SUQUAMISH — Muckleshoot Tribal Councilwoman Virginia Cross received recognition from Gov. Jay Inslee and Tribal leaders from around the state at the Centennial Accord meeting this year. Cross was an original signatory of the 1989 Centennial Accord, which was a formal commitment to implement government-to-government relations between Washington’s Federally Recognized Tribes and the State.
Governor Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire, who was Washington State Attorney General at the time, joined Tribal chairs from throughout the state in 1999, on the eve of the new Millennium, to reaffirm the Accord and agreed to implement the terms of the Accord on a day-to-day basis.
"It is critical for people to realize that the establishment and continued function of the state of Washington is based on contracts, or treaties, with the Native American nations. As we enter the new millennium, we must all understand that these contracts are the law of the land, as defined in the Constitution of the United States," Gregoire said.
The intent of the 1989 Accord continues today in no small part because Tribal leaders such as Cross, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe’s longest serving Council member, have been unrelenting in holding the state accountable to its promises.
The Tribal Council went to Washington, D.C. in April to press for the Tribe’s federal agenda and strengthen the Tribe’s government- to-government relationship with the United States.
It’s springtime and the Muckleshoot Fisheries Division is pleased to announce that the Tribe’s Vashon Island tidelands are OPEN for Clam Digging and Oyster Harvest Permits are now available at the Fisheries Office.
As the Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery celebrates its 30th anniversary, we are taking a look back at the people and the activities that brought about the formation and development of this unique organization and partnership.
Each year when winter arrives, the Wildlife Program begins gearing up for one of our biggest events of the year – mule deer captures on the eastern slope of the Cascades.
The Muckleshoot Messenger is a Tribal publication created by the Muckleshoot Office of Media Services. Tribal community members and Tribal employees are welcome to submit items to the newspaper such as news, calendar items, photos, poems, and artwork.
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