IPRTF considers updated Lummi-approved land acknowledgment, seeks Coast Salish inclusivity
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Summary
Task force co-chair Heather Flaherty proposed updating the group's land-acknowledgment language with a Lummi Indian Business Council statement adopted in 2021 and to consult tribes about wording that also includes Nooksack and broader Coast Salish peoples.
Heather Flaherty raised a proposal to revise the IPRTF's land-acknowledgment by using language adopted by the Lummi Indian Business Council in 2021 and recommended tribal consultation prior to formal adoption.
Flaherty read the Lummi-adopted text and said the resolution provides a template for schools, government agencies and others. "We the incarceration prevention reduction task force acknowledge we are residing on the traditional ancestral and unceded territory of the Lummi people...Please join us in taking a moment of silence as we honor their ancestors," she read.
Rosa (a participant who identified Coast Salish ancestry) suggested phrasing that would refer to "Coast Salish peoples" to avoid leaving any local tribal group out of the language. "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 group would take the draft language to the steering committee and invited members to join a discussion about wording and actions to honor sovereign tribal nations beyond reciting a statement.
The task force did not vote on the language at the meeting; leaders said the next step is a steering-committee-level conversation and outreach to tribal representatives before any formal adoption.