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November 2010 Vol.

4/4

Program

News

Energy Assistance Available

to Help With Energy Bills

Do you need assistance with your electric

bills? The LIHEAP energy assistance

program will be accepting applications on

December 2 at the Chehalis Tribal Wellness

Center in the WIC Office from 10 AM to

6:00 PM.

Qualifications

„„Please bring your income verification

from head of household for anyone 18

years and older. If you get a Per Capita

bring a copy of the pay stub as long as

it shows year to date income. If no year

to date income then bring all of August,

September and October.

„„Bring your current light bill.

„„If you are on the financial part of DSHS

then an award letter is required.

„„If your on Social Security or SSI an award

letter or direct deposit stub from the bank.

„„The client will also need to know

the social security numbers of all the

household regardless of age.

Any questions for qualification please

contact Debbie Shortman 360-709-1689.

CHEHALIS

TRIBAL

NEWSLETTER

 “People of the Sands” 

Interesting Information

on Page 3:

 Part 3 of the 1927 Deposition

of Chehalis Tribal Elders from our

archives on housing.

 Casino Management Program

helps tribal members to become

successful managers: Featured

(Vanessa Youckton).

Youth place in Annual Flag

Football tournament

 The youngest team is rewarded with a

fun football experience, page 2

Tribe Puts on Class-Act Veterans Volunteers Create

Memorable

Evening, Attracting Vets from

Halloween for the

Entire Region

Community

By Fred Shortman, Editor

Tribal Holiday Closures

The Tribal Center and Clinic will be closed

through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plan

ahead to insure your have your medicines

and other business taken care of. Have a

Safe Holiday Seaon.

Thanksgiving:

November 24, 25 and 26 (All day)

Christmas:

December 23, 24 and 27

New Years

December 30 (1/2 day)

December 31 and January 3, 2011

November is Native

American Heritage Month!

November is Native American Heritage

Month, and what better way to celebrate it

than to learn something about the culture of

some of the first Americans?

Elders Christmas Bazaar

Saturday, December 4

9 AM-5:30 PM

At the Lucky Eagle Casino

Bingo Hall

There will be over 100 vendors-good food,

Native crafts and many different items

to choose from. Do all your Christmas

shopping in one place!!!

Please contact Nancy Romero at

360-480-2911.

Tribal Community

Christmas Party

Lots of fun activities for the tribal

community bingo, dinner, crafts for the kids

and Santa will be there for photos and gifts.

Please contact Cheryl Starr,

Events Coordinator at 360-709-1524.

Chehalis Tribal Newsletter

PO Box 536

Oakville, WA 98568

* Return Service Requested

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©Copyright 2009 CHEHALIS TRIBAL

NEWSLETTER is a publication of the

Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis

Reservation.

By Cecilia Kayano, Freelance Writer

 The November 11

Celebration’s highlight was a

tribute to World War II vets who

each received an embroidered

jacket

What started as a way to thank a Chehalis

family’s veteran for his sacrifices is now a

huge, regional show of gratitude to veterans

of every color. And, the heartfelt feeling of

thanks is being reciprocated.

Over a decade ago, Lori (Thomas)

Tovrea wanted to honor veterans, and show

her appreciation for her step-father, Garnett

Aldrich, who served in WWII, and her

uncles who served in Vietnam. She started

a Veterans Appreciation Ceremony at the

Quinault Nation, then moved to the Chehalis

Reservation where, along with Donna Choke

and Joan Martin, started this tribe’s Veterans

Appreciation Day.

The first one was funded by money raised

by Lori, her children and Donna. The tribe

donated fish. It was an instant hit, filling

the massive Lucky Eagle Casino Event

Hall with veterans who came from local

communities and far corners of southwestern

Washington.

Now, nine years later, it is so popular

See Veterans, page 4

Head Start

On Friday, October 29 Head Start students

kicked off the Halloween holiday with

their annual parade through the tribal

departments.

See Halloween, page 4

Large Turnout in Support for the NWWP’s 8th

Annual Intertribal Breast Cancer Awareness Walk

Sunday, December 19

Starts at 11 AM

At the Lucky Eagle Casino

www.chehalistribe.org

Veterans were honored at the Veterans Day Dinner at the Lucky Eagle

Casino. Chehalis tribal youth, Junior Jack and his brother Geo Jack thanked

them personally with a heartfelt handshake and kinds words.

As a popular holiday Halloween is second

only to Christmas in America. Millions

celebrate the holiday each year without

knowing its origins, which makes the

holiday that much more exciting. Some

view Halloween as a time for fun, friends,

and families getting together, and a chance

to talk with neighbors. Others see its

superstitious nature or ties to the deceased.

Some religions even view it as an unholy

holiday. But whatever your view, you cannot

deny the fascinating nature of the story of

Halloween.

