Naval Station Everett honored the traditions and cultures of our Native American communities on Nov. 20 with a program and special lunch. Featured speakers were NAVSTA Everett’s Culinary Specialist Sea-man Lauren Kaibetoney, a member of the Navajo tribe, and Ray Moses and Frieda Williams from the Tulalip neighbors.

Moses, Tulalip historian and Korean War veteran, reminisced about his time in the military. He particularly stressed the importance of friendship, camaraderie, especially in the midst of combat, and how those ideals overshadowed the issue of race. He also underscored his people’s relationship with the natural world and the spiritual acumen that arises from that.

“Indian people are nature’s people,” Moses emphasized, and went on to say that this closeness to nature and the spiritual world on a regular basis distinguishes Native American people from those who traditionally have been more in step with the modern industrial world.

But the Tulalips have not looked to the past.  Just the opposite, they have embraced much of what the modern, commercial world offers in a successful attempt to save themselves and their culture from extinction. The Tulalips have been able to carefully blend the past and present.

“I’m amazed at what has happened in the twenty years I have worked for the tribes,” said Williams, the Tulalip tribes’ community coordinator. “The growth of the tribes has been tremendous and economic opportunities have abounded,” she continued.

Unemployment and resulting poverty were practically driving us into extinction, Williams explained. The tribes decided to fight back using the tools of industrial capitalism. They developed part of their reservation into a retail center and built a large casino and hotel, designed to be a tourist destination. 

“There’s no question that getting our people employed made a huge difference in how we looked at ourselves and our future,” Williams said.  “Economic stability allowed reestablishing cultural identity, preserving traditional language and the traditions of the past that are so important to any people.”

The Tulalip Tribes Reservation is located west of Marysville, about 10 miles north of the waterfront site of Naval Station Everett. Currently there are about 3,600 Tulalip tribal members, about 2,325 of whom live on the reservation.

Tulalip is actually the corporate name of several allied tribes who signed the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, predominately people of the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, and Skykomish tribes.