A lawsuit in federal court will determine whether the Nisqually Tribe of Washington has control over the Frank’s Landing Community.
The tribe says the community, which was the site of landmark fishing rights protests in the 1960s and 1970s, is part of its reservation. The community claims it is self-governing -- a designation that came with Congressional approval in 1994.
Frank's Landing, however, is not on the list of federally recognized tribes. But it has a governing council, a federally-funded school and possesses many other attributes of a sovereign government.
The community even has a smoke shop -- which the Nisquallys say is illegal. The lawsuit was filed against the state of Washington and the Squaxin Island Tribe, which is supplying Frank's Landing with cigarettes.
Get the Story:Indian Country infighting (The Tacoma News-Tribune 4/27)
First a smokeshop, and eventually a casino? (The Tacoma News-Tribune 4/27)
A mother’s wishes honored, a school founded 1971 Frank’s Landing movie will screen Tuesday at UWT (The Tacoma News-Tribune 4/27)
