Press release issued 1.4. 21
29 tribes, tribal entities and communities, Oregon and 9 historic preservation and community groups join the lawsuit
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that his office filed a lawsuit against the federal government for illegally proceeding with the sale of the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) building in Seattle. The government plans to ship the National Archives building’s irreplaceable, un-digitized records more than a thousand miles away to archive centers in Kansas City, Missouri and Riverside, California. This will effectively eliminate public access to the records. Twenty-nine federally recognized tribes, Alaskan tribal entities, and tribal communities from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, as well as nine community organizations, historical preservation societies and museums and the state of Oregon joined Ferguson’s lawsuit.
The National Archives building in Seattle hosts exclusive and un-digitized tribal and treaty records, as well as Chinese Exclusion Act case files and records regarding the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The records are invaluable resources for researchers, historians and individuals seeking information about their family history or heritage. For instance, tribal members use federal archive records to establish tribal membership, demonstrate and enforce tribal rights to fishing and other activities, trace their lineage and ancestry and access native school records. According NARA’s Seattle director, only “.001% of the facility’s 56,000 cubic feet of records are digitized and available online.”
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, asserts the sale violates the conditions Congress placed on agencies’ ability to sell federal properties on an expedited basis and fails to appropriately account for the records’ importance to the Pacific Northwest region. Further, the federal government refused to consult or cooperate with local stakeholders, including tribal governments, in making the decision to sell the property.
Talmage Hocker, a Kentucky commercial real estate developer appointed to the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) by President Donald Trump, said in a December 2020 interview with the L.A. Times that his agency’s recommendation to sell the property would allow it to “become a part of the community, as opposed to what it is today.”
“My late father was a regular at the National Archives – he, like so many Washingtonians, loved the place,” Ferguson said. “He would have been shocked at the manner in which the federal government has conducted this illegal sale — ignoring the law, hiding the ball, and refusing to listen to the community. To be blunt, these federal agencies don’t give a damn about their legal obligations or what these documents mean to our region. Consequently, this lawsuit is our only recourse to compel the government to follow the law and respect the fact that these irreplaceable records contain the DNA of our region.”
“The Archives are critical partners in the conservation of our community’s history,” said Connie So, president of OCA Asian Pacific Advocates – Greater Seattle Chapter. “Most Chinese Americans left few records of their lives and history prior to 1950, making the Archive’s treasure trove of files related to the Chinese Exclusion Act all the more precious. Once, when Seattle hosted the Association for Asian American Studies conference, we made a special trip to the Archives. People marveled at the fact that they could find information on relatives that they thought were long-lost. People shared poignant stories, especially when they discovered a photo of a family member.”
“The word ‘archives,’ from the view of law firms, businesses and courts, tends to conjure an image of a records storage facility for ‘dead files,’” said Tallis King George, a Puyallup tribal attorney. “I view the National Archives at Seattle as a vibrant, special collection library… A visit to the National Archives at Seattle, for native people whose ancestral historical and cultural records are housed there, fills a deep cultural yearning to know, honor and understand the lives and sacrifices of their ancestors.”
On Feb. 25, Ferguson sent a letter urging the federal government to reconsider the decision to move the records at the Archives. The letter details the regional historical significance of the records. At the same time, Ferguson sought public records related to the proposed sale. For nearly six months, the agencies refused to produce the public records. In fact, the PBRB demanded that taxpayers pay more than $65,000 for records redaction before producing them. In response to the agencies’ refusal to comply with Ferguson’s records request, Ferguson filed three Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits in August 2020 and a fourth in September.
After litigation commenced, the PBRB dropped its demand for $65,000. However, it is now requesting until March 31 to produce its responsive documents — a date by which the Archives building may have already been sold. In response, Ferguson filed a motion asking the court handling his FOIA lawsuits to accelerate the case schedule. To date, the four federal agencies have produced minimal records, and many of those were highly redacted. For example, a document provided by OMB noted “red flag objections” to the sale of the Seattle Archives facility, but OMB redacted the attachment listing these objections.
In October 2020, the PBRB decided that it would sell the Archives building in Seattle early this year as part of a bundled sale along with 11 other federal properties around the country. It buried the details of this dramatic decision deep in a 74-page document on its website from that meeting. The federal government did not inform any interested stakeholders of this decision, including tribal governments or the Attorney General’s Office — despite Ferguson’s letter, public records requests and FOIA lawsuits. The Attorney General’s Office only discovered it when an assistant attorney general happened across PBRB’s website in late November 2020 while conducting separate research. PBRB had previously planned on selling the properties individually over the next year.
