Lawsuit accuses Whidbey Telecom of disturbing Native remains

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 1, 2026

The Lummi Nation named Langley-based Whidbey Telecom in a federal lawsuit over allegations that the company disturbed Native burial grounds in Point Roberts.

The lawsuit, filed this week in the U.S. District Court fot the Western Washington, also named Whatcom County and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Commerce for permitting and funding the projects. The lawsuit claims Whidbey Telecom dug trenches through known archaeological sites to put in fiber optic cables for broadband service in the Point Roberts area, which is a U.S enclave on the north end of Whatcom County.

The Lummi Nation seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, including a mandatory preliminary injunction, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and costs.

Donna Hilty, CEO of Whidbey Telecom, said she is aware of the federal lawsuit.

“We have not yet had the opportunity to review the complaint in detail or to evaluate possible implications for certain projects going forward,” she said. “We look forward to providing further updates and to address the allegations in the near future.”

One of the projects named in the lawsuit is the Middle Mile Fiber Deployment Project, which is funded through a federal grant. Coincidentally, Island County commissioners recently adopted an unusual variance to a county standard for trenching depth for a Middle Mile project on Whidbey Island, although there were no concerns expressed about the unearthing of cultural relics on the island.

Commissioners Melanie Bacon and Janet St. Clair adopted a letter allowing the variance, against the recommendations of the prosecutor’s office, the public works department and Commissioner Jill Johnson, who warned that it could leave the county open to a lawsuit from other telecommunications companies.

“I’m very uncomfortable with an action that is out of alignment with our code without a rationale for the variance other than the company doesn’t want to do it,” Johnson said during the April 7 meeting, adding that it is the “epitome of political favoritism.”

Bacon, on the other hand, said that science doesn’t support the current county rules about the depth of trenches, which require them to be 42 inches instead of 32-26 inches in other jurisdictions. She said the county will work to update the code to the current best practices next year.

St. Clair also said her decision was based on science and criticized the discussion as “political theater.” She said Telecom officials explained the reasons they wanted the change to county officials; she also reached out to the Public Works Association and other counties, which all support variances based on circumstances and the condition of the soil.

As far as the lawsuit, the Lummi Nation argues that the federally recognized tribe has countless ancestors who were buried at Point Roberts over the last 5,000 years or more. The tribe has 6,000 enrolled citizens living in or near the Lummi Reservation in Whatcom County.

The lawsuit alleges that Whidbey Telecom and the governmental agencies failed to consult the Lummi Nation prior to the projects; failed to stop work when human remains and other archaeological materials were discovered; failed to notify the tribe when the materials were encountered and withheld information; and failed to secure the human remains.

The lawsuit, for example, states that during the 2024 Community Connect Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Whidbey Telecom discovered archaeological deposits but did not halt digging.

“Whidbey Telecom disturbed human remains in four of the exploratory trenches a and dispersed additional human remains in all removed soil piles,” the lawsuit states. “The project has remained stalled, with no progress toward reinterment of Lummi ancestral remains, which, upon information and belief, remain scattered at the site.”