///* "Still No Decision On Snoqualmie Recognition" *\\\
\\\* By Al Dans, "The Valley View" July 14, 1992 *///
More than 13 years after asking for federal
recognition, the Snoqualmie Indians still have
not received a final determination. And they want
to know why.
"We are looking for answers. We feel
we should bring out now what the issues still are
so we can answer some questions," Snoqualmie
Indian Tribe chair Ron Lauzon said last week at a
press conference at the tribe's Redmond headquarters.
The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe's application
for federal acknowledgment has been under
"active" consideration by the Department of
the Interior for more than two years now and a
final decision has been postponed on at least
three occasions.
An answer may be comming soon however.
Tom Garrett, a spokesman for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs In Washington D.C., an agency
of the interior Department, said last week that
a decision will be handed down this fall, barring
unforseen circumstances.
"We currently plan a final determination
this fall," Garrett said. "I don't expect it to
be delayed any further, but I can't give a
definite promise."
Last week's press conference followed a
copyright story in the Seattle Post-Inetlligencer
that highlighted a new policy that would allow
the Bureau of Indian Affairs to declare any
Indian tribe extinct, even if it is recognized. The
policy was found in a recent BIA decision denying
recognition for the Miami tribe of Indiana.
"We are worried about what's going on. We
might be jeopardy." Lauzon said.
What is most puzzling to Lauzon and the
Snoqualmie Tribe is why the federal government
would want to deny them recognition or
postpone giving it to them. To underscore,
Lauzon pointed to a number of community
activities the Snoqualmies engage in.
"I can't understand the state not looking
at us as an asset," he said.
Nonetheless, some Snoqualmies feel the
government either dosen't want to give up any
natural resources or is carrying out a termination
policy.
Whatever the situation, the Snoqualmies at
least want an answer one way or the other on
recognition. At stake are land rights, fishing
rights, medical benefits and, most importantly,
accordingly to the tribes members, the tribe's dignity
and heritage. Tribe members say without official
recognition their elders can't even receive medical
attention on Indian reservations.
"Fishing would be important to us, but not
most important. It's humiliating to go to other
tribes and say you're from Snoqualmie. They
say 'oh you're not a recognized tribe,' that just
hurts," said tribal council member Mary Anne Hinzman.
Garrett said earlier BIA delays were caused
by the departure of the staff anthropoligist who
was working on the Snoqualmie's application.
A new anthropoligist had to be called in and
brought completely up to speed before the
review could move forward.
"The work we do must be exact because
most of the time we have to defend our decision
in court. And the anthropologists are called into
court to testify," Garrett said.
The Snoqualmie Tribe is suspicious
about the original anthropologist's exit, but
Garrett said he left on his own and was not removed
or transfered by the BIA.
If nothing else, the Snoqualmie Tribe has
four members of Congress on it's side, at least
as far as getting an answer this fall |} } }}% }22 }} goes.
Last month Congressmen John Miller, Jim McDermott,
Sid Morrison and Al Swift signed a letter sent to
Manuel Lujan, Secretary of the Interior, asking for
a prompt decision on the recognition petition.
No matter what decision the BIA renders,
the fate of the Snoqualmie Tribe likely will be
determined in court. If the tribe is denied
recognition, Lauzon said it will file a lawsuit.
if the tribe is granted a recognition, the
Tulalip Tribes will will file an appeal,
according to Art Freese, Snoqualmie Tribe vice-chair.
The Tulalip Tribes already has opposed the
Snoqualmie Tribe's recognition.
If the decision dose end up in court the
Snoqualmies stand a good chance based on a recent
decision in favor of the Samish tribe, Snoqualmie
Tribe legal advisor, Mitch Dailey, said.
The Samish won in the grounds they were
denied due process, a constitutional guarantee. That
is the same grounds Dailey said he would use for an appeal.
Ironically, the Snoqualmie Tribe may have been
listed in the Federal Register of Recognized Tribes: The
Snoqualmies say they were, Garrett said he knew nothing about
the matter.
According to the Snoqualmies, they were dropped from
the list at an unknown time for an unknown reason.
The Snoqualmie Tribe was among those that signed
the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855 that guaranteed, among other
things, land. That land never has materialized, due to a
series of unfortunate circumstances over the years.
Initially, the federal government underestimated
the number of Indians in the Puget Sound area so Congress
did not appropriate enough land to accomodate al the
treaty tribes. Reservations were established at Point Madison,
Tulalip and Lummi, but the Snoqualmie Tribe was among those
left out in the cold.
In 1937 the tribe nearly received 10,000 acres
of land along the Tolt River, home to Head Cheif Pat Kanim
in the mid 1800;s. However, World War II broke out before
deal was finalized and Congress cut off appropriations to
Indian organizations.
So the struggle for land continues, and it has been
costly. The Snoqualmie Tribe has now spent well over $500.000
on recognition. The tribe asked the Administration for Native
Americans for funding, but was denied. One cruel irony for
Snoqualmie Indians is that they are currently recognized
individually by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as legal
members of the Indian community, but not as a tribe.
---- -^- ---- -^- ----
For more information,
You can contract Art Freese at the Snoqualmie Tribe: .
18525 Novelty Hill Road, Redmond Washington, 98052,
206 885-7464
Any E-mail will eventually be forwarded....
I may have some older article on this, and the battle
over Snoqualmie Falls.
+-(c)--------------------------+
| delisle@eskimo.celestial.com | Nothing is fool proof,
+------------------------------+ Fools are too ingenius.