🧑🏻‍⚖️ Supreme Court denies Chinook nation

Supreme Court Denies Chinook Federal Recognition Case

This week, the Supreme Court declined to review a case to restore federal recognition for the Chinook Indian Nation under the 1994 List Act. The nation says they plan to continue their century-long fight and will focus on Congress as a different avenue for recognition. [Underscore News]

• Why Isn’t the Nation Recognized? They briefly were. In 2001, the Chinook Indian Nation was federally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs after a decades-long campaign. In 2002, just 18 months later, that recognition was rescinded. The Department of the Interior justified this by saying the Chinook Indian Nation had failed to “establish a substantially continuous tribal existence from treaty times until the present.”
• Who Is Part of the Chinook Indian Nation? They are made up of five different bands: the Clatsop, Wahkiakum, Kathlamet, Willapa, and Lower Chinook. Each of these bands signed treaties in the 1850s that Congress never ratified. The Chinook Indian Nation began to pursue legal avenues in the 1890s to address the taking of their land and to fight for federal recognition.
• What’s Next? The nation plans to pursue other avenues for federal recognition, with a focus on getting legislation through Congress. Earlier this month, the WA State Senate passed a resolution that formally recognizes the nation’s contributions along the Lower Columbia River. While WA does not have a process for state recognition, this resolution was viewed as a step toward federal recognition.

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