Located primarily in Queets, Washington, home of the Quinault Tribe about 90 miles from Taholah, the new center will allow residents of the reservation to earn GEDs, train and search for jobs, and communicate with relatives in other parts of the country.

Quinault: Unsanitary conditions at fish plant led to FDA recall - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says almost 27,000 cans of fish processed at a Quinault Nation plant were recalled last spring because lab tests showed that faulty seals and cooking irregularities allowed dangerous microorganisms to grow in canned and smoked salmon, sturgeon, razor clams and tuna processed there.


December 2011

Quinault: County to receive $787,000 for salmon recovery - The money will go to the Wild Fish Conservancy, the Grays Harbor Conservation District, the Quinault Indian Nation and the Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force to repair damaged rivers and streams, improve the environment and protect salmon habitat.

Quinault: Threat Averted By Canned Seafood Inspection, Recall - Quinault Tribal Enterprises (QTE) last April recalled 27,705 metal cans of seafood products, distributed nationally, because of "severe looseness of the can double seam."

Quinault-Hoh: Kalaloch Beach won't open this winter for razor clams, but slight hope for spring digs - Biologists from the Quinault Indian Nation, Hoh Indian Tribe, state Fish and Wildlife and the national park conduct razor clam stock assessments each summer. This year's results showed the Kalaloch razor clam population to contain approximately half the number of clams found last year.

Quinault: WA has jurisdiction in tribe cigarette case - The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that the state has criminal jurisdiction over tribal members who sell cigarettes without a required tax at stores outside reservation boundaries.


November 2011

Quinault: Toxic pilings removed from Damon Point near Ocean Shores

Hoh-Quinault: No Razor Clam Harvest At Olympic National Park Until Spring

Quinault: Grays Harbor Cleanup Complete at Damon Point

Quinault: Hatcheries could take a hit from state budget cuts


October 2011

Quinault: Flood Authority Officially Invites Quinaults

 
 
 
 


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