**++ Sammamish Valley, Redmond News. ++**
**++ Wednesday, December 30, 1992 ++**
**++ Redmond, Washington 98052 ++**
Snoqualmie Tribe Grapples With Local Issues.
By Erica Housekeeper, Correspondent.
o Tribal leadership struggles for a voice in Redmond affairs.
As he shuffles through pages of wordy proposals that may
harm his heritage and future, one thing remains clear to Art Freese:
"Success comes from the heart," says Freese, vice chair to the
Snoqualmie Indian Tribe.
With that in mind, tribal council members meet on a
monthly basis in Redmond to discuss ways to protect their 9,000
year-old tribe from obstacles that undermine their beliefs, and
threaten their posterity.
The tribe relocated its headquaters from Carnation to Redmond
nine years ago. Roughly 750 members reside in King, Pierce and Snohomish
counties.
One issue facing the group is the proposed 520/202 interchange
for Redmond.
The plan, proposed by the Department of Transportation, would
relocate 1,100 to 1,400 feet of Bear Creek, says Thomas Hamstra, project
engineer for the DOT.
Although Hamstra says the creek area that will be moved dose not
allow for much wildlife because of the lack of ripple polls, tribal
members are still frustrated by the change
"This whole area around here was used as a gathering site for
food," Freese says. "And Bear Creek for gathering fish."
But Hamstra says when that part of the stream is relocated,
ripple pools will be created to cause diverse vegitation.
"Moving that stream will only destroy the ecological balance of
of the area," Freese says, "and no matter what, it will hurt."
Despite tribal members' negative feelings, they are not actively
protesting the plan. "We can't do it all," he says, "and there are too
many other things we have to work on."
What tribal members are putting their energy into is receiving
federal recognition, and preserving the Snoqualmie Falls, one of their
most sacred sites.
Until 1952, the tribe was federally recognized.
"Then one day we were just dropped," Freese says, "and there;s never been
answer to when or why."
Without federal federal recognition, the tribe cannot be eligible
for federal funding or services.
Carl Shaw, director of public affairs
for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, says the tribe would not loose their
recognition for no reason.
"The law would never allow that," he says. "Only Congress has
the power to withdraw recognition, and there would have to be a
valid reason."
In an effort to regain federal status, the Snoqualmies submitted a
petition to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1976, Freese says in May 1990,
the bureau said they would tell us who we are within a year," he says
"as if we didn't already know."
The Snoqualmies are still waiting for an answer.
Shaw says they recognition application process can take more
than 10 years. However, it may take much longer if the application is
imcomplete.
"If the tribe members aren't answering the questions we need,"
he says, "then we can't grant them recognized status."
But tribal members say things may start to look up once there is
a change in administration on Jan. 20.
A new assistant secretary of the interior for for the Bureau
of Indian Affairs will come into office next month, and new tribal laws
will be addressed, says Ron Lauzon, chair to the Snoqualmie tribe.
"I think it will make things better for us," Lauzon says,
"because this new administration could cause a fair outcome for us,
and in the past it hasn't been very fair."
If the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe receives federal recognition,
Freese says it may aid them in solving another problem.
For thousands of years, Snoqualmie falls has become a spiritual
site for the tribe. The falls have been used as an area for rituals and
several burial and archelogical sites are near by, Freese says.
But the Snoqualmies feel their heritage is at stake.
Puget Power, the custodian for Snoqualmie falls is applying for
a new license to expand its hydroelectric facility at the falls,
Lauzon says. Sixty percent more water will be diverted into Puget
Sound Power's turbines for the next 50 years he says.
Tribal council members have frequently met with Puget Power
members for two years to discuss the proposal. But Freese says the
officials are taking the position of not recognizing the Snoqualmies
as a tribe. Therefore, he says the tribe's concern for the falls is
not being taken seriously.
Virginia Howell-Pistroece, the project manager for the Snoqualmie
Falls relicensing project, says diverting the water will improving efficency.
But tribal members are upset because the natural flow of water,
which is important culturally and historically to them, is being tampered
with.
Howell-Pistorece adds that Puget Power is trying to work with
tribal members, despite the fact they are not federally recognized.
"We are trying to find a good balance and compromise with the
Snoqualmies," she says. "We will increase the flow for any rituals the
Snoqualmies will have at the falls."
However, Freese says the tribe wants Puget Power to return the
full flow of water permanently.
"If they take all that water away," Freese says, "it will be
hard to define our culture and heritage. The falls are a spiritual area
for the tribe, we're asking Puget Power preserve the area, for all people,
for all times."
A determination will be made next December.
Until then, Freese says, the tribe will continue to work for
the preservation of it's culture.
"We practice our soveriently and protect our rights better
than any tribe," Freese says, "and we have no one to back us, but us."