Thursday July 23, 2009, 6:57 am

HERE IS THE ARTICLE:

MARYSVILLE, Wash. -- The Mission Beach Cemetery is sacred ground for the Tulalip Tribe. Generations of honored tribal members have been put to rest at the spiritual sanctuary.
But the cemetery's serenity was recently shattered. Desecration now runs deep after vandals drove through and uprooted heavy gravestones, leaving behind a reckless trail.

"Everybody was crying, wondering about what's happening," said tribal elder Don Hatch, who broke the news to the families. "Why would anybody do something like this?"

The pain of the desecration has spread through the reservation.

"The hurt is there. The hurt is really there in our community," Hatch said.

"It was pretty darn sad to me, people going up there and doing that. No respect four our ancestors and that," said tribal member Brenda Lyle.

Now tribal members are working hard, trying to right the wrong. They've been repairing the damage, uprighting headstones and smoothing over the ground the vandals tore apart.

The tribe wants justice. The Tulalip Tribal Council is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the vandals.

"I'm hoping and praying

"I'm hoping and praying they get caught," said Hatch.

But the tribe also wants those responsible to know that forgiveness is another value in tribal culture.

"So they can go forward with the rest of their lives and know they've done something wrong. And we've sat down with them and shown some compassion and understanding," said tribal chairman Mel Sheldon.

The cemetery's gates were open day and night so that members can visit their relatives at all hours. But in the wake of the vandalism, tribal members decided to start locking the gates each night at 4 p.m.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 6:59 am

THERE IS A VIDEO ABOUT THIS THAT YOU CAN WATCH.

LOOK ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE, RIGHT UNDER THE PICTURE OF THE HEADSTONE.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 7:07 am
glad they one kat thank you

Thursday July 23, 2009, 7:29 am
That is so disgraceful. I am glad that they can close the gates for protection. Thank you for the info.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 7:40 am
Terrible. Thank you Kat.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 7:47 am
Thank you, Kat. This sort of "fun" is wrong, wrong, wrong x 10K! We get it in France with Jewish or Islamic tombs being desercrated and destroyed. What happened to "respect?" has it been stricken from the dictionary? I do hope they can catch the culprits and give them a good "talking to" but what a shame they now feel they have to lock the gates.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 7:47 am
seems to be alot of grave desecration going around. I have seen a lot of it on the news in the last few years--I just don't get it. I am thinking those who do not respect the dead do not respect life.Thanx Kat

Thursday July 23, 2009, 7:51 am
"the tribe also wants those responsible to know that forgiveness is another value in tribal culture."
Those words stood out, a moment of beauty existing through the selfishness of others.
Thank-you for sharing this.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 7:54 am
I hope that came out right.....I meant the vandals were selfish, not the tribe.....

Thursday July 23, 2009, 8:19 am
That is so sad for those fools to be that disrespectful. God help them all! I'm glad they decided to start locking the gates. Thanks Kat for sharing.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 8:43 am
What is a matter with people who do this sort of thing. Every so often their is a spate of this sort of thing in the UK. Sometimes it's the mindless idiots of the sort that hoon around in their cars making a noise and generally being anti social. The local police have stared to target som of this idiots by threatening to sieze their cars and crush them. One lot drove around in the town cemetray at Grimsby a year or so ago carving up the grass and knocking over gravestones and memorials. The same sort of idiots attack churchs and other places of a sacred nature to particular groups. These are the mindless idiots what is more sinister is the deliberate targetting of for example Jewish cemetaries with Nazi symbols being daubed on graves. I hope that this desecration of the the Tribal graves is not racial as it makes the vandalism all the more repugnant and goes beyond disrespect when it is deliberately targetted at a group. The sad part is we have to lock our sacred spaces up to keep these rejects from the human race at bay and in so doing deprive the relatives of continuous access to their ancestors and loved ones!

Thursday July 23, 2009, 8:51 am
This is terrible.People need to respect each others' differences more and discriminate never.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 9:59 am
Heartbreaking. Thanks Kat.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 10:35 am
True disgraceful. Thank you, Kat.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 10:47 am
The degree of disrespect for this gentle tribe of people deeply saddens me. In the midst of their pain they set a true example of "to forgive is divine." My heart hurts for those who have been so deeply touched by this senseless act of vandalism and I truly hope that those responsible for inflicting such pain and disrespect will be held accountable.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 11:32 am
"But the tribe also wants those responsible to know that forgiveness is another value in tribal culture.

