Boxing Mantid and a Longhouse Home

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Woke up in Wellpinit. First order of business was blogs. We went to the school to blog. After blogging, Chay found some interesting friends.

Chay has 3 mantises on her head and they do not seem to like one another!

After we were done blogging at Wellpinit. We hit the road and headed to Coeur d'Alene. It was not a long trip and again the girls made it entertaining.

They wasted no time! We were met by Bobbie White and Gina, the Natural Resources Education and Outreach Specialists, soon as we arrived, we hit the ground running and were given a PowerPoint session by Laura Laumatia, the Lake Management Plan Coordinator.

Laura (center) and Gina (right)

I learned alot about the CDA Tribe, the reservation and the area in general. It was interesting to see information that the public has access to but chooses to ignore. After Laura was done teaching us about the background, we were introduced to Audra Vincent, the Language Program Director, and Michelle Clark, a Language Instructor.

Audra Vincent (standing) and Michelle Clark (seated).

We were then invited to join in on the First Food Feast at the longhouse. It was truly an honor to be at this feast as it was the first that the CDA tribe has had in around 100 years.

Judy and Tarrel before the feast.

First food feast.

Chrissy and Alyssa prepare for the swan dance.

Alyssa, Chaylene and Chrissy.

Chay antipating our meal at the longhouse.

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe has been very welcoming and the experience so far has been great. I hope the surprises and the wealth of knowledge given on us continue.

Floating Fish, A Silent Killer, Sugar Beets and the Dead Auto

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Woke up in Wellpinit, ate breakfast and quickly made our way to the field.

Arriving at a small creek not too far away, we are met by our guides for the day, Casey and Paul.  Quickly I realized that my camera had not charged the night before. This was somewhat fortunate as it is much easier to upload pictures from my phone than the camera. At the meeting place we did some fish shocking and collecting.

Paul Juran and Casey Flanagan (Fisheries Biologist).

Group getting ready for fish shocking and collecting.

Chay with a fishing net.

Students learning the process of shocking fish and netting the shocked fish to be placed in a bucket.

Alden from Heritage University preparing to shock fish for students.

Students collecting fish.

Shocked fish would become stunned and unable to swim so they would float and be easily caught with the nets.

Judy and Tarrel collecting fish.

Fish are shocked to be identified and counted so that the DNR knows what is the waters and in what numbers.

After fish shocking, we headed back to the school to talk with Twa’le Abrahamson-Swan. She works for the Spokane Tribe as the Air Quality Manager. One of the things she really talked alot about was radon and radon testing. She talked about the effects of this silent killer and how easily it can be managed.

After visiting with Twa'le we went to the DNR wildlife farm. This farm is funded by the Bonneville Power Association (BPA) and Avista. The farm grows various foods like corn and sugar beets for wildlife (deer, elk, moose) and is managed by Savanah Walker, a Wildlife Biologist and Dawa, a Wildlife technician.

Savannah Walker (left, pink shirt) and Dawa Numkena (right) talking to students about the farm.

After visiting with the wildlife staff, we took the troops to Two Rivers Park for some swimming. The students really enjoyed the break from the long day. Unfortunately for me, I left things charging in the car a bit too long and drained the battery (photo coming soon).

Two Rivers swimming area.

One of the things we have had to deal with alot on this trip was the western yellowjackets and various other vespids. I got so tired of it at one point I made a wasp trap and when we came back from outing today the trap was filled with about a dozen wasps!

Make-shift wasp trap.

The Problem with Mines

Monday, July 20, 2015

Woke up in Wellpinit and had (surprise!) cereal for breakfast!

This morning Warren had arranged a bunch of cool activities for us to do. First, we went to the highschool to hear some presentations from Warren and people from the Midnite Mine. But we had to wait on people arriving so the students played some games with some DNR employees and students.

Students "sweeping the teepee".

We learned alot this morning about the history of fish populations and how they were decimated by fish wheels. Warren mentioned that 80 million pounds of fish were taken out of the Columbia each year mostly to canneries. He also talked about IRMP (integrated resource management plan). This plan is where all departments give input to all proposed ventures on the reservation.

