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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Government Acknowledges Existence Of Samish Tribe

Associated Press

The federal government has formally acknowledged the existence of the Samish Indian Tribe of Anacortes, after a lengthy court fight.

The final determination document granting the recognition was signed Wednesday by Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Ada Deer.

The tribe had filed a legal challenge to the Department of the Interior’s 1987 denial of the group’s petition for recognition. In September, an administrative law judge concluded that the Bureau of Indian Affairs was wrong to declare the tribe extinct.

“This decision puts to rest a 20-year controversy and demonstrates the department’s willingness to examine difficult issues,” Deer said. She emphasized the decision does not resolve the tribe’s claims to treaty fishing rights.

There was no phone listing for the tribe in Anacortes.

Recognition for the tribe would make its 600 members eligible for the full range of federal funding for social programs, education, health and tribal government.

The ruling by the administrative law judge could affect dozens of unrecognized tribes around the country. There are six unrecognized tribes in Washington - the Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie and Steilacoom tribes in the Puget Sound area, which have roughly 2,600 members, and the Chinook and Cowlitz tribes, with 2,800 members. There are about 130 unrecognized tribes across the country.

The Samish were the first unrecognized tribe in the nation to be granted a court hearing since the Federal Acknowledgment Process went into effect in the 1970s.

The ruling by the administrative law judge cited expert testimony that sharply criticized the anthropological work and research methods used by the BIA in determining the Samish were extinct.