No matter what your age, the last

night of October is one to look forward to

celebrating. This year on the reservation

homes were decorated and some very

elaborate Jack-o’-lanterns lit as the night

began. Halloween trick or treating started

early as the weather was cool, but the rain

held off as children ran house to house in

their costumes.

On what other holiday do you have an

excuse to eat all the sugar you want and

wear whatever you want or wear a disguise

and act out a character of your choosing.

People chose some very scary costumes

to wear to various activities, the costume

contest, haunted house, and teen dance. The

2010 Halloween was memorable on the

Chehalis Reservation.

By Christina Hicks, Community Health Representative

October is National Breast Cancer

Awareness Month. On Saturday, October

16th, the Chehalis Tribe’s NWWP program

hosted the Native Women’s Wellness 8th

Annual Intertribal Breast Cancer Awareness

Walk convening at the Chehalis Tribe’s

Community Center “Gathering Room”.

We started the event with an opening

prayer, led by Chehalis Tribal elder Dan

“Bones” Gleason. Don Secena, ViceChairman, welcomed everyone to our

community and acknowledged that it

was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He

thanked participants for coming to support

this event. Carmen Kalama, Community

Service Director at SPIPA, then welcomed

everyone.

It was a cool, brisk, and sunny morning

to take a walk in support of Breast Cancer

Awareness. Walkers chose to walk a one,

two or three mile route. Most of the 159

walkers chose to walk the two-mile course

from the Community Center to the stop sign

at Anderson and Howanut Road.

Once back from the walk, everyone

listened to Donna Lyle, breast cancer

survivor. Donnas’ mother had six daughters;

three of them were diagnosed with breast

cancer, two were diagnosed with cervical

cancer and one is cancer free. Donna has

been cancer free for eleven years and three

months. Through a Self Breast Exam (SBE)

she found a small hard lump and discovered

she had stage one breast cancer. Donna

See Cancer Walk, page 4

The AVON Foundation for Women banner was carried along the Intertribal Breast Cancer

Awareness Walk encouraging women to get their mammograms done because early detection

saves lives in the prevention of cancer. Pictured are (L-R) is Tanya Brown, Elisa Del Rosario,

Courtney Wright, Lynn Hoheisel, Connie Baker, Chisula Chambers, Talisa Jones, Shayden

and Layla Baker

2

Youth Receive Rewarding Experience Setting a Good Example Helps Build Respect

Submitted by Dawn Boley, Domestic Violence Advocate

in 5th Annual Football Tournament

models. It teaches them that they can make

If you feed it, you’ll breed it! We all need

By JJ Shortman, Educational Assistant

It wasn’t the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field

or the crowd laden noise fest of Qwest Field,

but all in all this years flag football turned

out to be a great event. Five teams of seven

participated in a very competitive round

robin tournament.

This event showed a swing of

competition to a younger crowd. The TELO

team took first place and received $100.00

Visa cards. In a surprising turn of events the

youngest team, Little Gary’s took second

in a close championship game, receiving

hooded sweatshirts. Third place went to

Miller’s team after a competitive bout with

the Team Newtons. Frank Boyd’s team got

fifth. Everybody who participated in this

year’s flag football tournament received

T-shirts.

to take a good look at ourselves, are we

feeding good behavior, or bad?

Youth learn by watching others, especially

parents. Be the kind of person you want your

teen to be. Talk to your teenager about your

beliefs. Talk about what you expect of them.

Most importantly set a good example.

Children learn social skills, manners,

respect and confidence just by watching

their parents. They watch what you do

and how you do it – whether it’s eating,

exercising, drinking, taking drugs, driving,

smoking, or wearing a seat belt. They also

watch how you deal with anger (and other

emotions) and how you treat other people.

What they see will affect how they behave.

Manage anger and avoid violence. Talk

about your problems with the person you

are angry with by keeping your cool instead

of getting really mad and possibly violent.

You can set an example of patience and

tolerance. This doesn’t mean you have to

agree or not get angry, but talking about

feelings (anger, for example) is a more

effective solution than violence.

Do community service with your youth.

This teaches job skills and responsibility.

It also puts kids in touch with good role

a difference by helping other people, and it

builds self-confidence.

Get involved with your child’s school.

This will show your child that education is

important. Talk to them early on about going

to college and about careers that might

interest them. Take the time to go to their

schools, attend their events and encourage

them with your presence.

Share your cultural identity and history

with your teens. Talk to your child about

their country’s history – the good and bad.

Compare your culture to others. Talking

about cultural differences will help your teen

understand and respect others.

Be caring, fair, truthful, and responsible.

Keep your promises to your kids, if you

want them to keep their promises to you.

This will set an example they will follow.

Tell the truth, if you want them to tell the

truth.

Remember, your teen is always watching

and learning from you. Show your teen that

you are responsible for your actions and they

will learn to be responsible for their actions,

too. Feed them the behavior you expect from

them and breed success!

