Comments on: Duwamish Tribe tries again to get its cultural artifacts back

By: moji

moji — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 04:56:29 +0000

Aho, Linda Blackinton!
Thank you so much for sharing with us your very inspirational letter. I will now go and write to the Port, myself.

By: Linda Blackinton

Linda Blackinton — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 19:12:00 +0000

Port of Seattle Commissioners:

I’m stunned that the Port would even consider the Duwamish artifacts their own. They belong to the Duwamish Tribe.

Muckleshoot Tribes is not a tribe, but a federation/conglomeration of tribes. The reservation is called Muckleshoot. They have reservation rights, but are not in any way part of the Duwamish Tribal heritage.

As a Samish Indian, I am aware of what the Duwamish Tribe is going through regarding re-recognition. That is a tragedy in itself, because of an error through the BIA. It took 22 yrs for the Samish to regain our recognition through Federal Courts, not through the BIA. The Duwamish are going through the same procedure that we had to go through, after failing for recognition through the BIA.

Please reconsider your plans to give these artifacts to the Muckleshoot Tribes, and give the artifacts back to the Duwamish Tribe, who right fully should have them. They do have a security place for them, can take good care of them, and it is their heritage.

To say that they have to go to a “Recognized Tribe” is not in the best interest of the Tribes. I believe the Duwamish have a 501(c)3 catagory that can be used in this case.

It is best to deal kindly with the Duwamish Tribe, because as I’ve told the Port before, when the Duwamish Tribe obtains their recognition the Port is sitting on their old lands. Just a reminder of where you are.

Linda Blackinton
Samish Elder
lblacki@Q.com

cc: Cecile Hansen

By: miws

miws — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 15:57:12 +0000

(btw, is The Battle of Seattle the same thing as the Puget Sound Indian War?)

. RG, that sounds about right. I did a quick search at History Link, and came up with too many results than I have time to research right now, so you might wnat to check that out. I may try to get back there later if I have time. . Great letter to the Port, as are all of the others that folks have shared. . Mike

By: sophista-tiki

sophista-tiki — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 15:20:20 +0000

Well I just lost some respect for the Burke. Repatriatoion laws do exist and they have nothi ng to do with being ” federally recognized” This sounds like some petty beurocratic show of fake authority by someone at the Burke who thinks everything belongs to them. Then when they got the artifacts decided they weren’t important enough to keep in the collection. BTW have you ever been in collection storage at the Burke, believe me they’ve got plenty. I think with some investigation an argument could be made against the Port for claiming they had the right to take the artifacts. Sounds like theft to me.

Seems like the best way may be to negotiate a deal with Muckleshoot. Skirt the governmet mess completely. Those people know that those artifacts are not theirs.
The other good way to call out intsitutions on their underhanded actions is to TELL EVERYONRE, make as big and loud of a stink as possible. No one likes bad press.

By: RG

RG — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 08:07:38 +0000

Dear Mr. Yoshitani, and Port Commissioners,
.
As a Seattle citizen, resident of West Seattle, who supports the return of the Duwamish artifacts to the Duwamish, please consider the following points:
.
The Duwamish have a moral claim to them because they are a part of their tribal history; their ancestral lands. As cultural property the items are relevant to the reclamation of the Duwamish culture after having been historically deprived of everything else.
.
Everyone agrees that having the artifacts accessible to the public is educationally beneficial to all. But why have them on “display” somewhere, or stowed away in a box, when they can be “housed” in their place of origin that provides them historical context? What better place for these items than in a cedar longhouse that is the tribal headquarters and cultural center of the Duwamish themselves?
.
The educational value of the items will increase because they will be at their place of origin, which will serve to highlight our region’s fascinating history through learning experiences guided by the cultural center.
.
People deserve to see these items in context, inside the Duwamish longhouse. They are artifacts surly, but inside the longhouse and cultural center they are treasures – and who better to care for them than the First People themselves?
.
Lastly, I have yet to meet anyone who would disagree with the return of the artifacts to the Duwamish. A monetary price of $800 does not compare to the sociocultural importance these items have on behalf of the Duwamish people.
.
Sincerely,
.

By: RG

RG — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 07:14:30 +0000

I went to look at my books and see where I would have got those ideas. (btw, is The Battle of Seattle the same thing as the Puget Sound Indian War?) . A Guide to Indian Tribes of the Northwest (3rd ed) by Ruby, Brown, and Collins. Page 117. That whole first paragraph on that page. The use of the word ‘elements’ is rather confusing. Remembered Drums: A history of the Puget Sound Indian War by JA Eckrom. Pages 13 and 121. Indians of the Pacific Northwest by Vine Deloria Jr. pages 40 and 45.
.
Thanks for the info.
.
PS I hope you get your artifacts back. I’ll send an email as well and post it here.

