Tolt MacDonald Park ancestral land, tribe says

Jerry Enick, his sister and his cousin crossed a cable bridge to the east bank of the Snoqualmie River yesterday to a spot where they say generations of Snoqualmie Indians — including their grandfather, the tribe's last chief — lived and died.

"This is the heart of our ancestral lands," said Enick's sister and tribal council member, Arlene Ventura, standing in a meadow in the 450-acre Tolt River John MacDonald Park in Carnation.

The Snoqualmie Tribe wants control of the county-owned park and is asking King County's parks department to transfer it to the tribe in the same way the county has transferred numerous parks to local jurisdictions over the last year.

But Tolt MacDonald is a park of regional significance — and it may be a tough sell to persuade county officials to give up land that is considered a gem in the county's park system.

Though tribal and county officials have met only once to discuss the transfer of the Carnation park, they're getting close to finalizing an agreement to transfer the 27.5-acre Fall City Riverfront Park to the tribe, said tribal administrator Matt Mattson. The Metropolitan King County Council would have to approve transfer.

But Enick, Ventura and their cousin, Mary Ann Hinzman, the tribe's vice chairwoman, say Tolt MacDonald park is sacred land. There was a village site there, along with the traditional campground of the tribe's hereditary chiefs.

In the meadow a longhouse once stood, and it was here that their grandfather, Chief Jerry Kanim, was born and raised. He died in Carnation in 1956.

From the Snoqualmies' perspective, tribal control of Tolt MacDonald park would mutually benefit the county and tribe, Mattson said. He estimated it would cost the tribe about $200,000 annually to operate the park that would remain open to the public.

The tribe would use funds from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and would apply for additional money from various Indian foundations. It would consider other sources of revenue, including building a casino on a 56-acre parcel off Interstate 90 in Snoqualmie, Mattson said.

"The county is suffering with serious budget problems and this would ensure the public benefit continues with no additional cost" to taxpayers, Mattson said.

If the county agrees to the transfer, it would "get to be a part of an historic agreement to repatriate sacred, tribal lands," he said.

The Snoqualmies want to "use the land for traditional ceremonies" and, in the future, would love to build a longhouse where tribal members could gather and non-Indians could participate in Snoqualmie culture. "It could be a great tourism draw in this little town," Mattson said.

Brooke Bascom, a county parks spokeswoman, said officials are "certainly open to continuing discussions. It all depends on what the details are because we don't know what the spiritual significance is" to the tribe.

But County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, whose district includes the Carnation area, said the county isn't likely to give up Tolt MacDonald.

"At this point, being a regional park, it's not open for transfer, it's not up on the block to change hands," Lambert said.

So far, the county has transferred roughly 13 parks, seven pools and three community centers to municipalities. But the county wants to hold on to parks like Tolt MacDonald and Redmond's Marymoor because of money-making opportunities there that can help finance the rest of the park system, Lambert said.

Last year, the Tolt MacDonald park campsite brought in just over $31,000 in revenues, Bascom said; it cost the county an additional $153,000 to maintain and operate the park, she said.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com