TULALIP – The Tulalip Tribes are asking that a portion of Cama Beach be added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The beach, located on the western edge of Camano Island, is at the heart of a dispute with the Washington State Parks Department, which hopes to open a state park there.
Tribal leaders believe the beach is the site of an ancient Indian village, and should be left alone.
They hope that if the site is recognized on the historic register, the state will be forced to avoid construction in areas that are sacred to local American Indians.
“I’m still waiting and hoping that the Native American part of our culture, who we are, the historical significance, doesn’t go by the wayside,” Tulalip Tribes Chairman Mel Sheldon said.
The request was made last month. The state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation will most likely consider the nomination in January, state historic preservation officer Allyson Brooks said.
If the state approves the nomination, it will then be considered by the National Register of Historic Places.
The tribes agreed in 2002 to the state’s plan to restore an 80-year-old former fishing resort at the site, but asked that work be stopped after evidence of ancient human remains was found there during construction.
A Superior Court judge last year denied the tribes’ request that the work be stopped for good.
Sheldon said the tribes asked the state parks department to submit an application that the site be added to the national historic registry, but the department refused.
“We initiated the process ourselves from that point,” Sheldon said.
State parks officials could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
The Cama Beach fishing resort, which was a logging camp that started in the late 1800s, has been listed on the national registry since 2001, said Paul Lusignan, a historian with the registry.
“It is significant as a reflection of the early logging industry,” he said. “The Native American perspective is that besides just being a logging camp, there are also other historical associations that are important.”
The tribes’ nomination is not an extension of the currently registered historic site, said Tim Brewer, an attorney for the tribes.
“The size of the site that’s being nominated mirrors the size of the cultural deposits on the beach,” he said. “It clearly overlaps with the fishing resort, but it’s not the same.”
The state considers Cama Beach to be an archaeological site, said Brooks. It is already protected under state law, she said.
“The listing on the national register is basically an honor and a recognition,” she said.
The recognition could also hinder the state’s construction if the state tries to use federal dollars to build the park, Brewer said.
It’s unlikely that the state will abandon its project at the beach, but Sheldon said he hopes national recognition as a historic site will convince the state to consider the tribes’ requests.
“We want to set aside some land as a sanctuary, an exclusion zone that would be for Tulalip people to sit in contemplation and be one with their ancestors,” he said.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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