CAMANO ISLAND – Tulalip Tribes officials who toured Cama Beach State Park on Wednesday say there’s evidence the site contains far more significant ancient cultural remains and needs to be explored further.
The Tulalips will conduct a powwow to discuss their concerns among the confederation’s tribes, and then let state officials know what they’ll ask the state to do to protect the remains.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
The state has spent about $10 million so far, mostly for acquisition of the new park on the west side of Camano Island that was scheduled to open in May 2006.
The state stopped work at the request of the Tulalips in March after exploratory excavation of utility trenches unearthed some ancient bones.
So far, the state has spent more than $1 million in archaeological excavation, but the digging has involved only about 1 percent of the site.
“I would hope to see more investigation before things move forward,” tribal board member Les Parks said. “It has all the indications of a major village. I don’t think it was a summer village, I think it was a year-round village. But we’ll never know unless we do that.”
Tribal Chairman Stan Jones Sr. said the Cama Beach site appears to be possibly as significant an archaeological find as one in the Port Angeles area where hundreds of remains of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s ancestors have been found.
“We need to protect any other remains. We need to have time to think about it,” Jones said.
Several years ago, tribal cultural resources manager Hank Gobin visited Cama Beach. At that time, there were four 4-foot-square exploratory pits dug and a number of other holes dug with augers. Three of the four random pits contained ancient remains. In addition to what excavators found, they missed other things, including ancient fire pits and a deer antler that was used to split cedar, he said.
“The families that lived here before lived here in good faith,” said Steve Gobin, the tribes’ senior policy analyst and interim director of health and human services. “There’s a new overlay of culture over our people.”
If the land being disturbed was a Civil War cemetery, there would be an outcry across the country, he said, adding that American Indian remains deserve the same respect.
State Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, agreed.
“This is a great site for the history of a whole bunch of people,” he said. “Those remains could be my ancestors, too.”
The Tulalips are trying to determine whether the remains should be left where they are or whether a special burial site should be set aside and the remains reburied there.
“I’m listening today; not deciding, but listening,” state Parks and Recreation Commission director Rex Derr said.
He urged the Tulalips to talk over their concerns and get back to parks officials so both sides can determine what needs to be done next.
“The benefit of cultures helping each other is so much greater than cultures clashing,” Derr said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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