Tribe reburying ancestors’ remains

PORT ANGELES, Wash. – More than five years after state construction crews inadvertently unearthed human remains from a Native American site dating back 2,700 years, more than 300 remains are being reburied.

Members of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, of the Olympic Peninsula, began burial ceremonies Monday with singing and praying. A mass grave has been prepared as the resting place for the tribe’s ancestors. Those remains had been kept in boxes.

“It’s really hard to express our emotions at this point in time. We are still in mourning,” Lower Elwha Tribal Chairwoman Frances Charles told the Seattle Times. “But it is good to see some of the smiles come back to our community members, knowing the heaviness is lifted off.”

In 2003 the state Department of Transportation began construction on a waterfront property near here to build pontoons for a bridge project. Tribe members had warned that a tribal site was nearby, but a state-hired archaeologist did not find anything. It only took a few days for construction workers to start digging out remains.

After spending about $70 million, the state halted construction in 2004 at the request of the tribe. The reburial grounds were returned by the state to the tribe in 2006.

Digs at the site have uncovered thousands of artifacts, such as spindles made out of whale bone. Archaeologists say the Indian village is one of the largest and oldest in Washington.

Tribal leaders said the ground will remain a cemetery, and they hope a longhouse and museum will be built nearby.

Carmen Watson Charles, who worked with other tribal members pulling the bones from the path of construction, said that there’s a lot of emotion coming from tribal members.

“Unity and respect for one another, that’s what I hope is learned from this,” Charles said.