And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 00:32:18 EDT Local News : Friday, May 28, 1999 Snoqualmie's claim to status as tribe now under review by Louis T. Corsaletti Seattle Times Eastside bureau The long wait for federal recognition as a tribe may be just around the corner for the Snoqualmie Indians. Judge Anita Vogt of the Department of Interior Board of Indian Appeals in Arlington, Va., began reviewing the case Tuesday. "The case is now under active consideration," said Vicki Matthews, a clerk in the board office. "There is no way to estimate how long the review will take, but Judge Vogt has a huge box of documents to go through." The Snoqualmies were elated when they were notified in August 1997 by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs confirming that they had been granted tribal status. But four months later the Tulalip Tribes in Marysville filed an appeal, claiming that they are the true successors of the Snoqualmie Tribe and that the Snoqualmie tribal members who pushed for recognition are merely a splinter group that has defied a government treaty more than 140 years old. Following that appeal, the Snoqualmies filed a motion in March 1998, declaring that the Tulalips do not have a standing on the matter and asked for dismissal of the appeal. That motion was overturned. Eventually, the matter landed in the hands of the appeals board. Before the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855, some 4,000 Snoqualmies lived in 14 villages along the Snoqualmie Valley, making it one the largest tribes in the region. There were settlements in Carnation (Tolt), Fall City and Issaquah and on Lake Sammamish. Snoqualmie Chief Patkanim moved his tribe to the Tulalip Reservation after signing the treaty, giving to the federal government all the land from Snoqualmie Pass to Everett. Many descendants of that part of the tribe still live on the Tulalip Reservation. While a few Snoqualmies live on the Muckleshoot Reservation east of Auburn, more than 300 remain in the Snoqualmie Valley and in Snohomish County. That group is seeking tribal status. Recognition would mean health and education benefits from the federal government and the very remote possibility of land for a reservation. Louis T. Corsaletti's phone message number is 206-515-5626. [ seattletimes.com home ] Copyright © 1999 Seattle Times Company ------------------------------------------------------------------------ eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/nativeamericanlaw http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
