City of Seattle Shares Progress on Key Commitments to Enhance Diplomacy and Partnership Following 2023 Tribal Nations Summit

Seattle - Today,the City of Seattle released a new report detailing progress on commitments made at the 2023 Tribal Nations Summit. This summit was a historic gathering of Tribal and City leaders to strengthen government-to-government relations and achieve mutual goals.

City leadership committed to 23 initial actions, such as co-developing a city policy in regard to working with Tribal Nations, collaborative stewardship of cultural resources, supporting Indigenous cultural vitality and visibility, and more.

The Office of Intergovernmental Relations compiled updates on City efforts to achieve these commitments over the year since the summit. Collectively, the city has made progress on 21 of the 23 commitments. This is one step in the City's larger effort to strengthen relations, build trust, and remain a committed partner to Tribal Nations and Native communities.

READ: Tribal Nations Summit One-Year Update

Progress on key efforts include:

• Seattle Parks and Recreation hosted a Tribal Nations Gathering on parks and open space issues. The gathering identified Tribal priorities and action items such as increased outreach and engagement of Tribal partners and the formation of an internal workgroup to systemize Tribal relations within the department.

• The city has created a citywide tool and interdepartmental workgroup to track Tribal engagement across 17 City departments.

• Seattle Human Resources is collaborating with Office of Intergovernmental Relations, the Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC), and subject matter experts to develop an eight-module training curriculum on working with Tribes and Native communities. The first two modules will be launched this year.

"Our honest, deliberate conversations at the Tribal Nations Summit were an important first step to strengthen relationships with Tribal and urban Native leaders," said Mayor Bruce Harrell. "This new report details the tangible actions we are taking as partners to achieve our shared goals and will help hold us accountable moving forward. I'm grateful for the Tribal Nations and urban Indian organizations who have shared their wisdom and lived experience and are helping us build an equitable, inclusive, and thriving One Seattle."

"We heard loud and clear the call from Tribal leaders that the City's Tribal Nations Summit be a place of action, not just words." said Tribal Relations Director Tim Reynon. "The actions outlined in this report demonstrate our commitment to better engaging with Tribal Nations as sovereign governments and to better serve Tribal citizens in Seattle. While significant work remains ahead, we continue to engage in the daily actions that drive long-term progress."