SEATTLE — More than 5,000 miles separate Deming in Whatcom County, Washington, where the Nooksack River rushes out of the North Cascades, and the Palais des Nations in Geneva, where the United Nations Human Rights Council is headquartered.
But a long-running dispute over Indigenous heritage and property in this remote part of Washington has, nonetheless, captured the attention of experts assigned by the U.N. to monitor international human rights. Again.
The U.N.'s special rapporteurs for adequate housing and Indigenous rights, independent experts who in early 2022 called on the United States to halt an attempt by the Deming-based Nooksack Indian Tribe to evict certain families from their homes, are now putting more pressure on the White House. It's a remarkable and possibly unprecedented step, observers say, with potential implications for the Nooksack Tribe and communities beyond.
