Leaders of the Nooksack Indian Tribe are demanding a retraction from the United Nations following a report highlighting “forced evictions” of more than 60 former tribal members.
Yesterday, two special rapporteurs from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report calling for the U.S. government to intervene in the evictions, originally slated for December but rescheduled to begin February 1.
The tribe says the U.N. release relied on “outrageous and disproved allegations from a Seattle attorney,” and was “riddled with misinformation.”
“They didn’t even bother really contacting the Nooksack Indian Tribe to find out what’s up,” explained Roswell Cline Sr., the chair of the Nooksack Council. “They just grabbed the ball and ran with it, whether it’s right or wrong.”
“I have people, Nooksack members, that are living without homes or in overcrowded conditions, and we have very little room for housing indigenous peoples from Canada.” — Ross Cline
A press release from the tribe says only eight individuals are being evicted, not 63 as the U.N. report indicated. The attorney representing the 63 individuals, though, maintains that all of his clients are at risk.
“Eight families have received eviction notices, but Ross Cline is on record saying once they’re evicted, the other 13 will be dealt with and evicted as well,” said Gabe Galanda, the Indigenous rights attorney representing the evictees.
According to the Tribe, these eight individuals were at risk of eviction because they failed to recertify as the Tribe requested more than six months ago.
“This is low-income rental housing and each year every tenant must recertify,” the Tribe’s release says. “One of the rules for Nooksack housing is that the person on the lease must be a Tribal member. Between July and November 2021, notices to requalify were sent to those who failed to do so. Beginning in October 2021, nine were sent notices of termination. One was able to qualify.”
Cline says eviction is a necessary evil.
“I know it’s been harsh, but I have people, Nooksack members, that are living without homes or in overcrowded conditions, and we have very little room for housing Indigenous peoples from Canada,” he told Cascadia Daily News. “The people being evicted are not Nooksack; they’re members of a neighboring tribe up in Canada.”
The individuals who received eviction notices are members of the Nooksack 306, a group of individuals formally removed from the Tribe in 2018 following a bitter disenrollment battle. The 306 remain adamant that they are Nooksack, though the Tribe does not recognize them as members.
The Tribe maintains specific rules for who can register as a member, and who can utilize Nooksack’s limited resources, including land and housing.
“It begs the question of why would the federal government ask a sovereign government, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, to reward fraud or fraudulent people with housing, and to share our culture, our homes, and our land of which we have very little?” Cline asked.
The Nooksack Indian Housing Authority (NIHA), which regulates and maintains several properties on the Nooksack land, has a multi-step process for eviction. The eight families in question currently reside in NIHA properties.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted a limited investigation into the evictions, and found no wrongdoing at this point, according to a letter from Bryan Mercier, the regional director of the Northwest Region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
“From our review of the materials pertaining to the Tenants’ proposed evictions, even though these eviction processes have not been finalized, NIHA has thus far, adhered to the terms of the Rental Agreements and NIHA Procedures,” says the letter, dated Feb. 2.
The Tribe says the U.N. special rapporteurs, who wrote the press release, failed to contact the Tribe at any point.
“To the two individuals at the United Nations: we never heard from you,” leadership said in their release. “You were misled by an attorney for eight people who want to remain in housing for which they are not qualified, and you failed to conduct even the most cursory investigation. Your statement to the United States government was riddled with inaccuracies, falsehoods and outright lies that you accepted on face value without a shred of proof.”
The Tribe said it has contacted the U.N. High Commissioner to demand a formal retraction.
