Duwamish not dead

Next week, Cecile Hansen, a direct descendant of Seattle’s namesake Chief Sealth, will travel from one Washington to another. 

Hansen, the chairwoman of the Duwamish tribe, has been invited to testify in D.C. at an upcoming hearing on H.R. 2678, a bill introduced in the House that would grant the Western Washington tribe the federal recognition it has been fighting for since, well, forever. 

The tribe, comprised of nearly 600 members currently, was granted fishing and reservation rights way back in 1855, when Chief Sealth signed the Treaty of Point Elliott. Unfortunately, the U.S. government never saw fit to actually follow through with any of the promises it made. 

Federal recognition would provide the tribe with government aid, and possibly restore their fishing rights and allow them to open a casino. This has caused alarm among other Northwest tribes, who are worried that recognizing the Duwamish would drain limited federal resources. 

Specifically, the Muckleshoot have argued that Duwamish federal recognition would encroach upon their own fishing rights. Hansen believes the Muckleshoot are worried that the Duwamish could operate a casino in Seattle, diverting business from the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn.

The Muckleshoot went so far as to seek court intervention in the Duwamish's other fight for federal recognition. In addition to the House bill, the Duwamish are involved in an expensive and lengthy legal battle to overturn the Bush administration’s declaration that the tribe doesn’t really exist. 

The story goes something like this: In the last hours of the Clinton administration, the outgoing Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs granted the tribe federal recognition. Unfortunately, he forgot to sign the papers until the day after he left office. 

The incoming Bush administration overturned the ruling and revisited the case. Citing a period of time between 1916 and 1925 when the tribe lacked a formal government (because they were homeless), they determined that the Duwamish no longer existed as a people. 

Really, they don’t exist? What about the fact that they formed a non-profit organization in 1983? Or the fact that they operate a gallery and gift shop or host a language and dance group? Understandably, the Duwamish are fighting back, and their court case is due for a status review this October. Last year, Judge John Coughenour denied the Muckleshoot's request to intervene in the case, declaring the matter an action about federal tribal recognition, "not treaty fishing rights." 

Most recently, the Duwamish raised $3.45 million to build a longhouse in Seattle with the help of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Boeing Company, the City of Seattle, and dozens of other individual and corporate donors. All of these people seem to think the Duwamish are worth something.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) seems to think so, too. He introduced H.R. 2678 on June 3, his fourth attempt at getting the Duwamish the rights they deserve.

“It is my hope that the new day dawning across America is bright enough to shine enough light for us to see and correct the injustices endured for too long by the first Americans,” he said.