Evictions of indigenous Nooksack must stop – UN experts
Washington/Geneva: Twenty-one families of Nooksack indigenous tribe in northern Washington State face eviction from their homes by the Nooksack Tribal Council, which earlier took steps to remove them from its membership. The move has been prohibited by the tribe’s courts, but their decisions have been ignored by the Council.
The families’ homes were constructed by the tribe on land owned by the US Government and with funds from the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD provides the tribe annual funding for public housing at Nooksack in part pursuant to the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA). The families are at various stages of acquiring ownership of their homes, and some are due to take full ownership this year.
In Geneva, the he Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) informed that United Nations human rights experts today called on the United States of America to halt the planned and imminent forced evictions of the 63 people who self-identify as belonging to the Nooksack indigenous tribe in northern Washington State.
Many are elderly, women and children – some with disabilities and chronic diseases – and have lived in their homes for over a decade. The imminent evictions will significantly impact the health of some of the vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are also concerned that the forced evictions will deny them the possibility of enjoying their own culture and of using their own language in community with others,” Balakrishnan Rajagopal , Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; and Francisco Cali Tzay, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, stated.
Evictions were due to begin on December 28, 2021 but stalled due to severe snow and ice storms in the region. However, tribal leaders have announced that the evictions will resume in early February 2022.
“We appeal to the US Government to respect the right to adequate housing, which is enshrined under article 25(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 21 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to ensure that it abides by its international obligations, including with respect to the rights of indigenous peoples,” the UN experts, who have been in touch with the Government already on this, said.
It may be mentioned that Nooksack is a tribe of approximately 2,000 members, located in its ancestral homeland in the northwest corner of Washington State. The name Nooksack comes from a place name in their language and translates to “always bracken fern roots,” which illustrates the tribals’ close ties to their land and the resources.The tribe maintain a Tribal Council and Tribal Government. Both its Council and Government work to create a better future for every Nooksack and ensure the tribe’s sovereignty.
– global bihari bureau
