Sec. 1. Short title; findings
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This Act may be cited as the . Duwamish Tribal Recognition Act Congress finds the following: In 1855, the Duwamish Tribe signed the Treaty of Point Elliott, which guaranteed fishing rights and reservations to all tribes represented by the Native signatories. The Duwamish signatory was their Chief, Chief Si’ahl, for whom the City of Seattle is named. In 1859, the Treaty of Point Elliott was ratified by Congress. However, the promises made by the United States in the treaty were never fulfilled as to the Duwamish Tribe or its members.
In 1925, the Duwamish Tribe officially adopted its constitution and bylaws. The Duwamish Tribe filed suit before the Indian Claims Commission for the value of its lands taken without compensation and a $62,000 judgment ultimately was awarded to the Duwamish. The settlement was eventually distributed per capita at $64 per person to the Duwamish people. In 1976, the Duwamish Tribe first submitted a petition for Federal recognition to the Secretary of the Interior. That petition subsequently was returned to the tribe for revision due to changes in regulations governing the administrative Federal acknowledgment process.
In 1988, the Duwamish Tribe submitted its completed petition for Federal recognition. In 1996, after years of delay, the Duwamish Tribe received a negative preliminary determination. In response, the tribe addressed the identified problems in its final submission of October 21, 1998. On January 19, 2001, the Duwamish Tribe received a favorable determination for Federal recognition from the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs. On September 26, 2001, the new Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs unilaterally reversed the January 19, 2001, decision and rejected the Duwamish petition for recognition.
On January 4, 2002, the Interior Board of Indian Appeals referred several questions raised by the circumstances of the administrative reversal to the Secretary of the Interior along with directions to decide whether to request further reconsideration by the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in light of those questions. On May 8, 2002, the Secretary of the Interior refused to refer the Duwamish petition back to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs for further consideration.
Nearly 150 years after the Duwamish Tribe signed the Point Elliott Treaty, the Duwamish people still seek the recognition which was established by the treaty.