PORT ANGELES — The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe has requested formal mediation of its lawsuit against the state for reburial of ancestral remains at the former Hood Canal Bridge graving yard.
The state has declined the tribe’s request, saying it will await a review under way by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation that counsels the Federal Highway Administration.
The highway administration was the source of most of the $60 million spent at the construction site that covers Tse-whit-zen, an ancient Klallam waterfront village on Port Angeles Harbor.
The advisory council says it backs formal negotiations, however.
Formal mediation means a professional go-between — often a former judge — consults separately with parties to a dispute.
To date, meetings about the graving yard have had all parties present.
Should formal talks resolve the issue, the advisory council “stands ready to move forward promptly . . . to bring closure to the review process,” according to a letter from John M. Fowler, the council’s executive director.
Gregoire support sought
The tribe also has sought Gov. Christine Gregoire’s support for negotiations so “we can rebury our ancestors and begin to restore peace within Port Angeles and Clallam County,” says a letter to Gregoire from Frances G. Charles, tribal chairwoman.
Gregoire’s press secretary, Carol Andrews, said she was unable Tuesday to gather information for a response.
Charles is referring all questions to the tribe’s lawyers.
The state also says it would be “more than happy to negotiate a settlement,” according to Steve Dietrich, senior counsel in the transportation and public construction division of the Attorney General’s Office — just not formal mediation.
“We think there is a federal process that we are in the middle of and we need to finish,” he said.
State Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald said there was another issue with the proposed formal mediation — the breadth of the issue under discussion.
While the tribe wants to focus on reburying ancestral remains, other parties — the city and Port of Port Angeles, labor unions and legislators among them — want the graving yard examined in the context of the waterfront’s future, MacDonald said.
“The issues will be broader than reburial,” he said Tuesday.