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Multnomah County proclaims November 2024 Native American Heritage Month; community leaders urge concrete actions
Summary
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners adopted a proclamation recognizing November 2024 as Native American Heritage Month. Community leaders and county officials used the ceremony to urge sustained investments in tribal relations, culturally specific services and accountability on housing and public-health priorities.
Multnomah County’s Board of Commissioners on the morning of the meeting adopted a proclamation declaring November 2024 Native American Heritage Month, honoring tribal communities and urging continued county action on long-standing inequities.
The proclamation was presented by members of local indigenous and community organizations and read in full for the record. Brianna Bragg opened the panel, identifying themselves as a descendant of a boarding-school survivor and urging the county to use the month to advance concrete work, such as creating an office of tribal relations, strengthening procurement and contracting with native community-based organizations, supporting native data transparency and addressing missing-and-murdered Indigenous relatives (MMIR) initiatives. "Change gives us the opportunity to adapt again, to grow, to be innovative," Bragg said.
Whitney Watson, who identified herself as policy lead for the Future Generations Collaborative, described the nonprofit’s culturally specific early-learning, food-sovereignty and outreach programs and asked the county to continue funding partnerships that center indigenous traditions and healing. Eva Redbird, indigenous outreach program coordinator at Multnomah County Library, outlined library-based services including Native American story time, cultural classes and author events intended to make the library a community hub for native residents.
Commissioner Myron thanked the speakers and said the next step should be to align county investments with community needs, asking, "What are the things we actually did?" He asked staff to return reporting on the county’s collective investments and their impacts on native communities. Commissioner Beeson, Commissioner Brim Edwards and Chair Megan Peterson also thanked the guests and emphasized moving beyond proclamations to year-round commitments.
The board took a roll-call vote and adopted the proclamation unanimously. After a short recess for a group photo, the board reconvened and formally approved the motion.
The proclamation directs the county to encourage other public and private institutions to recognize Native American Heritage Month and to continue work on tribal relations and culturally specific services. County staff said they would follow up with participants on next steps and with reporting back to the board on investments and program outcomes.
The board scheduled no further formal action on the proclamation beyond adoption; staff and commissioners discussed follow-up reporting and a photo opportunity after the meeting as the next immediate steps.
