Suquamish News - Aug 2021

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Suquamish News

August 2021 | 1

S N Volume 21

August 2021

No. 8

Suquamish Baseball Team: Journey to Japan 1921 In this issue: Chief Seattle Day schedule – p2 Vax to School -- p4 Police & Non-Natives – p15 Culture, Summer Fun, Self-Care — p5

Chief Seattle Days, Then & Now — p6

Getaways to Suquamish Places — p10

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Community Calendar Events & Meetings

Regular Hours

Suquamish Tribal Council Tribal Council meets Aug. 2 & 16. Links are sent to Tribal members via SUN or ask Rebecca Purser, (360) 900-8031, rebeccapurser@suquamish.nsn.us.

Government Offices Communications: (360) 394-7184/7102 Community Dev: (360) 394-8415 Community Health: (360) 394-8468/8594 Emergency Management: (360) 394-8507 Emergency Work Orders: (360) 900-7050 Emergency Utilities: (360) 710-3223 Finance: (360) 394-8432 Fisheries: (360) 394-8438 ʔiišədalʔtxʷ ʔə ti suq̓ ʷabš Family & Friends Center (360) 394-8576 Health Benefits: (360) 394-8424 Human Resources: (360) 394-8409 Human Services: (360) 394-8465 IT Help Desk: (360) 394-8485 Maintenance: (360) 394-8590 Tribal Child Welfare: (360) 394-8480 Tribal Court: (360) 394-8697

Suquamish Warriors Suquamish Warriors meetings will be on 1st Tuesdays @ 5:30pm at Suquamish Warriors Vet Center. For information, contact Jean Belmont at (360) 601-7918.

PME Board meets online and in person on Aug. 11 @ 9am. Contact Emily Sato, emilysato@clearwatercasino.com (360) 598-8703.

Suquamish Tribal Gaming Comm. meets online Aug. 12 & 26. Call Angela Brainerd at (360) 394-8652 for details.

Suquamish Seafoods Board meets online on Aug. 10 @ 1pm. Seafoods Retail is open Thurs-Sun. Contact Shanel Carlson at (360) 394-8512 for details.

Suquamish Museum Board Meets Aug. 19 @ 11am-1pm online. Call Jennifer at (360) 394-8499 for info.

2021 Tribal Distributions. If you want to receive your payments through Direct Deposit, contact Finance_Info@suquamish.nsn.us. If you have an address change, please contact Enrollment.

Suquamish Elders — contact: Della Crowell (360) 394-8417 Donna Sigo (360) 394-8472 Suquamish Police Department lobby is available for government-related paperwork. Mon-Fri, 8am–4:30pm Front Desk: (360) 598-4334 Emergency: 911 Wellness Center Front desk: (360) 394-8558 Crisis Hotline: (888) 910-0416

Suquamish News •

Published monthly by the Suquamish Tribe: 18490 Suquamish Way, Suquamish, WA 98392

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Email us at: communications@suquamish.nsn.us

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Send letters to: Suquamish News Editor, PO Box 498, Suquamish, WA 98392-0498

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Letters should include the writer’s full name, address, and home telephone and may be edited for clarity and space.

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All photo submissions must be made in JPG or PDF form, with resolution of 300 dpi or more.

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2021 Schedule Thur., Aug. 19: 10th Annual Chief Seattle Days Golf Tournament, White Horse Golf Club. To register contact Irene Carper at Irene@ClearwaterCasino.com or (360) 598-8733. (See page 11 for details.)

Aug. 20-21: Chief Seattle Days Co-Ed Softball Tournament, Friday games at 7pm and 8:15pm; Saturday game times beginning at 8:15am; championship game at 10pm; Totten Rd Field. Contact Craig Miller (360) 394-8574 or Magdalena Turrieta (360) 394-8634. (See page 11 for details.)

Saturday, Aug. 21 (See details on Page 7. Live Stream links to be sent via SUN): 10am: Chief Sealth Gravesite Ceremony. Open to Suquamish Tribal member households and ceremony staff. Ceremony will be live streamed.

12pm: Salmon Bake Giveaway, House of Awakened Culture. Drive-thru salmon meals and gift bags for Tribal members.

1pm: Royalty Pageant, House of Awakened Culture. To register for pageant, contact Kate Ahvakana at Kahvakana@suquamish.nsn.us, live streamed.

2:30pm: Suquamish Canoe Race organized by Suquamish youth. Races will be live streamed. Contact Barb Santos at Bsantos@suquamish.nsn.us.

On the Cover ...

These Suquamish baseball players formed the nucleus of the Tribe's touring team that traveled to Japan in 1921 in what would become an epic months-long odyssey 100 years ago this month. Front row, L-R: Woody Loughrey, Roy Loughrey, Richard Belmont, Dink Staley, Harold Belmont. Back row: Lawrence Webster, Charlie Thompson, Ed Alfred, Richard Temple, Ernie Forshaw.

