Land Acknowledgement

The Portland Metro area rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River. Indigenous people have created communities and summer encampments to harvest and enjoy the plentiful natural resources of the area for the last 11,000 years.

We want to recognize that Portland today is a community of many diverse Native peoples who continue to live and work here. We respectfully acknowledge and honor all Indigenous communities—past, present, future—and are grateful for their ongoing and vibrant presence.

We also acknowledge the systemic policies of genocide, relocation, and assimilation that still impact many Indigenous/Native American families today. As settlers and guests on these lands, we respect the work of Indigenous leaders and families, and pledge to make ongoing efforts recognize their knowledge, creativity, and resilience.

History and Current Resources

• The State of Oregon’s Overview of the 9 tribes

• “The Native American Community in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile”

• “Leading With Tradition: Native American Community in the Portland Metropolitan Area”

  • Provided by Portland’s Native American Community Advisory Council

• “First Peoples in the Portland Basin”

  • Other resources from the Oregon Historical Society