A federal judge has sided with the Lummi Nation in an ongoing lawsuit over ancestral burial grounds at Point Roberts, ordering a telecom company to give the tribe 30 days' advance notice before resuming any ground-disturbing work at the peninsula as part of a broadband installation project.
Federal District Judge Kymberly Evanson granted the preliminary injunction on July 15, a temporary court order that takes effect before a case goes to trial and requires or prevents specific actions. Judge Evanson also found that the Lummi Nation is likely to succeed in its underlying claim that Whidbey Telecom disturbed Lummi ancestral burial sites and failed to comply with Washington State's Indian Graves and Records Act.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The Lummi Nation filed the lawsuit against Whidbey Telecom in April 2026. The tribe alleges that the company, while using federal and county funds for three broadband projects at Point Roberts, trenched thousands of feet into known burial grounds, ignored human remains encountered during construction, defied a state agency's stop-work order, and left ancestral remains exposed to the elements for an extended period.
Point Roberts is a geographic anomaly -- a small peninsula that is physically connected to Canada but politically part of Whatcom County, Washington. Known as Chulhtenum in Coastal Salish, the area holds profound significance for the Lummi Nation. The peninsula has 13 recorded archaeological sites and more than 3,000 individual archaeological features. Human remains of at least 18 individuals have been documented at the site, which has historically served as a Lummi fishing, hunting, and burial ground.
"Lummi has said from the beginning: These harms caused to the heart of our homeland are irreparable and immeasurable. Chulhtenum is intertwined in our living history as saltwater reef net people, throughout the northern straits," the Lummi Nation stated following the ruling.
In November 2025, Whidbey Telecom attempted to move forward with another phase of the project despite the ongoing dispute. That move prompted the April lawsuit and the tribe's request for emergency legal protection.
What the Injunction Requires
Under the preliminary injunction, Whidbey Telecom cannot resume ground-disturbing work at Point Roberts without providing the Lummi Nation at least 30 days' prior written notice. This gives tribal archaeologists and cultural monitors an opportunity to assess the work area before construction proceeds and to be present if excavation is required.
Judge Evanson also noted that the Lummi Nation will need to request a permit from Whatcom County to assess potential damage -- a procedural step that allows the county's permitting process to interact with tribal cultural protections. Whatcom County, which is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, has indicated it is willing to expedite the permit review process to facilitate the tribe's access.
The finding that Lummi is "likely to succeed" on its claims is significant beyond the immediate injunction. In federal civil litigation, a judge's preliminary finding of likely success on the merits signals that the underlying claims have substance and affects how both parties approach settlement negotiations and trial preparation.
Broader Significance for Tribal Cultural Protections
The case draws on Washington State's Indian Graves and Records Act, a state law that prohibits disturbing Native American burial grounds and requires consultation with tribes before any excavation in areas known to contain such sites. The law has been on the books for decades, but enforcement has been inconsistent, and the Lummi Nation's lawsuit represents one of the more prominent recent efforts to hold a private company accountable under its provisions.
The Lummi Nation is one of the larger Coast Salish tribal nations in the Pacific Northwest, with its reservation located on the Lummi Peninsula just west of Bellingham. The tribe has been active in asserting cultural and treaty rights across its traditional territory, which includes much of northern Puget Sound and the waters of the Salish Sea. Point Roberts, despite its remote access requirements for non-Canadians who must cross international borders to reach it by land, sits squarely within the tribe's historical homeland.
The broadband project at the center of the dispute was funded in part by federal dollars allocated to expand internet access in underserved rural areas -- a policy goal that clashed, in this case, with tribal cultural protections that the company allegedly failed to honor before breaking ground.
The case will continue toward trial in federal court. Attorneys for both the Lummi Nation and Whidbey Telecom are expected to continue exchanging evidence and filing pre-trial motions in the months ahead. For more on ongoing Lummi Nation legal and community developments in Whatcom County, see earlier coverage of Whatcom County legal news.
