2020 Voters Guide

The Snoqualmie Tribe — the People of the Moon — are Native Americans of the Puget Sound whose people long called the Snoqualmie Valley home. I’ve come to, in my opportunities to work with and get to know the Tribal Council and its members, truly admire their commitment to stewardship of our environment, rich culture and traditions, and deep sense of compassion for others.

Throughout my career I have worked with tribes across the state and understand the unique challenges and strengths of our 29 federally recognized tribes. From salmon, to forests, to the Puget Sound, I have come to rely on tribes for guidance and insight when legislating on a wide variety of issues. Most recently, it has been my honor working with tribes on COVID response. The efforts we are taking together to protect the lives of one another demonstrate our shared commitment to secure a healthy and prosperous future for us all.

I have been and will remain committed to upholding the Centennial Accord and prioritizing a transparent, regular, open door policy between my administration and tribal leadership on a government-to-government basis. I will continue to stand for tribal sovereignty and tribal rights, and I support policies to enhance tribal self-determination and meaningful tribal consultation.

It has been my honor during my time in office to work with tribal nations to build a better future for everyone in Washington state. The record of collaboration we have established together will be essential to addressing the immediate crisis in front of us: defeating the COVID-19 pandemic that disproportionately harms Native populations, and helping communities recover from the economic harm it has caused. I’m also proud of the progress we’ve made on our shared values — building economic opportunity, supporting educational opportunity and health care, and protecting our shared environment — and look forward to the work ahead on these issues.

Tribal treaties recognize and establish unique sets of rights, benefits, and conditions for the treaty-making tribes. These treaties are the supreme law of the land, and they are the foundation upon which federal Indian law and the federal Indian trust relationship is based. The federal Indian trust responsibility is a legal obligation under which the United States “has charged itself with moral obligations of the highest responsibility and trust”toward Indian tribes. The federal Indian trust responsibility is also a legally enforceable fiduciary obligation on the part of the United States to protect, among other things, tribal treaty rights and lands. I am committed to ensuring that Washington state fully abides by the tribal treaties, as the supreme law of the land, and fully recognizes and respects the treaty rights of Native American communities in our state. Through our decades of work together, I have learned about the unique strengths and circumstances of each relationship, as well as the unique challenges faced by each of the 29 federally- recognized tribes in our state. As we work to affirm and protect tribal treaty rights, we will surely face both new opportunities and new challenges – and I pledge to meet each of these with the values of transparency, openness, and respect for tribal sovereignty that have defined my administration’s approach to our agreements and sovereign relationships.

Yes, I do. Sadly, for decades, the federal Department of the Interior and the Indian Health Service have both mismanaged and underfunded programs in these areas, representing a failure to meet treaty obligations. The result has been a perpetuation of health and education disparities that are unacceptable. I’m proud of my record as a Member of Congress to have confronted, with success, this mismanagement. As governor, we’ve taken steps to help redress these inequities at the state level, including creating a requirement for tribal cultural education in schools across Washington, protection of tribal fisheries, and more. And amid the COVID-19 public health emergency, the state has been proud to work with tribal governments to provide millions in additional funding on top of federal allocations that help Native American communities fight the pandemic and preserve economic opportunity.

I am committed to standing up for tribal sovereignty over the years and support policies to enhance tribal self-determination. I am also proud of the partnerships that we have formed with tribal nations in Washington state to confront climate change, to recover our salmon and the health of Puget Sound, and to protect our clean air, water, and wildlife and public lands. Tribal communities have been among the worst impacted by pollution and environmental degradation, generally, and by the impacts of climate change, specifically. I support fully engaging Native American communities in decision-making processes through good-faith meaningful tribal consultation, especially when state actions might affect tribal lands.

Protecting Tribal cultural resources and sacred sites is at the core of why government- to-government relationships defined by transparency, openness, and policies of meaningful tribal consultation are essential. I am committed to upholding these principles as governor, and view the protection of tribal cultural resources, such as salmon, as one of the most sacred duties of the office. I’m proud that, during my administration, we’ve protected tens of thousands of acres of habitat essential to fish and wildlife, enhanced protections for our treasured orca populations, dedicated tens of millions towards parkland, and struck new agreements with Canada to ensure the return of salmon to our waters.

I also believe that it’s just as important to ensure that tribal views are represented within the government bodies that are working to support Tribal cultural resources and heritage. That is why I have been committed during my administration to ensuring that our state boards, commissions, and cabinet posts accurately reflect the great diversity of our state, including our tribal communities. And I am immensely proud of having had the honor of appointing Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis to the state Supreme Court, an incredibly talented jurist who is also the first Native American justice to sit on the state’s highest court, and who brings extensive experience in tribal courts to the bench.

The fee-to-trust process is an important tool for protection of traditional Tribal lands. As governor, I have worked hard to ensure that the right balance is struck between sovereignty of tribal lands as well as the consideration of state and local jurisdictions. As a Member of Congress, I also co-sponsored legislation for the “Carcieri fix” to the Indian Reorganization Act, which strengthened the fee-to-trust process for federally-recognized Tribes like the Snoqualmie. In circumstances where a state role is indicated, I am committed to continuing to work with Tribal governments to strike the right balance.

Snoqualmie Falls is a premiere part of our state’s natural beauty, and the protection of that natural beauty is a value that I share with the Snoqualmie Tribe. Protecting our air, land, and water, and ensuring a future that preserves our environment against the ravages of climate change, is a core priority of my administration as well as a promise we keep for future generations. I am committed to continuing our ongoing work with the Snoqualmie Tribe on meeting these priorities, including preservation of the Falls and its surrounding acreage.

The State of Washington will approach any role it may have in a given Treaty Rights dispute with the same principles of respect, openness, and transparency that is at the core of State-Tribal relations in my administration. I am committed to maintaining a positive government-to-government relationship with the Native American communities within our state, and to resolving disputes where they may exist through engagement, meaningful tribal consultation, and enduring respect for tribal sovereignty.

I am committed to continuing a transparent and open government-to-government relationship with the Snoqualmie Tribe that we have enjoyed over the last several years. I recognize that the State has no voice in — or authority to establish — treaty rights. Only the federal courts can make those determinations. However, while the exact status of the Tribe’s rights as a signatory are a matter of ongoing litigation, our relationship withthe Snoqualmie Tribe will continue to be one where we honor our government-to- government relationship and all federally recognized treaty rights, and we work together to ensure the best outcome for both parties. One example of this commitment is my recent proclamation ensuring that Tribal governments, including the Snoqualmie, have increased flexibility to utilize fuel sale proceeds to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.