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One tribe’s dreams: Up in cigarette smoke
August 2009, The Herald
By Krista Kapralos
ARLINGTON — Seven years ago the Stillaguamish Tribe started buying hundreds of acres of land in north Snohomish County.
It was part of an ambitious plan to expand the tribe’s reach and to create jobs and make money. Its Angel of the Winds casino was expanded onto some of the new land.
Other dreams included a hotel, an amphitheater and ball fields, said Dave Nelson, an Arlington real estate consultant hired by the tribe in 2002. During his time with the tribe, tribal lands grew from 117 acres to nearly 800, according to county property records.
“It was going to be a city,” Nelson said. “An entire city.”
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Loyal cousins? Not in Indian Country
By Krista Kapralos
It’s been more than a month since the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe opened its casino east of Seattle, in a prime area comparable to where the Tulalip Tribes recently added a luxury hotel to its gaming complex along I-5.
The Tulalip Tribes say they wish the Snoqualmies well, but they’re competitors in the gambling industry.
Members of the two tribes are relatives. They’re all descended from the same Indians who signed the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, handing over a fifth of what is now Washington state in exchange for medical care, education and other guarantees.
Like all families, tribes in Western Washington have squabbles. When the Snoqualmies in the 1970s asked the federal government to recognize them as a legitimate American Indian tribe, Tulalip leaders bitterly fought the petition. Read more
Iraqis celebrate Hussein execution
By Krista Kapralos
EVERETT – Amir al Rikabi, 11, leaned against the wall in his family’s living room in north Everett on Friday.
His eyes slid toward a television screen, where a sobbing Iraqi woman pointed to dozens of photographs. They were all her family members, she said, and they all died under the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Suddenly, Amirs father, Adil al Rikabi, turned toward his son.
“Do you like Saddam Hussein?” Adil al Rikabi asked.
“No,” Amir said quietly.
“Why?”
“Because he killed our family and our cousins.”
“And?”
“Because he messed up the whole of Iraq.”
“And?”
“Because he made the ground all dirty.”
“And?”
“Because I hear from my family that Saddam is bad and that’s why I hate him,” Amir said. “He cuts people’s tongues out.” Read more