Suquamish Tribal Council Leonard Forsman

Chairman

Wayne George

Vice-Chair

Windy Anderson

Secretary

Robin L.W. Sigo

Treasurer

Rich Purser

Member

Sammy Mabe

Member

Luther Mills, Jr.

Member

Reproduction of Suquamish News, in whole or in part, without written permission from the Suquamish Tribe is strictly prohibited.

Production Staff Leonard Forsman Sarah van Gelder Jon Anderson JoAnn Joe Heather Purser

Editorial Policy

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Photography/Design Communications Associate

Publishers of the Suquamish News reserve the right to refuse publication of letters to the editor and guest editorials. Submission of editorials and letters is encouraged. However, they represent the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Suquamish Tribe. As such, we reserve the right to refuse to print any letter, for any reason.

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History

“A Strong and Dignified Foreign Team” The 100th Anniversary of the famous Suquamish Tribal Baseball Team’s Journey to Japan

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Suquamish team in Japan, middle row, L-R: Richard Temple, Bill Rose, Woody Loughrey, Charles Thompson, Art Sackman, Roy Loughrey, Lawrence Webster, John Lukanovic, Harold Belmont, Roy Woolsey, James Smith, Louie George

Exactly 100 years ago this month, the Suquamish Tribal Baseball Team left for Japan to play a series of baseball games against college, secondary school, and local semi-pro teams. They left Seattle aboard the Japanese freight/passenger ship Alabama Maru bound for Yokohama, Japan, on August 6, 1921, expecting to be gone for two months. What followed was a foreign adventure marked by crushing early defeats and a resurgent winning streak; financial troubles resulting from the actions of a dubious Japanese promoter/manager and Japan’s unregulated sporting event industry that possessed a mysterious connection with an American sporting goods manufacturer; a tragic bean ball incident; and a young group of Suquamish athletes who did their best to play ball and experience the culture and sights of an ancient country. This is their story.

n the early 1900s, baseball was the major sport in Suquamish and other small towns in Kitsap County. Sundays were reserved for baseball, usually doubleheaders, when the sawmills, shipyards, and logging camps were closed. The Suquamish Tribal Team hosted many on their famed waterfront field on the Port Madison Indian Reservation, the home of Chief Seattle. Visiting teams would travel to Suquamish by boat often from Bainbridge Island or from Seattle, which boasted a competitive semi-pro circuit. The 1921 version of the Suquamish team had gained a reputation as a competitive team that beat many of Seattle’s best. Woody Loughrey described their status: "See, we played, you might say, all of the better teams in Seattle of our caliber. And we won just about all of it."

They were the younger generation — many of them had played baseball in boarding school — and they were ready to challenge the older Suquamish players, including in a match where the youngsters challenged their elders to a game for their coveted uniforms. A game that the youngsters won!

Around this time, word started to spread that there was a hunger for American baseball teams to play in Japan against their teams. The Spalding Sporting Goods Company started searching for squads to travel overseas for this unique opportunity.

The exact relationship between Spalding and the Japanese “syndicate” that managed the visiting teams’ affairs while in-country is not clear. However the Suquamish players were under contract with Spalding, and they expected to be paid to play. Spalding was looking for an American Indian team to travel to Japan, since the Japanese had developed a great interest in Indian culture. After “trying out every Indian ball team on the coast,” Spalding chose the Suquamish to represent the western U.S. Once the offer was made, the Suquamish players began making travel arrangements. Passports needed to be obtained and, for 17-year-old Suquamish player Woody Loughrey, permission from his parents. Some of the other Suquamish players could not travel with the team, mostly due to work obligations, while a few feared how long it might take to get back, if they got back at all. In the end seven Suquamish players and one Port Gamble S’Klallam agreed to go on the trip. The promoters allowed four non-Indian players, or “boomers,” from the “mainland,” to round out the team.

On deck, a game of catch The team went to Seattle and boarded their ship and settled in for the 16-day journey across the Pacific Ocean. Woody (continued on page 12)

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Youth

Summer Youth Softball, Archery

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Are Your Kids Vaccinated and Ready to Return to School?

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he Suquamish Tribe with the CDC recommends everyone 12 years and older get vaccinated to protect them against COVID-19 and to help slow the pandemic.

This is especially important as children prepare to return to school.

Schools in North Kitsap, including Chief Kitsap Academy, open on Sept. 1.

Students 12 and older can be completely vaccinated by their first day of school if they get their first dose no later than July 28, followed by a second dose by Aug. 18.

The Kitsap County Public Health District confirms that the Delta variant is now present in our region. Those remaining unvaccinated are at risk of getting sick, hospitalized, or even dying.

