Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
January 13, 2021
Page 5
Lawsuit seeks to keep Archives and Records in Northwest
T
he National Archives and
Records Administration building in
Seattle houses thousands of his-
toric documents and other items
detailing the history of Northwest
tribes. Many of the items—origi-
nal old photograph prints, for in-
stance—are of great interest and
value to the Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs.
Late last year, the federal Pub-
lic Building Reform Board voted
to move the contents of the Se-
attle Archives building to Kansas
City, Missouri, and Riverside, Cali-
fornia. The government could then
sell the Seattle Archives building,
as a means of generating some rev-
enue.
The decision to move the con-
tents of the Seattle Archives hap-
pened without consulting the tribes
or other interested parties of the
Northwest.
Details of the decision were
buried in a 74-page document on
the Building Refor m Board
website. The planned move and sale
of the Seattle Archives biulding is
bundled among 10 other buildings.
Washinton State Attorney Gen-
eral Bob Ferguson’s office discov-
ered the planned move when an
assistant attorney general happened
across the website in late Novem-
ber 2020, while conducting sepa-
rate research.
Last week, more than two dozen
tribes and Alaska tribal entities—
with the states of Oregon and
Washington, and history preserva-
tion groups—joined a lawsuit to halt
the move. Ferguson’s office is lead-
ing the cause.
The government plans to ship
the National Archives building’s ir-
replaceable, un-digitized records
more than a thousand miles away:
Warm Springs Indian Agency, 1937. Example of National Archives document, the original
photograph housed at the National Archives and Records Administration building in Seattle.
...the Archives
building legally never
should have been
included on the list
of buildings the
federal government
has put out for bid.
This will effectively eliminate pub-
lic access to the records, the plain-
tiffs to the lawsuit say.
The National Archives building
in Seattle hosts exclusive and un-
digitized tribal and treaty records.
Only a fraction of 1 percent of
the facilities 56,000 cubic feet of
records are digitized and available
online.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District
Court for the Western District of
Washington, asserts the sale violates
the conditions Congress placed on
agencies’ ability to sell federal prop-
erties on an expedited basis, and
fails to appropriately account for
the records’ importance to the Pa-
cific Northwest region. Lack of
consultion with tribes and others is
an additional contention.
Tribal members use federal
archive records for many reasons,
including to establish tribal mem-
bership, demonstrate and enforce
tribal rights to fishing and other ac-
tivities, trace their lineage and an-
cestry, and access Native school
records.
If these historical records are
removed from the Pacific North-
west, many tribal members will be
prevented from exercising these
important rights.
The federal government did not
consult with Northwest tribal lead-
IHS updates its Covid-19 testing data
The Indian Health Service has
updated its coronavirus data, show-
ing results across Indian Country
up to last weekend. According to
the data: 155,180 IHS-adminis-
tered tests have returned positive
for Covid 19.
That represents an increase of
1.2 percent from the 153,335 cases
previously reported by the IHS.
Throughout its service areas,
IHS has administered a total
1,740,441 coronavirus tests.
Since mid-October 2020, the
IHS has been providing additional
information about the spread of the
coronavirus within the system.
Based on the cumulative percent
positive, the highest rates have been
seen in the Navajo Area (16.4 per-
cent), the Phoenix Area (14.2 per-
cent), the Oklahoma City Area (12.8
percent), the Albuquerque Area
(11.2 percent) and the Great Plains
Area (10.7 percent).
The first two regions include the
state of Arizona, indicating a dis-
proportionate toll of covid in the
state. Three regions have seen dra-
matic increases in Covid-19 cases:
The Oklahoma City Area (24.2
percent), the Navajo Area (20.8 per-
cent) and the Phoenix Area (20.7
percent). Two of the three regions
include the state of Arizona.
Overall, 9.7 percent of IHS tests
have been positive since the onset
of the pandemic. Note: The data
reflects only testing done by IHS,
and does not include tribal mem-
bers who have used another health
care provider.
Oregon reports coronavirus increase
The state of Oregon last week
reported 1,643 new presumptive
cases of Covid-19. This brings the
total in the state since last spring
to 124,476.
