Dec. 3, 2000: David Tonasket running the ball in the state championship game.

 

Dec. 3, 2000: David Tonasket running the ball in the 34-30 state championship victory versus Odessa. "Sweetness" helped the Hornets win 10-straight games after dropping the season-opener to Odessa, rushing for more than 1,600 yards on the season. He pounded his way to 108 yards on 23 carries in the big game, and added 95 yards receiving. The playoff game before, he racked up 213 rushing yards versus Neah Bay. After the title game, he said, "I wish I could have run for more yards, but we knew they were going to key on me." David also broke up Odessa's final passing attempt of the game as time expired.

2014: Kettle Falls sharpening stone

 

Set on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River approximately 350 feet north of St. Paul’s Mission near Kettle Falls, WA is a natural and historic object seeming out of place amidst a landscape of dense Ponderosa pine forest. Large, off black in color, uniquely shaped, and weighing over a ton, the Sharpening Stone is a mute testimonial to a time when the river ran free, its banks were lined with native fisherman.

Comprised of amphibolite, the geological composition is more fine-grained than the local bedrock, indicating this boulder is not from this area. Geologists have two theories of how this boulder came to the bank of the Columbia River. The first is that a large glacier deposited the boulder as it receded. The second is that the massive rock was carried by one of the cataclysmic Ice Age floods that swept through eastern Washington

Jan. 12, 2017: TRIBAL LAWMAN - Former Colville Tribal officer recalls huge victory, huge loss

Former Colville Tribal Police Officer David Finley

David Finley has proud memories of serving as a Colville tribal police officer and game warden. The 65-year-old Inchelium resident was part of a law enforcement team that won the tribe jurisdiction over its lakes and waterways at a time when non-Indian entities patrolled the reservation.

When he had the chance to buy a piece of history — the shell of a light green patrol boat used to issue a citation to a county officer, which contributed to the tribe regaining its rights to enforce law on its land — he didn’t hesitate to make an offer.

“This boat was used to save our water rights,” he says, to give back “our jurisdiction on the reservation.”

When Finley started with the Colville Tribes in 1972, the issue had been escalating. It had been seven years since the Colville Business Council, then under the pressure of termination by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, requested the state of Washington assume criminal and civil jurisdiction over the Colville Reservation. Law enforcement responsibilities fell into the hands of Ferry and Okanogan counties.

The decision evolved into a state game warden, based out of Republic, patrolling reservation waters looking to ticket non-Indian fishermen. At the time, a fisherman would have needed licenses from the state and tribe.

As an officer and tribal member, Finley recalls feeling insulted by the state's reign over the Tribe.

“They were telling us they had jurisdiction,” he says, “and we had no jurisdiction over non-members fishing on our reservation.”

A sitting Colville Business Council which included Lucy Covington and Al Aubertin, two people Finley greatly admired, were dedicated to winning it back for the tribe.

“That didn’t sit so well” with them, Finley says. “They said, ‘We gotta fix that.’ At that time the council was very good at taking care of things. They told the reservation attorneys what they wanted and it got done.”

But what could they do? 

In order for a case to reach federal court, Finley says, a strategy was put in place for the tribe to formally cite the state officer for applying law outside his jurisdiction.

A game warden issuing a citation to a fellow game warden? According to Finley, the action was organized by both parties, with himself writing the citation. Each side was confident they’d win the case in court.

“We thought we had the best shot in the world,” Finley recalls. “We thought we would win. This is a federally-recognized reservation. We’re recognized as a sovereign nation. ... We have jurisdictions over ourselves. No one else comes in here and tries to enforce law on our reservation. We were here before the state was here.”

Finley says because the Tribe was federally-recognized, the issue skipped past state court and onto district court.

None of the case materials mentions the citation of the other officer. Most stories from this incident refer to a 1975 incident involving a state officer arresting “several non-Indians fishing on the reservation.” Finley says the citation wasn’t publicized.

Once the issue reached district court, in 1975, each side traded blows. An initial ruling to do away with requiring dual fishing permits, state and tribal, on tribal land sided with the tribes, which resulted in a temporary restraining order being placed on state Fish and Wildlife.

The state followed by taking the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in February 1976. There, it was ruled that Colville tribal fishing laws were too vague and jurisdiction was returned to the state.

The tribes didn’t back down. A month later, the Colvilles, behind then-councilman Jac Charbonneau, who headed the fish and wildlife committee, began planning to resubmit their case as an answer to the overturning.

The Tribe felt it had not made enough of a case to specifically assert its jurisdictional rights. It changed its tribal fish and wildlife code to remedy the criticisms outlined in the court decision. It would then ask for a declaratory judgment in its favor to re-affirm tribal jurisdiction. 

In 1979, the tribe argued that “losing this case would harm the Indians. Enforcing state fishing laws on the reservation clearly would have a chilling effect on tourism. We’d like to eliminate this two-permit system.”

The argument was enough to win over U.S. District Judge Jack E. Tanner, who signed a preliminary injunction in support of the Tribe, stating, “applying state law to non-Indians would put away the tribe’s tourist industry. This would put the Indians out of pocket economically.”