Children 12 years and older are eligible for the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine, which is readily available. The vaccination is very effective at preventing COVID-19, including the Delta variant.

How to Protect Your Kids • Get vaccinated. Anyone 12 or older should get fully vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible.

• Adults should wear masks around children outside their household.

This protects children and also models mask wearing.

ports and Recreation continues to offer basketball fundamentals and conditioning classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3–4:30pm and adult open gym on Tuesday and Thursday nights beginning at 6:30pm. For more information contact Magdalena or We-laka at the Fitness Center.

Bremerton Softball League: Suquamish co-ed team has begun league play in Bremerton. Games are played every Sunday evening until September.

Youth Archery Classes: We are holding youth archery classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 1–2pm for ages 8–12 years, and for 13–18 years old from 2–3pm. Classes are limited to 10 youths

per session. Registration is currently full.

Youth Baseball: We will be setting up the pitching machine for youth to come to the ball field and hit using the pitching machine and work on baseball fundamentals on weekday afternoons through August.

For more information on times, contact the Sports and Recreation staff at the fitness center.

Chief Seattle Days Softball Tournament: This year’s softball tournament will be held on August 20–21. Games will begin on Friday night and the championship game will be played on Saturday night under the lights. (See page 11.)

• Children older than two should wear masks around people outside their household, especially indoors and in crowds. Explain to your kids why this is important.

• Socialize outdoors whenever possible. If you need to be inside or in a vehicle with others, open windows and encourage kids to keep a distance from each other.

Remember other vaccinations During the pandemic, rates for other important childhood vaccinations plummeted, putting kids at risk of measles, polio and hepatitis A and B that can cause lifelong disability or death.

Prior to enrolling in school, students are encouraged to get their COVID vaccination and must show that all their other immunizations are current.

To determine what vaccinations your child needs, ask your provider or register at MyIRMobile. All children in Washington, 19 years or younger, are eligible to receive recommended vaccines at no cost.

Continued Activities: Youth Basketball Classes Mon & Fri 3-430 Youth Strength & Conditionin Wed 3-430 Adult Open Gym Tues & Thurs 6pm-8pm Upcoming Activities: Youth Archer y: Ages 8 & Up Adult Softball 5x5x5 Chief Seattle Days Softball Tour ney

For More Information Contact:

Craig Miler: craigmiller@suquamish.nsn.us (360) 394-8574 Magdalena Turrieta: mturrieta@suquamish.nsn.us

To get vaccinated: • Ask your health care provider • Go to https://vaccinelocator.doh. wa.gov or • Call (360) 728-2219.

(360) 509-9512 We-Laka Chiquiti: wchiquiti@suquamish.nsn.us (360) 908-7736

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August at ʔiišədalʔtxʷ ʔə ti suq̓ʷabs (Family & Friends Center)

Culture, Fun, Self Care

2021 Youth Day!

Tue–Thur, Aug. 3–5

yusawiac culture camp, continued.

Tue, Aug. 10, 11am

Little kids group outing, age 10-12

Wed, Aug. 11, 11am

Beach Day!

Thur, Aug. 12, 11am

Teen outing: Seattle Mariners vs. Texas Rangers

Thur, Aug. 12, 11am

Teen outing: Self-care day in Silverdale

Fri, Aug. 13, 11:30am–1:30pm

Youth neighborhood party! (BBQ, Raffles and Games) at Woolly Dog Place cul-de-sac

Fri, Aug. 13, 6pm Paint & Sip at ʔiišədalʔtxʷ ʔə ti suq̓ ʷabš (Family and Friends Center) Tue, Aug. 17, 11am

Little kids group outing; age 10-12

Wed, Aug. 18, 11am Kit distribution for youth; geared towards age 12 and under Fri, Aug. 20, 11:30am-1:30pm Youth neighborhood party! (BBQ, Raffles and Games) at Sackman cul-de-sac Fri, Aug. 27, 6pm

Teen late night

Fri, Aug. 31, 12–3pm

End of the summer BBQ at ʔiišədalʔtxʷ ʔə ti suq̓ ʷabš (Family and Friends Center)

If you need clarification on activities or want to sign up for activities, please call (360) 394-8576 or email fandfcenter@suquamish.nsn.us. Thank you!

Youth Day 2021 took place at the Family and Friends Center at the end of June. A good time was had by all.

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Chief Seattle Days

Chief Seattle Days: A living bridge for a living culture The secret story of how resourceful culture warriors kept banned traditions alive in plain sight

Top left: 1927 Chief Seattle Days.

Joe George, Freeman Sneatlum, Amelia Sneatlum, Jack Mason, (in background) Sam Wilson, Jack Davis.

Top right: 2008 CSD canoe leaving Old Man House Park.

