Task-force co-chair Heather Flaherty told members on Nov. 24 that she reviewed a land-acknowledgement statement adopted by the Lummi Indian Business Council in 2021 and recommended the task force convene steering to discuss updating the IPRTF's current language.

"The Lummi Indian Business Council adopted a land acknowledgment statement in 2021," Flaherty said, and she proposed bringing the recommended language and the conversation to the steering committee before any formal vote.

Rosa, who identified herself as Lummi, Nooksack and Skagit, suggested the group consider using the broader phrase "Coast Salish peoples" to avoid excluding neighboring tribes and asked to be invited to the steering meeting. "I like the aspect of just saying Coast Salish peoples because then you're not leaving any particular people out," she said.

Flaherty said the steering committee will circulate materials and invite interested IPRTF members to participate. She noted that land acknowledgment work is ongoing and that the task force should couple language changes with consideration of policy or procedural actions that would honor tribal sovereignties.

The task force did not vote on language and agreed to continue the conversation in steering and future meetings.