“Non-Indians would have become political pawns of the Game Commission in this attempted power play,” Charbonneau said, “but, the injunction protects everyone.”

“We knew we were correct in our right to jurisdiction on reservation land, and the ruling proves our point,” then CBC chairman Al Aubertin said in a press release.

Though the state appealed again, the Colvilles won their right to law and natural resource enforcement back. It was an issue that could have set a national precedent. “The case has nationwide significance in the hotly fought battle for tribal jurisdiction,” a Spokesman-Review article read.

It was Finley’s proudest moment on the force.

* * *

But even his role in the fishing jurisdiction case couldn’t stop the nightmares Finley suffered from an earlier incident. He's spent decades trying to get past one specific day: August 27, 1973 — the day he witnessed his fellow officer Roy Bradshaw being killed by childhood friend Larry Lemery.

The Finleys and Lemerys spent quality time together, Finley recalls. Larry was Dave’s older brother Rusty’s age, about 8 years older. “We’d go (to the Lemerys) for breakfasts after church every Sunday,” Finley says. “His aunty lived over there in Nespelem; I knew her very well.”

Once, the Finleys relied on the Lemerys, who were at that time in Seattle, for shelter for a three- to four-month period, he said. The dynamic had changed a bit as Finley's generation became adults, but both families didn’t forget their close bond. As Larry got older, Finley says it was apparent that he “at the time, was a little bit, how do you say, had mental health problems. He was out of prison and stuff and had to take pills to try to maintain himself.”

Finley guesses that Larry had went off his medication that August.

In the days prior to the shooting, Finley received a call that Lemery was last seen on top of Bridge Creek with a rifle. “People seen him there in his socks,” Finley recalls.

A community member approached Finley when Lemery was spotted again. “There’s a guy on Cache Creek standing in his socks, dressed in black, has a rifle and is very suspicious,” Finley recalls hearing. 

“I pulled up,” Finley remembers. “I was gonna put my gun on and didn’t. I just thought I would leave it in my pickup. I walked up to (Larry). He was raising his gun down and back up. And he says, ‘Hey Dave, how you doin’?’”

“Good,” Finley recalls responding. “What you doing over here? People are wondering what you’re doing.”

“Oh,” Lemery responds according to Finley. “I’m hunting. Got a deer. I’m over here with my uncle.”

Finley felt something was suspicious about his statements. “I knew that there was no other road on that side so maybe I missed something.”

He left Lemery looking for the road to verify his statement, only to find nothing. By the time he returned, his childhood friend had disappeared.

A meeting was held at the Tribal Administration building afterwards where Lemery’s aunt, Colville Business Councilwoman Elsie Picard, was present. She expressed concern for returning to her Owhi Flats home, knowing her nephew — who knew where she lived — was lingering in the area.

“She says, ‘I want to go home and I am afraid to go home. I don’t want to see him because I’m scared,’” Finley says. “They pointed at me. ‘You go see if he’s there and Roy, you go with him.’ So we decided to go up and see if he was there and Elsie decided to follow us.”

* * *

When Finley and Bradshaw approached Picard’s Nespelem residence, they looked for cowboy boot prints in the driveway. Finley says there were reports that Lemery was seen at the local tavern the day before wearing a pair.

“I looked down on the road that goes into the ranch where we went,” Finley says. “It wasn’t cowboy boots, it was waffle stompers.

“We says, ‘Well that’s not cowboy boots.’ So we went on in. When we got up to the ranch, all the sudden Elsie stopped way back there. We got there and looked around and right in front of the house you could tell a car pulled up and someone was standing there talking to someone in the rig.”

Finley recalls seeing these same waffle-stomper tracks all around the vehicle.

“We don’t know what that’s all about, but whoever it was was standing here talking,” he recalls thinking. “So we said, ‘Let’s go in and check this house out so Elsie could come in and be OK.’”

They headed in without a shotgun, “which we should have had,” Finley recalls. “I had one in my vehicle but I didn’t bring it with me. I had my (.38 special) with me and Roy had his.”

Finley and Bradshaw made their ways inside, into the kitchen area of Picard’s home. 

“About that time, Roy said, ‘I’ll go right, you go left,’” Finley recalls. “I says, ‘OK, sure, I’ll do that.’”

Bradshaw went through the kitchen area while Finley began checking bedrooms on the left. Finley recalls seeing a small door off to the right, where Bradshaw was heading — a room he would later find out was a bathroom.

Finley peered into the first room, which he noticed had a chimney. He looked back to see Roy approaching the bathroom. As he rushes in to inspect the room, he hears a loud bang.

“I go, ‘Oh shit, he’s here,’” Finley recalls. “So I whipped around. I didn’t see Roy and all the sudden I see Larry coming out from that door.”

Finley, seeing the former family friend, yells at Lemery.

“Larry! Larry! Larry!” he recalls yelling.

He felt comfortable confronting the childhood friend wielding a rifle. Lemery continued and hid near couches in the living room.