News from the Chehalis Tribal Wellness Center

Gary Ortivez III flag football team was the youngest team in this annual

football tournament. They demonstrated their competitive spirit in the

chapionship match. Pictured (L-R) are Marcus Youckton, Geo Jack, Gary

Ortivez III, Heather Daniels, Marcus Rivera, Jordan Bird.

 Program offers Support for caring for their families

Program Sponsors Activity for

Youth to Dance the Night Away

November 2010 marks the 10th Anniversary

of the Native American Caregiver Support

Program (NACSP). In Tribal communities,

caregiving of elders and grandchildren

has always been part of the culture. For

ten years, the Native American Caregiver

Support Program has provided services

By Tracy Bray, Family Services

The Casino offered a Halloween lunch in the

Gathering Room to all who stopped by and

that evening the Teens had a blast at their

very own Halloween Dance sponsored by

Family Services.

During the dance, contests were held to

encourage the teens to get out on the dance

floor. Glo-Stick jump rope started off the

games. It was great fun until it was time

to double dutch. That proved a little too

difficult. After the cupid shuffle and the

cha-cha slide the chaperones were a bit tired,

but they hung in there and joined the teens

again for the electric slide and the macarana.

Not to be outdone by us “old” folks, the

teens started a conga line during the song

“ghostbusters” and went all around the

dance floor.

Many volunteers and other programs staff

provided proper supervision as chaperones.

Thank you for providing a safe environment

for the youth to enjoy themselves. We would

also like to thank the youth for helping to

clean up and providing ideas to add to the

next event.

The teens enjoyed the evening out

without their parents….. and Family

Services are willing to host another event.

So if you are a teen and you have ideas

on what you want us to do for you every

month give us a call or email. Contact Tracy

Bray at 360-709-1571 or email Tbray@

chehalistribe.org.

Checking Your Credit History Can

Help Your Financial Future

By Christina Hicks, Community Health Representative

 The Healthier Choice Between BreastmilK and Formula

How does formula compare to

breeastmilk?

Compared to mother’s breast

milk, formula is missing many

things babies need to be strong,

healthy and smart. Did you know

Formula-fed babies have a

greater risk of:

„„Ear infections

„„Diarrhea/constipation

„„Pneumonia

„„SIDS (Sudden Infant Death

Syndrome

Children who are formula-fed

have a greater risk of:

„„Obesity (Becoming

overweight)

By Diana Pickernell, Loan Coordinator

To get a glimpse of your financial future,

many businesses look at your financial

past. This history is contained in your

credit report. Your credit report determines

everything from qualifying for a loan, the

rate you’ll pay on that loan, getting a new

job, renting an apartment and obtaining car

insurance.

What Is a Credit History?

Your credit history is a financial profile. It

lets lenders, landlords and employers know

how you have managed money in the past

and helps them decide whether or not to do

business with you. This history is contained

in a credit report that is kept on file by the

three independent credit bureaus listed

below. It may include such information as:

„„How promptly you have paid off credit

cards and loans

„„How well you have handled paying other

bills, such as rent and utilities

„„Your total outstanding debts

„„How much available credit you have on

credit cards and home equity loans

Who Can See Your Credit Report?

Your credit report can and most likely

will be reviewed by anyone planning to give

you a loan or credit, such as banks and credit

unions, credit card issuers, auto financing

companies, and insurance companies. Your

report also may be checked by landlords

and potential employers. Some lenders

may also use the details in your report to

determine how much credit they are willing

to offer you and at what rate. Anyone

with a legitimate business need can access

your credit report, though an employer (or

prospective employer) typically requires

your written consent to do so.

Beware of “Fast Fixes” For Accurate

Credit Problems

If you’ve had any late payments,

foreclosures, or repossessions, this

information stays in your credit report

for up to seven years. If you’ve filed for

bankruptcy, this information can stay in your

report for up to 10 years.

Some companies claim they can “fix”

such problems for a fee. However, it is

legally impossible to alter an accurate credit

history. If you find yourself in financial

trouble, contact a member agency of the

National Foundation for Credit Counseling

(NFCC), the nation’s largest national

nonprofit credit counseling network, by

calling 1-800-388-2227 or visiting www.

nfcc.org

Credit Bureau Contact Information

Once a year, it’s a good idea to check

your credit report for accuracy, and you can

do so for FREE through the three major

credit bureaus. Get your reports at www.

annualcreditreport.com or by contacting the

bureaus directly:

Equifax Report Order: 1-800-685-1111

Fraud Hotline: 1-888-766-0008 or www.

equifax.com

Experian

Report Order: 1-888-397-3742, Fraud

Hotline: 1-888-397-3742, or www.experian.

com

Trans Union

Report Order: 1-877-322-8228, Fraud

Hotline: 1-800-680-7289, or www.tuc.com

to assist the unpaid, informal caregiver

in caring for grandparents, parents,

spouses, and children who cannot care for

themselves. If you would like to know about

this program please contact Christina Hicks,

at 360-273-5504 ext. 1741.

