Let the good times flow

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, August 13, 2006

ARLINGTON – American Indian drumming, screaming chainsaws and modern rock blended into an unusual chorus echoing off the banks of the Stillaguamish River on Sunday.

Barbecue smoke filled the air with the smells of sizzling meat, while burly bikers, groovy organic moms and American Indian dancers rubbed elbows and broke fried bread.

Organizers estimate more than 4,000 people turned out to the 17th annual Festival of the River at River Meadows County Park east of Arlington over the weekend.

“They need more than two days, that’s for sure,” said Myrna Hollen, a Tulalip Tribes member who attended the festival for the first time on Sunday.

Watching colorfully dressed tribal dancers circle around a toddler girl named Caylin during a “coming out” ceremony, Hollen said she was impressed with the stamina of the drummers and dancers.

“They’ve got so much energy out there,” she said. “It’s just awesome.

Caylin’s great-grandfather, Robert “Soldier Chief” Brien of Everett, said the powwow portion of the festival keeps American Indian traditions alive – something difficult to do as succeeding generations assimilate into the dominant culture.

“What little we have, we try to teach our little children,” he said.

Dianna Daninger, who runs a small cattle ranch in Tulalip with her husband, Roger, said the dancers and drummers were uplifting and “one with the spirits.”

The two-day alcohol-free festival has grown to become the Stillaguamish Tribe’s annual showpiece event.

Educating people about the health of the Stillaguamish River watershed and the chinook salmon run are the mainstays of the event.

But it’s more than just an educational event in the sticks. It includes music, a logging competition and a powwow.

Former chart toppers such as Anglo-ska boys English Beat – of “Mirror in the Bathroom” fame – and alternative rock’s Toad the Wet Sprocket drew revelers from Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

Patrick Jacobson, 29, drove from British Columbia to catch his first Toad the Wet Sprocket show. The band, which enjoyed wide popularity in the early ’90s, recently regrouped for a national tour.

Shawn Yanity, chairman and fisheries manager for the Stillaguamish Tribe, said booking big music acts draws people who wouldn’t otherwise come.

Near concession stands, information booths about the river and wildlife gave festival-goers a chance to take in more than hot dogs and music.

Efforts to restore salmon runs to historical levels are often overshadowed by lingering stereotypes of tribes who over-fish the rivers, Yanity said.

“There are some people who still say that there are no fish because the natives won’t take the nets out of the water,” he said.

Contrary to that perception, the Stillaguamish voluntarily stopped fishing for chinook in 1986, Yanity said.

John Drotts, the tribe’s natural resources manager, said chinook levels are 10 percent of what they once were. The Stillaguamish’s chinook restoration project, which includes a fishery, has been in place since 1982, Drotts said.

The 192-member Stillaguamish Tribe has about 700 acres of land scattered from White Horse Mountain near Darrington to Silvana, west of I-5.

It also runs Angel of the Winds Casino north of Arlington.

“Tribes are doing more than harvesting salmon, deer and elk,” Yanity said. “We’re doing more than protecting a treaty right.”

Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.