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The Tulalip Tribes is a collection of close families that have made monumental economic and political strides in recent decades. But not even success can shield Indian communities from the vulnerabilities and pressures facing many U.S. kids.
Jaylen Fryberg, like many Native American children, lived with a foot in each of two worlds.
There was the hormone-fueled community of a suburban high-school freshman, where the polite, fun-loving chatterbox played football and video games and shared every nuance of adolescent social longing on Twitter.
And there was the tight-knit world of his Tulalip Tribes, where much of life was steeped in history and tradition and where virtually everyone he knew was family in some way.
But a day after Jaylen walked into the Marysville-Pilchuck High School cafeteria and shot two of his cousins and three other students — most of them also Native American — before killing himself, those who knew him were struggling to understand where Jaylen got lost navigating these universes.“I
And while poverty, joblessness and other social ills have helped push Native American youth suicide rates to more than double the national average, the Tulalips are among the country’s most financially successful, sophisticated and best-run tribes. The tribes’ casino and retail developments help drive Snohomish County’s economy, and its government has won awards from Harvard University.
In fact, while the circumstances leading to the shooting remain murky, there’s little to suggest that Jaylen’s cultural heritage was in any way a driving factor. Friends and Jaylen’s postings on social media suggest instead he was worked up over a girl.
Still, surviving the complexities of being a modern American teenager can also be more challenging for Native American kids.
“When you celebrate your rich culture and go to school where it’s completely different, that’s always going to be an added pressure,” Parker said.
He added, “They’re very family-oriented. All of them come from big families that love and support each other. That’s what makes a lot of it unreal, I guess.”
On Saturday, tribal members walked with candles and drums through the rain, mourning Jaylen and his victims.
The Tulalip community is small and private, different from the “outside.” Go back a few generations and there’s likely a link among each of the roughly 2,700 members living on the 22,000-acre reservation. Another 1,700 live off the reservation.
Many residents would speak to reporters but not give their names for fear they would upset someone they know. One called the shooting “internally devastating.”
. It’s that closeness that has helped with the grieving process, residents said.
“Any time you lose a prominent tribal member it’s traumatic and you try to pull together,” said State Sen. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, and a member of the Tulalip Tribes.
Even so, at a time when sadness can easily turn toward anger, tribal members aren’t expressing animosity toward Jaylen’s family, residents said, just mourning. The same held true for many at the high school.
“He really never was a bad kid,” said student Dylen Boomer. “People loved him. He was very respectful.
Among Tulalip teens, Jaylen was more steeped in tribal culture than most. He chanted and played Native American drums, hunted and fished with his dad and participated regularly in Indian ceremonies.
“He was a really good drummer and singer,” said Killian Page, who was a few years older, but had been wrestling with Jaylen since he was 11. “Everyone thought he was going to be big in the tribe.”
Boomer recently walked out of the school weight-training room in time to see another student’s face bloodied. Jaylen, who wore his hair long and in a ponytail, had gotten in a fight after the other kid allegedly used racial slurs.
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024873601_shootingtulalipxml.html
Tulalip and Marysville are relatively integrated, though he remembers being the only Native American in his class when he went to school. "Time moves along and we move with it," Sheldon said.
On the reservation, everyone "is related in one shape or form," McCoy said Saturday. The shooter's grandmother was his secretary for about 15 years.
"The family, both sides, are very religious," he said. "If I were to walk into their homes right now, they would probably be praying."
The do have their own criminal justice system
ORDINANCE 49
LAW & ORDER CODE
INDEX
TITLE I
TRIBAL COURT
1.1 ESTABLISHMENT OF COURT AND COURT OF APPEALS
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/10/26/tribe-reels-from-washington-state-school-shooting/
Maybe this is why there was like a time lag in stuff they were praying:
At a 5 p.m. press conference, local officials charged with finding the answers turned to higher power for help making sense of it all – and for help healing
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwo...rea-communities-unite-grief-and-prayer-157527
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Jaylen Fryberg, like many Native American children, lived with a foot in each of two worlds.
There was the hormone-fueled community of a suburban high-school freshman, where the polite, fun-loving chatterbox played football and video games and shared every nuance of adolescent social longing on Twitter.
And there was the tight-knit world of his Tulalip Tribes, where much of life was steeped in history and tradition and where virtually everyone he knew was family in some way.
But a day after Jaylen walked into the Marysville-Pilchuck High School cafeteria and shot two of his cousins and three other students — most of them also Native American — before killing himself, those who knew him were struggling to understand where Jaylen got lost navigating these universes.“I
And while poverty, joblessness and other social ills have helped push Native American youth suicide rates to more than double the national average, the Tulalips are among the country’s most financially successful, sophisticated and best-run tribes. The tribes’ casino and retail developments help drive Snohomish County’s economy, and its government has won awards from Harvard University.
In fact, while the circumstances leading to the shooting remain murky, there’s little to suggest that Jaylen’s cultural heritage was in any way a driving factor. Friends and Jaylen’s postings on social media suggest instead he was worked up over a girl.
Still, surviving the complexities of being a modern American teenager can also be more challenging for Native American kids.
“When you celebrate your rich culture and go to school where it’s completely different, that’s always going to be an added pressure,” Parker said.
He added, “They’re very family-oriented. All of them come from big families that love and support each other. That’s what makes a lot of it unreal, I guess.”
On Saturday, tribal members walked with candles and drums through the rain, mourning Jaylen and his victims.
The Tulalip community is small and private, different from the “outside.” Go back a few generations and there’s likely a link among each of the roughly 2,700 members living on the 22,000-acre reservation. Another 1,700 live off the reservation.
Many residents would speak to reporters but not give their names for fear they would upset someone they know. One called the shooting “internally devastating.”
. It’s that closeness that has helped with the grieving process, residents said.
“Any time you lose a prominent tribal member it’s traumatic and you try to pull together,” said State Sen. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, and a member of the Tulalip Tribes.
Even so, at a time when sadness can easily turn toward anger, tribal members aren’t expressing animosity toward Jaylen’s family, residents said, just mourning. The same held true for many at the high school.
“He really never was a bad kid,” said student Dylen Boomer. “People loved him. He was very respectful.
Among Tulalip teens, Jaylen was more steeped in tribal culture than most. He chanted and played Native American drums, hunted and fished with his dad and participated regularly in Indian ceremonies.
“He was a really good drummer and singer,” said Killian Page, who was a few years older, but had been wrestling with Jaylen since he was 11. “Everyone thought he was going to be big in the tribe.”
Boomer recently walked out of the school weight-training room in time to see another student’s face bloodied. Jaylen, who wore his hair long and in a ponytail, had gotten in a fight after the other kid allegedly used racial slurs.
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024873601_shootingtulalipxml.html
Tulalip and Marysville are relatively integrated, though he remembers being the only Native American in his class when he went to school. "Time moves along and we move with it," Sheldon said.
On the reservation, everyone "is related in one shape or form," McCoy said Saturday. The shooter's grandmother was his secretary for about 15 years.
"The family, both sides, are very religious," he said. "If I were to walk into their homes right now, they would probably be praying."
The do have their own criminal justice system
ORDINANCE 49
LAW & ORDER CODE
INDEX
TITLE I
TRIBAL COURT
1.1 ESTABLISHMENT OF COURT AND COURT OF APPEALS
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/10/26/tribe-reels-from-washington-state-school-shooting/
Maybe this is why there was like a time lag in stuff they were praying:
At a 5 p.m. press conference, local officials charged with finding the answers turned to higher power for help making sense of it all – and for help healing
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwo...rea-communities-unite-grief-and-prayer-157527