After Warren, the Midnite Mine workers talked about the Superfund site. The mine was found in 1955 and mined until 1982. Around this time the price of uranium plummeted and the site was basically abandoned. It sat stagnant, leeching toxins into the surrounding areas until recently when cleanup began.

Group photo was taken after the talks

After the group photo, we took a trip to the Midnite Mine clean-up site.

Group walking up a "borrow" site where land was used to fill other sites.

View of the evaporation reservoirs from atop the "borrow" site.

Lou Miller (consultant) gives students a bit of history and work being done on the site.

Old uranium mine at Midnite Mine site on the Spokane Indian Reservation.

Students blogging after the visit to the uranium mines.

A Day of Rest and Fun

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Today we woke up at the Pow Wow Grounds in Wellpinit. After a quick breakfast, we were greeted by Mr. George Hill. He talked to the students about his art and gave them a lesson on sketching. He is an amazing man and has done alot for the native youth. It was fun to see the students report with him.

George Hill (2014) talking about his art.

Students learning some sketching techniques from Mr. Hill.

Chrissy Jim studiously sketching.

More from our visit with Mr. Hill.

After our session with Mr. Hill, Warren took the group to Lake Roosevelt for some canoeing. Students were pretty excited. Many had never been in a canoe before. They had a blast!

Alyssa and Chay on Lake Roosevelt.

Chrissy bringing the canoe to shore.

Warren Seyler (left) with his grandson, granddaughter and daughter (wish I was better with names!).

Anticipating Wellpinit

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Woke up at the KOA in Spokane, had breakfast and headed to Wellpinit.

Not a whole lot to write about today and I took no pictures as my camera was still down and I had not charged my phone.

Arrived at the Spokane Tribe's Pow Wow Grounds at Wellpinit in the afternoon. We were met by Mr. Warren Seyler the BPA Coordination Program Manager for the Spokane Tribe DNR. He has been our guide the last two years here and will be again this year. I was really happy to see him again. Sitting in the car has taken it toll and the students were ready for some swimming so Warren took the group down to Turtle Lake not far from the pow wow grounds. Afterwards, we headed to the Wellpinit high school/middle school to shower, do laundry and blog.

Picture of Wellpinit high school.

Oh and Tarrel found a leech on him, so we wont be swimming in Turtle Lake again!

Big River Run

Today we woke up on the Big River at Celilo Village. After a quick bite and repacking the vehicles, we left for Spokane but on the way would make a couple of really fascinating stops along the river.

First was the Columbia Gorge Discover Center. This stop was pretty cool. There was alot of history and really interesting artifacts here. We also got to see a few live raptor species but were not allowed to take photos during their presentations.

The first thing you see when you first enter is this turkey vulture.

Main entrance - left and right are the exhibits.

Students conversing with our guide Valery.

Tarrel and Sullyvan taking and sharing notes.

Some really cool exhibits at this museum.

After the museum, we headed down the Big River a little further to Horsethief Lake State Park.

The Big River from Horsethief.

Chay, Sully and Graciela Black (left to right) hiking at Horsethief.

Next, we had some lunch and headed out for Spokane. It was a long drive and I could not get pictures but the girls did keep me entertained with singing.

Story at Celilo Village

Thursday, July 16

Today was mostly a travel day. We woke early to make the long drive to Celilo Village. In the van with me were Chaylene, Alyssa and Judy. They made the ride fun with some interesting conversations and some on-and-off key singing. I enjoyed it.

Once we arrived at Celilo Village we were introduced to our hosts at the longhouse. After a quick meeting, we helped them with some yard work around the longhouse.  We were then introduced to Paul Lumley, Director of Operations for Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fishing Commission (CRITFC). He talked about his journey and things that influenced him. It was interesting hearing about his past from White Swan to various educational institutions finally finishing his bachelors with WWU and then his involvement in various agencies advocating for tribes.

Gabe (left) and Paul (right) each spoke about their experiences.

