PORT ANGELES — Dozens of checks, e-mails and letters — mostly from Port Angeles residents — support the Lower Elwha Klallam decision that work cannot continue at the Hood Canal Bridge graving yard.
“Thank you for being strong and standing up for what is right and just,” says one letter to Tribal Chairwoman Frances Charles.
“We pray for your strength, success, and peace.”
Charles shared the messages Sunday with Peninsula Daily News.
“It means a lot to us,” she said.
“We’re gratified in regard to the donations that have been coming in for support of Tse-whit-zen site and for the Paddle Journey in 2005.
“We are overwhelmed, really honored to have this support.”
Tse-whit-zen is the ancestral Klallam village that underlies much of the graving yard site on the Port Angeles waterfront.
The Paddle Journey — canoes representing tribes and Canadian First Nations from throughout Northwest shores — will start Aug. 1 and end in Clallam County Aug. 6.
“You are doing the right thing,” one letter says, “and any many in Port Angeles feel this way but may not express it.”
“We support you,” says another message from Port Angeles, “even we may be a rather silent majority.”
On the negative side
Not all the correspondence Charles shared Sunday backs the Lower Elwha Klallam.
“I would slam the door in the tribe’s face any chance I get,” an anonymous writer fumed.
“I do not understand how the Native American side cannot look to the future,” said another.
The wife of an employee of a subcontractor at the graving yard, wrote: “It really bothers me that they are going to let the burial site, filled with bones and artifacts, be more important than the livelihood of the living.”
And a former Port Angeles City Council member said: “We can exhibit compassion for the past and our Native friends and proceed with the graving yard where it is if we keep our cool and work together.”
But messages of support outnumber complaints 4-to-1 in Charles’ shared correspondence.
They include a copy of an angry letter from a Port Angeles merchant to the Chamber of Commerce:
“I have removed my Chamber of Commerce membership plaque from the wall of my business,” the merchant writes.
“I remain a member because I believe change begins from within.”
Chamber of Commerce President Dan Gase and Executive Director Russ Veenema wrote to legislators in January urging the state to continue construction of the yard.
The Lower Elwha Klallam returned $2,500 in hotel/motel taxes distributed through the chamber and earmarked for the Paddle Journey.
The identities of the individual letter-writers are withheld because they were meant to be private correspondence.
Letters from tribes
Some letters came from other Northwest tribes and the Washington Indian Gaming Association.
The Cowlitz tribe wrote: “Many tribes have endured the assault on their ancestors and culture that your people have, but you stood your ground and protected your ancestors.”
Most, though, came from private citizens, and some accompanied checks of $100 to $150.
One such came from a self-described “neighbor” of the Lower Elwha Klallam Reservation: “You have hit the nail on the head identifying racist and ignorant behavior manifested by the so-called ‘leaders’ of the Port Angeles community.”
Another sent money and offered other help:
“I would very much enjoy being a volunteer for the Paddle Journey this summer. My family admires your strength.”
A few came from communities outside Port Angeles area:
* From Tacoma: “I am so glad that the state finally understood and accepted your concerns about the Hood Canal Bridge graving yard.”
* From Seattle: “For those of us who are insensitive to your beliefs and feelings about your ‘lost’ village, forgive us.”
* From Port Townsend: “My husband and I feel considerable shame for people in the community who seem to be making it so hard.”
* From Joyce: “I admire the way you are handling the graving yard situation.”
One letter and contribution came from a former Ohio resident who said she moved here to be closer to the Klallam:
“Many of us believe in the Elwha people’s long struggle to protect your sacred burial grounds.”
Telephone calls
Charles said the tribe also has received many telephone calls of encouragement and offers to volunteer. She also had heard from architects offering to design a museum for the thousands of artifacts uncovered at Tse-whit-zen.
Some letters were copies of messages sent to the state Department of Transportation.
One such message noted that the Tse-whit-zen site is close to the Olympic Discovery Trail and to the dock for ferries to and from Victoria, both tourist routes.
Shutting down the graving yard “is not the only he right thing to do for the tribe, it also is the right thing for the city of Port Angeles,” it said.
An e-mail to the tribe made a similar point:
“The excavation area should become a National Historic Site with replicas of the plank houses and ceremonial dance halls. This is a chance to . . . turn the tide with respect, instead of continuing the awful, ugly legacy of racism and self-centered materialism.”
A sampling of other e-mails:
* “The cemetery and archaeological site should be defined, preserved, and given proper respect — on site.”
* “This has happened with my ancestors over and over again . . . in the East. It hurts me inside to see it happening yet again.”
* “It seems to me that a find such as this would invalidate any title held by the port or other entity because of its previous existence.”
* “No doubt a new bridge is needed, but we also need a new bridge between our peoples.”
And one message predicted that little could come of disturbing ancestral burials — and spirits.
“Dishonoring 1,000 human souls in one location cannot be good for a project,” it said.
“God is watching.”
