P.O. Box 1209
Port=~           Seattle, WA 98111-1209
Tel: (206) 728-3000
of Seattle                        www.portseattle.org
June 1, 2011

Hon. Virginia Cross
Chair, Muckleshoot Tribal Council
39015 172"d Avenue Southeast, Auburn, Washington 98092
Hon. leonard Forsman
Chair, Suquamish Tribal Council
15838 Sandy Hook Road, P.O. Box 498
Suquamish, Washington 98392-0498

Dear Chair Cross and Chair Forsman:
For more than 20 years, the Port of Seattle been responsible for the storage and preservation of
materials excavated from Native American archeological sites during port construction operations. We
honor our obligation to respect the cultural significance and heritage of the region's Native American
tribes, and look forward to discussing this matter with you.
Following discussions with the recognized Tribes, the Port entered into agreements with the Burke
Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington for professional care and
curation of the materials. As part of its responsibility, the Burke Museum has made certain materials
available for academic study and community display.
The materials held by the Burke Museum include:
Duwamish No.1 site: Archeological excavations in 1976 and 1978 near the port's Terminal107
produced 82 cubic feet of material. In 1986, excavations for a Metro wastewater project near
Terminal107 produced another 67 cubic feet of material. The collections include artifacts from
stone and bone, a ceramic shard and samples of shell, soil and stone.
Port of Seattle World Trade Center Site: Excavation of material at the site on Elliott Bay
waterfront produced six cubic feet of material.
The Port pays for the storage on an annual contract basis with the museum. The Museum has in some
cases repackaged the materials as necessary, although substantial work is needed to complete the
effort. We appreciate the care and commitment of the Museum to preserve the materials and to make
artifacts available for research and display.

Although the materials are in good hands at the Burke Museum, the Port wishes to have discussions
with you about a permanent disposition of the materials. Our goal is to establish a long-term agreement
that secures the proper storage of the materials, respects the Tribes' interests, and mitigates the
expense to the Port.
To this end, the Port would like to propose that the Port donate the materials permanently to the Burke
Museum. After consultation with the Tribes, we would make arrangements with the museum for the
proper packaging of the materials and assure the materials would be made available for research and
for loan to the Tribes and other institutions as appropriate.
The Port would like to complete the agreement to transfer the materials to the Burke Museum by the
end of 2011 to allow for these discussions.
Port staff will contact Tribal officials to schedule discussions about the disposition of the materials. We
welcome your suggestions and look forward to working together to achieve a mutually satisfactory
agreement.
Sincerely,

Ta~
CEO

cc:    Commission
Mike Mclaughlin
George Blomberg