Finley recalls demanding Lemery to stop trying to defend himself.

“Larry! Knock it off now! Stop that!”

Bradshaw was no where in sight. Lemery stood up and took off toward Finley, directing his rifle at him. “I backed off and I knelt down and he was coming right at me," Finley recalls, "and I says, ‘I’m sorry Mary (Larry’s mother)’ and I just started popping. I popped off six rounds in less than three seconds; it was that quick.”

Finley had shot Lemery twice in the upper body while backing into a room. 

“I went and jacked my shells out and put one shell in,” Finley recalls. “I listened. I could hear something moving around out there. I listened and I put in a few more. I listened. I filled my gun. And I sat there and as I was listening I was wondering where Roy was at.”

Upon reloading, he went back out to the living room and kitchen area only to see his fellow officer down on the ground. Finley didn’t get much of a look as “about that time, Larry’s coming back in into the door there.”

Finley says he wanted to help Bradshaw, who was laying on the ground grunting from a shot to the chest. Bradshaw was dying fast, as his gums were turning white, Finley recalls.

But Lemery’s presence stopped him. He thought about shooting Lemery but “I couldn’t bring myself to shoot him," Finley says. "That was the deal."

Instead, he barraged Lemery with words. “What the hell did you do!? What the fuck you do that for!?”

Lemery repeatedly dropped his gun toward Finley, he recalls. “Every time he would, I’d cuss him. 'Don’t you do that!'”

Finally, Finley tells Lemery, “I’ve got to do something about Roy. You decide what you’re going to do.”

Lemery then lowered his rifle once more, says Finley. He was pushed back into a room, where he closed the door.

While inside, Lemery began throwing pots and pans at the door to try to mimic the sound of gunshots, Finley recalls.

“I thought that was pretty funny,” Finley says.

As he sat idle, Finley recalled thinking about how he could have missed so many times at that range. “I was questioning my gun. I qualified as almost distinguished, a point or two off. We had just bought the guns. We had round nose ammo, no hollow points. I was starting to doubt myself.”

If Lemery opened the door, Finley was determined to shoot him. But Lemery wasn’t the aggressor in that situation, Finley recalls.

Instead, a vehicle approached. It was Picard. Lemery went out to greet her. 

“She saw him and just cleared out,” Finley recalls. “So I was left there with Larry moving around on me."

As Finley sat with his back against a wall, he could hear Lemery settle in on the other side.

He thought, “All I gotta do is pull my gun up and start blasting that wall; I bet I’d hit him six out of six.”

But, once again, the family history prohibited him from taking more shots.

“It was because I knew him; I knew the parents,” Finley says. “I said I’d like to take him alive if I could. The way this situation’s happening; it’s not good. He’ll likely kill me. It was my decision. I decided not to finish him off and I sat there for probably an hour waiting for help.”

Fellow officers Tim Wapato, Ron Toulou and Matt Boyd were outside, unaware of everything that had transpired in the house, Finley says.

“They pulled out in the yard and they stood there. They was standing around looking and I go, ‘Aw, shit, they’re gonna get shot,’” Finley recalls. 

Frantically, Finley began rapping the window until it broke. He then shot up into the air as a warning.

Over time, more vehicles pulled in, Finley recalls. “Once or twice I think I heard Larry shoot. I guess he shot at the refrigerator.”

About an hour and a half goes by before his growing support makes a move, Finley recalls. He estimates 75 officers came from all different jurisdictions.

“You come out now Larry or we’re coming in!” Finley heard over a megaphone.

Moments later, as he sat there, Finley heard a large boom and hiss. 

“Gas was coming out in between the wall,” he recalls. “It didn’t come in my room, thank God, or I woulda been bait. I think they would have shot anything that came out that window.”

A few more minutes passed before he recalled hearing the megaphone again. “Larry, we’re going to give you one more last chance! You come out!”

In that instance all Finley could hear was silence. “(Larry) didn’t move. He didn’t say nothing.”

Another smoke bomb came a minute or two later, Finley says.

For the first time, he hears Lemery speak:

“Mother! Help me!”

Lemery got on his feet and headed outside. Finley could hear him yelling and screaming from inside the room he was positioned.

At the window of the room, Finley soon sees Toulou and Boyd.

“Dave? Is that you?” one of them says.

“Yeah, it’s me," Finley recalls responding. 'Will you help me out this damn window?”

Finley, who took off his boots, went to his fellow officers. He could hear Wapato yelling, “Who in the hell shot (Lemery)?!”

“I did,” Finley replied back emphatically. “See what he did to Roy?”

Officers stripped Finley of his gun. He responded he’d like to go take some calming medication. 

“I said I wanted ‘edge’,” Finley recalls. “They wanted me to calm down and they gave me some pills.”

As he was being hauled to the hospital, Lemery’s father was at the end of the driveway.

“He asked me, ‘What happened?’” Finley recalls. “I told him ‘I’m sorry but I seen what he did.”

After Finley was released from the hospital and he returned to Inchelium, he drove to his older brother’s house.

