Last week's rendezvous between Governor Tina Kotek and the Burns Paiute Tribe isn't your everyday political handshake. According to an announcement released by the state of Oregon, this visit was a deliberate step in fulfilling Gov. Kotek's 2024 commitment to engage with all nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon. The state's First Couple, marking off one more name on what I imagine to be their governmental bucket list, went beyond mere pleasantries, diving into discussions about tribal prosperity and environmental stewardship, even during challenging times like these with the fire season at full blaze.
"The First Lady and I are incredibly grateful for the hospitality shown by the Burns Paiute Tribe, especially during such a dynamic and challenging fire season," Kotek is quoted, her words a reminder that politics can still don a humane face amidst natural adversities. And the Tribe wasn't all talk and no action. By involving Kotek in crafting traditional tule duck decoys, they segued perfectly from words of cooperation to cultural education – a hands-on experience that tends not just to memory, but also mutual respect.
It wasn't all feathers and crafting, though. The Governor's visit took an earnest turn as she toured the Burns Paiute reservation properties and pored over the tribal nation's housing initiatives, keen to add more homes to their community armory, pun unintended. But healthcare, always a hot-button issue, wasn't left on the sidelines. The First Lady and the Governor stopped by the Wellness Center – an old National Guard armory turned tribal health haven – where, in the true spirit of recycling, it now serves as a hub for the Tribe's alcohol and drug prevention programs.
Speaking of health, the nutrition didn't disappoint. After a fruitful morning, Kotek and her First Lady were presented with Indian tacos and chokecherry pudding by the youth of Burns Paiute – a gesture rich in culture, and probably calories. Program directors from various tribal departments, including Health, Housing, Natural Resources, and even IT shared a smorgasbord of information after lunch about the Tribe’s various services and the partnerships that knit them closer to the State of Oregon, a fabric of cooperation they hope, to keep weaving tighter with time.
