Leading in Tribal Relations
It is through trust and partnership with our Native and non-Native communities that Willamette Falls Trust is able to serve as a leader in collectively creating a thriving and collaborative future for our communities around the Falls.
In March, we shared with you about our Tribal Leadership Committee, an open and inclusive Inter-Tribal coalition consisting of Native leaders from our four partner Tribes. These Tribal leaders play an important role as members of our Board of Directors and hold key decision making power with regards to the growth of our organization.
Our Tribal Leadership Committee guides how we bring these principles into practice. This includes ensuring our structures and protocols are grounded in Tribal perspectives, and creating education opportunities about Indigenous culture through the lens of the lived experience of the Native leaders and communities.
Recently, the Trust partnered with Gabe Sheoships, Executive Director for Friends of Tryon Creek and a Portland State University Instructor, to facilitate training and educational presentations on the cultural landscape of the Willamette Falls region. The cohort from the Hatfield School of Government at PSU consisted of twenty-two participants, including DEI experts, state agency leaders, professionals in the conservation field, foundation representatives, several Tribal leaders, and more.
“Willamette Falls Trust is sincere in their efforts to support Indigenous led initiatives that are connected by tributary streams and river networks throughout the Columbia Basin. The Trust has done their due diligence in connecting with communities who have a connection to the Falls, including Tribes that date back to Time Immemorial. The Trust staff are able to facilitate the story that Tribes and eels will persist throughout ongoing change and challenge."
- Gabe Sheoships, member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Conversations focused on the significance of the Falls to many Tribes and Indigenous communities, the importance of cross-cultural learning for government agencies, and the resulting positive outcomes when Tribes are involved in public projects from their inception.
The program was led by Gerard Rodiguez (Yaqui, Nahuatl), Associate Director for the Trust (pictured below, Left), and Geraldene Blackgoat (Dine), designer at the Sustainable Native Communities Lab of MASS Design Group. We were also joined by Louie Pitt (Warm Springs, Wasco), former Director of Governmental Affairs for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and now a governor-appointed member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (pictured below, Right).
