Civil rights suit between Quinaults, Coastal League schools settled

The civil rights lawsuit filed by the Quinault Indian Nation in Federal District Court against four school districts, their superintendents and athletic directors in February of 2013 has been settled, the Quinault Nation announced on Monday.

The suit stemmed from actions taken by members of the Coastal 1B Athletic League in late 2012, when it imposed sanctions on Taholah School District athletic programs. The sanctions eventually caused the dissolution of the league, and led to some districts declining to schedule games against Taholah High School in most sports. Some of the sanctions were overturned by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, the league will be reformed. According to the settlement, civil rights training will be made available for league members, and due process protections, and the adoption of a clear complaint process for students, parents or administrators who feel they are victims of discrimination will be instituted, the Quinault Nation said in its press release.

“The lawsuit was a direct result of the actions of the Coastal 1B Athletic League and its imposed harsh sanctions against the Taholah School District athletic programs, which directly impacted our tribal member student-athletes,” said Sharp. “Our foremost objectives were to support our students and their families, restore league play, and create a framework to avoid similar problems in the future. We are very satisfied with the outcome of the lawsuit.”

Taholah’s loss of a sports league meant students and parents had to sometimes travel hundreds of miles round-trip to play games. Recently, the Taholah basketball team travelled to play a school located on the Lummi Nation’s Indian Reservation, a bus ride of more than six hours, said Sharp. Other Taholah teams had only three games in a season. The settlement includes a new league constitution that will be adopted by all member schools.

“Our hope is that we can all go forward from here. The new league has been tentatively named the ‘New Horizon League,’ symbolizing a clean slate, so we can move forward with a fresh start,” Sharp said.