‘They’re not new to our people’: Washington tribes grapple with floods

Freddie Lane, an enrolled member of Lummi Nation, has watched his people’s lands flood since his childhood on the Whatcom County reservation.

“Around the world, Indigenous people have their flood stories,” he said. “These great floods and whatnot — they’re not new to our people.”

But Lane depicted the current floods as “pretty biblical.”

The Lhaq’temish, or Lummi people, counted as one of many communities grappling with historic flooding throughout Western Washington this week. Evacuation orders were issued Wednesday in Pierce and Skagit counties as the region’s rivers flooded, though the situation’s worsening conditions were felt in other locales.

Of the state’s 29 tribal governments, several based in the affected areas were focused on supporting and protecting their members Thursday.