Bottom left: Poster of Chief Seattle Days Exhibit now at the Suquamish Museum Below: 1920 correspondence, between Suquamish leader Jack Davis and local Indian Agent seeking permission for early Chief Seattle Days celebrations.

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uquamish culture lives and breathes today in part because the Suquamish people found ways to keep their traditions and rituals alive during a time when their sacred practices had been declared illegal, says Suquamish Tribal member and historian Lydia Sigo.

This year, Chief Seattle Days is celebrating its 110th anniversary. Today, the annual festival is known throughout the region as a celebration of Suquamish culture and the Tribe’s most famous leader.

Established in 1911, many of the same activities are still featured at the festival, including a traditional salm-

on bake, canoe races, drumming and dancing, a baseball tournament, and a memorial service at Chief Seattle’s gravesite.

“It started out as one of the only legal ways we could practice our songs and dances in public.” says Sigo.

But in the end it has become a bridge across time that

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enables today’s generations to continue building and adding to that culture. she says.

At the time of the first Chief Seattle Days, some 56 years after the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, Native culture was under assault on multiple fronts.

Suquamish children were being taken off to boarding schools where they were subjected to cruel treatment for speaking their language or practicing their traditions.

Large swaths of the Port Madison Indian Reservation that had been reserved for the Suquamish people as part of the Point Elliott compact were getting bought up by white land developers.

Sacred songs and dances were forbidden by Indian Agents, the non-Natives charged with ruling over Native affairs, and ceremonies were forced underground. This occurred on the Tulalip reservation as well, where William Shelton used the ruse of commemorating the date of the treaty signing to teach the Tribal youth their ancestral ways.

In one of his oral history recordings, Lawrence Webster shared his recollections on the first Chief Seattle Days: “I don’t know who really thought it up, I think it was Holmes and Metcalf and a few of the Indians, they thought of a Seattle Day and then they started boosting that. 1911 they had one, brought in quite a few people from Seattle, put on the Seattle Day celebration. Well, that seemed to draw ‘em a little closer together because before they had that celebration, there was very little association between the non-Indian and the Indian.”

John Loughrey fondly remembered the gatherings and the importance that the baseball and softball games have always had to the celebration: “Sure, oh they had times. Oh yeah, real old (continued on page 11)

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Government

Chairman’s Report

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his month’s report is brief. I was able to go out of town on vacation and therefore had less activity.

The White House and the federal agencies that the President oversees continue to consult with Tribal leaders on their Indian Country initiatives.

I was invited to a virtual meeting with group of Tribal leaders and Indian education policy experts for an administration briefing on the state of Native American education.

I emphasized the fact that the Department of Education could be making a larger investment of money and policy development in Indian Country.

The Department of the Treasury continues to hold Tribal consultation meetings with tribal leaders on COVID-19 relief funding to Tribal governments.

Jodi Sandfort, Dean of the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, reached to me and other tribal leadership to discuss her vision for her leadership at this important policy development institution. Ms.

Sandfort is reaching out to Tribes to introduce herself and discuss ways to identify Ttribal needs in respect to their capacity to train new leaders within their program and educate their faculty on Tribal priorities.

The Washington State Gambling Commission held a meeting with Tribal leaders and staff to present procedures for the state and the Tribes to manage the new sports betting operations at Tribal properties. We made progress in this meeting and look forward to finalizing the process in the near future.

Salmon recovery is a top priority for the Pacific Northwest Tribes, and many salmon stocks are endangered and nearing extinction. This is especially true for salmon runs on the Snake River. The Nez Perce Tribe hosted a meeting at the Little Creek Casino Resort at Squaxin Island entitled “The Salmon and Orca Summit” in cooperation with the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

The Nez Perce and other Columbia River Tribes are supporting the Rep.

Mike Simpson (R-ID) plan for removal of the Lower Snake River Dams sited in Washington State. The Orca Whales and the Pacific Northwest Tribes rely on the Snake River salmon runs for their survival.

The meeting brought together federal representatives, including Rep. Simpson who attended in-person, and leaders from Oregon and Washington in an effort to develop a region-wide salmon recovery approach that includes removal of the four dams on the Lower Snake River. We have also been working with our congressional delegation to promote additional funding for salmon recovery in the Puget Sound and the Pacific Coast.

Tribal activities included: • meeting with a longtime resident of Suquamish who is selling his downtown home to the Suquamish Tribe • meeting with the Kitsap Community Foundation who presented us with a COVID-19 relief contribution to our Suquamish Foundation

• attending a Chief Seattle Days planning meeting, and • making a statement at the press conference announcing the family’s civil case suing for damages related to the Stonechild Chiefstick shooting.

