Tulalip Resort Hotel & Spa to be among the largest in Northwest

TULALIP, Wash. – When the Tulalip Resort Casino Hotel & Spa opens in June, it will be the largest hotel between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, and one of the largest spas in the Pacific Northwest.

It will be just in time for the 2010 Olympics. In fact, the hotel;s first major booking is for figure skaters competing in Skate America Oct. 23 – 26 at Comcast Arena in Everett; it’s the premier international figure skating competition held in the United States and features many Olympic hopefuls.

The 12-story hotel is located in Tulalip’s Quil Ceda Village, next to the Tulalip Resort Casino, Tulalip Amphitheater, the largest outlet mall in the state, and other shopping and restaurants.

Like other Tulalip businesses, the hotel and spa will have distinctly Tulalip design influences, sales director Troy Longwith said. As guests enter the hotel, they will see three 20-foot story poles. The hotel will be decorated with $1 million worth of artwork created by Tulalip artists.

The hotel will have 370 guestrooms, four restaurants and a lounge, an indoor pool in a tropical setting, six meeting rooms and a 15,000 square-foot ballroom. The spa is almost 14,000 square feet. The hotel’s 12th floor features views of Mount Baker and Mount Rainier.

All told, the hotel and spa will employ between 450 – 500 people, Longwith said.

Coast Salish leaders urge adoption of rights declaration

TULALIP, Wash. – Delegates to the third Coast Salish Gathering called on the United States and Canada to adopt the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a statement of principles

that took 25 years to develop.

The United States, Canada and New Zealand are the only nations to oppose the declaration; 143 countries have adopted it. The declaration calls for the human rights of the world’s 370 million indigenous people to be respected. It is a statement of respect for individual and inherent freedoms, entitlement to self-determination and rights to traditional territories and resources.

More than 100 Coast Salish leaders from the Pacific Northwest and Canada, as well as representatives of federal, state and provincial environmental agencies, participated in the gathering Feb. 27 – 29.

Delegates formally opposed fish farming, a form of aquaculture that has become commonplace in Canada and is being explored in the U.S. Northwest. Farmed fish often develop sea lice, which infect wild fish and inhibit their survival.

Delegates also concurred that Coast Salish governments must receive more equitable management funding to deal with climate change conditions. Terry Williams of the Tulalip Tribes said traditional knowledge is just one of the values tribes and First Nations bring to natural resource management.

”Non-tribal environmental data only goes back to the 1930s. Ours goes back thousands of years. Without our traditional knowledge, nobody truly has the ability to compare the status of fish and wildlife habitat today with its condition before the white man came,” according to press release.

Hoh, Makah, Quinault, Quileute train in oil spill response

SEATTLE – Members of the Hoh, Makah, Quinault and Quileute nations have received training in hazardous waste operations and emergency response.

Training was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Navy, Washington state, Marine Spill Response Corp., Global Diving and Salvage, Polaris Applied Sciences and ECM Maritime Services.

Members of the Quinault Nation received training Feb. 26 – 28. Twenty-six members of the Hoh and Quileute nations participated in training the week of Feb. 4 in Forks. About 25 members of the Makah Nation trained the week of Jan. 14 in Neah Bay.

Participants learned the skills necessary to safely serve as first-responders to an oil spill. They learned various spill-response strategies. They also got to share their concerns and discuss key issues during a session hosted by ConocoPhillips/Polar Tankers, ExxonMobil, Alaska Tanker Co., Chevron Shipping and Tesoro.

Hoh, Quileute and Quinault are located on the Pacific Coast of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Makah is located where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean; a rescue tug stationed there has assisted 40 distressed tankers threatened with grounding.

Stephens appointed to Skagit Valley College board of trustees

OLYMPIA, Wash – John Stephens, programs administrator for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, has been appointed to the Skagit Valley College board of trustees.

Stephens was appointed by Gov. Christine Gregoire. The appointment was confirmed Feb. 12 by the state Senate.

Stephens has 27 years of experience as an administrator. He is Swinomish’s alternate delegate to the American Indian Health Commission, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Northwest Washington Indian Health Board, Indian Policy Advisory Committee of the state Department of Social and Health Services, and the Skagit Community Action Agency Board.

In addition, Stephens serves on Swinomish committees related to building and facilities; elder protection; and health, education and social services. He has also served in a variety of positions for the city of La Conner, a neighbor of the Swinomish community.

”He has had lengthy administration experience,” Sen. Harriet Spanel said. ”He is a very good addition to the Skagit Valley College board of trustees.”

Richard Walker is a correspondent reporting from San Juan Island, Wash. Contact him at rmwalker@rockisland.com.