Astoria staff present tribal coordination draft; council presses for 'consultation' language and designated liaisons

City staff presented a draft tribal coordination and collaboration policy at the Astoria City Council work session on Dec. 22 intended to guide staff awareness and foster ongoing relationships with tribal partners. "The intent of this document isn't to be overly prescriptive ... but more to help a framework for staff," staff said when introducing the draft.

Councilor Davis said she preferred the policy use the term "consultation" rather than "collaboration" and asked the draft to recognize tribal sovereignty rather than describing tribes as "organizations." "I think they're sovereign nations or, or maybe sovereign entities," she said, recommending language that treats tribal partners as peer governments and suggested naming a designated council liaison and a staff lead appointed by the city manager.

Staff explained the choice of wording was meant to be inclusive of tribal members who may not represent a whole tribal nation and agreed to ask tribal partners how they prefer to be referred. Councilors also recommended training requirements for council and staff assigned to liaison roles so those representatives have a baseline of expertise before engaging as the city point person.

Council and staff discussed the idea of an annual meeting with tribal representatives. One staff member suggested formalizing annual meetings with the Chinook nation and the "Class of Nenio" (language as used in the draft) to build ongoing relationships and to consider annual affirmation of who will serve as the council liaison.

Staff said they will revise the draft to reflect council input and reach out to local tribal partners for feedback on preferred terminology and structure. No formal action or vote took place; staff will return a revised draft after outreach and edits.