Leonard Forsman Suquamish Chair

Suquamish Night at the Mariners Baseball Game, August 26 It’s the 100th anniversary of the famous Suquamish Baseball Team’s tour of Japan!

(See page 3) To celebrate, the Mariners will be recognizing the Suquamish Tribe with pre-game and in-game acknowledgments. We will send out details to Tribal members via SUN about free and/or discounted tickets.

Save the date!

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The Suquamish Tribe Is Recruiting Foster & Respite Homes for Tribal Youth

If you have a compassionate, safe, loving home, and the desire to make a difference in a foster child’s life CALL US at (360) 394-8480 or EMAIL Erika at ecordero@suquamish.nsn.us

You do not need to be a Tribal Member to be a Foster and Respite home for the Tribe

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Community

Summer Getaways to Places the Suquamish People Have Always Belonged “At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land.”

“Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as they swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch.”

Chief Seattle

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or Suquamish people visiting or living in the x̌ʷəlč (Puget sound) area, there are places you might want to check out if you’re looking to get in a few last-minute trips before the end of summer. Eye-pleasing walking trails, scenic beachside picnic spots, and overnight camping are all within minutes to a couple of hours from the reservation. Except for Doe-Keg-Wats, historic village sites where Suquamish people lived or camped are no longer for the exclusive access of the people, but we can still visit some of them as state parks or historic reserves.

Tatču, or Blake Island State Park as it is known today, protrudes above the waters of x̌ʷəlč and once served as a midway point for the Suquamish when they traveled.

Located between Seattle, Vashon Island, and the Olympic Peninsula, a Tribal person would have been posted here year-round to keep an eye on the Suquamish villages and their waterway entrances and exits. An important part of Suquamish history, it was also a summer camping ground valued for its bountiful clam beds, good fishing, and the deer that would swim to the island from the mainlands.

According to Dennis Lewarch, the Suquamish Historic Preservation Officer, a 1792 celebration at Restoration Point on Bainbridge Island marked the arrival of Captain George Vancouver. Lewarch tells how Tribal hunters went to nearby Tatču with some of the dogs they kept on Bainbridge to chase down deer for the feast. Impressed by the deer they brought back, Vancouver took a few of his men and went over to Tatču hoping to catch their own, but were unsuccessful.

Hunting is prohibited on the Island today, and all dogs must be kept on a leash, but we can still visit the land for a day or even camp for a few nights. Tatču is accessible only by boat, so if you don’t have access to one of those, or a canoe or kayak, you can purchase a round-trip tick-

From Top: Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve; Black Island, places Suquamish people also lived.

et from Argosy Cruise for $29 and leave from Seattle.

Check www.argosycruises.com for more information.

The prairie at Ebey’s Landing To the north is another ancestral village site known today as Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve. Located across the water from Port Townsend and along the bluffs and shores of Whidbey Island, Ebey’s is a popular area for those who enjoy the outdoors. A natural prairie, Suquamish ancestors worked alongside other Tribes to maintain it for harvests by burning parts of it every few years. Here, there was an abundance of deer, elk, ducks here, and camas, which was the primary source of carbohydrates for the people. Camus roasting pits have been discovered in the area from 3,000 to 4,000 years ago.

At this point in history, the reserve commemorates the location of the earliest European settlements, but it has been a part of Tribal history for much longer. It offers scenic views of x̌ʷəlč along with dog-friendly walking paths, camping, and vast hiking trails. You can start planning your trip by visiting www.nps.gov.

Tatču and Ebey’s Landing are not hard to get to if you have an entire day to spare, but if you want to go somewhere closer, Point No Point is just a 22-minute drive from downtown Suquamish and home to just as much Tribal history. Although the land is often mistakenly thought of as being the traditional territory of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe — the Point No Point Treaty was signed here for its convenient location — it was a Suquamish village called Hadᶻqs and was the permanent home of Chief Challicum, a Suquamish leader.

Suquamish people liked Hadᶻqs for its good fishing, and especially its good swimming, a vital part of ancestral life and a favorite leisure activity. Tribal members can explore the beaches around the lighthouse at “Point No Point,” hike the trails at nearby Buck Lake, and swim in the same waters the ancestors played in with their own children.

“We would travel and trade as far north as southeast Alaska, as far south as northern California and as far east as Montana,” wrote the Tribes Traditional Heritage Specialist, Tribal Elder Marilyn Jones, in a letter preceding a packet of research on Suquamish villages and camps.

Many of these treasured locations, as well as the names we had for them, have been lost throughout history, but if the words of Chief Seattle are true, the spirits of our ancestors and lost loved ones still gather at these sacred sites, and the land itself remembers us.

By Heather Purser

Suquamish News

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Chief Seattle Days: A Living Bridge (continued from page 7)

dances, real old dances and clam bakes and oh! salmon bakes and gambling.

