295 



Introduction: 



The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the 

 blood of our ancestors. 1/ we seU you our land, you must remember that it is sacred, 

 and you must teach your children that it is sacred, and that each ghostly reflection in 

 the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The 

 water's murmur is the voice of my father's father. The rivers are our brothers, they 

 querKh our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you 

 our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that the rivers are our broth- 

 ers, jmd yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give 

 any brother." 



- Chief Sealth during treaty times. 



Water pollution threatens tribal health. It also threatens the survival of natural and 

 cultural resources on which the tribes depend. To safeguard their health and those 

 resources, the federally recognized tribes in Washington state want to exercise their 

 treaty and other powers to protect, restore and enhance watersheds of tribal concern 

 and their associated ecosystems. 



Individually, each tribe intends to continue to exercise its sovereign authority on a 

 govemment-to-govemment basis with other tribes, as well as federal, state and local 

 governments to achieve common goals. At the heart of the effort, each tribe is at- 

 tempting to inventory, assess, prioritize, regulate and eliminate water poUution 

 within its waters of concern. Equally important, however, lies the recognition that 

 addressing water pollution requires cooperative, coordinated efforts in alliance with 

 other governments. 



Water pollution ignores jurisdictional boundaries. Tribal jurisdictions border and 

 interlock with other jurisdictions, including those of the most densely populated and 

 industrialized arejis of Washington state. The tribes realize that alone they caimot 

 successfully combat water pollution. Prevailing against water poUution requires 

 concentrated, sophisticated and both technical and political methods. The tribes 

 therefore have committed themselves to the development of a model coordinated 

 tribal water quality program outlined in this report. 



Intergovernmental coordination between tribes, federal, state and local governments 

 and other entities is crucial to controlling water poUution. The tribes need consid- 

 erable financial and technical assistance in evolving and expanding their water 

 quality programs - financial help that is sufficient and consistent. 



The tribes want to secure sufficient, predictable federal funding to guarantee develop- 

 ment and implementation of their water quaUty programs and to institutionalize 

 congressiorvil and executive support. Perhaps more than other governments, the 

 tribes understaixl from long experience that limits apply to funding. To meJce every 

 dollar work to its fullest, they plan to multiply the effects of the doUars they receive 

 by joining with other governmental entities and organizations in coordinated, coop- 

 erative efforts to address impacts on water quality. 



WeU before 1987, when Congress authorized federally recognized tribes to attain the 

 status of "states" under the Clean Water Act, the tribes in Washington had taken a 



