Tribes Must Be Consulted: Seattle National Archives Saved

Contain Records of 272 federally recognized Native American tribes

Nez Perce Tribe- among those filing for the Seattle Archives

On January 13, 2020 the staff at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Federal Archives and Records Center in Seattle, Wa. were informed that the facility would be closed within the next four years, and the records moved to NARA facilities in Kansas City, MO, and Riverside, CA.¹

Twenty-nine federally recognized tribes, Alaskan tribal entities, and tribal communities from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, as well as nine community organizations, joined a lawsuit filed by Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson against the federal government for illegally proceeding with the sale of the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) building in Seattle.²

They included:

• Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation

• Confederated Tribes of the Coos

• Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians

• Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians

• Doyon, Ltd.

• Duwamish Tribe

• Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon

• Hoh Indian Tribe

• Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

• Kalispel Tribe of Indians

• The Klamath Tribes

• Muckleshoot Indian Tribe

• Nez Perce Tribe

• Nooksack Indian Tribe

• Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe

• Puyallup Tribe of Indians

• Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation

• Quinault Indian Nation

• Samish Indian Nation

• Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

• Skokomish Indian Tribe

• Snoqualmie Indian Tribe

• Spokane Tribe of Indians

• Squaxin Island Tribe

• Suquamish Tribe

• Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

• Tanana Chiefs Conference

• Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska

• Upper Skagit Indian Tribe

• Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation

• OCA Asian Pacific Advocates – Greater Seattle Chapter

• Washington Trust for Historic Preservation

• Wing Luke Memorial Foundation

• State of Oregon

In April 2021 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reversed the decision. ³

Any future attempt to sell the building must “be preceded by meaningful and robust tribal consultation” and “must proceed through the appropriate administrative process, based on a new factual record, and must comply with the attendant substantive and procedural safeguards of that process.” ⁴

The National Archives at Seattle houses records that date back to the 1840s and include documents key to the histories of 272 federally recognized tribes in Washington, Alaska, Oregon and Idaho. It houses all federal records generated in the Pacific Northwest, including military service, land, court, tax, marriage and census documents.

Tribes were especially interested in NAS remaining in Seattle, as the facility contains important treaty and census documents relating to the 272 federally recognized tribes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska—the state with the highest concentration of Native People in the country. Bureau of Indian Affairs records created by Indian agencies in Idaho, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington represent a significant portion of the archival space, taking up more than 6,600 cubic feet alone. The tribes rely on these records to demonstrate their tribal rights, enforce treaties, and trace their ancestry using documents from Native schools and allotment records.⁵

Below: Attorney General Bob Ferguson announces that his office filed a lawsuit against the federal government for illegally proceeding with the sale of the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) building in Seattle.

1. Peet, Lisa. “Seattle National Archives May Close.” Library Journal (1976) 145, no. 4 (2020): 8.

2. Tribes Join Washington State AG Lawsuit to Stop Seattle National Archives Building. Native News Online. January 4, 2021.

3. Biden Administration Takes National Archives at Seattle Off the Market. Native News Online. April 12, 2021.

4. AHA Joins Coalition to Save National Archives Facility in Seattle January 2021) and Updates February 2021; April 2021. (January 2021) American Historical Association.

5. Llewellyn, Megan E. and Buchanan, Sarah A. (2020) "Will the Last Archivist in Seattle Please Turn Out the Lights: Value and the National Archives," Journal of Western Archives: Vol. 11 : Iss. 1 , Article 7