The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM with roll call (Councilmembers Bushnell and Scott absent), a land acknowledgement, flag salute, and moment of silence. The council adopted the consent agenda, issued three proclamations, and unanimously passed a resolution to install honorary street signs in the Puyallup Tribe's Twulshootseed language. Public comment and community forum sessions covered a range of topics including tree preservation, homelessness, labor standards, and calls for divestment from Israel.
I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of October 8th, 2024. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Bushnell. Absent. Councilmember Daniels? Councilmember Diaz. Deputy Mayor Hines. Councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Sidalgay? Here. Councilmember Scott, absent. Councilmember Walker? Here. Mayor Woodards? Here. Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Councilmember Daniels, followed by a moment of silence. We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Puala people where they make their home and speak the Leshut seed language. Please stand for the flag salute and remain standing for a moment of silence. And to the Republic for which to stand under God. All right, agenda modifications. Are there any modifications to the agenda this evening? Seeing none, we will move on to the consent agenda. I move to adopt consent agenda. Second. Are there any questions, comments, or corrections? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting the consent agenda, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, the consent agenda is declared adopted. Tonight we have three ceremonials. Um and they may be in a certain order on your um on your agenda this evening, but I'm gonna just change the order up just a little bit. And we're gonna the first proclamation we're gonna do is proclaiming Monday, October 14th, 2024 as Indigenous People's Day. And I'd like to invite Sylvia Miller, Tribal Council Vite, Tribal Council Vice Chairwoman from the Puallop tribe of Indians to the podium as I read this proclamation. Right. Whereas the City of Tacoma recognizes that the indigenous peoples of the lands known as the Americas have occupied these lands since time and immemorial, immemorium. Whereas the city acknowledges that Tacoma is built upon the homelands and villages of indigenous people of this region, and in particular, recognizes and honors the ownership rights and the land restored to the Puallop tribe of Indians under the Puallop Lane Clam Settlement of 1990. And whereas Indigenous nations have made and continue to make invaluable contributions to the diversity, the arts, the knowledge, labor, technology, science, philosophy, and it and the economy of Washington State and their historical and cultural contributions, particularly those of the Puallop tribe, have substantially shaped Tacoma's character. And whereas the city has a responsibility to oppose institutional and systemic bigotry and racism towards indigenous people in the United States, which has perpetuated high rates of poverty and income equality, exacerbated adverse health, education, and social outcomes, and contributed to the disproportionate rate of incarceration. And whereas Indigenous People's Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations, and in December 2010, the United States announced support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which recognizes the suffering caused by the historic injustices of colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories, and resources. And whereas the city and the Puallop tribe continue working to build and strengthen the relationship between our two governments through the sponsoring of Canoe Journey Journey, the partnering efforts to raise the pride flag over the Tacoma Dome for LGBTQ Pride Month, the renaming of the Puallop River Bridge to the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge, and we will continue building that relationship and collaboration for the greater good of our communities. Now, therefore, I, Victoria R. Woodards, mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 14th, 2024 as Indigenous People's Day in the City of Tacoma, and encourage our residents to reflect on the accomplishments and the contributions of all people from Indigenous backgrounds and how they have made our city and our nation so strong. Please join me in a round of applause. And I'd like to call on Vice Chairwoman Sylvia Miller for comments. Do I have two minutes? Oh, you have as you have as many minutes as you'd like. That's an old joke. I I want to say what an honor, what an honor for us to be standing here today, because our identity is something that has been tried over centuries and centuries to be stripped from us to make that indigenous people not be here. But this speaks many words. We're here, we're here today, and we'll continue to be here forever.