Oregon lawmakers celebrate 50 years of Native American legislative commission

Yahoo

06-05-2025

Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, holds a sign and stands alongside fellow lawmakers and tribal leaders to acknowledge Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Day outside of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on May 5, 2025. (Mia Maldonado / Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Chairman Gary Burke of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation sang a song in his language to Oregon senators on Tuesday as the lawmakers celebrated the 50th anniversary of the state bringing Native American voices to the lawmaking table.
'We have a tradition that we honor people that come to visit us,' he said.
The Oregon Senate on Tuesday passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 31, which celebrates the establishment and the contributions of the Legislative Commission on Indian Services. The commission was created in 1975 so Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes could advise state officials and agencies on the needs of Oregon's Native American communities.
Oregon tribes are some of the largest employers in their regions, providing jobs in hospitality, entertainment, forestry and health care. In a 2019 report, the state of Oregon estimated tribal gaming provided more than 10,800 jobs and contributed to the sale of more than $780 million in goods and services.
Some tribes are also regular contributors to philanthropic needs in their communities — donating to schools, nonprofits, charities, local governments and other needs.
The resolution is sponsored by Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, who told senators that they should engage with the tribes and consider their wisdom about their ancestral homelands.
'We must commit to consultation, listening and working to understand, and doing our best not to just make blanket assumptions about tribal needs,' Wagner said. 'We must commit to continue to advocate to Congress and to our president to honor our treaties and continue to live the promises that we have made to our Oregon tribes.'
The resolution passed unanimously in the Oregon Senate. It now heads to the House side.
Oregon was first state to establish Native American commission of its kind
Oregon was the first state in the country to establish a commission to formally invite tribes to contribute to the legislative process. The commission is composed of 13 members, nine of whom represent each of Oregon's federally recognized tribes, and four Oregon lawmakers split between House and Senate members.
Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, spoke in support of the resolution, adding that he enjoyed serving on the commission when he was a House member.
During his first meeting as a commission member, he said he learned about the Treaty of 1855 from a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. That treaty forced the Tribes to cede millions of acres of their ancestral land to the federal government in exchange for reservation and cultural rights.
'It's important that we honor that,' Bonham said about the treaty. 'It's important that we are citizens of our own word, and when we make an agreement, we stand by it.'
He said the state of Oregon has gotten better at including tribal voices in policy discussions, but he said lawmakers often talk about the nine sovereign tribes 'as if they are speaking with one voice.'
This is a mistake, he said. However, Native Americans still face the issues many Oregonians face, such as aging infrastructure, housing needs, school district needs, behavioral health issues and addiction.
'We can always do better,' he said. 'There's more that we can do to engage, consider and show respect to our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors and the nine treaty tribes.'
The nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon are the Burns Paiute Tribe; the Confederated Tribes of Coos, the Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians; the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation; the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians; the Coquille Indian Tribe; and the Klamath Tribes.
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