Chehalis

Tribal

Newsletter

420 Howanut Road

Oakville, WA 98568

(360) 709-1726 (office)

(360) 273-5914 (fax)

newsletter@chehalistribe.org

Articles and opinions expressed in this

publication are not necessarily the opinions

of this publication or the Chehalis Tribal

Business Committee.

„„ Diabetes

„„ Asthma and allergies

„„ Cancer

What is the cost of formula

feeding?

Formula feeding costs

money. The dollars add up

because you must buy extra

formula as your baby grows,

since WIC does not give you

all the formula your baby

will need. But the real cost

of formula is the cost to your

baby’s health and the time

you spend away from work

or at the doctor when your

baby is sick.

Youth were heard

screaming as

the the mummy

and other scary

beasts appeared

out of nowhere

at the Tribe’s

Haunted House

in the Community

Center. After

getting over the

initial shock they

finished the tour

thoroughly enjoying

what Cheryl and

her volunteers

provided.

Business Committee

David Burnett, Chairman

Don Secena, Vice Chairman

Stephanie Pickernell, Treasurer NEW

Cheryle Starr, Secretary

Dan Gleason, Sr., 5th Council Member

Chehalis Tribal Newsletter Staff:

Fred Shortman, Communications

Coordinator. Go to this direct link

for online newsletters copies: www.

chehalistribe.org/news-events/index.html

The Chehalis Tribal Newsletter encourages

tribal members to submit letters, articles,

photographs, and drawings to be considered

for publication. These are subject to editing.

Contributing writers, artists, and

photographers include Chehalis tribal

community members and staff.

Submission deadline: 6th of each month

Printed: Each month

The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis

Reservation...

“People of the Sand”

PART 3, DEPOSITION OF CHEHALIS ELDERS: Lands of the Chehalis 3

March 19, 1927, Oakville, Washington from Mary Heck, Dan Secena, Marion Davis,

George Ben, Joe Pete, and George Jack

Submitted by Elaine McCloud, Heritage Coordinator

Third part of excerpts are taken from

the deposition of Chehalis Tribal Elders.

For brevity, we have taken the liberty

of extracting only portions of her the

testimony and other editorial privileges.

I have the deposition in its entirety at my

office.

LANDS OF THE CHEHALIS

Mary Heck was produced as a

witness on behalf of claimant and

sworn through an interpreter, to tell the

truth. Her occupation is making Indian

baskets, that she is 92 years of age; that

her place of residence is Chehalis Indian

Reservation and she is a member of the

Upper Chehalis Tribe of Indians.

She said this country was just full of

timber, all kinds of timber. The timber

was what we call virgin timber. The hills

were covered with good timber. She said

these prairies, what we see now was so

far back she doesn’t remember; but she

says there have been prairies here since

creation. Mary said the prairies were

inclined to be gravel, but the land was

fertile enough to produce the roots of all

kinds for their food.

Dan Secena was produced as a

witness for the claimant and sworn to

tell the truth. His occupation is that of a

farmer, that he is 69 years of age, that his

place of residence is the Upper Chehalis

Reservation and a member of the Upper

Chehalis Tribe.

He said that there was some prairie

land, but most of it was hilly and

covered with timber. The prairie land is

gravel and it is not as good as bottom

land. The hilly land is good all over. He

thought about a third of the land had

light soil or gravel.

Marion Davis was produced as a

witness for the claimant and sworn to

tell the truth. His occupation is that of

a farmer, that he is 76 years of age, that

his residence is the Upper Chehalis

Reservation and a member of the Upper

Chehalis Tribe.

He said that the Chehalis territory

was full of first class timber, fir tree,

cedar, hemlock and so on. When

questioned whether the rivers and

streams afforded a means of navigation

to all parts of the country, he agreed. He

said they used the canoe to travel up and

down the rivers. He said that sometimes

in the summertime, the rivers get pretty

dry and you couldn’t hardly drag the

canoe up the river.

George Ben was produced as a

witness for the claimant and sworn to

tell the truth, through an interpreter.

His occupation is that of a farmer, that

he is 70 years of age, that his place of

residence is Oakville, WA, and that he is

a member of the Upper Chehalis Tribe.

He said that there were all good

fir trees, cedar, hemlock and good

merchantable timber. The character of

the land was good and rich and the hill

lands were very fertile. He said that all

parts of the territory was were available

for traveling by canoes in the river, that

the river was the only highway of travel

at that time.

Joe Pete was produced as a witness

for the claimant and sworn to tell the

truth. His occupation is that of a retired

farmer, that his age is 62 years and that

his residence is near Oakville.

