Photos by Frank Griese
Puyallup Tribal Member
By Puyallup Tribal News Staff
Tribal Council met Bryan Newland, the Department of the Interior’s assistant secretary for Indian affairs, on Wednesday and toured some of the Tribe’s waterfront property. Newland, a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community (Ojibwe), was on a three-day tour of listening sessions with Tribal leaders across the state to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, climate change and related topics. With Indigenous communities and their lands are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, the assistant secretary discussed how the new law includes $466 million for Tribal climate resilience and infrastructure, along with $2.5 billion to help the Department fulfill settlements of Indian water rights claims.
Newland also met with leaders of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, Suquamish Indian Tribe and Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.