37th Centennial Accord Summit Opens: Ferguson Meets Tribal Leaders at Snoqualmie
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. — The 37th annual Centennial Accord summit runs Oct. 12-15 at the Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel, hosted by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. Gov. Bob Ferguson and the leaders of state agencies will hold formal government-to-government meetings with leaders of Washington's federally recognized tribes.
The Centennial Accord, signed in 1989 between the state and the sovereign tribal nations within its borders, established the principle of government-to-government consultation. The annual summit has since addressed treaty rights, natural resources, health, education and economic development; recent agendas have also included state-tribal gaming compacts.
Washington is home to 29 federally recognized tribes, and the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs coordinates state-tribal relations. The Ferguson administration says it will continue honoring the Accord's commitments, consulting tribes before decisions that affect tribal interests. Tribal leaders are expected to raise issues including treaty fishing rights, habitat protection and the impact of federal policy changes on tribal programs.
The four-day summit includes plenary sessions and smaller consultations, and is expected to close with a summary of follow-up commitments between agencies and tribes.
Alongside plenary sessions, agency leaders will hold bilateral meetings with tribal delegations on everyday concerns of tribal communities, including health care, housing and transportation. The standing consultation mechanism created by the Centennial Accord is often cited as a model of state-tribal relations in the United States, with both sides emphasizing mutual respect and consensus-based problem solving.
Sources: Office of the Governor of Washington; Snoqualmie Tribe summit notice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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