“I got some whiskey and got drunker than shit,” he says. “(The pills) didn’t go well with my booze.”

In the days that followed, Finley attended Bradshaw’s funeral — one of the biggest he’d ever seen.

“They had shit, two, three, four hundred cops there,” he recalls. “They were marching up and down the main road of Omak and stuff. I ended up blubbering like a little kid.”

Finley broke down watching the Bradshaw family mourn. “I just couldn’t handle it," he recalls. "I couldn’t bring (Roy) home with me. And it just tore me up.”

Because of Lemery's gunshot wounds, which were deemed ‘critical’ by Mid-Valley hospital in Omak, court was held as he lay in his hospital room, Finley recalls. “He just sat there and listened."

* * *

Lemery, who died at age 72 on July 4, 2016, spent the remainder of his life under lock and key. Finley saw the funeral announcement posted in the Inchelium community and felt emotional. “I felt sorry for him, real bad,” he says. “The rest of his life was in that place and he had to die there. I felt bad for that. But my hatred for him left a long time ago.”

Hatred that stemmed from that night caused his family to suffer, Finley says. When it first happened, I’d think about (Bradshaw’s death) 1,000 times a day. I’d try to make it go away; it never went away.”

“(Thinking about that experience) damn near killed me a few times. I went to bed with a gun in my hand ready to (commit suicide),” he says. “The only thing that saved me was my kids. My kids saved me.”

To this day, Finley says, “it comes up now and then. But I try to bury the past where it belongs.”

What did David Finley think about when the memory would come back?

At times he blamed himself for not killing Larry.

“But what would it have done?” Finley says. “Roy was already dying or dead already. The shell he shot him with, a 22-250, exploded in his heart and all they found was fragments of the shell. Blew his heart up.”

Other times he regrets shooting him at all.

“(Larry) was coming at me. I had to ... He wouldn’t stop with that rifle. When he was coming at me I had to. I didn’t want to. It was the worst thing I ever had to do was shoot a man. I’m glad he didn’t die.”

Some instances he’s thought about what would have happened had he went Roy’s way.

“I was gonna go that way but Roy decided to go that way,” Finley says. “He says, ‘I’ll go right.’”

He says the dynamic between the Finleys and Lemerys changed after the incident.

“They weren’t mad at me but yet you feel a bit of a tension there,” Finley says. "They’d talk to me and stuff. But you could see it bothered 'em. Because it bothered me. It’s hard to kill somebody when you know them as a friend.”

He’s avoided memorial events for Bradshaw in the years that have followed. “I felt bad that I couldn’t bring Roy back to his kids, and I didn’t want to be remembered for that so I didn’t go.”

Roy Bradshaw is one of 110 tribal officers who have been slain in the line of duty nationwide. In 1998, he was posthumously awarded the Washington State Attorney General’s Medal of Honor.

Finley remained on the force through the early 80s and a couple stints later on. All in all, he worked about 12 years as an officer for the Colville Confederated Tribes.

He’s planning to get his green boat back out on the water in the coming years. He knows it will bring back a sense of pride he held for his years on the force.

“The seats are gone, motors gone, controls are gone; I want to get it back running,” Finley says. “I want to be able to cruise the lake. I won’t have the authority or nothin’ but — by God — we’re gonna patrol again.”

 

June 18, 2015: Colville Tribal DNA bridges Native American connection with Kennewick Man

Dr. Esky Willerslev listens as Colville Tribal chairman Jim Boyd speaks during an announcement regarding Kennewick Man being tied to Colville tribal DNA samples.

SEATTLE – Representatives from five tribes smiled as they posed for a photograph with Dr. Eske Willerslev following a press conference revealing results that affirmed the tribes’ longstanding belief Kennewick Man was an ancestor of regional tribes.

Not long before the picture, representatives of the Yakama and Umatilla adamantly opposed the very DNA sampling that allowed for the celebration.

But the 22 volunteered samples provided by the Colville Confederated Tribes helped make an important link from the 8,500-year old remains to the plateau tribes, according to Willerslev, who answered questions at the Burke Museum in Seattle following the publishing of an article by Nature magazine.

"If we had not had the Colville sample for comparison, we wouldn't have been able to say anything about what was the relationship between plateau tribes to Kennewick man," he said. "We would have absolutely no data to say anything about that. From the scientific statement... this was a very valuable contribution."

Willerslev gained trust from Colville Tribal representatives, who brought a discussion to tribal members, including elders, Boyd said.

"I said it's up to you," he said, "but I'm willing to do the comparison if you are providing the DNA. But you have to be aware that because I'm a scientist, I have to go with the results, no matter what the results are."

The results helped Willerslev determine a "very, very clear" link to Kennewick Man's Native American ancestry.

"We find that the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation to be one of the groups showing close affinities to Kennewick Man or at least to the population to which he belonged,” Willerslev stated in a press release.

The Colvilles acknowledged the choice to give DNA samples was controversial among their fellow tribes, but saw it as an opportunity to prove what they already knew, according to Boyd.

