Governor Kotek and the First Lady arrive in Chiloquin; spend a full day with the Klamath Tribes

CHILOQUIN, Ore. – Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson visited the  Klamath Tribes on Wednesday, July 31, and attended a full day of tribal events. 

The early morning agenda began at 9 a.m. with a buffet breakfast at the Goos Olgi Gowa Community  room in Chiloquin. Before breakfast, children from the Klamath Tribes Early Childhood Development  Center sang a series of songs for the Governor and First Lady. Following breakfast, a ribbon-cutting  ceremony was held at the newly remodeled Melita’s Hotel, which now serves Klamath Tribal elders  offering transitional housing. A history of the project was presented by The Klamath Tribes General  Manager George Lopez. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Governor and First Lady were presented  with gifts and then entertained by the Klamath Tribes Drum Youth Council. The governor also toured the  housing facility, which offers furnished one-bedroom and studio rooms.  

A catered lunch was provided after the ceremony at goos Olgi gowa, and two PowerPoint presentations  were delivered by Danita Herrera, Judicial Director for the Klamath Tribes, offering an emotional  overview of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People, and then Susan Lawlor, Behavioral Health  Director for the Klamath Tribal Youth and Family Guidance Center, gave an in-depth OPIOID  presentation on the impact the drug has had on Native Americans and their communities. 

The Governor and First Lady then traveled to the Wood River Wetland in Chiloquin, where they heard  from the Bureau of Land Management Resource Manager, who covered various topics about the Wood  River Wetland and restoration project, the history of the area, and offered a review of the unique  species that inhabit the wetland, including the endangered c’waam and koptu suckers, bull and redband  trout, and the spotted frog.  

Representatives from the Klamath Tribes Natural Resources Department and Ambodat Department  completed the Wood River Wetland presentation with discussion on the work the Klamath Tribes have  been involved in with wetlands restoration and offered an overview of tribal knowledge of the Wood  River and its importance historically to the Klamath Tribes as an ecosystem that once sustained them as 

a source of food from wocus and fish like the suckers, which were once plentiful in the wetland before  the arrival of settlers and the onset of agricultural businesses and ranches.  

Klamath Tribal Chairman William Ray Jr stated that “The Klamath Tribes welcomed Governor Kotek and  First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson to meet as two sovereigns on a government-to-government basis to raise  the level of understanding concerning how the Tribes’ aboriginal rights have been and are being  adversely impacted, which erodes the viability and sustainability to exercising and practicing our culture  and heritage. We are hopeful that Governor Kotek’s government-to-government consultation processes  will be implemented throughout state government, agencies and employees. The Tribes were honored  to host Governor Kotek and the First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson in our homelands and look forward to  future consultations; we deeply appreciate and Sepk’eec’a. Thank you for listening to all the issues the  Tribes are facing.” 

The Governor and First Lady ended the evening at the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino, where the Klamath Tribal  Council held a private dinner for the couple from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.  

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