The Process Work Institute offers our respect to the elders, both past and present, who have stewarded the land through generations and who are the custodians of indigenous knowledge and practices.

We acknowledge the land where we are privileged to be based, the land that we now call Portland, Oregon and Multnomah County, as the traditional lands of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tualatin Kalapuya, Wasco, Molalla, Cowlitz and Watlala bands of the Chinook, and other Tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River.

Today, people from these bands have become part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, as well as the Chinook Nation and Cowlitz Nation in Washington State.

We pay our respects to the resilient and proud communities of native people currently living here and acknowledge the devastating histories of colonization and systemically racist policies that have impacted and continue to impact indigenous peoples here and around the world.  We work towards a world where respect for indigenous people, culture, knowledge and practices, creates the basis for a vibrant, diverse and just community.

Some links for further information

Leading with Tradition: Native American Community in the Portland Metropolitan Area

The Native American Community in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile – executive summary   Full Report available here.

Overview of the Nine Tribes

Global Map of Indigenous Lands from Native Land Digital

Interactive Time-Lapse Map Shows How the U.S. Took More Than 1.5 Billion Acres From Native Americans