CAMANO ISLAND – Excavation resumed on an ancient Indian burial ground this week after a judge in Olympia denied a request from the Tulalip Tribes to have the work delayed.
Construction at the Cama Beach site, where a state park is planned to open in 2007, stopped in March 2005 when crews found the remains of four people.
Tribal leaders say Cama Beach was part of a stretch of Indian encampments more than 2,000 years ago. Remains are buried there in soil the tribes say is sacred.
“We can’t let anyone build on top of our ancestors,” said Stan Jones Sr., tribal board chairman. “We respect those ancestors and we just want the opportunity to be able to move them.”
The tribe plans to continue legal action against the state.
“We’ll move ahead with whatever we have to do,” Jones said.
Tribal leaders have offered to purchase the entire 430-acre site, but state officials say it’s not for sale.
Jones said the tribe wasn’t aware that the site contained Indian remains, but with the tribe’s history stretching back 10,000 years, it’s reasonable to assume that the beaches north of Puget Sound are filled with sacred remains and archaeological treasures.
In November, the tribes petitioned for a review of the state’s archaeological excavation permit, state Parks and Recreation Commission spokeswoman Virginia Painter said. That legal action has yet to be resolved.
In December, the state parks director ordered that the excavation resume. He guaranteed then that if any other graves were found, they would be left alone unless local tribes came to an agreement on what should be done with them. State officials met with leaders of the Tulalip, Swinomish, Upper Skagit and Samish tribes to discuss the excavation.
Upper Skagit leaders said the state should move ahead with its plans.
Early in February, Tulalip tribal leaders sued to stop work at the site. Jones said the tribe wanted a chance to do its own excavation and move any human remains to another location, where a memorial and information center could be constructed.
“We were just asking for time,” he said. “That was all.”
On March 17, a Thurston County judge in Olympia denied the tribes’ motion. Construction at the park is expected to resume this summer, state parks spokeswoman Painter said.
“We have detailed hand- excavation work left to do, and some mechanical excavation,” Painter said, adding that park crews are sensitive to the tribe’s concerns.
“This (sensitivity) provides about 99 percent assurance that underground cultural resources will not be an issue during the construction phase,” Painter said.
The delays have pushed the project back by a year and a half. The park was to have opened in May. Now, a grand opening for the former logging camp and fishing resort turned summertime getaway is scheduled for fall 2007. The park will feature rental cabins, a retreat lodge and conference space. There will also be beach access, trails and picnic areas.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@ heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
