The Tulalips and other tribes rallied in the nation’s capitol last week against the proposed coal terminal at Cherry Point near Bellingham.

For three years Northwest treaty tribes have provided government agencies detailed letters identifying the impacts the terminal would have on treaty fishing rights, the environment, natural resources and the health of Washington.

Additionally, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, representing 57 tribes, has taken action to oppose the increased transport of unrefined fossil fuels of coal, Bakken shale oil and tar sand oil across the Northwest.

“Our treaty rights are not for sale. The Gateway Pacific Terminal project threatens our treaty-reserved rights, and we do not support actions that would compromise or diminish the resources for which our ancestors sacrificed so much. There is no mitigation for the loss of our way of life or culture,” Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon Jr. said.

The proposed terminal would impact thousands of acres of treaty land and fishing along rivers and mountains. Tribes have concluded that the impacts of significant increases in rail and vessel transportation cannot be mitigated to any level that would protect tribal treaty rights.

At the 7th Annual White House Tribal Nations Conference, Northwest tribes opposed a coal terminal being built on Lummi’s sacred burial grounds, Xwe’chieXen.

“We’re taking a united stand against corporate interests that interfere with our treaty-protected rights,” said Tim Ballew II, chairman of the Lummi Indian Business Council.

Tribal nations called on the Obama Administration and Congress to protect Native sacred sites. The proposed terminal location is the site of an ancient village occupied by the Lummi people for 3,500 years.

The tribes have repeatedly asked the U.S. Army Corps to reject any permit applications proposing to build the terminal.

“We will not stand for more broken treaty promises,” Ballew said. “The proposed terminal will result in irreparable harm to our important crab and salmon fisheries. Our tribes stand in solidarity with one another to protect our way of life for generations to come.”