News item: Investigative team unearths bones near Discovery Bay.
This ongoing event is the most recent example of the importance of the process that was put into place through the terms of legislation approved in the 2008 session.
These remains were found during a septic-replacement project. The bones are now being analyzed in the Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, and then the bones will go back to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe for reburial. This is a scenario repeated time and again, according to Allyson Brooks, Ph.D., who is the State Historic Preservation Officer in the department. She said it’s an especially common event in certain parts of the state, such as coastal areas and the region around the Columbia River.
There was no process to deal with such an event before legislation was passed in 2008. Indeed, before the law, it was total chaos, according to Brooks. In the not-that-distant “old days,” in fact, the historic-preservation office had to ask professors and medical examiners to volunteer to come in and help out!
Many stakeholders were involved with Representative John McCoy and Brooks in developing the legislation establishing the current process that will:
· Be as respectful as possible for the deceased and their descendants, and for the importance of history, itself.
· Be as fair as possible for the property owners.
When remains are found, whoever discovers them must call 911 so that law-enforcement people can check whether it’s a crime scene. If it isn’t a crime scene, Archaeology & Historic Preservation is called in and the process is commenced. Yes, there is still tension at times, Brooks said. But at least there is a well-spelled-out process for dealing with it.
Here are the three pertinent RCWs: 27.44, 27.53, and 68.60.