“Because of the way science has treated our people in the past, it was a tough decision to actually submit,” Boyd said. “We’re happy for the outcome. The outcome was good. But we knew what the outcome was.”

The findings now make Kennewick Man eligible to be repatriated via the Native American Graves Protection Act, according to Boyd. The remains are currently stored at the Burke Museum in Seattle and belong to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after they were found on federal land in Kennewick in 1996.

Collectively, the five tribes, including the Wanapum and Nez Perce, have a future, private plan for the reburial, if it occurs, according to Armand Minthorn of the Confederated Umatilla Tribes.

“It’s very good we have evidence now,” Boyd said, “but we’re still in a process.”

Complete coverage of the event planned for the June 25 issue of Tribal Tribune.

Editor's note: A correction to this article was made at 3:30 p.m. regarding the DNA samples.

Nov. 7, 2016: Beloved ‘Sting team’ stung at Odessa-Harrington

Terrence Holford gets stopped by Odessa defenders after a nice gain.

Five turnovers bites Inchelium in 60-14 crossover loss

ODESSA—In a game of “Who can figure out who first?” the hosts came out on top. An effective misdirection option running attack by Odessa-Harrington leveled one-loss Inchelium and its ground-and-pound offense, 60-14, Friday night in a 1B football crossover game between league champions. 

The Hornets, however, showed flashes of promise which included scoring the game’s first touchdown and holding a team accustomed to scoring 71 points per game to just 14 first quarter points—a season low for the Titans.

“It was a rough one,” said first-year Inchelium head coach Guy Stensgar, whose team gave up 44 unanswered points. “It’s a learning experience.”

Unlike many other teams in the state, the Hornets—who wrapped up a Panorama League title for the first time as an individual school in 15 years—weren’t in a do or die situation. The crossover simply helped determine who would be seeded better for State 1B Football Tournament play-in games between the two B-8 powerhouses. Odessa-Harrington gets 6-4 Entiat at home, while Inchelium faces Colton—a 7-3 team that outlasted a Touchet team (34-30) that beat the Hornets by 4 points in Week 2—in Kettle Falls. A time for the contest has yet to be officially announced.

Despite an inspiring effort that saw multiple fourth down conversions, Inchelium struggled to maintain possession of the ball, fumbling the ball three times and throwing two interceptions. 

Darrius Garris unclips his helmet following the game.

 “There was a lot of mistakes we shouldn’t have had,” senior offensive and defensive lineman Darrius Garris said. “That’s why we have this week (of practice). We worked a lot for this game but we need to work on our blocking.”

Inchelium—which landed five of its eight players on the Panorama League All-Opponent team last week—was unable to consistently get it going on the ground. The running attack of the bulky Waylon Lelone, which Titan fans called a “Sledgehammer,” Winston Finley and elusive quarterback Jaden Erickson saw a lot less running room Friday. Aside from Erickson’s 12-yard touchdown run a minute and a half into the game, the Hornets struggled to get into open field.

Odessa-Harrington, however, found open space with brothers Sage and Gavin Elder, who accounted for 434 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the night.

“Our defense,” Stensgar said, “we need to button up a couple holes.”

Stensgar was happy with the passing game, which opened up the field in the second half. He swapped Erickson with Mickey Andrews, putting the former at receiver, which resulted in a 49-yard touchdown pass to Finley at the 10:35 mark in the fourth quarter. The Titans continued to pour it on at that point, catching Inchelium off-guard with an onside kick with a 38-point lead and 8 minutes to go. They scored 24 points in that quarter alone to add insult to an Inchelium team that had suffered three injuries to its 11-deep squad.

Waylon Lelone walks off the field after the game.

“None of these teams are going to take it easy on us,” Andrews said.

One category Inchelium did win was in fan support. The small town on the Colville Reservation seemed to value 37-degree football more than the hosts, as its fans carried approximately a 1:1 ratio. The Inchelium-Gifford Ferry even provided an after hours return trip for its team. 

“Keep me updated and let me know when the game’s over,” driver Lanny Boyd wrote on Facebook.

The ferry won’t be necessary this week. But for Inchelium, loser-out football starts Friday. The Hornets will look to rediscover their dynamic offense that averaged 53 points and stout defense that surrendered just over 15 points per game through its first nine games.

“We just gotta come play now,” Andrews said. “Now we know.” 

Inchelium’s hot start saw the team march downfield for the first touchdown, followed by a Waylon Lelone two-point conversion. Odessa-Harrington’s first possession saw them turn the ball over on downs at the 10-yard line with 6:03 in the first.

Upon receiving the ball for the next possession, the Hornets converted a fourth down on their own 21-yard line to keep the drive alive. But in four more downs they’d end up punting the ball away. 

With 1:53 to in the first, the Titans caught Inchelium off-guard with a 26-yard play-action touchdown pass from Camden Weber to Josh Clark. The Hornets’ first play on the following possession resulted in a fumble, which Odessa-Harrington promptly scored on a reverse from 19 yards out to go up 14-8.