"So they can go forward with the rest of their lives and know they've done something wrong. And we've sat down with them and shown some compassion and understanding," said tribal chairman Mel Sheldon. "

I'm so sorry that this disrespect and the desecration of these graves. I hope that these people do get caught so that they can sit down with these tribal members and learn through forgiveness a grace that they may never have experienced before in their lives. Perhaps that would be the epiphany that changes these violator lifes and turns them around. Thank you Kat, I have missed your news stories, glad you're back around.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 11:38 am
One more comment here......I find it sad that the gates used to be left open for all to go in and show respect for these ancestors. Now for the cruel deeds of a handful of miscreants the innocent must suffer.
When I was a child there was a Native American graveyard that I used to visit....It was always open and it always felt so serene and peaceful there, I always felt as if I was in the midst of friends. I feel bad that others might have to have this experience from other side of a locked gate.Damn the few that always seem to layer such hurt on the many.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 1:02 pm
How low can they go! I mean really this is digraceful on top of disrespectful! I hope they catch the low lifes that did this.
Thanks Kat

Thursday July 23, 2009, 1:09 pm
not good

Thursday July 23, 2009, 2:48 pm
Probably kids who spent their youth on video games and have nothing better to do. Sad we live in a culture that has a growing amount of disrespect for all around them.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 3:22 pm
I agree with Faith, there is so much of this everywhere. So much lack of respect. But when people do not even have respect for themselves or to each other, is awful hard to be respectful towards the deceased. So little is sacred anymore.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 3:31 pm
noted thank you

Thursday July 23, 2009, 3:33 pm
I am saddened that anyone could launch such an attack on such a gentle-natured and forgiving people. I'm with Faith on this.....these vandals who have no respect for death probably don't have any reverence for life either.

Thursday July 23, 2009, 5:53 pm
I hope thy catch them and thy go to Jail!!!

Thursday July 23, 2009, 6:50 pm
This is terrible,To have no respect for the dead you know they do not have any for anything! Thanks,Kat

Thursday July 23, 2009, 7:08 pm
There are people in this world who don't care about anything other than their own twisted idea of a good time or their symbolic gestures of bigotry and hate. At times the two go together and the only thing that is really displayed is abject ignorance.
Thanks Kat

Thursday July 23, 2009, 10:05 pm
May they join the souls they desecrated.

Friday July 24, 2009, 8:00 pm
May they catch these culprits... have they no respect or moral fibre left in them, that they have to desecrate a sacred burial ground respected much by these people.....

Friday July 24, 2009, 10:04 pm
Any body that goes in and tears up graves and tops over discared sacrated burial has no kind of respect for any thing period. This has always bother me in my heart when I see or hear these things but, people do it all the time. Even here I heard not to long ago that they were robbing the graves. This is beyond imoral. Thanks Kat Good to have you back

Friday July 24, 2009, 10:48 pm
NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK, KAT............XXXOOXXXXX

Saturday July 25, 2009, 7:24 pm
This reminds me of a similar incident where,in the city I live,there's a old cemetery that was established here in my home town of Hattiesburg,called Oak Lawn cemetery,in 1887,and it was vandalized in the exact same way,so sad and disheartening.I hope they capture these creeps and lock them away!

Sunday July 26, 2009, 1:49 am
Just a thought:

IMHO: it wouldn't be unheard of for unknown punks to be hired by people who are probably gambling on that the Tulilip's cemetary might contain oil/gas reserves or minerals, etc They send the punks in to stir up trouble hoping "the Injuns" will react negatively which would give the excuse needed to find a way to force the Tulilip Tribe off their land et al Okay, it's just a thought.....

Sunday July 26, 2009, 1:55 am
Oops mea culpa, sorry on the misspell: I meant Tulalip not Tulilip....

Sunday July 26, 2009, 11:26 am
How disgraceful and distasteful! Thanx Kat.

Monday August 3, 2009, 9:42 pm
THANKS KAT!!!

Friday November 6, 2009, 2:57 am
Thank Kat. I'm so sorry to learn of this desecration.

It takes a real nut job and cruel sense of being to do and/or disturb the passing.

I feel that vandals that do these types of things in resting areas for the passed, should be penalized to the fullest extent of the law, it's so angering!

Thank you,
Nick J Davis
Toronto ON Canada