EVERETT – A change in a county code that Snohomish County officials say is a “housekeeping amendment” could be a harbinger of a future shift in the county’s policies toward Indian tribes, county planners said.
The Snohomish County Council voted last week to create a 30-day deadline for the tribes to respond when archaeological features are found in the course of development.
The county was once home to countless Indian villages and encampments. Many of those villages, and the bones of the people who inhabited them, are now buried in the ground.
Tribal leaders have sparred with the state and developers in the past to preserve ancient remains discovered in the course of construction. Under the county’s old code, the tribes were allowed to take as long as they wished to advise the county when remains or artifacts were found.
“We used to just send them a report and then wait for them to respond,” said Karen Watkins, principal planner for Snohomish County’s planning department. “It would hold permits up.”
Stillaguamish tribal chairman Shawn Yannity said he’s concerned that 30 days isn’t enough for his tribe to review the permits.
“For a small tribe like us, we only have one person reviewing permits,” he said. “Those permits are coming from state agencies, county, city agencies. That’s a lot of permits that come across our desk, and with just having one person reviewing them, 30 days is kind of short.”
He said he would have preferred 60 days, but is optimistic that the county will work with the tribes.
“It’s going to be a working process, so it might take some time,” he said. “That’s the nice thing about codes: they can always be amended.”
Stillaguamish, Sauk-Suiattle and Tulalip tribal leaders wrote letters to the county and appeared before the council to argue for more influence over artifacts, burial grounds and other and sacred spots that are sprinkled throughout the region.
The Sauk Suiattle tribe asked that the county expand the code that regulates what is currently termed “archaeological and historic resources” to include “native Indian burial grounds and culturally significant sites,” Watkins said.
The county didn’t add the terms the tribe requested because county officials wanted input from all the local tribes, Watkins said. The county is undergoing a development code update that could take several years.
“This is one piece of that,” she said. “We don’t have a schedule for when different pieces will go forward.”
Spokesmen for the Sauk Suiattle and Tulalip tribes could not be reached for comment.
The Sauk Suiattle, Stillaguamish and Tulalip tribes were among those that were party to the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, which surrendered land that makes up about a fifth of what is now Washington to the federal government. Those tribes are now working together in a legal suit known as the Habitat Claim to assert sovereignty over land and resources they say are integral to their culture.
The request from Sauk Suiattle to expand the definition of “archaeological and historic resources” is part of a tribal concern that is bigger than the “housekeeping” the council hoped to conduct in last week’s vote, Watkins said.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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