He was asked if he was the president

of the Tribe and he said he was the

Chairman. He said the country of the

Upper Chehalis people had some what

they call upland and some bottomland

and some prairie land. He said that

originally it was heavy timber, outside

from the prairies.

He was asked if he knew the history

of the Tribe, to know the boundaries of

the country that formally belonged to

the Upper Chehalis Band of Indians. He

said he knew my by general knowledge.

Upon cross-examination, he was asked

if he studied the history of the Upper

Chehalis people. He said that no, he

didn’t say he studied the history; he just

knew from general knowledge. He was

asked if he discussed the boundary with

all his people. He said that yes he had

discussed it with all 86 of them

George Jack was produced as a

witness for the claimant and sworn to

tell the truth. His occupation is that of a

woodsman; that he is 61 or 62 years of

age; that his residence is Oakville and a

member of the Upper Chehalis Tribe.

He said that the character of the soil

was number one and that the timber

was the very best that the country could

produce. He said a small portion of

their land was prairie, maybe a quarter.

He was asked how many feet, board

measure, of timber would average on

160 acres. He said 160 acres would

produce about 5,000,000- 6,000,000 feet

of standing merchantable timber. He said

there were 4 characters of soil, sandy

loam, shot clay, and on the prairie, black

soil.

He was asked about whether the

rivers went dry and you had to drag their

canoes over the rocks. He said that about

the last part of August and September,

before the rains came, that the rivers

were navigable but you would have to

work pretty hard to get over them, not all

gravel and riffles.

He was asked if it got cold enough

for people to freeze to death. He said

there were days when it got below zero,

that he had seen it get 8 below zero. He

said the ordinary winter was very mild.

Honoring Our Baseball Legends Lucky Eagle Management Training

Program Helps Tribal Members

Become Successful Managers

By Rodney Youckton, Director of Business Operations

At the Honoring Our Legends event awarded three tribal Elders with

recognition for playing baseball for our beloved Oakville Tomahawks, and

continue to contribute to baseball memories. Pictured (L-R) are Dale Klatush,

Sr., Mel Youckton and George “Chops” Youckton.

Photo provided by Jesse Goddard

By Jessie Goddard

October 9th, two events took place in regards

to baseball. A meal was provided with

a baseball field designed cake to share.

Over 50 people attended, with t-shirts

and baseball caps given out from each

event. Honoring Our Legends was held to

recognize three of the oldest tribal member

men that played baseball for over 60 years

beginning with our beloved Oakville

Tomahawks. Dale Klatush, Sr., George

“Chops” Youckton and Mel Youckton

received vests embroidered with their name

and a symbol of “Honoring Our Legends”.

Stories were told, encouragement was given,

and everyone enjoyed reminiscing as family

members shared some very fond memories

about baseball.

Often times, many people are not

recognized for what they have contributed

or brought to us in our communities. This

recognition was provided to hear about “the

good ol’ days” and a little bit of history for

the younger generations to share as time

goes on. Then again, the “good ol’ days”

have not been totally shared to the fullest. I

laughed as my Uncle Chops and dad as they

wanted to tell a story about the other, yet

being unsure if the other has more of a story

to tell than them. All good times, I guess.

Another name of the past, Gordon

“Gordy” Klatush was remembered for his

time in baseball. Ray Secena, Jr. spoke of his

memory of Gordy and what Gordy meant

to him as an individual and as a baseball

manager. The original design was made by

the late Lisa Goldman. This design had to

be redesigned as a replica due to the original

work for this tournament being done solely

by Lisa, which copies or setups were not

available to reuse, for this gathering.

The plans for 2011 will be to schedule

both of these gatherings, during our regular

baseball season. Thank you to all of those

that participated and provided food for this

event. Looking forward to what next year

will bring. Best wishes to all of you.

Elders Gather to Celebrate Halloween

By Fred Shortman, Editor

On Friday, October 29 Nancy Romero,

Elders Coordinator scheduled a Halloween

Party at the Elders Center. Yes, celebrating

Halloween is for all ages and what fun

they had with the activities. There were

games like candy pong, pin-the-heart on the

mummy, cake walk, Halloween bingo, and a

pumpkin toss.

Some Elders were seen decked out

in their costumes as Janette White Claw

(Dressed as Aunt Jamima) won first prize,

second went to Diana Devlin (Dressed as

a witch) and third went to Evelyn Penn,

dressed as the mummy), The winners were

selected by applause on the best costume

and what a great night it was for the elders

that attended.

It was a fun and playful night as Elders

The Lucky Eagle Management Training

Program is designed for our tribal members

and their success working at the casino.

The casino reports quarterly on the

program so that the Tribal community has

an awareness of what efforts are being

made with our tribal members employed

at the casino. We are building success

stories which will be reflected in the

Succession Plan. We are hopeful a large

number of young adults will read about

the hard work and sacrifices fellow Tribal

members are undergoing in an effort to

achieve their goals. They all have dreams

and set goals to reach those dreams. Tribal

Management Training Program employees

hope to be good role models and mentors for

those wanting to be successful in the career

of their choice. We all have dreams. Never,

never, give up on your dreams. Reach for the

stars and make it happen.

