Klamath Tribes Critical of Secretary Bernhardt’s Visit

Press Release from the Klamath Tribes

On the afternoon of July 7th, 2020 the Klamath Tribes were notified that Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt would be in Klamath Falls on the morning of July 9th. We were told he wanted to meet with leadership from the Klamath Tribes, Yurok Tribe, Hoopa Valley Tribe, and Karuk Tribe and that we should limit our delegation to two individuals. We were also informed that Federal Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman would be present. After internal discussion among Tribal Council, Chairman Don Gentry and Councilman Clayton Dumont were selected to attend the 10:15 a.m. meeting.

As Gentry and Dumont waited in front of the Government Building with other tribal leaders, Congressman Doug LaMalfa arrived. At that point they learned that Congressman Greg Walden would also be in attendance.

The Klamath Tribes had no notice that these important federal officials would be part of an abbreviated 75 minute meeting with leaders of four sovereign tribal nations called less than 48 hours earlier.

The immediate announcement by Secretary Bernhardt that he would not be wearing a mask in the midst of the current pandemic, a decision that Congressman LaMalfa and Commissioner Burman apparently agreed with, has unnecessarily added to the disproportionate risk of infection faced by our impoverished tribal community. We are grateful to Congressman Walden for wearing his mask throughout the meeting.

The 10-15 minutes afforded to our representatives to speak was not an example of “meaningful” government-to-government consultation as defined in any of several state and federal policies. When our representatives attempted to make this point, Secretary Bernhardt interrupted and informed them that they “did not have to come” to his meeting. We hope that any future request to meet with the Klamath Tribes in our homeland will allow for genuine, meaningful, and respectful exchanges between federal officials and our entire elected Tribal Council, if not a larger group of our members.

The substance of the meeting was little. With no opportunity for detailed interaction, we left copies of documents that we hope these federal leaders will read. We fear that the “meeting” was little more than political cover for further erasure of our Indigenous voices- and in our own homeland. The struggle to protect and restore the health of this magnificent place that the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin peoples have called home for thousands of years continues.