After the talks, we all descending on unpacking the vehicles and had a very nice meal, prepared by an unexpected culinarian, Chaylene.

Tribulations and Tribal Laws

Wednesday, July 15

Today was a good day. We started the day pretty late and tried to get some blogging in. Trying to blog at Safeway is really becoming a chore. I will be recommending that we not try this again next year. The rest of the day was really nice though. We met with Howard Arnett. He owns the law offices of Karnopp Peterson LLP and has been practicing law for over 35 years. His specialty is tribal litigation.

Howard Arnett showing the group a PowerPoint of the Warm Springs Hydroelectric Project

It was interesting to hear him talk about the conflicts between the U.S. government, the state governments (particularly Washington and Oregon) and local tribes (Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla and NezPerce). He talked a lot about the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and issues surrounding the 3 main dams on the Deschutes River below Bend, Oregon. He talked about how the tribe is making a push for full ownership of the dams.

After meeting with Mr. Arnett, the group got some downtime and hit the nearest shopping mall. I hit the REI as I was in serious need of some rain gear. Later we went for a quick swim at Little Lava Lake near the campsite.

Upon arriving camp, Chaylene and I decided to make a campfire so that the group could make smores. It took us an hour and a lot of dodging spiders but we finally got the campfire looking very nice (sorry no pictures). We ate smores and looked at an amazing star-filled sky.

Chaylene and I are starting a campfire.

Newberry at a Glance

Tuesday, July 14

Second day in the Deschutes National Forest. Today was all about Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Our morning drive, guided by GPS, lead us to the heart of the lava rocks monument. This was not, however, our intended destination. After some time, some phone calls and a lot of talking, we finally arrived at our destination the Lava Lands Visitor Center. Here we were met by Lead Ranger Christina who proceeded to talk to us about Newberry.

The whole group at Lava Lands Visitor Center.

View of Lava Lands from trial at visitor center,

View of Lava Lands at the base of Lava Butte

Newberry is an interesting place. We learned about the history of the area. After Christina’s talk we visited with two volunteers at the visitors center and watched a short film about the monument. What I found particularly interesting was the way the caves at the monument were formed. As lava flowed from the eruption point it cooled around the center of these lava rivers and created channels where lava within was still hot enough to flow. Overtime the caverns cooled and what remained was a tube.

A Good Day At Deschutes National Forest

Monday, July 13

The first night was most dreary. I barely slept and am very tired. We woke early to a very wet camp. Our first meeting with the Forest Service was with two fuels technicians at Phil’s Trailhead just west of Bend, Robert and Nick. Both seemed eager to teach us about what they do and appeared to really love their jobs.

Left to right: Nick Swagger and Robert Newey with the USFS.

Overlooking Deschutes National Forest from Lava Butte

 Like many people in the Forest Service, neither was originally from the Bend area but fell in love with the area. This has been a common theme of a lot of the people we have met in the last couple years. When you come to visit, it is easy to see why. The landscapes are truly beautiful and the amount of outdoor activities that are available to do in such a small part of the state is astounding.  After moving to a couple of sites and talks about fuels and various management techniques they use to manage the national forest for the public, we moved on to our next stop, the seed extractory.

The US Forest Service employs a unique type of service at its Bend Seed Extractory plant in Bend, Oregon. According to Kayla Herman, the plant manager, seeds from all over the country are processed here, up to 200,000 pounds a year.  I was surprised to hear that this plant and one in Wyoming are the only two of its kind. These two government facilities are sent samples of various plant containing seeds so that pure seeds of the desired plant can be identified, qualified, quantified and then sent back to the customer. This is done at a cost but it is essentially a non-profit initiative as it only pays for the cost of the facilities and the personnel.

Kayla Herman, Plant Manager at Bend Seed Extractory in Bend, Oregon.

After a quick tour of the Bend Seed Extractory, we moved to the US Forest Service Office where we had lunch. During lunch we heard from several current employees about the jobs they do at the facility. Not only were there biologists but also public relations specialists, event coordinators and landscape architects. It was neat so see the students engaged in talking to the various different employees.