This is an extremely important moment in the effort to protect the Lower Elwha Tribe’s ancestral village site. Please take a moment to read this, send an email, and send this information to others. Also, if you can help with gathering petitions this weekend in Seattle, please contact Keith Hunter at 360-645-3161, khunter@wildcatcdc.org, or come to the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S. Alaska Street, Seattle. For directions and times see www.wildcatcdc.org/MakahBazaar/Location/

As you may know, the construction by the state highway department of a “Graving Yard” to be used to build pontoon’s for the repair of the Hood Canal Bridge is disrupting and desecrating the Lower Elwha Tribe’s ancestral village and unearthing hundreds of human remains. Since construction began on the project over 300 complete human remains, 700 isolates (fragments of human remains), 6 long houses, and over 10,000 artifacts have been uncovered.

The Lower Elwha Tribe on Friday, December 10, asked the Washington State Department of Transportation to move the Graving Dock to another location. The tribe had previously asked the Army Corps of Engineers on December 8 to suspend their permit for construction at the site until an environmental impact statement is completed. The Federal Highway Administration is funding the project, so they need to hear our views as well.

Although construction is not taking place this week and there have been some promising quotes from state and federal officials in the newspaper, there has not been a decision to halt the project.

Your voice is needed in support of the Lower Elwha Tribe.~~ 

Enough is Enough!!!

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please e-mail the following people:
Doug MacDonald at the Washington state Department of Transportation: MacDonD@wsdot.wa.gov  
Daniel Mathis at the Federal Highway Administration: washington.fhwa@fhwa.dot.gov 
Kathryn Stenberg at the Army Corps of Engineers PAOTeam@nws02.usace.army.mil 

Please send copies to:
Suquamish Olalla Neighbors: olalla@soneighbors.org 
Keith Hunter: khunter@wildcatcdc.org 
Senator Maria Cantwell: Maria_Cantwell@Cantwell.Senate.Gov 
Kyle Lucas at Governor Gary Locke’s office: kyletlucas@goia.wa.gov 

Please ask them to do the following: 

1. Support the Lower Elwha Tribe’s request that the Graving Dock be moved elsewhere.
2. Support the return of this land to the Lower Elwha Tribe so they can use it for the appropriate reburial of their ancestors’ remains and for a memorial, museum, or other facilities that can protect the artifacts and educate the public about this historic site.

SAMPLE EMAIL
Here is a sample email. It is always most effective if you customize it, or simply write your own, but this can get you started:

Dear Secretary MacDonald,

I am writing to ask you to move the Graving Dock currently under construction in Port Angeles to another site. 

I am deeply concerned about the continued desecration and disruption of human remains and the degrading of one of our state’s most important archeological finds. I believe the land should be returned to the Lower Elwha Tribe so they can appropriately rebury the human remains and protect the archeological treasures at Tse-whit-zen Village.

I recognize the importance of repairing the Hood Canal Bridge, but I believe another site can be found that will not be so profoundly damaging. 

When I speak to friends and family about this site, it is clear that there are many opposed to the continued construction. With the possibility of lengthy legal and procedural delays, it may turn out to be less expensive and time consuming to simply move the project elsewhere. 

But even if it is more expensive, the value of preserving this site for generations of Native and non-Native people is beyond estimation.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

SIGN YOUR NAME
IF YOU REPRESENT OR ARE PART OF AN ORGANIZATION, TRIBE, AND/OR FAITH GROUP, CONSIDER INCLUDING THAT INFORMATION HERE.

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LINKS AND MORE INFORMATION: The Lower Elwha Tribe’s new website on Tse-whit-zen Village news can be found at http://tse-whit-zen.elwha.nsn.us/index.html 
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You can find updates on the Campaign and other developments from the Friends of Chi-whi-tsen, a Port Angeles Group that is supporting the Lower Elwha Tribe, at www.wildcatcdc.org .
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Friends of Chi-whi-tsen has launched a news listserve for updates on actions in Port Angeles. ~To subscribe to this news list, send an email to chi-whitsen-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.
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For those in the Seattle area – you can find a petition and current information at the MakahBazaar December 18, 2004 from 10 am to 6 p.m. at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center at 3515 S. Alaska Street, Seattle.~ Contact Keith Hunter at khunter@wildcatcdc.org  or call (360) 645-3161, or see www.wildcatcdc.org/MakahBazaar for more details or directions.

Thank you for your support,

Ted George, co-chair, Suquamish Olalla Neighbors
Sarah van Gelder, co-chair, Suquamish Olalla Neighbors
Mary Ann Dow, secretary, Suquamish Olalla Neighbors
Keith Hunter, Wildcat Community Development
Tom Speer, Duwamish Tribal Services Board of Directors, Pioneer & Duwamish
       Descendants Committee, Longhouse Heritage Foundation

(affiliations listed for identification purposes only)