BURNS -- The Burns Paiute Tribe has added its name to the chorus of voices growing impatient with the federal government's low-profile response to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

In a letter dated Friday to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the tribe demanded that law enforcement officials stop allowing Arizona businessman Ammon Bundy and his supporters free passage to and from the federal bird sanctuary.

The tribe also told the government that it is obligated under its treaty with the Northern Paiutes to inflict punishment for "any crime or injury...perpetrated by any white man upon the Indians."

"The land on which the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located is in the heart of our tribe's ancestral territory," wrote Charlotte Roderique, chair of the tribe. "This is sacred place to the Burns Paiute Tribe. The refuge and the refuge buildings hold invaluable, irreplaceable and endangered aspects of the tribe's cultural heritage."

One of the buildings currently occupied by the militants, Roderique added, "holds over 4,000 tribal artifacts, site records, maps and confidential documents related to the tribe's cultural resources."

Roderique worried that the protesters would finance the occupation by selling the artifacts.

"Unfortunately," Roderique wrote, "there is a long history of a black market for Native American antiquities. There continues to be a robust market for the sale of tribal artifacts, notwithstanding the outright illegality of their acquisition.

"Allowing the militants free passage from the refuge means that our cultural patrimony is unprotected and easily transported outside the refuge for sale or misappropriation by the militants."

The tribe lamented that there is "constant interaction" between the protesters and outsiders and pointed out a recent FedEx delivery to the occupiers.

"Condoning the illegal occupation of a federal facility by armed lawbreakers only encourages others to believe they can behave in the same way, with impunity," Roderique wrote.

The tribe closed the letter by calling for a "swift resolution" of the occupation, which has entered its fourth week.

The tribe's impatience echoes Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who on Wednesday used the same phrase - "swift resolution" - in a letter to Lynch and FBI Director James Comey. In a separate letter to President Obama, Brown insisted that the occupation end "without further delay."

The same day, Brown called the situation "absolutely intolerable and it must be resolved immediately" during a news conference. She acknowledged that federal authorities had asked her to say as little as possible about the occupation.

In response to Brown's comments, the FBI released a statement that said its response has been "deliberate and measured as we seek a peaceful resolution."

-- Luke Hammill

lhammill@oregonian.com

503-294-4029

@lucashammill