The Lummi Nation v. Golder Associates, Inc., et al.

The Lummi Nation (Lummi) (plaintiffs), a Native American tribe, sued archaeology firm Golder Associates (Golder) and its archaeologist Gordon Tucker (collectively, defendants) after the parties got into a dispute about how tribal human remains were handled during the excavation and building of a wastewater-treatment plant. The City of Blaine, Washington, hired Golder to assess cultural resources at the site of its wastewater-treatment plant prior to beginning a construction project. As required by the state historic-preservation officer, Golder proposed a treatment plan for the site, considering the Lummi’s position, which was that the construction plans needed to be flexible enough to accommodate changes if archaeological deposits were found in dig areas, and that the primary goal for the tribe was to protect intact and fragmentary human remains found at the site. Human remains were found after construction began. Rather than calling a Lummi representative to oversee the excavation, Tucker packed up the remains himself and drove them in his truck to Golder’s office. The Lummi sued, arguing that Golder and Tucker breached their agreement and violated the Indian Graves and Records Act by failing to notify the Lummi about the identification of human remains and by removing them from the site without Lummi permission and supervision. The Lummi filed a motion for summary judgment.