Turnovers continued for Inchelium after that when a catch and fumble on fourth down set up Odessa-Harrington on its own 30 yard line. The Titans converted a fourth down on the drive, which ended with a Weber 7-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 20-8 with 5:08 to halftime.

The Hornet run game saw Lelone get a first down, before a turnover on downs the next possession. A big penalty allowed Odessa-Harrington to red zone again, where it capitalized with a Sage Elder 18-yard touchdown run to go up 28-8 with 42 seconds until intermission.

Out of halftime, Odessa-Harrington fumbled the ball away on its first possession. Inchelium took 4:40 off the clock by keeping its drive alive with a Finley fourth down conversion run. At the Titan five yard line, a fumbled snap recovered by the hosts saw the drive go for null.

Odessa-Harrington marched down the field 90 yards, capped off by a screen pass on the touchdown from Weber to Sage Elder.

Like it had previously in the game, Inchelium moved the sticks on fourth down on its next drive. But another fumble handed it right back to the Titans.

Just 19 seconds into the fourth quarter, Titan running back Gavin Elder took the ball 72 yards to paydirt for the game’s longest scoring play to go up 44-8.

After nearly 36 minutes of scoreless play, the Hornets added a touchdown on the Finley pass from Andrews. 

Sage Elder’s 1- and 36-yard touchdown runs 34 seconds apart ended the game’s scoring with 7:58 to go.

Notes: All-Opponent selections for Inchelium were Lelone, Garris, Erickson, Finley and Cody Perriman. … Joe Pakootas, a Candidate for the United States Representative in Washington’s 5th District, was in attendance with his wife and grandchildren.

2010s: POWER OF PRAYER? Missing tribal member calls for help following vigils across the reservation

Joanne Signor and her granddaughter Steffi hold a candlelight to a missing person's flyer.

INCHELIUM—Eleven days after a 13-year-old tribal member ran away from her Airway Heights residence, she has been returned home.

Within an hour of a candellight vigil held Tuesday, Laila Signor-Tonasket phoned her brother, whispering from a Tacoma hotel room, family members said. They called the police and she was brought back Wednesday.

“The power of prayer really works because our little girl is no longer lost,” Laila’s grandmother Trudi Tonasket told the Tribune Wednesday morning.

Family feared for the worst during Tuesday night’s emotional gathering saw more than 50 community members gather at a softball field in Inchelium, while other communities including Omak, Usk, Spokane and Penticton, British Columbia partook from afar.

“At this point I just want her back alive. I know she’s going to be broken, but I can deal with that,” Kristi McDowell, Laila’s mother, said. “She would never go that long without talking with her grandfather. I’ve heard so many different stories, but it all comes down to she was taken by two guys.”

McDowell recalled her daughter’s erratic behavior the night she left home, Aug. 12. “She was crying and crying. We asked her ‘What’s wrong?’ but she wouldn’t tell us. In the morning, my daughter went outside to play and said ‘Someone threw something in our yard.’ It was Laila’s clothes. She must have been in a hurry.”

Her daughters missed their older sister during the time of question. “My daughter Boo-boo (Aaliya), the other morning, I woke her up and said I love you and she said, ‘You need to worry about Laila’ and she started crying. It’s hard because they don’t understand but they kind of do.’ It’s hard not being home in Airway Heights but I had to come home (to Inchelium). This is where my strength is.”

The Airway Heights police department, FBI and Colville tribal police were involved in the investigation, McDowell said. She also had her daughter, who has run away previously, listed in the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. Tribal members Bunny Flett and Shelly Boyd led efforts to raise awareness during the time she was missing.

Sept. 25, 1990: Sinixt/Arrow Lakes Band Press Release

 We, the Sinixt/Arrow Lakes Band, believed and documented as extinct by the Provincial Government of British Columbia in 1956, have been embroiled in an effort to secure the remains of six ancestral bodies and related articles excavated and removed from the Sinixt/Arrow Lakes burial ground at Vallican, B.C. in 1981.

On Sept. 25, 1990, the hereditary chief of the Sinixt/Arrow Lakes Band, Francis Romero, arrived at the Royal British Columbia Museum at Victoria, B.C. from the occupation camp at the Vallican burial ground with a caravan of Sinixt descendants and other support factions to retrieve the remains of the ancestors from the Royal British Columbia Museum.

In an exchange of documents following a 2:00 meeting the Royal British Columbia Museum Director Bill Barkley gave a transfer of title document from the museum relinquishing the remains and relate articles to Francis Romero in acknowledgement of Mr. Romero as hereditary Chief. this transferal was the birth of a nation as it was acknowledgment that Sinixt people are not and have never been extinct. Mr. Bill Barkley, director of the Royal British Columbia Museum, offered the transfer of the title document. 

Chief Francis Romero gave Mr. Barkley a counter-document which included letters of support from related bands from Canada and the United States and non-native organizations which was the culmination of a two-year communication process and effort to have the remains returned to the Sinixt/Arrow Lakes Band.

A meeting will be convened Friday, Sept. 28, 1990 at 10 a.m. at the En'owkin Centre at 257 Brunswick St., Penticton, B.C. which will include elders and descendants to finalize arrangements for the reburial of the remains. Until all the arrangements are finalized and a reburial ceremony takes place, the remains lay in state at the Sinixt burial ground at Vallican.

