Late last month, Duwamish Chairwoman Cecile Hansen and more than 50 tribal members peaceably demonstrated at the home of U.S. Interior Department Secretary Sally Jewell in Seattle and delivered a letter signed by 15 organizations and 300-signature petition requesting a meeting about restoring the tribe’s federal recognition and discussing the issue with Assistant Secretary- Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn. Two months earlier, Jewell had told Hansen she would consider the tribe’s request, but no action had been taken. And to date, Hansen has had no response from Jewell.
The 600-member tribe originally petitioned the government for federal recognition in 1976. The petition was approved on January 19, 2001 by Michael J. Anderson, acting assistant secretary of the Interior, one day before the Clinton administration ended. In March 2013, a federal judge ruled the Bush administration denied Duwamish recognition based on outdated rules and ordered the petition to be reconsidered.
On July 2, 2015, the Bureau of Indian Affairs denied Duwamish’s petition. BIA said the tribe did not prove: that it has been “an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900;” that it has comprised “a distinct community and has existed as a community from historical times to the present;” and that it has “maintained political influence or authority as an autonomous entity over its members since historical times.”
Hansen said, “There should be healing in Indian country. Some people say we just want a casino. I’ve been doing this for 40 years since before the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, and 40 years ago nobody had a casino. This is not the Indian way. To call me in 2001 and say we’ve been recognized and then take it away because some tribes are fighting it, this is sick. It’s not right.”
The tribe has online resources offering ways to “Stand with the Duwamish Tribe” at duwamishtribe.org, crowdrise.com/riseupforduwamishfederalrec, and standwithduwamish.com.
