SEATTLE — It’s been a week since the fight to save a tall Redcedar in the Wedgwood neighborhood began. The Snoqualmie Tribe is weighing in, and working to get the tree saved as an archaeological site.
The Tribe submitted paperwork to declare the tree a Culturally Modified Tree or CMT and the area surrounding it an archaeological site under Tribal and state law.
In a statement, the Tribe said an archaeological permit is now required before the developer can take any action to remove the tree.
Representatives from the Tribe and the State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation urged the City of Seattle on Wednesday to permanently stop the removal of the tree.
In a statement, the Tribe said the city claims its hands are tied and there’s no way for it to stop the proposed development.
“Both the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and the State of Washington communicated to the City that the improperly granted permit should be immediately revoked and the private developer stopped from demolishing a culturally modified cedar tree which has stood for over a century,” said Jaime Martin, Executive Director of Governmental Affairs & Special Projects for the Tribe.
“However, the City has chosen to ignore these concerns and has taken no action to address the valid grievances raised by the Tribe and the State. Seattle, a city that often apologizes for past injustices inflicted upon Indigenous Peoples, shows a shocking level of indifference and dismissiveness towards the harm it is currently causing by desecrating this Tribal archaeological site.”
CMT’s are markers of an indigenous trail system, leading to fishing, hunting, and gathering places and visiting relatives of other communities across the region.
The tribe said the living signpost is connected to the Snoqualmie people.
“I think that is such an important and beautiful thing to preserve since a lot of us have forgotten the history of this land and where we are,” said Jess Mcintyre, an activist working to save the tree.
Activists who each go by the name Droplet are calling the Redcedar home until it's off the chopping block.
“We're staying here until this tree is safe and cannot be cut down,” Droplet said.
The tree is slated to be cut down to build homes on a lot, but those fighting for the tree want the developer to use the original plan which would allow for the tree to stay and homes still built.
“People were moved to save this tree on a deeper level and not just a handful it built so quickly,” Droplet said.
The owner of the tree service provider Alex Tree Service said he will not cut the tree down and said a letter was sent to the city to remove the public notice required before a tree can be cut down.
KING 5 has reached out to the City of Seattle and the Legacy Capital and has not yet heard back.