Sinixt/Arrow Lakes people acknowledge the conflict and struggle at Oka, Quebec as parallel to their own as the spark which began the Oka conflict was over the proposed development of a burial site -- a struggle we have been facing and expect to face as the B.C. Heritage Trust has made known their plans to develop a recreation and information centre on the Sinixt burial ground at Vallican. Sinixt descendants have been occupying the burial ground since August 20, 1989 in an effort to stop those development plans by the B.C. Heritage Trust and to protect the burial ground from other development and disturbance by pothunters.

This is a great day for Indigenous people across Canada as a precedence has been set in the development of policies by the Royal British Columbia Museum to return some 800 remains they have in their custody. The Sinixt/Arrow Lakes are now offering solidarity and technical assistance to any and all natives who are in the process of procuring and protecting ancestral remains. 

Yvonne Swan, Coordinator

1976: Aeneas Seymour's legend of Kettle Falls

Told to Goldie Putnam and published in "Kettle River Country," by Ruth Lakin in 1976.

This is my land. A land of peace and beauty... of vanishing historical landmark ... of ancient customs and legends nearly forgotten. This is a land where men have shared with their brothers from generations past ... a gathering spot from hundreds of miles around. This is a land barely showing the ghost-like traces of a glorious past.

The old land is gone now. A new land is here.

But it still is a land of peace and beauty. I know this is true for I am always watching.

I am Coyote, the Transformer, and have been sent by Great Mystery, the creator and arranger of the world. Great Mystery has said that all people should have an equal right in everything and that all souls share alike.

As long as the sun sets in the west this will be a land of peace. This is the commandment I gave to my people, and they have obey me.

My people are the Skoyelpi and Snaitcekst Indians, who lived near the Kettle Falls on the Columbia River. I gave them that Falls to provide them with fish all their days. It was called Ilthkoyape, which means "falls of boiling baskets," but the name was shortened to Skoyelpi. The falls was surrounded by potholes which resembled the boiling baskets in which my people cooked their food. When the Hudson's Bay people came they called it the "falls of the Kettle," The men of the Northwest Fur Trading Company called it "La Chaudiere," a french name for Kettle Falls.

Many generations ago my people were hungry and starving. They did not have a good place to catch there fish. One day while I was out walking I came upon a poor man and his three daughters. They were thin from hunger because they could not get salmon. I promised the old man I would make him a dam across the river to enable him to catch fish, if he would give me his youngest daughter as my wife. The old man agreed to this and I built him a fine falls where he could fish at low water. But when I went to claim the daughter the old man explained that it was customary to give away the eldest daughter first. So I took the eldest daughter and once again promised the man I would build him a medium dam so he could fish at medium water if I could have the youngest daughter. The old man explained again that  the middle daughter must be married before the youngest, so I claimed is middle daughter and built him a fine falls where he could fish at medium water.

Shortly after the father came to me and said he was in need of a high dam where he could fish at high water. He promised me his youngest daughter if I would I would build this. So I built him a third and highest dam where he could fish at high water. And then I claimed the long awaited youngest daughter as my wife.

And now, because I had built the Falls in three levels, my people could fish at low, medium and high water. I had become responsible for my people, and i saw that the fish must jump up the falls in one certain area where the water flowed over a deep depression. I appointed the old man as Salmon Chief, and he and his descendants were to rule over the Falls and see that all people shared in the fish caught there. All people must live there in peace, and no one should leave there unprovided.

Indians and white men from hundreds of of miles away have gathered during the the salmon runs at my falls, and they have all  lived in peace sharing together.

Oct. 1, 2008: EPA settles with Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp. for hazardous waste handling violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) to the Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp. (CTEC) and its Inchelium Wood Treatment Plant (IWTP). As part of the settlement IWTP has agreed to cleanup all areas of the facility that have been contaminated with wood treating preservative chromated copper arsenate (CCA) a listed hazardous waste. Hazardous and toxic constituents in CCA are chromium, copper, and arsenic. There is no penalty associated with this action. 

An inspection of the IWTP facility, located at 18 Blackbird Drive, Inchelium, Washington on October 24, 2005 by EPA, found the following alleged violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA):

·         Storage and disposal of hazardous waste without a permit;

·         Allowed wood treatment preservative (CCA) to runoff its drip pad onto surrounding soil;

·         Stored hazardous waste greater than 90 days; and

·         Failed to comply with health and safety training requirements.

According to Mike Bussell, EPA’s Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle, the purpose of EPA’s RCRA program is to manage hazardous wastes from cradle to grave to ensure that the waste is handled in a manner that protects human health and the environment.

“I am very satisfied with the outcome of this action,” said EPA’s Bussell. “The cooperative nature of the negotiations has resulted in a settlement that will make this IWTP facility a much safer place for any future activities.”