And... they’d have tournament baseball games — sometimes against other Indian teams, sometimes against white teams.

Mostly, mostly they’d have ‘em against Yakamas or the bigger reservations.”

In the course of time, a powwow was added to the Chief Seattle Days celebration. This is a demonstration of the local

Indigenous custom of sharing songs and dances, as Tribes from across the mountains often came to the annual event. In turn, the Suquamish and other Salish Tribes performed their traditional songs and dances and played bone games.

Today the “Coast Salish Jam” at Chief Seattle Days continues the sharing of these ancient practices, in the spirit of potlatch culture.

1912 Chief Seattle Days welcoming dance. Jack Davis (standing), William Rodgers (standing), Annie Rodgers (far right), Joe George (front)

Hailey Crow comes ashore during Chief Seattle Days in 2008.

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Baseball

Suquamish Baseball (continued from page 3)

Loughrey said the team “worked out on the ship, out on the open deck. See it got pretty rough all right” and on “the better days, why, we worked out up there playing catch, and running up and down the deck.”

Lawrence Webster recalled the team’s struggle with boredom on the long oversea journey: “But after the third day or so, that continued rise and fall of those boats itself was awful monotonous so we started playing catch on the boat. And we started out with about three dozen baseballs, so we could keep our arms in shape. By the time we got over there, we had two, just two, not two dozen. That's all we had [the rest went overboard]. So, we hung on to those two, and we got over and we got some new ones that was made over in that country.

And there was quite a bit of difference in the baseball. While the size was practically the same, theirs was dead. You'd hit it, and it wouldn't go very far.”

The team arrived in Yokohama on Monday, August 22, 2021. Another team traveled on the same voyage; the Ballard Merchants, a talented Seattle semi-pro team, who were dubbed the “Canadian Stars” to make them more intriguing to the Japanese public than another Seattle team would. In fact, the fall of 1921 was the busiest American/Japanese baseball exchange in the post-WWI period, with

The Suquamsh ballfield in 1920, where the team played before their big trip to Japan eight American teams, including Sherman Indian School, making the voyage.

The Suquamish team had some “good” workouts at Yokohama Stadium and drew the interest of local baseball fans and other interested city residents. A local newspaper emphasized the youthful nature of the Suquamish team noting: “The boys, who seem to be generally excellent as ball-players, have shaken off the effects of their trans-oceanic voyage, and cavorted around yesterday in true ‘big league’ style.”

A “foreign team” at bat Another paper described the same scene: “A big gathering of Japanese baseball fans turned out at Yokohama Park yesterday afternoon to watch the foreign teams take their first workout. The Suquamish Warriors, whose chief in the present campaign is Bill Rose, have eight full blooded North American Indians in their party. Most of the members of the 1921 Suquamish Indian Baseball Team Roster party are students of Name Age Tribe Position the Suquamish Indian Harold “Monte” 18 Suquamish OF School. A few only beBelmont ing former members Louis George 31 P.G. S’Klallam P/3B of the school.”

Roy Loughrey 20 Suquamish OF The Suquamish Woody Loughrey 17 Suquamish OF team had their first John Lukanovic 23 Non-Indian OF/1B/P game against Meiji Lee “Bill” Rose 31 Non-Indian 1B/C/Utility University on SunArt Sackman 17 Suquamish OF/P day, August 28, in ToJames C. Smith 27 Non-Indian 2B kyo before a crowd of Richard Temple 18 Suquamish CF/Utility 10,000. Meiji defeated Charles Thompson 28 Suquamish 3B/SS Suquamish 10-0 in a Lawrence “Web” 22 Suquamish C/OF game marked by wild Webster pitching and several Roy Woolsey 27 Non-Indian P/OF/Coach fielding errors. The

“long and loosely played game” could be mostly attributed to the effects of the long ocean journey and some first game jitters. Lawrence Webster recalled in one of his 1982 interviews that, “Oh, by the way those first three games we played, we just got skunked. Especially that first one. We hadn't lost our sea legs yet.”

you know, generally start one of those pretty well toward the batter and then it will curve away. Well, he jumped way back from that and then it went right over the plate.

So, when he got the next one, just a straight fast ball, I guess, he thought it would do the same thing. He just stood there and took it.

Well, he had a concussion all right. I don't know. It was pretty bad. Of course, when we left he was still in the hospital from it. I heard, oh, it must have been almost a year later that he had died from it. So, I was kind of glad we didn't hear that while we were still in Japan.”

