By RICHARD WALKER
North Kitsap Herald Editor
BREMERTON — The Suquamish Tribe is considering responding to a Kitsap County Superior Court judge’s decision to assert jurisdiction over a piece of federal trust land held for a Native American family in Bremerton.
The property, 1321 N. Callow Ave., Bremerton, is owned by the Chambers family, whose Quinault grandmother, Roberta Law Ross, was granted the land by the federal government in the 1920s in exchange for land it acquired for expansion of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Ross’s descendants, who also have S’Klallam and Samish ties, are members of the Samish Nation.
As Native trust land, the site falls under the jurisdiction of the United States. Because it is within the historical territory of the Suquamish Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe has been the permitting authority for the site and has issued permits to the Chambers family for fireworks sales there.
As Native trust land, it can only be sold with approval of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
In its lawsuit filed in March 2014, the City of Bremerton claims the Chambers family must obtain a state license and a city permit to sell fireworks, and that the site falls under city jurisdiction because the site is not owned by a Tribe, and “is not now, and has never been, located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation,” and is located “outside the boundaries of an established Indian reservation.”
Superior Court Judge Kevin Hull ruled for the City of Bremerton on Jan. 8, declaring the Chambers family cannot sell fireworks on the property without a state license and a city permit.
“Chapter 70.77 RCW requires them to obtain a permit from the City,” Hull ruled. “They have not done so.”
The Suquamish Tribe issued a statement Feb. 16, stating that the judge’s ruling is contrary to federal Indian law:
“The Suquamish Tribe is reviewing the Kitsap County Superior Court case regarding the regulation of Federal Trust Land on Callow Ave. in Bremerton, WA. The history and location of this specific trust property presents a unique scenario. However, any attempt by county or state courts to assert jurisdiction there is ill-founded and wholly contrary to Federal Indian Law which prohibits the action.”
The Suquamish Tribe’s assertion may be backed up by federal law. 18 U.S. Code 1151 defines “Indian Country” as: “(a) all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government … (b) all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States … and (c) all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished …”
The Chambers property falls under “c.” And under federal law, Indian Country falls under the jurisdiction of federally recognized Tribes.
The City of Bremerton may have more than fireworks sales in mind in the county’s assertion of jurisdiction over the site: The Chambers family has long explored economic development options, and last proposed building and operating a casino there. The Bremerton City Council has formally opposed the casino proposal, citing concerns about possible impacts to the neighborhood.
Formerly on outskirts of town
Ross (1899-1960) was living in Bremerton with her husband and infant son in the 1920s when the land exchange took place. Her father, Frank Law, was born S’Klallam but adopted Quinault and served on the first Quinault Tribal Council under the Quinault Nation’s constitution of 1921. Ross’s mother was Samish.
At the time, 1321 N. Callow Ave. was in an undeveloped area on the outskirts of town. But the neighborhood filled in within 12 years. Today, the property consists of a 2,280-square-foot house built in 1927 and several mobile homes, in the center of an urban neighborhood. Moe Prine, a Ross great-grandson and one of 13 living descendants, lives on the property.
As trust land, essentially owned for the family by the federal government, the property is not on the property tax rolls. That’s apparent by the sidewalk that ends at the property line. Technically, any necessary public services fall under the purview of the Suquamish Tribe or the U.S. government. The parcel’s economy has consisted of mobile-home site rentals and fireworks sales.
Ron Ragge of Gold Mountain Capital, an investment group working with Ross’s descendants, admits the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act applies to Tribes, not individuals. So a casino would require the involvement of a federally-recognized Tribe.
In a statement issued last year, Suquamish Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman said Suquamish has declined to participate and “no Indian Gaming will occur in Bremerton without the Suquamish Tribe.” The Suquamish Tribal Council contends that operation of a casino by any other Tribe “would be an infringement upon the Suquamish Tribe’s sovereign rights” because the property is located with Suquamish’s ceded area.
Swapping the trust land for a different parcel — one that isn’t in the middle of a residential neighborhood — is feasible, Bremerton City Attorney Roger Lubovich said in an earlier interview. However, the federal government would need to be involved.