“Our commitment is to provide an

unparalleled entertainment experience that

exceeds our guests’ expectations.”

Featured Tribal Member:

Vanessa Youckton has an

areas such as: Assistant

Associate of Arts degree

Compliance Officer,

from Centralia College,

Accountant, Title 31 and

and a Bachelors Degree

Cage Auditor, Cage cashier

from Central Washington

and Cage Manager. While

University. She is currently

employed she received

in the Tribal Enterprise

extensive training in Title

and Gaming Management

31, NIGC MICs, and other

certification program

training. Her previous

with Tacoma Community

employment here at Lucky

Tribal Member

College. Planning to

Eagle was in the Gift Shop.

Vanessa Youckton

taking some additional

Vanessa said, “I would

Tribal

Enterprise

and

accounting and business

like to continue my work

Gaming Management

classes before beginning a

experience in Finance to

Program

second Bachelors degree in

coincide with my next

Business Management.

education endeavor. In the

Vanessa current position

future, I would like to work

is the Compliance Officer at Lucky

in the capacity of Financial Analyst,

Eagle Casino for just over a year.

possibly CFO or General Manager of the

Previously she was employed at Yakama Tribe, depending on where my education

Nation Legends Casino for almost

and work experience are best suited.”

nine years working in several different

were seen smiling,

laughing, and joking

in the spirit of

Halloween enjoying

the evening as they

spent together with

their friends and

family. It was a good

time! Many agreed

they were looking

forward to next year.

Elders along

with family

members

enjoyed the

cake walk

which was

one of the

fun activities

at the Elders

Halloween

Party.

4 Halloween (continued from page 1)

Elders, adults and youth volunteered in making the haunted house so

memorable for many tribal and community members. They enjoyed getting

dressed up in the spirit of Halloween.

Photo by Cheryl Starr

Employees Halloween Party

Friday, October 29 the Employees

Halloween party was held at the Community

Center Gathering Room. Employees dressed

up for the costume contest in costumes from

cute to scary.

Employees brought deserts for a potluck

with the main course of spaghetti. One

dessert was called cat turds. It was made in

the spirit of Halloween as a trick, but was

a tasty treat, consisting of a brownie mix

though it wasn’t appealing to the eye. Many

refused to eat it.t Those that did try it, closed

their eyes trying not to gag. But the gag

turned to smiles as they tasted it.

There was a raffle, games for the day:

Who would eat this? Employees were

offered by Cheryl Starr, Events Coordinator

to enter this contest. She walked around the

room inviting anyone to eat some very gross

looking food. There were a few that tried it

with Theresa Pannkuk eating 25 of the icky

morsels and Pam Youckton finishing second

place eating 20 pieces. Yuck! Halloween

Pong: Winners were Amil and Bev Starr fist

place and Shawn Ortivez and Eli Snell took

second.

Costume Contest winners were Don

Terry dressed as an Over-the-Hill Geisha

Girl won the Best Costume. Winner in the

witch category were Winona Youckton.

Cutest was Sue Ortivez, Scariest was Amil

Starr who came dress as predator.

If laughter is the best medicine than the

employees sure received a lot of it.

Activities at the Community Center

Created Fond Halloween Memories

Saturday, October 30 was a day to remember

for the 200 youth that came to celebrate

Halloween. The community center was

decorated in lavish Halloween style, with

hay bales, jack-o’-lanterns, bats, skeletons,

witches, spiders and spider webs, eerie

castle walls, head stones and other cool

stuff.

Cheryle Starr, Events Coordinator and

her group of volunteers out did themselves

in preparing for this year’s Halloween party.

There were fun games done such as the cake

walk, best costumes contest, haunted house

plus lunch was provided by the Lucky Eagle

Casino.

The youth center provided many of the

prizes and toys for the youth to win. The

zombie clowns and Big Foot were there to

hand out candy as the children. Mr. and Mrs.

Wilson had their balloon game and gave out

prizes and cookies.

Volunteers Made the Haunted House a

Big Success.

By Dianne Devlin, Cultural Coordinator

This Halloween was the first time the

Tribe hosted a Haunted House at the new

Community Center. Cheryl Starr recruited

a long list of helpers who helped make the

Haunted House both scary and fun. The fun

part was working on the Haunted House.

Many long days and nights went into putting

the project together.

The Haunted House was divided into

five theme sections. As unsuspecting

children entered the Haunted House they

were greeted by a kindly group of Hogwarts

witches and wizards from the Harry Potter

World of Wizardry. Muggles (a term in

the Potter books that means non-magical

persons) were welcomed and each given a

glow in the dark bracelet or necklace and

pointed in the right direction to enter the

Haunted House.

