This week, Governor Tina Kotek convened the 2024 Tribal-State Government-to-Government Summit, co-hosted by the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, in Canyonville at Seven Feathers Casino Resort.

The Governor and First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson joined the chairs and Tribal leaders of Oregon’s nine federally recognized sovereign tribal nations, along with state agency directors and staff, to discuss an array of issues, including government-to-government consultation, housing production and affordability, economic development, and climate resiliency and water.

“I am so appreciative of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Legislative Commission on Indian Services for helping to organize this essential gathering,” Governor Kotek said. “Tribal consultation should never be a mere obligation, but rather a grounding for mutual collaboration and the spirited sharing of ideas. Each of Oregon’s nine federally recognized sovereign tribes brings a wealth of experience, expertise, and local knowledge. We are stronger when we work together to solve problems and promote prosperity for everyone.”

The summit began with a welcome and an invocation by Chairman Carla Keene of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, followed by opening remarks from the Governor and the chairs of all nine Tribes.

The summit featured three panels:

• Focus on Housing Production and Affordability: Tribal Sovereignty and Government-to-Government Collaboration: A discussion about the unique housing and displacement challenges faced by Tribal communities, shared barriers, and innovative solutions to meet the Governor’s housing production goals.
• Navigating Economic and Sustainable Futures: Tribal Sovereignty and Opportunities to Partner for Collective and Individual Tribal Economic Growth: A discussion about collaboration between Tribal nations, state government, and the private sector, and its role in building an economy that lifts up all Tribal communities and communities across the entire state.
• Navigating Water Futures: Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Collaborative Governance for Climate Resilience: A discussion about how Tribal perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge must play a key role in future state policies to secure a sustainable water future where all people and wildlife have access to clean, safe water.

Note to Editors: In 1975, the State of Oregon recognized the need to have a permanent point of contact and on-going forum for consideration of tribal-state issues and created the Legislative Commission on Indian Services (LCIS), an advisory body of 13 Tribal leaders and legislators. The LCIS also promotes communication and relations between the State of Oregon and the nine federally recognized sovereign tribes in Oregon.

Oregon was the first state in the nation to pass a tribal-state government-to-government relations law which emphasizes the critical importance of establishing and maintaining a variety of ways to learn enough about each other's structures, policies, programs, initiatives, traditions and history to inform decision-makers in both state and tribal government as well as to provide opportunities for their respective programs, departments and staff to exchange relevant information and work together on shared interests.