A totem pole created by Lummi Nation master carver Jewell James and the House of Tears Carvers arrived on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana on August 30, 2015. Photo from Totem Pole Journey
The Lummi Nation of Washington isn't trying to annex the site of a controversial coal project, Chairman Tim Ballew said. The tribe has made no secret of its opposition to the Gateway Pacific Terminal. But Ballew said there are no plans to acquire the site and submit a land-into-trust application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “There’s just no way they could be blowing the cover on some plan we don’t have,” Ballew told The Bellingham Herald. The Northwest Jobs Alliance based its claim on a document that Ballew said did not originate from the tribe. The Herald pointed out that the non-profit's director has been hired to do public relations work for the project. The tribe opposes the terminal out of fear it will harm its treaty-protected fishing grounds. To raise awareness of the issue, tribal members took a 22-foot tall totem pole on a 1,300-mile journey through the U.S. and Canada last month. The final destination of the 2015 Totem Pole Journey was the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. The pole is being raised there because the coal that is destined for the terminal will be mined from the reservation of the neighboring Crow Tribe. Get the Story:
Lummi tribe says talk of Cherry Point land grab is a fabrication (The Bellingham Herald 9/11)
Totem aims at coal (LastBestNews.com 9/2)
Totem Pole Coal Protest Draws 100 In Missoula (Montana Public Radio 8/28)
Montana officials praise Cherry Point coal port plan (The Bellingham Herald 8/19) Some Opinions:
Sandy Robson: Says out-of-state coal proponents not welcome (The Bellingham Herald 9/13)
Alaina Buffalo Spirit: Treaty trumps coal export terminal (The Great Falls Tribune 9/3)
Join the Conversation
Related Stories:Lummi Nation sends totem pole on long trip to oppose coal project (08/25)
Editorial: Crow Tribe moves toward prosperity with coal project (08/17)
Crow Tribe and partner join coal export project in Washington (8/14)
Crow Tribe and Lummi Nation at odds over big coal project (07/21)
DOI includes Indian Country in stream protection regulation (7/17)
Alex Jacobs: Unlikely alliances advance agenda in Indian Country (06/15)
Native Sun News: Senate field hearing focuses on tribes and coal (04/16)
Sen. Daines to lead SCIA field hearing on coal in Indian Country (04/07)
Alaina Buffalo Spirit: Oppose coal for Northern Cheyenne Tribe (4/6)
Senate Indian Affairs Committee sets field hearing in Montana (4/2)
Lummi Nation told Crow Tribe about impacts of coal terminal (03/23)
Bill seeks to make Indian Coal Production Tax Credit permanent (03/13)
Lummi Nation submits more data in fight against coal terminal (03/06)
Native Sun News: Lummi Nation seeks halt to coal export project (01/27)
Tim Ballew: Coal terminal destroys Lummi Nation's way of life (01/08)
Washington Tribes: Pipeline project threatens Native way of life (02/17)
Winona LaDuke: Dirty coal taints Crow Nation and Lummi Nation (02/17)
KUOW: Treaty rights affected by coal terminal in Washington (11/27)
KUOW: Energy company damages historic Lummi Nation site (11/25)
Crosscut: Lummi Nation raises hurdles to big energy project (08/22)