Still feeling all warm and fuzzy from

the greeting by a happy group of witches,

the kids entered the first room thinking this

would be a piece of cake. WRONG! The

haunting began as you stepped into Alice in

Wonder Land. To your right the Mad Hatter

was sipping tea with the Queen of Hearts,

the Cheshire-Cat faded in and out before

your eyes. But where was the White Rabbit?

Too late, jumping out from the dark was a

demented White Rabbit with six inch fangs

and he was not looking for a cup of tea.

To escape the fangs of a non-veggie

eating crazed rabbit you rush into the

Twilight Room. Yep! Vampires and

Werewolves were waiting to bite anything

moving. Ohhh wonderful! Maybe the White

Rabbit was not so bad. After all it was just

him, not a room full of biters. But wait there

is hope; you see an opening and run for it.

You enter a grave yard, on your right and

left are the tombstones of the living dead.

Thriller Music surrounds you and Michael

Jackson and his armies of the risen dead

are jive’n to the beat. Wanna Dance?” No

way! Keep running; it’s got to be better then

sticking around here. Wrong again!

You have landed on the worst street in

town, Nightmare on Elm Street. And Freddy

wants to play. Leaping out at you from

behind hay stocks with long metal claws

Freddy is hoping you can’t wake up or find

your way out. Finally you see a lighted area.

And you dart to safety.

Thank Goodness it’s a doctor. Maybe

he can treat you for the Nightmares Freddy

gave you. OHHHH NOOOO! There are

body parts everywhere, blood dripping

down the walls. His operating table is full

of bits and pieces of body parts. What is he

making? But before you see anything else, a

crazy chain saw carrying guy with a hockey

mask jumps out of the wall, and I do mean

right out of the wall…Run! Run! Run!

If you made it through the gantlet

of crazies waiting to scare you, you

got out. Everyone could hear the

scream of little kids as they tried to get

through the maze of the scary room. Some

didn’t make it and ran back out the front

door. HeHeHeHe! But not to worry there

were cookies, candy, games and prizes for

everyone, even if you didn’t make it through

the Haunted House.

Many Thanks to everyone that helped

make the 2010 Halloween a huge

success!

By Cheryl Starr, Events Coordinator

Many thanks to our Elders volunteers: Annie

Jones, Dianne Devlin, Sally Pikutark and

Tony Medina. Your contribution made this

the best Halloween ever.

And our Haunted House volunteers

Charlotte Lopez, Monique Lopez, Brandon

Palmer, Makko Slighte, Akasha Slighte,

Jerry Youckton, Correna Young, Josh

Terry, Jason Lyons, Junior Jack, Baby Gary

Ortivez, Andrea Youckton, Jason Gillie, Big

E (Elaine Myer), Theresa Pannkuk, Maria

Adams, Marla Medina, Ray Banjuelous Sr .

Our High School Seniors: Ann Marie

Youckton, Monica Lopez, Bobby Jones,

Jeanette Boyd, Raymond Banjuelous, Jr.,

also thank Josh Terry for making the CD

mix for us. And the people who help set up

the Haunted House and did all the shopping

and all their ideals. Job well done couldn’t

of done it without everyone pitching in and

helping make it a success, hope next year

will be bigger and better.

Veterans (continued from page 1)

there is a first-come, first-served policy in

place. The tribe, casino, SARE Electric and

Travers Electric contribute the facility, food

and door prizes. Tribal fishermen donate

their time and skill to catch, filet and cook

the salmon. Many other volunteers help set

up, serve, and keep the evening program

flowing.

This year, before the doors opened at

five, a line of veterans wove past the buffet,

almost reaching the gaming room. “I don’t

think there is anything in Southwestern

Washington like this,” said Geoffrey Neal, a

Navy veteran who lives in Rochester.

Neal mirrored the feelings of many

veterans. Throughout the region there were

parades. A few community colleges held

mid-day veterans events. But no one could

name a comparable fancy evening event for

veterans.

Navy Veteran Darla Smith, daughter of

Air Force Veteran Sid Smith, explained it

this way, “Natives treat veterans with a lot

of respect.”

She said that the honor she felt from the

tribe is nothing new. When she was stationed

in Mississippi and feeling homesick, her

family and the tribe regarded her with

respect and fully supported her decision to

join the military.

“This makes me feel thankful to my

family and the tribe,” she said.

Curtis Dupuis, who served in two Green

Beret Special Forces in Vietnam, clearly

remembers the difference between how

the tribe and the mainstream population

regarded veterans. “When we came back

from Vietnam, there were a lot of hurtful

comments and anger directed towards us,

except in Indian communities,” he said.

He said that tribes have always honored

veterans at powwows and other gatherings.

So, he was not surprised to come home from

Vietnam and be honored, but the treatment

of the mainstream population did surprise

him.