The Suquamish players forever lived with the memory of their best pitcher, Louie George, striking Watanabe with a lethal beanball. Louie felt long-term remorse for the tragic accident. Oddly, he was hit by a streetcar shortly after the beanball incident causing distress and this time, physical injury to his shoulder. However, in 2019, Yoichi Nagata, a Japanese baseball researcher and author, contacted the Suquamish Museum about a book chapter he was writing about the Suquamish teams 1921 visit to Japan. His review of newspapers and other accounts revealed a different fate for Tairiku Watanabe as translated below: “Indians’ first pitcher George threw a slow ball similar to self-claimed fork ball [clam ball] and a straight ball, a ball with a curve…then the clam ball hit directly the left cheek of Meiji University ace Tairiku Watanabe who stood at the batter box.

Fainted Watanabe was immediately taken to a hospital. Even now at the home town of Suquamish, it is said that Watanabe received a dead ball and died 3 days after.

People worried about Watanabe, but after that, he recuperated at Yugahara warm spring, and returned to the mound for fall league matches.”

So, the story of a dead Japanese baseball player, a story passed down for nearly one hundred years, finally was corrected

by Mr. Nagata, bringing some relief to the descendants of Suquamish ball players and hopefully some peace to the spirits of the Suquamish ball players.

By Leonard Forsman

The Notorious Clam Ball This game against Meiji was also the setting for a very dramatic event in Suquamish and Northwest baseball history.

During this game, starting pitcher Louie George was having control problems and faced the opposing pitcher named Tairiku Watanabe. George had tripled off Watanabe in the previous inning and was left stranded after Watanabe struck out the next three consecutive Suquamish hitters.

Now, Louie George had a unique pitch called a “clam ball” described by his nephew Ted George: It was a pitch that rolled off a shortened thumb at a unique angle … rising as it approached the batter. Coming out of the hand of the renowned Suquamish pitcher in the 1920s, it befuddled hitters … so the story goes … and when mixed with a blazing fastball and killer curve, became stuff of legend.

“The futility of hitters trying to hit that clam ball,” George says with a half-smile.

His shortened thumb was due to a motorcycle crash injury. Lawrence Webster described the infamous Wanatabe at bat: “Louie George was pitching that game for us, and he hit this one guy in the head with one of his fast balls. I never could understand why the guy didn't duck. He just The story of the Suquamish Baseball stood there. The only thing I could figure Team’s tour of Japan continues in the was Louie had thrown him a curve and, September Suquamish News.

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Suquamish News

August 2021 | 13

Traditional Heritage Specialist

I

have not received the permit for gathering sweet grass from the Nisqually folks, so we are not going to be able to gather this year. Next year will be a healthier year, and everyone can gather earlier in the year.

I would love to hear from you about how you survived COVID-19 and to place your stories in our Tribal History for future generations. As Native People, we have survived these things in the past. Our Elders told the stories to us in the Oral History Tapes for the Suquamish Museum.

Please let us do this again, and have our stories for our grandchildren and their children to learn about our history, lives, and survival in these times on the Port Madison Reservation.

As a person who interviewed our Elders in the 1970s and 1980s, I must say it was an eye-opening experience to learn about how they viewed life.

We have seen many things and done many things that were just dreamed about a hundred years ago. And on top of that, COVID-19 has changed the way we are going about our lives today.

I have tried to look up the statistics on the number of Native Americans that have died in these epidemics.

From what I could understand, we are the second highest death toll, with African American being the highest.

This is very upsetting to me. I wish I could talk to someone and learn more about how the data is collected.

I hope you all take this with a grain of salt and not as fact as my research is in no way completed on this.

I would really like to hear from all of you on how you have survived the last year and what helped you get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Please either email me at mjones@suquamish. nsn.us or snail mail me at Marilyn Jones, Traditional Heritage Specialist, PO Box 641, Suquamish WA 983920498 with your stories.

Marilyn Jones

Suquamish News

14 | August 2021

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Birthdays

t s u g u

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August 1 Olivia Chiquiti August 2 Jackson Sherman-Dunn Joseph MacDonald Kevin Alexander Lyle George Madeleine Welch Wa-la-chud Chiquiti August 3 Jackie Oakman Jr. Kali Hess August 4 Carlos Alegria-Sigo Carol Henry Marion Ives Michelle Brown Popeh Chiquiti Weylyn Haynes VI William Gemmell August 5 Dionicio Lawrence Jaylen Joe August 6 Amelia Barnes Chrystal Parsons August 7 Georgia George Lenaya Pondelick Samantha Johnson

August 8 Alyssa Mabe Annabel Riggins John Mabe Victor Sanchez August 9 Bennie Armstrong Jr. James Bradwell Ka-lene Williams Kaitlyn Mills Raymond George Taliyah Berg August 10 Amy Sterling Arlene McElory Robert Rubeck Jr. August 11 Cisse Trawally Dallas Hill Larry Jones Rosealynn Alexander August 12 Hailee Hess Napesis Williams Robert Alexander IV August 13 Cassondra Shelby Nicolas Purser Nicole Holt Yanawas Tom

