But the tribe already had paid back its debt. More likely, the expedition members knew their crudely constructed canoes couldn’t match the fast and expertly made tribal canoes, or they simply needed an extra one and didn’t have the time to make it.
The 205-year-old wrong was righted a week ago along the banks of the Columbia River where members of Capt. William Clark’s family presented tribal members with a replacement canoe. Under swaying alder trees and in the smoke of cooking salmon, a private ceremony of forgiveness was held between the Chinook nation and the Clark family. Clark descendant Carlota “Lotsie” Clark Holton said, “I never realized that a canoe was a living part of the Chinook. It’s like a wife or child.” Canoes were indeed like a member of the family and are sacred, said Kate Elliott, Chinook Tribal councilwoman. “(It’s) more than a reparation.”
It’s the Clark family upholding their word for righting what they view as a wrong. They’ve gone to great lengths to make this happen with the purest of heart and to ensure the Chinook Nation can continue and grow,” said Jeremy Wekell, tribal councilman and Tacoma resident. For the Clarks: “We can never repay the hurt. This is just a small gesture,” Lotsie Holton said. “It’s never too late to apologize.” What a great lesson for all of us.
Thumbs Up: As part of the last round of state budget cuts, lawmakers cut the state’s tourism promotion office.
This cash-strapped state is the only state with no tourism office, despite a study commissioned by the Washington state Department of Commerce that shows travelers spent $15.2 billion and supported 143,800 jobs last year.
Tourism is a clean industry. The good news is that a private group of tourism boosters is trying to promote Washington state to visitors.
The nonprofit, mostly volunteer-run Washington Tourism Alliance, met recently in Yakima with about 30 representatives of hotels, convention centers and wineries to craft a plan to promote the state’s wineries, backcountry and cities. “What are our options?” asked Jim Milne of the Prosser Chamber of Commerce.
John Cooper, president and chief executive officer of the Yakima Valley Visitors and Convention Bureau, asked, “If not us, who? If not now, when? We have to take control of our destiny.” It’s great to see an independent, volunteer-driven group of people and organizations step forward to fill this gap.
Thumbs Down: A national study of 422 abused children from mostly lower-income families, who suffered shaken-baby and other forms of brain-injuring abuse, found a link between the economic recession and increasing abuse.
Though this abuse is still uncommon, the number of cases in the counties studied increased sharply, rising from about 9 cases per 100,000 children in pre-recession years, to almost 15 per 100,000 kids during the recession – a 65 percent increase. Unemployment rates in the 74 counties rose during the five-year study.
The proportion of children on Medicaid in those counties also increased, from 77 percent before the recession to 83 percent. Combine the stress of raising a young child with wage cuts or lost jobs and you get “a sort of toxic brew in terms of thinking about possible physical violence,” said Mark Rank, a social welfare professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He said the study echoes sociological research linking violence with declines in economic well-being. As talk of a double-dip recession increases, we must be on alert for parents who may be taking their economic frustrations out on their innocent children. Report any suspected abuse to law enforcement.
Thumbs Up: On Thursday, dignitaries joined U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., to cut the ribbon at the site of Washington state’s new coastal Doppler weather radar in Grays Harbor County. Cantwell was instrumental in getting the money approved for a 2009 study which showed a serious gap in Washington state’s weather radar coverage of incoming Pacific storms.
Existing radar systems were blocked by the Olympic Mountains, which prevented forecasters from gauging the amount of rain and wind speed from storms approaching from the Pacific Ocean.
By positioning the new coastal Doppler radar to the west of the Olympic Mountains, the new system will close that gap. And while getting more accurate weather predictions will be a bonus, the real advantage will come when forecasters are able to give more accurate and timely warnings to residents in harm’s way and help prevent loss of life and billions of dollars in property damage. Cantwell deserves full credit for getting the federal dollars allocated for the new radar system.