The new confirmed and pre-
sumptive Covid-19 cases reported
today are in the following coun-
ties:
Baker (4), Benton (37),
Clackamas (125), Clatsop (5), Co-
lumbia (25), Coos (12), Crook
(18), Curry (3), Deschutes (80),
Douglas (20), Harney (6), Hood
River (12), Jackson (121),
Jefferson (8), Josephine (54), Kla-
math (35), Lake (1), Lane (101),
Lincoln (13), Linn (49), Malheur
(23), Marion (106), Morrow (14),
Multnomah (369), Polk (38),
Sher man (1), Tillamook (7),
Umatilla (91), Union (15), Wallowa
(2), Wasco (17), Washington
(175), Yamhill (56).
Oregon’s 1,576th covid death
was a 100-year-old woman in
Benton County.
Oregon’s 1,577th covid death
was an 84-year-old man in
Clackamas.
The state’s 1,578th covid death
was an 82-year-old man in
Clackamas County.
The 1,579th covid death was
an 89-year-old man in Deschutes
County.
The 1,580th covid death was a
78-year-old man in Deschutes
County.
Oregon’s 1,581st covid death
was an 80-year-old man in
Deschutes County.
The 1,582nd covid death was an
89-year-old man in Jackson County.
The 1,583rd covid death was a
92-year-old woman in Jackson
County.
The 1,584th covid death was a
91-year-old woman in Jackson
County.
Oregon’s 1,585th covid death
was a 98-year-old woman in Kla-
math County.
The 1,586th covid death was an
89-year-old woman in Klamath
County.
The 1,587th covid death was a
93-year-old woman in Klamath
County.
The 1,588th covid death was a
88-year-old man in Klamath
County.
The1,589th covid death was a
95-year-old man in Klamath
County.
Oregon’s 1,590th covid death
was a 70-year-old man in Marion
County.
The 1,591st covid death was a
85-year-old woman in Marion
County.
The 1,592nd covid death was a
80-year-old woman in Marion
County.
The 1,593rd covid death was a
84-year-old man in Morrow County.
The 1,594th covid death was a 79-
year-old woman in Multnomah
County.
Oregon’s 1,595th covid death
was a 88-year-old woman in
Multnomah County.
The 1,596th covid death was an
86-year-old woman in Multnomah
County.
The 1,597th covid death was a
95-year-old woman in Multnomah
County.
The 1,598th covid death was an
89-year-old woman in Multnomah
County.
The 1,599th covid death was a 68-
year-old man in Polk County.
Oregon’s 1,600th covid death was
a 95-year-old woman in Washington
County.
The 1,601st covid death was a 84-
year-old woman in Washington
County.
The 1,602nd covid death was an
85-year-old woman in Washington
County.
The 1,603rd covid death was a
96-year-old woman in Washington
County.
ers before deciding to move these
significant pieces of tribal history
thousands of miles away from the
Northwest, depriving local tribes
of access to these critical histori-
cal documents. As a sample of the
tribal position:
“The Seattle National Archives
Facility maintains thousands of his-
torical records that belong to the
Yakama Nation and our members,”
Yakama Nation Tribal Council
Chairman Delano Saluskin said.
“The United States has both le-
gal and moral obligations to keep
those records in the Pacific North-
west where we can easily access
them.”
“The word ‘archives,’ from the
view of law firms, businesses and
courts, tends to conjure an image
of a records storage facility for
‘dead files,’” said Tallis King
George, a Puyallup tribal attorney.
“I view the National Archives
at Seattle as a vibrant, special col-
lection library… A visit to the Na-
tional Archives at Seattle, for Na-
tive people whose ancestral histori-
cal and cultural records are housed
there, fills a deep cultural yearning
to know, honor and understand the
lives and sacrifices of their ances-
tors.”
Attorney General Ferguson’s
lawsuit asserts the National Ar-
chives building was never legally
eligible for the Public Building Re-
form Board (PBRB) accelerated
sale process.
The law granting the PBRB au-
thority to sell these federal prop-
erties specifically excludes buildings
used for “research in connection
with federal agricultural, recre-
ational or conservation programs.”
The National Archives building
is exempt from expedited sale by
law because it is used for research
in connection with federal agricul-
tural, recreational and conservation
programs.
In other words, the Archives
building legally never should have
been included in the portfolio of
buildings the federal government
has put out for bid. The lawsuit
also alleges significant administra-
tive procedural violations. For ex-
ample, the Office of Management
and Budget’s failed to develop the
standards, criteria and recommen-
dations required by Congress.
Additionally, the federal govern-
ment failed to consult or coordi-
nate with the tribal governments
in violation of federal-tribal con-
sultation law and policy. Twenty-
nine tribes, Oregon, Washington
and nine community organizations
are partnering with Ferguson’s of-
fice in bringing the case.