Our special guest on Friday, November 18th, was Verna Hill discussing the history and background of the Tulalip Tribe. Verna asked our Club members present if any of us had lived in the same zip code all our lives. No one raised their hand. Verna has lived in the same zip code all her life. Verna is from Sauk/Suiattle Tribe. Verna was introduced by Jim Steinruck, an old friend who worked with her when he was the Director of Community Public Health for the Tulalip Tribe.
Verna said that over 97-98% of the tribal members have lived in the same zip code all their lives. The only time that Verna left the Tulalip Tribe was for six months. Otherwise, she has been there her entire life. She commented that her grandfather was from near Darrington and her other grandparents Elsie Price and William Price were best known as the world-famous strawberry person. Verna is one of eleven children from a blended family. She has four children of her own and four foster-children. The baby of those children is hers. One is the President of Leadership Snohomish County.
The Tulalip Tribe are known as the salmon people. Tulalip is composed of 22,000 acres with the hub from I-5 to seven miles, Fire Trail-Marine Drive to I-5. Verna inquired as to how many had been to their museum. Obviously, the number of hands went up was most of us. The museum has a great history dating back to 1792 which shows the timelines up to the Judge Bolt decisions.
The Treaty of 1855 promised many things such as healthcare which never happened. The Tulalip Tribe built 30,000 sq. ft. Healthcare Center with ten providers when it opened. There is a much greater feeling of family at the Healthcare Center. Verna commented that there is a sense of family if you live in the same zip code all your life. The pandemic had a huge hit on the Tulalip Tribe.
Valuable elders are important to the tribe, sharing stories about the past and present where you could sit in a room and just listen to these stories. Some examples of change. The Tribe is starting a Foundation. Land acknowledgement has been at the forefront of the news since the days of James Madison. She worked for the Marysville School District for ten years. Her grandmother went to a boarding school. Grandmother is one of 16 children. All about the spirit. Over 5,000 tribal members with 2/3 living on the reservation and many wanting to return but there is a lack of housing.
Truly thankful for letting us listen to her. We have been invited to visit the Museum on meeting day and will schedule that very soon.