Aug. 15, 2002: Tribes want hand in Reach planning

Tribes want hand in Reach planning

This story was published Aug. 15, 2002

By Mike Lee
Herald staff writer

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation on Wednesday lodged a determined request to be made co-managers of the Hanford Reach National Monument.

The tribes argue treaties oblige the U.S. government to acknowledge American Indians' decision-making authority on former tribal lands. And tribal leaders offered resources and expertise that could assist with management of fish and cultural resources on the Reach.

"The tribes are going to anticipate and expect (to be) no less than co-managers," Armand Minthorn, a member of the Umatillas' board of trustees, told the citizens advisory committee for monument planning.

"My future generations are going to expect to exercise their rights within the Reach. Period," he added.

Tribal discontent over Reach planning has been simmering for months, heated by perceived slights and fears that the power structure is being set without enough Indian involvement.

Jim Watts, chairman of the advisory committee, said Wednesday's daylong focus on tribal issues was an attempt to get an undercurrent of complaints out in the open.

"You keep hearing in the background that the tribes are unhappy because they are not being consulted on a government-to-government basis," he said, "and the comments were getting more and more frequent."

Tribal liaisons were not shy.

"We are not consulted with in a manner that is worthy of a government," said Russell Jim, a Yakama Nation environmental official and veteran of Hanford-related issues. "For some reason or another, there has been a reluctance to recognize this relationship."

And, Jim added, "We are fearless in protecting our treaty rights."

It's far from clear how tribal demands will shape management of the 200,000-acre national monument that surrounds central Hanford. Those lands have been traversed and inhabited by Indians for eons, until they and white settlers were exiled to protect the U.S. government's top-secret nuclear program in the early 1940s.

Now the tribes want to have a hand in managing the Reach for generations to come. Though it didn't come out overtly Wednesday, there's speculation that co-manager status may be a first step toward tribal demands that the land be turned over to them.

"This is our resource," Minthorn said, promising to be "very aggressive" in raising the profile of tribal interests on the Reach.

Greg Hughes, monument manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said Wednesday that he has fully engaged tribal authorities, going so far as to ride ponies across the back country with Nez Perce tribal members. As for the balance of power within the monument, he said, "it will take a lot longer than the two-and-a-half years it will take to get the plan developed to sort that all out."

Despite Hughes' overtures, the tribal message was clear: Indians have not been afforded proper deference. Even though there is a tribal representative on the Reach citizens advisory committee, tribal leaders expect more.

Nor did tribal members believe committee members understood their connection to Reach land, which includes ancient wintering grounds, annual fishing spots, burial areas and sacred sites.

Specific issues tribal leaders want addressed include: Cleanup of contaminated Hanford ground water, limiting public access to their sacred areas and altering fish-killing water fluctuations caused by dam operations above the Reach.

"We can help you create a plan," Minthorn said. "We want to help you. This is an opportunity to partner with the tribes."

The region's most prominent co-management model comes from salmon fishery management, on which Northwest states and tribes collaborate. "It's the next level to talk about the land itself," said Jeff Tayer, regional manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and vice chairman of the advisory committee.

Like others on the committee, Tayer acknowledged the benefits of tribal participation, saying "there certainly is a big role" for American Indians on the Reach.