National Archives will stay put in Seattle after feds drop plan to move them
Historical archives in Seattle will stay in place, after the federal government dropped its controversial plan to move them out of the state.
On Thursday, the federal Office of Management and Budget announced its withdrawing the request to move the archives.
Native American leaders, Washington's attorney general, and Senator Patty Murray spent last year arguing for the National Archives to stay put, in Seattle's Sand Point neighborhood. The federal government announced its intention to move them in early 2020.
“While this process never should have begun in the first place without Tribal and local consultation, I’m glad that OMB has listened to local Tribes and reversed their decision to approve the sale of the Seattle Archive building,” Senator Murray said in a statement. “I want to thank everyone who made their voice heard throughout this process, and be clear I will continue working to ensure the generations of artifacts and history stored in the Seattle facility will remain accessible to stakeholders across the Pacific Northwest.”
The archives hold historical documents relating to Northwest tribes, treaty rights, and more. Documents from Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon are all stored there.
The Trump Administration identified the Seattle site as a surplus property it intended to sell. It had pushed to move the archives to California and Missouri.
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Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
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