Local Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the Southern Salish Sea region lies on the unceded and ancestral land of the Coast Salish peoples, the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, Suquamish and Tulalip tribes and other tribes of the Puget Sound Salish people, and that present-day City of Kirkland is in the traditional heartland of the Lake People and the River People. We honor with gratitude the land itself, the First People – who have reserved treaty rights and continue to live here since time immemorial – and their ancestral heritage.

About Local Land Acknowledgements

A land acknowledgement is a formal statement that pays tribute to, expresses gratitude and respect for, and helps raise awareness of the Indigenous inhabitants of the local land—past and present.  Land acknowledgements are ceremonial in nature and do not carry any legal authority. Land acknowledgements have been adopted by other cities in Washington, including the cities of Edmonds, Everett, and Spokane.  Other cities throughout the country have also adopted land acknowledgements, including the cities of Denver, Colorado; Eden Prairie, Minnesota; and Eureka, California.

Kirkland’s adopted Land Acknowledgement was informed by input by tribal leaders and has been reviewed by them, though the final acknowledgement is specific to Kirkland and is not the official position of any of the consulted tribal organizations.  In adopting this local land acknowledgement, the City is not taking a position on the status of federal recognition for any tribe.

Land acknowledgements are often used at the beginning of meetings or other events.  It can also be incorporated into facility signage, interpretive signage or wayfinding, on the City’s website, and in City plans and other official documents.  Staff will draft a Local Land Acknowledgement Guide for use by City staff.  Based on staff and community feedback, staff will subsequently create a usage guide for community groups, businesses, and other community members.

The City Council adopted this local land acknowledgement at the December 14, 2021 Council meeting(PDF, 708KB)