Greetings to the Membership, as always "I" would like to remain in
the back of the room where when i raise my voice above all others in
front of me... everyone turns to see who is talking and begins to
listens as i speak. So with that said, here goes a little speech I have
to tell everyone about the tribe i belong to as well as the rest of
you, the members.
I'm 40 yrs old now, and i have watched and witnessed many things
happen thru out the years of the puyallup tribe. some good and some
very awful, while growing up i felt my biggest challenge was not from
our own, but the outsider around us. our tribe has faced many - many
challenges, and most of them not so good in the long run outcomes for
us. but we faced them, just like the new challenges of today and the
ones we will face tomorrow as well. let us not forget who we are, where
we came from and how we got to where we are now. we got there because
of our parents, their parents and so forth. now as the children of all
those peoples... we once again face the challenges of our own again.
only this time it's the challenges that will face that our children
will soon learn to do exactly what it is we are doing today someday in
their lives as members of this tribe.
now alot of you, the younger generation might not have many
history lessons in our tribe more than that check you recieve each
month called a per-capita. and then again many might have parents
around them and be a very active member of the puyallup tribe today.
non the less, i personally have seen the tribe thru my own eyes and
have my own opinion as to how i see it from my past to the present and
even the future when i'm long gone.
it is the membership that makes our tribe, not our council
or certain individuals. not our casino or any other business. it is our
membership and if we lose sight of this 1 simple reminder... then how
does the tribe continue forward or have any idea of what direction it
should head into? we have alot more members now than ever in our past
times. sure alot of it can clearly be seen because of a profit and a
reason to belong to gain access to that, but it's more than money. but
again, take away that money each month and where would we be now? that
is what many puyallup tribal members that are around my age can relate
to.
if it were not for this wonderful position that we as members of
the puyallup tribe have now, we would be what i remember growing up.
the dirty indians on the corner or stuck over there living on the
reservation, drunks or drug addicts or even worse, we live off the
government and get checks every month. i don't know where these
outsiders got the information i constantly played down and lived to
explain about, but i sure don't remember getting $2k every month. nope,
i remember tying nots in nets and mending miles of mesh to make
and earn that living. i also remember explaining how we are not taking
all the fish too, how it was our rights and this was part of a
government agreement granted to us.
it seems all our lives we do or did nothing but to defend our
rights or treaties or explain to others, why and who we are. we are the
puyallup tribe of indians. yes that is who we are. we fought and
battled in courts, some say we won, ok i guess we did. but what did we
win?
something that was originally ours and once again we were fighting
for it or to explain to someone else. all we have ever done was fight,
fight for our rights, fight to keep them, fight to go on fighting i
guess. we have so much to look back on and learn from just with-in
ourselves as a membership, that the reason for this speech is to
reflect our history.
to bring to light the battle we seem to always be fighting. i
don't want our children to do this, not in todays world. we shouldn't
have to leave a mess or such confusion that a membership doesn't even
know why it's a membership. we are a member, each one of us.
we single handedly each belong to the tribe. if we all took one
anothers hand and held them today in a cirle.... it would wrap around
the tacoma dome. which by the way was the old school property once held
by the tribe. we have so much to be thankful for so much history and
not many care to learn about it or know of it from anything? there are
no books or dvds or websites that detail our past like it could be
taught from our elders. we offer nothing in place of a longhouse
or gathering for these stories to be told or heard. but beyond the
stories, we have members that really do not care to hear them or have
the time. they lead lives outside of the tribe. theres no time to
listen or share. we have a chance to build one of the strongest
memberships ever. like in the past, we made in a point to form
gatherings in order to claim our checks. imagine if we did this today?
where would we all gather at.
if we had a CHIEF, would anyone listen to him? do our children
know our history and are they proud or ashamed. maybe they laugh and
giggle at the dances and pow wows. feel embarrassed or otherwise in the
clouds as to what is happening? they just want to watch Spongebob
square pants or play playstation games. I can remember 1990 very well.
the day before and the day after too. now it is 2008 and we have a
monthly income that allows home ownership, new vehicles, less struggles
than i remember in 1990.
most of us do not commerical fish or sell cigerettes / fireworks
anymore to survive. or we never did, we held jobs outside the tribe.
many work for the tribe today unlike the past. many have come so far
today just thanks to those per-capita checks that it's unlikely anyone
can explain where we are today because of these. I know i'am a home
owner because of them, i have a new car because of them and my children
will have many chances at this world we live in better than they would
have if they did not get them.
schooling is very important, but i was raised to know one thing.
how to survive in this world on my own. not to pretend that someone
else cared or was there for me. the plain truth was that i was the only
one there for me and along the way i had to explain this and make it
clear to others as i walked thru the whitemans world in front of me or
faced living on the reservation. i chose to live outside the tribe,
to learn in public schools and work among the whites. always trying to
hide my identity. because of the stereotyping, i learned fast how to
BLEND into the society around me and make the changes that made life
easier on me.
now i'm proud to speak up, i'm proud to say who i'am, and i'm so
proud of our membership to be where we are today. but i'm still the guy
in the back of the room. who will only speak up and fight when one of
my brothers ro sisters needs me or others threaten our tribe. i will
always come out of the wood work for that battle, just like the
membership does for those checks. it would nice to see members, every
member once again gathering like we did.
coming from everywheres to simply gather together as one and look
apon one another and see ourselves as a whole and who we are and what
makes us, it is us. we are what makes us the puyallup tribe of indians.