August 14 Janet Leonard Judith McConnell Justin Purser Yah-will-ah Ives August 15 Dawn Forsman Dustin Nichols Everett Power III Kal’el Jones Michael Rogers Jr. Rylee Hommel August 16 Leloni Boultier August 17 Bardow Lewis Ivy Berry Jackson Holmes Lea McMillan Sr. Willard Williams August 18 Andrew Joe Joanne Collins August 19 Alexandria Boyd James Forsman

August 22 Alyssa Napoleon Anthony Rose Jasmine Keller Julia Widen Loretta Ives Orlene Lamont August 23 Cassandra McManamon Olivia George Shenowah Purser August 24 Jonathan Day August 25 Bobby Pondelick Ethan Alexander Kahli Oakman Mariya Neal August 26 Jacob Adams August 27 Jaylene Ogle Teylor Ives August 28 Daniel Covarrubias Mable Price Tatiana Fontes-Lawrence Veron Vollenweider August 29 Dawson Berg

August 20 Anthony Adams Lawson Dumford Mary Widen Ronald Purser Sr.

August 30 Patricia Johnson Shaylene Jefferson

August 21 Bryan Gladstone Timothy Beckwith William Nellenbach Jr.

August 31 Annette West Taylor Napoleon William George

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Suquamish News

August 2021 | 15

Ask the Police Question: To what degree does SPD have jurisdiction over enforcing laws on nonTribal members.

Holmes Syayaye

Holmes Syayaye is an artist page by Denita Holmes (Suquamish) and Joey Holmes (Athabascan). Together we created the From Land and Sea wool skirts, representing the traditional place names of the Suquamish People, along with the All Children Matter skirt, representing our brave children who attended the Boarding/Residential schools.

To learn more about these skirts and a chance to purchase traditional art, please like/follow our page on Instagram @Holmes_Syayaye and Facebook @ Holmes Syayaye. Thank you for your continued love and support, from the Holmes Family.

Left to right: Jenavive Old Coyote-Bagley, Ah Nika Leesh Chiquiti, Awasis Williams and Nizhoni Price.

Answer: This is one of my favorite topics! I worked extensively on getting RCW 10.92 adopted by the state Legislature and signed by the governor. This state law empowers Tribal police to exercise many of the same powers as state police.

I then worked on the agreement with the Kitsap County Sheriff regarding how we will share Washington state authority on the Port Madison Reservation, and it was passed by the Suquamish Tribal Council and County Commissioners in 2017.

The Suquamish Police Department is a Tribal agency. We also meet all Washington state standards, and are also a state-certified law enforcement agency.

The Sheriff receives tax revenue to provide State Police services on the reservation, but there are many times when it makes sense for us to share in those duties.

The police staffing levels per capita in Washington are 51st out of the 50 states and D.C. Among counties, Kitsap is 38th out of 39 for staffing based on the county population. There are usually just two deputies assigned north of Silverdale at any given time.

This created an issue when non-Natives commit crimes on the Port Madison Reservation, because we would frequently have a Tribal officer tied up detaining a non-Native suspect for over an hour, waiting for a deputy to respond and deal with the situation. In most cases, our Tribal officer could have written a citation, and everyone could have saved time and resources, but the law didn’t allow it.

Two cops were doing the work of one cop, and it was a waste of public resources.

Here is thumbnail sketch of what our agreement looks like today: Tribal officers always initially respond, and then assess the situation to see if it meets the criteria for us to activate our state authority. Situations where we will likely activate our state authority to resolve a matter, include:

• Victimless crimes on Tribal lands and businesses within the reservation • Misdemeanor property crimes on Tribal lands and businesses within the reservation • On-view drug crimes, whether misdemeanor or felony. We consult the Kitsap County Sheriff ’s Office for felonies.

• In the case of arrests for traffic offenses viewed by our officers, such as DUI’s of non-Natives, we consult the Sheriff ’s office prior to booking.

• Traffic citations or infractions.

• Vehicle impounds for on-viewed matters.

• Arrests for warrants or state court order violation that we encounter on the reservation.

The Kitsap County Sheriff ’s office can always choose to assume any state call or case if they so desire. They are primarily responsible for calls on fee simple land when no Natives are involved. (Suquamish will respond and assist, and will take the call if the Sheriff ’s office has no resources and they ask us to handle it.)

The Sheriff ’s office will handle all major felonies or crimes against persons committed by a non-Native, and major collision investigations There are also some major crimes where the FBI will be involved, and will work on the case with the Tribal Police.

Suquamish Police Chief Mike Lasnier Cell: 360-340-0695 Chief Lasnier would love to take you to coffee (or tea!) and answer any other questions you have.

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71