San Mateo County supervisors unanimously amend resolution to add Indigenous communities to list of protected groups

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution reaffirming protections for immigrants, women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals and people with disabilities, and amended the document to explicitly add Indigenous communities.

The amendment followed public comment calling out the omission of Indigenous people from the list. A speaker who identified as Indigenous said, “As someone who personally does identify as indigenous, I'm embarrassed for myself that we didn't make sure to put that in there.” Another speaker said, “I am proud to be from a county where we are protecting the vulnerable communities, and I think xenophobia has no place here in San Mateo County.”

A supervisor moved to approve the resolution with the amendment to include Indigenous communities; Supervisor Miller seconded. The presiding supervisor said, “I accept the amendment.” During roll call, Supervisors Spear, Corso, Miller, Goshay and Canapa voted yes; the motion passed unanimously.

The resolution’s text, as discussed in the meeting, reaffirms the board’s “unwavering support and protections for immigrants, women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, individuals with disabilities” and will now include Indigenous communities in that listing. The meeting record did not specify additional implementation actions, compliance steps or funding tied to the resolution.

Speakers who addressed the item praised county leadership and framed the amendment as correcting an omission. No votes against or abstentions were recorded. The board did not attach a timeline, directive to staff, or specific programs to this resolution during the discussion captured in the transcript.