not some name, which for years is all others seem to know us by. or our
casino or donations to thier causes. wouldn't it be out of this world
to see the tribe in a new light. not the idea answer you have when you
ask someone from tacoma or surrounding areas what they think or ther
version they explain to someone is of the puyallup tribe. i thought
since 1990 our council would of purchased land to increase the size of
the tribes property. to give it a more tree'd look and feel versus the
concrete jungle appeal that it now has or the casino is all of it. i
know we have members all over and with-in the boundries. but what
happened to the land purchase, where we were going move the tribal head
quarters into that setting that had trees and a enviorment that
reflected more than just driving down portland avenue. where it was
beautiful and had that looked and natural feel of being in nature and
among trees. in that setting i always pictured?
for most when you ask, they tell you the tribe is a check and
casino. and scum bums living in tacoma. why would it be so difficult to
buy property outside or close by that was forestry like and had that
beautiful appeal to it as Indian Country. i don't know, but i heard for
years of these changes. yet they have still not happened. not even the
big plans for the casino drawings we all saw. i'm thankful for things,
and i'm proud to say i'm a tribal member today but i'm still asking
myself a few questions.
what would it take to bring together the tribal membership as one, even for one day?
another big check hand out, or maybe that gathering place. maybe
the right timing or even the right setting. i don't feel the tribe like
i do other tribes, along the coast is some of the most memories i have
of indians growing up. the visions i keep to myself in my head of the
places were and are some of the most beautiful places on our earth. and
yes we live right here to enjoy them. i live in a forest setting now. i
love the trees and woods and nature.
vesus the city and everything about it, i do not like the city life or place of it for a tribe.
now, one thing i have left to say... it is always a strong
conversation to listen to when it comes to others opinions, such as
almost anything another person has something to say or give input on.
this is mostly why i just more or less continued to avoid the main
topic for my message to everyone. sort of to give some insight to my
reasonings for this next statement from me to everyone that has read
this thus far;
It is the members who make the tribe, therefore the members should
be the ones that are listened to and heard and what they have said and
agreed on, carried out and seen thru. while i understand we have grown
and many do not share in a indian life or tribals matters as much as
the next member may, it is still non the less very important that we
pull our heads out of the dirt and get our acts together to make damn
sure we can and will have our opinion or voice heard by our leaders.
and at this time, our leaders have got us to a place that isn't too
bad, but sometimes some may take this position they have for granted. i
would like to remind those that have this seat in office as council
members that it is us the membership that should be of your most
important agenda, not your own.
and now, just a suggestion....
let's all come together and form a general membership meeting that
is held once a month in front of our council and all the higher ups, so
we can ALL be on the same pages and all be heard and made aware of what
is going on, both as the members and the leaders of us. i know that not
all can attend, or want to or will... but it's a start and it would
show all the rest that we are still a tribe and we can come out of the
woodwork to gather together. not just for a big check either, but to
show all and ourselves that we wanted to. we wanted to gather and be
together as a tribe. to listen and share, to see one another. to learn,
be informed, to hold hands as a tribe and show ourselves that we our
more than just a spread out tribe living in a city. we are the puyallup
tribe of indians, we are still here and can come together in peace and
be as one to show others.
if nothing else, once a month.
not at some casino, not at some public park or dome. on property
bought by the tribe and it has that appeal of a gathering spot. a place
for membership to gather and enjoy meeting.
where is that place at?
is it that parking lot i park in and remember all the years of
gather we did. as i look out my windshield at the many people that
enter our casino. which looks like a huge pop tent and not the drawings
i saw in the newspaper. is it this place that i should gather to see my
fellow brother or sister? where do i or we go to gather today or
tomorrow? the schools...
where is this place at, that members can gather. i have not found
it.... it was bad enough when the whiteman took it from us. but then
from with-in our own tribe, are elected leaders also took from us. i'm
still waiting at 40yrs of age before i die to see this place again. the
place that we gathered at, where i sat and watched my tribe. I still
don't see that place?
is it on the internet now, is that where it's at?
maybe perhaps it's in the works as you read this, that a place is
being considered and thought of to give to the membership to gather at.
a beautiful area that future generations can know won't be lost or
destroyed. a longhouse that will be built like no other to house us, to
allow us to be together as one tribe and move with-in and around each
member.
is this a dream? is it just me that see's our tribe like a drawing
on paper going in and out of this building? being together among one
another each month, daily? where is our gathering location at? where
will it be? will we ever have that large property that looks and feels
like INDIAN COUNTRY?
now, lets end this message with one last opinion of my own;
Council Members should be ONLY allowed to serve 2 years PERIOD and
then new Council members elected by the tribal membership. alot of
conflict would be avoided by this and it would give many members a new
light to see the council. a chief in todays world can not govern this
tribe with the things we have today before us. but it seems that we
have a council that appears this way to most members. as if they are
the only voice we have, again let us not forget that, that one voice
should be the members and members only that are being heard and
listened to. not the council's voice. we must make sure that our voice
is the only voice being heard and listened to and this is not going to
happen unless we all come together as members and DEMAND more from this
council that has lost perspective of us. I'm not saying that the job
they have is easy or taken for granted, but never the less... the
reason they have that job is to make our lifes better and to hear us
when we ask for or come together on certain things. when we all more or
less agree on something and we are not heard? then it is time for
change and this change can only happen if we come together and we are
heard and listened to, so make your attempt at this and speak up.
ask your council for a place to gather and be heard, from other
areas other than emails or phone calls or the 5 oclock news hour. ask
for a place to gather as a membership. even if for right now it is held
at a school or a casino, ask to gather and be heard for your input and
your future childrens input and the building of a stronger tribal
relationship among all.
thank you for reading this, and i pray that one day i can sit
among all of the members living in one place that looks and feels like
a place to be proud of and cherish as our gathering place and the place
that others look on us, as a tribe. and that tribe known as the
Puyallup's... the ones that have more than a check and casino. the
tribe that is proud and stands out each month. where we eat, talk and
share with all what we are doing and how we are going to do it and
where and when it will happen and why. i look forward to that day