“Any segment of the population needs

to realize that if you are going to enjoy

your way of life, someone’s going to have

to protect it,” reminded Dupuis. “If the

veterans are not here to save it for you,

you’re not going to have it.”

What the Chehalis Tribe and its members

did that night was an expansion of how

all Natives feel about warriors. Navy

Veteran George Youckton simply explained

it by saying, “It should be done to give

appreciation to veterans, plus to recognize

the families of the people who didn’t come

back.”

Many of the hundreds of veterans there

had attended multiple times. Yet they were

visibly affected by the honor and gratitude

expressed through the free salmon dinner,

the elaborate decorations, the singing of

God Bless America by little Annie Burnett,

the gifts, the music by the American Legion

Band, the film presentation of Pearl Harbor,

the special honoring of World War II vets,

the ending poem and prayer by Jimmy

Burnett, and, by the evening send off of

hand shaking by Chehalis tribal youth and

other tribal volunteers.

Many veterans went out of their ways to

shake the hands of tribal members, to look

them in the eyes and let them know how

much the celebration means to them.

What started out that evening as a tribute

to veterans expanded into every person’s

heart as a sincere thank you: thank you

veterans for your sacrifices, thank you

Chehalis Tribe, for not forgetting.

Our Hands Go Up in Appreciation in

Honoring our Veterans

Lori Tovrea sends out many thanks to all

the volunteers who helped make this year’s

Veterans Appreciation Day event another

huge success: “To the special speakers,

General Jim McElroy, Richard DeBolt, TC

“Tomcat” Nelson (Pearl Harbor survivor

& POW for 3 years), and Bob Job. To our

Lucky Eagle cooks and Tira Sabandal for

her tireless hard work the she did. To R.

Curtis who came from Seattle to sing the

National Anthem. Chehalis Tribe’s Veteran’s

Committee - Lori Tovrea, Nancy Romero,

Gloria Jones, Scarlett Romero; Raven John,

Johnny Bumgarner, Merrill Goldstein, Lindy

Waring, Rita Wiley, and Kristina Nielson.. A

special thanks to Carla Thomas, Geo, Junior

and Elaine helped out from the start 9:00

am – 10:00 pm helping with the clean-up. To

Chehalis Tribal Fisherman for donating and

providing the delicious salmon dinner.”

Volunteers for the Veterans day Dinner at the Lucky Eagle bring honor to

everyone that attended. Top row: pictured (L-R) are Makko Slighte, Junior

Jack, Geo Jack, Mark Tovrea. Middle row pictured (L-R) are Carla Thomas,

Lori Tovrea, Gloria Jones. Front row (L-R) are Rita Wiley, and Nancy Romero.

Photo by Cecilia Kayano

Cancer Walk (continued from page 1)

stressed the importance of Self Breast

Exams because “You know your body best”.

Donna encouraged all the ladies to “Get

your mammograms and do your breast self

exams.” She also said, “If it doesn’t feel

right, get it checked. Breast self-exams are

very important.” In appreciation for her

story and example, Donna was then wrapped

with a Pendleton Blanket from the NWWP.

All breast cancer survivors were honored

with a blanket and a survivor lapel pin. We

then honored all other cancer survivors

with a blanket. As part of the walk we ask

walkers to raise money for the NWWP; this

helps cover services the NWWP program

does not cover. We honored Daryl Beckwith

(Chehalis Tribal member) with a blanket

for raising $320.00 for the program. Funds

raised for the program by walkers totaled

over $1,042.00. Thanks to all who helped

raise money.

Representatives from Susan G. Komen

for the Cure, Puget Sound Affiliate, Elisa

Del Rosario and Chisula Chambers, who

gave us a mini grant to help pay for this

event, also attended. They led a quick forum

on what were “barriers” for ladies to get

their mammograms. Everyone was willing

to raise their hands, and yell out answers,

and a few won small gifts of thanks from the

Susan G. Komen foundation.

Assured Imaging was also here with their

motor coach during the event performing

mammograms. Twenty-four ladies

participated in having mammograms and

were given a pink rose.

Walkers enjoyed baked salmon, chicken,

rice, veggies, salad, and triple berries for

lunch. All were given a raffle ticket, a teeshirt and a small information packet about

breast care health when they signed in. At

the end of the day there were lots of raffle

drawings.

We would like to thank everyone who

participated: by helping out, walking

(especially those who also carried the AVON

banner) and enjoying the nice day out. A big

“Thank You” goes to all the grantors who

support NWWP: AVON, Centers for Disease

Control (CDC), and Susan G. Komen.

Thank you to Chehalis Tribal Enterprises for

their donation of the two gas cards which

helped Pam and Shawn who watched over

the walkers and handed out water. Thank

you for supporting this event and remember,

“The Best Protection is Early Detection!”

Our next mammogram clinic is November

30, 2010 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at the

Chehalis Tribal Wellness Center.