Legal claims
Ferguson’s lawsuit asserts the National Archives building was never legally eligible for the PBRB’s accelerated sale process. The law granting the PBRB authority to sell these federal properties specifically excludes buildings used for “research in connection with federal agricultural, recreational or conservation programs.” The National Archives building is exempt from expedited sale by law because it is used for research in connection with federal agricultural, recreational and conservation programs. In other words, the Archives building legally never should have been included in the portfolio of buildings the federal government has put out for bid.
The lawsuit also alleges significant administrative procedural violations. For example, the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) failed to develop the standards, criteria and recommendations required by Congress. Additionally, the federal government failed to consult or coordinate with the tribal governments in violation of federal-tribal consultation law and policy.
Legal coalition
Twenty-nine tribes, the State of Oregon, and 9 community organizations are partnering with Ferguson’s office in bringing the case. They include:
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation
Confederated Tribes of the Coos
Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
Doyon, Ltd.
Duwamish Tribe
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon
Hoh Indian Tribe
Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
Kalispel Tribe of Indians
The Klamath Tribes
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
Nez Perce Tribe
Nooksack Indian Tribe
Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
Puyallup Tribe of Indians
Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation
Quinault Indian Nation
Samish Indian Nation
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Skokomish Indian Tribe
Snoqualmie Indian Tribe
Spokane Tribe of Indians
Squaxin Island Tribe
Suquamish Tribe
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Tanana Chiefs Conference
Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
American Historical Association
Association of King County Historical Organizations
Historic Seattle
Chinese American Citizens Alliance
HistoryLink
Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)
OCA Asian Pacific Advocates – Greater Seattle Chapter
Washington Trust for Historic Preservation
Wing Luke Memorial Foundation
State of Oregon
Decision to sell Seattle’s National Archives building
In 2019, PBRB identified a dozen federal properties around the U.S. as “High Value Assets” and recommended their sale in a manner that will “obtain the highest and best value for the taxpayer” and accomplish the goal of “facilitating and expediting the sale or disposal of unneeded Federal civilian real properties.” Among those properties — many of which are unused warehouses or buildings, vacant land and properties already planned for sale — was the National Archives building in Seattle. No local, state or tribal officials were consulted in its initial selection. A month later, OMB approved PBRB’s list.
In October 2020, PBRB officials claimed COVID-19’s effects on the commercial real estate market justified an accelerated bundled sale of a “portfolio” of 12 federal properties across the country. The Seattle building is included with a mishmash of federal properties, including what PBRB called an “obsolete and largely vacant” group of eight warehouses in Auburn. PBRB seeks to sell all 12 properties at the same time to a single real estate developer.
DNA of the region
The Seattle archives houses a significant collection of tribal and treaty records relating to the 272 federally recognized tribes in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The archives contain original drafts of tribal treaties and original copies of correspondence from treaty negotiations during the mid-19th century.
Tribal members use federal archive records for many reasons, including to establish tribal membership, demonstrate and enforce tribal rights to fishing and other activities, trace their lineage and ancestry, and access native school records. If these historical records are removed from the Pacific Northwest, many tribal members will be prevented from exercising these important rights.
The federal government did not consult with Northwest tribal leaders before deciding to move these significant pieces of tribal history thousands of miles away from the Northwest, depriving local tribes of access to these critical historical documents.
The Seattle archive facility houses original case files for people who entered the country through ports in Portland and Seattle. These case files includeThe National Archives in Seattle also contains 50,000 case files related to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was passed to limit the number of Chinese laborers entering the United States. Individuals applying for entry into the United States under the Chinese Exclusion Act had to go through an extensive application process.
The Seattle archive facility houses original case files for people who entered the country through ports in Portland and Seattle. These case files include identification photographs, biographical information, interrogation notes, copies of federal and local court records, as well as personal letters and photographs. These files, created to discriminate against Chinese workers, have become a critical resource to Chinese Americans looking for information about their ancestors.
One person who used these records to map his family tree with the help of archives volunteers said, “it’s all there on paper, so you can literally recreate a picture of the village and family tree through these documents.”
A dedicated group of volunteers has been working to index these files, creating an extensive database of family history. If the federal government moves these files, the volunteers will not be able to complete their work or help people learn about their family history. The Seattle Times profiled these volunteers in a video called, “It’s like reading someone’s life: Seattle’s Chinese Exclusion Act Files.”
Lawsuits against the Trump Administration
Assistant Attorneys General Lauryn Fraas, Kristin Beneski, Brian Sutherland and Nathan Bays are handling the National Archives’ cases for Washington.
Ferguson has filed 85 lawsuits against the Trump Administration. Forty-seven of these cases are awaiting a judicial ruling. Ferguson has 36 legal victories against the Trump Administration. Twenty-two of these cases are finished and cannot be appealed. There have been two adverse decisions on the merits, one of which is currently on appeal.
(2) Washington Public Works Board starts the new year with a new Chair.