The IWTP is a tribally owned and operated wood treating plant on the Colville Reservation. IWTP used a CCA wood preservation to treat fence posts and poles. IWTP began operations in 1985 and ceased operations in early 2006.

Sept. 13, 2009: Mother Nature's little helpers - The busy beaver may be key to region's water issues

 Sep. 13--INCHELIUM, Wash. -- The beaver huffed indignantly as Rick Desautel prodded it into a wire cage. The night before, it had followed its nose to a musky scent along the shoreline of North Twin Lake on the Colville Reservation and ended up in Desautel's trap.

Two hundred years ago, trappers would have shipped the beaver's glossy pelt to Europe to meet an insatiable demand for beaverskin hats. But Desautel, an animal control officer for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, had other plans. 

The beaver and four others were released into a creek in the San Poil watershed, where their dam-building skills will help hold back water and restore wetlands trampled by cattle.

Once trapped to near extinction, beavers are on the rebound. As populations increase, North America's largest rodents are gaining scientists' respect. Ponds and wetlands created by beaver dams provide rich habitat for other wildlife. And in the parched West, beaver dams could help mitigate the impact...

March 2007: Florence Lee Putnam obituary

 Florence Lee Putnam, a longtime resident of Inchelium, passed away March 7, 2007.

She was born Aug. 31, 1919, in the Dixie Hospital of Hampton, VA. Florence graduated from Hampton High School in 1937 and Farmville State Teacher's College (now Longwood University) in 1941. Florence was employed by NACA (now NASA) as a mathematician, continuing her longtime interest in aeronautics. In 1941, she met a young serviceman from Inchelium, Washington, Carl Putnam who was attending officer training at Ft. Monroe. They were married at St. Johns, Hampton, on May 1, 1944.

Florence was preceded in death by her parents, Beverly Wills and Julia Armistead; her twin brother, Beverly Wills Lee Jr.; and her sister, Julia Travis Lee. 

She is survived by her husband, Carl Putnam; and her three children, James, Fred and Julia Putnam of Washington state; her siblings, Henry Lee, Rebecca Hunt and husband, Ray and Dorothy Halliday and husband Hugh of Virginia; and seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

June 2011: Father Patrick Conroy confirmed as new House chaplain

Jesuit Father Patrick J. Conroy was unanimously approved as the next House chaplain in a May 25 vote.

Father Conroy, 60, a native of Washington state, had been nominated by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, himself a Catholic, as the ideal candidate for the position.

The Jesuit succeeds Father Daniel Coughlin, a priest of the Chicago Archdiocese who retired in April after 11 years on the job.

Father Conroy most recently was a theology teacher, campus ministry assistant and coach at Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore., and long served as a pastor to Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest.

Boehner, who attended Jesuit-run Xavier University in Cincinnati, decided he wanted a Jesuit to serve as the next pastor and confidant to House members and staff.

Father Conroy's nomination initially was held up by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, who expressed concern that the Jesuit belongs to the Oregon province of the Society of Jesus, which agreed in March to pay about $166 million in settlements to 500 people who have sought damages for abuse they said they suffered under Jesuits at schools and parishes in the Northwest. She later dropped her objections.

Father Conroy has not been accused of any involvement in the sexual abuse of minors or any cover-up of such abuse.

The priest was among several priests from the Society of Jesus put forward for the position after Father Coughlin contacted the U.S. Jesuits in Washington about his retirement. The office notified Jesuit provincials around the country about Boehner's wish.

The Washington scene will not be new to Father Conroy, a lawyer who had been a campus minister at Georgetown for a decade.

The House chaplain earns $167,800 a year, according to the Congressional Research Service. As a member of a religious community, Father Conroy does not keep his salary but turns it over to a common fund for Jesuit life and ministry.

At Jesuit High since 2004, he has served as superior of the Jesuit community, teacher of freshman and sophomore theology, assistant coach of the junior varsity softball team, campus ministry assistant, member of the school's board of trustees, chaplain to athletic teams and director of freshman retreats.

Father Conroy entered the Jesuits in 1973 and was ordained in 1983, having earned a law degree and several theology degrees during formation. From 1984 to 1989, he served as pastor of a mission in Inchelium, Wash., serving the people of the Colville Indian reservation. From 1986 to 1989, he also served as pastor at the Spokane Indian reservation.

Father Conroy, in an earlier interview, said that he was unnerved when his provincial approached him last fall about the possibility. But as time passed, the excitement and glamour turned to a feeling of peace, which Father Conroy said is a classic sign in Jesuit spirituality that a decision was right.

"My thought was, if it happens, glory be to God. And if it doesn't happen, glory be to God," Father Conroy said.

Jesuit spirituality, based on the 16th-century writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola, centers on making good decisions. That could fit well in the business of the House of Representatives, Father Conroy said.

"I would hope I'd be able to remind everyone what they're about," he said. "They are not about winning something so someone else loses, but winning so everyone wins. They are there to serve, not to gain glory."

The priest said he imagines most of his work will happen in one-on-one conversations. He said he aims to help House members and staff discern which urges are coming from God and which are coming from them.

"You need to know the difference," Father Conroy said.