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Tribal member urges city to reopen library room‑naming process, alleges exclusion
Summary
Todd Lawson, a member of the Clatsop Nehalem Confederated Tribes, told the council the tribe was removed from the library design process and asked the council to reopen room naming to reflect local indigenous history.
Todd Lawson, who identified himself as a member of the Clatsop Nehalem Confederated Tribes, addressed the council during the public‑comment period and urged the city to reopen the library room‑naming process to better reflect local indigenous history. Lawson said the tribe was invited early in the design process but that the head librarian, Susan Herold, later "chose not to engage with us again," which Lawson described as sidelining a local stakeholder.
Lawson criticized the names selected for the library rooms as having "little to no historic connection to a story itself," saying several of the chosen names represent tribes from outside the city's traditional territory and that no local women from the tribe were included. He asked the council to recognize the Clatsop Nehalem Confederated Tribes as an ongoing stakeholder and to work with staff to reopen the naming process so local indigenous voices are heard.
Mayor Fitzpatrick thanked Lawson for his remarks. Council members did not take immediate action at the meeting but the comment puts the library naming process on record and asks staff to follow up with the council regarding stakeholder engagement.