OLYMPIA, Wash. – A changing of the guard occurred Jan. 4, 2021 at the Washington State Public Works Board when Lincoln County Commissioner Scott Hutsell stepped down as Board Chair. Commissioner Hutsell joined the board as an Elected County Representative in 2012 and was appointed Chair by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2017, a time when shifting state priorities had moved dedicated funding away from the Public Works Board, making its future uncertain.
Through Hutsell’s leadership, determination and grit, the board is in a much better place than it was eight years ago. The Governor has proposed a $160 million dollar biennial budget for Public Works Board Traditional Programs and an additional $45 million dollars for the Public Works Board Broadband Program.
Hutsell said: “This is a bittersweet day for me and, while the struggle to regain Public Works Board dedicated revenues remains, I believe that public infrastructure is being recognized once again as the backbone of sustained economic recovery and growth. The Governor’s proposed budget is what I hope to be the first of many wins for the board and the state in coming years.”
The Governor has appointed Kathryn Gardow, PE, Board Chair, marking a return for Gardow who served on the board from 2005 to 2014, including five years as Vice Chair. Gardow brings nearly 40 years of experience in land use and civil engineering to the job. She also currently serves as a board member of the Recreation Conservation Funding Board, the policy setting board for the Recreation Conservation Office.
Gardow stated: “I am excited to be back serving on the Public Works Board, as I know how much good the board’s work does for the people of the State of Washington. I am motivated to continue the positive steps taken to restore the board’s role as a consistent funding and technical assistance source for our local communities. Maintaining and modernizing infrastructure systems with the Public Works Board’s active and consistent participation is critical to helping the state achieve its public health, environmental, equity and economic goals.”
“On behalf of all the Commerce team members who have worked with Scott during his tenure on the board, we commend his tireless commitment to promote vital public infrastructure investments that strengthen communities throughout the state,” said Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with incoming Board Chair Gardow as we work together on important initiatives including broadband expansion that is connecting more people with new opportunities for telemedicine, remote learning and economic development through greater access to affordable, high-speed internet.”
(3) IN OTHER TOP HEADLINE NEWS...
WORLD NEWS:
Syria: ‘Identified gaps, inconsistencies’ raise questions over elimination of chemical weapons.
“Identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies” that remain unresolved, have brought into question the true extent of the elimination of chemical weapons during Syria’s bloody conflict, the UN disarmament chief told the Security Council in her briefing on Tuesday.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/01/1081412
Weathering a tourist downturn in Kyrgyzstan.
The residents of a small traditional village high in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, which once attracted a steady stream of visitors, are learning how to adapt to the reality of a world where the COVID-19 pandemic has all but frozen out the opportunities provided by tourism.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/01/1081372
Central African Republic: Respect final results of the election, UN and partners urge.
Senior officials from the United Nations and regional organizations have called on all political actors in the Central African Republic (CAR) to respect the final results of the recent presidential elections, and to settle any disputes peacefully and in accordance with the country’s laws.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/01/1081362
Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on Chemical Weapons in Syria (via VTC)--USUN
NATIONAL HEADLINES:
Statement from National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien Regarding the National Maritime Cybersecurity Plan---WH
Space Force Senior Enlisted Advisor Talks Future of Enlisted Force
DOD NEWS
California Woman Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime for Threatening to Bomb Catholic Prep School
The Justice Department announced today that Sonia Tabizada, age 36, of San Jacinto, California, pleaded guilty in federal court to intentionally obstructing persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs by threatening to bomb the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 247. ---DOJ
Acting Secretary Wolf Signs Joint Declaration on Border Security Cooperation with Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Christodoulides--DHS
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“The United States and the Republic of Cyprus share a mutual goal of countering threats from terrorism, transnational organized crime and managing irregular migration,” said Acting Secretary Wolf. “The declaration signed today showcases our shared priorities and provides a framework to finalize agreements on border security and information sharing.”
BUSINESS & FINANCE:
Treasury Sanctions Key Actors in Iran’s Steel Sector--US TREASURY DEPT.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1226
IRS revises Form 1024-A, application for Section 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status as part of ongoing efforts to improve service.
USDA Announces Continuation of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, Fifth Round of Food Purchases--USDA
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Sen. Hawley: Antifa Threatened My Family While I Was Away---CNSNEWS
Kamala Harris Pre-Election Anecdote Apparently Plagiarized from 1965 MLK Interview---NATIONAL REVIEW
Tulsi Gabbard Exposes 'Mind-Blowing' Hypocrisy Behind Democrats' Gender Language Change---WJ
China Says Biden Presidency Offers a 'New Window of Hope'---WJ
https://www.westernjournal.com/china-says-biden-presidency-offers-new-window-hope/
FREE BIBLE LESSONS FROM WBS
https://www.worldbibleschool.org/
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