Snoqualmie Falls: Protecting a Sacred Place
Written by Eliza Kronenberger and Andy McCormick
Each year, over 2 million people from around the world visit the majestic Snoqualmie Falls, a 268-foot waterfall that lies within the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe (sdukʷalbixʷ) ancestral homelands, about 25 miles east of Seattle. Snoqualmie Falls is a beautiful, pristine, and profoundly meaningful natural and cultural national landmark. It is also the Snoqualmie people’s most sacred site—central to the Tribe’s creation story and religious practice. Because of its importance to the Tribe and its beauty, the Snoqualmie Falls is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property.
However, over recent years the airspace above Snoqualmie Falls has become increasingly violated by helicopter tours, drones, and other civilian air traffic. This disruptive low-flying air traffic assaults the senses of visitors and severely imposes on the experience of those visiting the Falls. This increased air traffic also infringes on the Tribe’s right to use and enjoy the land, disrupts Tribal members from practicing their cultural and religious ceremonies at the Falls, and violates the Tribe’s sovereignty. In addition, this air traffic, which the Snoqualmie Tribe has been led to understand is largely unmonitored, presents a significant safety risk to Tribal and non-tribal members visiting the Falls.
We at Eastside Audubon acknowledge that we reside on these Indigenous Lands of the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, who have reserved treaty rights to this land. We thank these caretakers of this land who have lived and continue to live here since time immemorial. As some of the many visitors who have enjoyed and admired the beauty of the Snoqualmie Falls, we stand in solidarity with the Snoqualmie Tribe’s and support their efforts to protect these falls from low-flying civilian air traffic.
The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe has appealed to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation and the Director of the Federal Aviation Administration to uphold their trust obligation by introducing flight restrictions over Snoqualmie Falls. To support the Snoqualmie Tribe in these efforts, please sign their petition using the following link: https://snoqualmietribe.us/regulate-air-traffic-at-sacred-snoqualmie-falls/.