Human remains bill passes Senate recognizing all tribes

OLYMPIA — House Bill 2624 passed the Senate today, 41-5, defining procedures to be followed if human remains are found. When the House passed the bill by a vote of 63-31, the bill only addressed federally recognized tribes. The bill passed today out of the Senate recognizes all tribes.

Sen. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle, sponsored the companion bill, Senate Bill 6521. “We have worked hard to produce a bill that covers all people and all tribes equally,” said McDermott.

As the law stands now, desecration of remains is a felony, but there is no legal obligation to contact authorities if bones are uncovered. HB 2624, known as the “Call 911” bill, addresses this gap, directing people to call authorities as soon as bones are discovered. For example, if bones are found during a construction project, work must stop until police arrive. State archeologists are called if it’s not a crime scene. If the remains are thought to be tribal, the tribes in the area are to be contacted regardless of their federal recognition.

Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, was also a key supporter, and successfully worked to ensure that non-federally recognized tribes were included in the provisions of the bill.

“Different tribes have negotiated different rights for themselves – gambling rights, cigarette rights, and so on – and that’s entirely appropriate,” said Prentice. “But when it comes to an issue as basic as this, any differentiation between tribes is pure discrimination.”

Prentice and McDermott received a letter of support from Mary Lou Slaughter, fourth generation granddaughter of Chief Seattle and a member of the Duwamish Tribe, a tribe currently not federally recognized.

“Every tribe in Washington should be able to claim their family’s bones when found, and put them to rest,” said Slaughter in her letter.

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