By: Duwamish Longhouse

Duwamish Longhouse — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 02:27:02 +0000

Krisen: Respectfully, you are wrong the Duwamish did not participate in the Battle of Seattle in 1856. Check it out at history link http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5208

The Duwamish were never assiged to the Muckleshoot Reservation. It is a latter add on to the Medicine Creek Treaty for the Puyallups not the Point Elliot Treaty.

By: RG

RG — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 22:02:28 +0000

Kristen, from what I understand the Duwamish were displaced several times in the 1850s because their land was where the city of Seattle was being built, they were said to have aided Leschi, and were involved in the Puget Sound Indian War. They tried to return to their land several times but were burnt out of their homes by white settlers. So, to make them go away they were assigned to go stay with other tribes or bands, one of which was the Muckleshoot because they were said to be related, what with both living on or near rivers, and also I think their dialects were similar.

By: cut to the heart of it

cut to the heart of it — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 06:36:34 +0000

Greeeeeat question Kristen. Not silly at all. That’s background and context which is rarely discussed. People need to know. And decision makers need to know.

Look at their websites for starters. Then ask the tribe. Then ask the Port.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 04:42:57 +0000

This might be a silly question, but why would the muckelshoot want artifacts that are from the Duwamish tribe? I don’t know much about tribal history. Do these two tribes overlap in some way?

By: unknown

unknown — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 01:25:30 +0000

Come on Mr. Yoshitani help give what’s rightfully theirs back to the Duwamish Tribe, you and I (1/2 Japanese) should know how it feels to have something that belongs to you unjustly taken away from you, or should I say our Parents/Grand Parents.

By: Chuck Hastings

Chuck Hastings — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 23:11:20 +0000

The Port of Seattle should return the Duwamish artifacts to the Duwamish Tribe, Federal recognition or no Federal Recognition. The Muckleshoot Tribe should not be involved.

By: Steve Russell

Steve Russell — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 21:07:44 +0000

I have mailed the Port as follows:

Tay Yoshitani, CEO

Port of Seattle

P.O. Box 1209
Seattle, WA 98111

Re: Artifacts, Duwamish Archaeological Site 1/World Trade Center surplus property

Dear Port of Seattle:

I am a longtime supporter of the Burke Museum and a longtime Seattle resident. I have visited the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center on several occasions: the center is a key cultural asset of our city and region and a place I offer to take out-of-town visitors when they want to learn about the history, background, and living culture of our first citizens.

I have personally viewed the artifacts in question.

I am frankly astonished and appalled that the Port would have confiscated Duwamish artifacts from the representatives of the Duwamish people in the first place, and simply disgusted to learn that the Port has now directed that these artifacts be alienated from the Duwamish (and instead turned over to the Muckleshoot, who have no cognizable moral, ethical, or legal claim to them whatsoever). You are not only depriving the first people of Seattle of their cultural patrimony, but depriving Seattle residents and visitors of the opportunity to benefit from the educational opportunity and visceral impact of viewing these artifacts in a traditional setting only a stone’s throw from where they were unearthed.

This is simple robbery and hardly comports with the standards of conduct we expect the Port to uphold in any interaction with the public at large, or with its contractors or suppliers, much less with a tribe that has had to survive and endure decades of exploitation and expropriation.

It is doubly unfortunate that the Burke Museum, with its well-demonstrated and long-term empathy with local native art and culture, should now find itself embroiled in this shameful behavior, even if only as an innocent go-between.

I thoroughly and entirely endorse Chairperson Cecile Hansen’s email letter to you of February 27, 2014. The Port should immediately reverse its nonsensical and offensive decision, and direct the Burke to promptly return all of the artifacts in question to the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center. Inarguably, this is the best and only appropriate home for these artifacts.

By: Kristina

Kristina — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 20:51:55 +0000

I used the links to send in my support of the return of these items to the Duwamish people, as well.

If everyone reading this did the same, imagine the impact we would make!

I support the Duwamish tribe in this matter, and in obtaining legal recognition as well.

By: Dirk

Dirk — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 20:29:35 +0000

FYI the contact page on the port does NOT work in Chrome. Firefox seems to work.

I will suffice it to say it’s completely absurd that a basic html form cannot be submitted through any browser on the port’s website.