A federal court has ordered a telecommunications company to notify the Lummi Nation 30-days before conducting any activity that may disturb the tribe’s sacred burial grounds on lands the tribe has occupied for thousands of years.
A lawsuit, filed in April in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleges that Whidbey Communications trenched thousands of feet below a known burial ground to complete three federally funded broadband projects on Point Roberts, Wash., totaling around $13.7 million.
The Tribe asserts that crews ignored the presence of recognized indicators of human remains, disturbed remains at 4 out of 5 exploratory sites; defied a stop-work order by the State Historic Preservation Officer; failed to notify authorities upon discovering remains; left remains uncovered for two years; and never reinterred disturbed remains.
The suit also alleges that Whatcom County issued permits for two projects without consulting the Lummi Nation, failed to conduct required archaeological reviews, and never initiated required tribal notification or site assessments.
Lummi Nation asked the court for immediate site access for a damage assessment, security/preservation measures at the sites, a halt to all ground-disturbing work, and production of project records.
While the telecom companies are in favor of Lummi conducting its own assessment, the tribe hasn’t yet applied for a county encroachment permit, rendering the injunction unnecessary. That led to the security and preservation measures being denied. As well, with no work currently occurring on the land, the stop order was denied. The records request was also denied, as a federal rule already grants the tribe access to the records.
The court said the tribe may renew its motion for broader relief if it’s denied a permit, blocked from site access, if ground work becomes imminent, or if a completed damage assessment identifies specific sites needing protection.
According to the lawsuit, the tribe was alerted to the construction disturbing the burial ground in 2023 by a member of the public with knowledge of the area. The individual alerted the tribe and the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. An archeologist confirmed that excavation was near a site that contained Lummi remains and cultural objects, including six skull fragments, a vertebra, and eleven other bone fragments, plus over 1,000 artifacts — all within roughly 100 feet.
While the telecom companies claim they didn’t know the area was a burial ground, Washington’s Indian Graves and Records Act goes beyond knowingly desecrating graves to inadvertent disturbances left unremedied via reinterment under tribal supervision.
The Lummi lawsuit included a sworn declaration from the tribe’s historic preservation officer, Lena Tso, pointing to the larger impact of the gravesite’s disturbance.
“A disturbance has the same effect on Tribal people and communities, differing only because some feel it directly, and others feel it indirectly, but everyone experiences the feeling that someone, a family member, is missing,” Tso wrote. “Tribal people have long memory and deep connection to our ancestors, because we still sing their songs, dance their dances, and carry their names and responsibilities with us. Contrary to what you may read in a book, Tribal culture is still very much alive. We are still connected.”
The court agreed, writing in its order:
“As vividly described in Ms. Tso’s declaration, the cultural and spiritual injury experienced by tribal members from the disturbance of Lummi ancestral remains is irreparable.”
