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A message from
Deputy Director Heather Bartlett
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Hello Ecology,
The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect team has developed a new speaker series, Ecology Talks.
Ecology Talks is open to all Ecology employees and will focus on a wide variety of professional and cultural topics to promote learning, diversity, and inclusivity in the workplace. The monthly speaker series will feature Ecology and external experts in the areas of environmental justice, cultural resources, tribal relations, and sustainability.
We are excited to announce that the 2023 Ecology Talks Equity Speaker Series will launch on Jan. 25, 2023 from 11 a.m. –12 p.m. with our own Executive Advisor for Tribal Affairs, Tyson Hawk Oreiro. Please register to attend this event.
A Since Time Immemorial Approach to State-Tribal Relations — Tyson Hawk Oreiro
“Since Time Immemorial” is often a phrase used by indigenous people around the globe to describe their relationship to their ancestral lands and continued connection with the land and environment. It’s no different here: As Washington state has grown from its colonial settlements to large thriving cities and economies.
Amidst this growth has been a resounding indigenous voice, acting as a steward over the lands, seas, and air in our state. Indigenous populations have witnessed as the land and environment have faced numerous challenges from population growth and the advance of extractive industries.
In Washington, Tribal nations are part of one of the most dynamic and challenging political environments the world has to offer. There are 29 local federally recognized Tribes and at least three out-of-state Tribes that we consistently partner with because of their treaty rights or natural resources that extend into Washington’s borders. The commonality between all of these nations is their “Since Time Immemorial” relationship with their lands, watersheds, sacred sites, natural resources, and inherent rights passed from generation to generation.
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Tyson Hawk Oreiro
Through ancestral storytelling and life experiences, I hope to provide a small glimpse into what it means to be an Indigenous person who lives in this state, works for this state, and strives to never compromise my indigenous belief system and culture.
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More about the Speaker
Tyson Hawk Oreiro is an enrolled Tribal member of the Lummi Nation and lifelong resident of Washington. Tyson has served as the Executive Advisor for Tribal Affairs at the Department of Ecology for nearly three years. In his role as the agency’s lead advisor on Tribal Affairs, Tyson has been involved in government-to-government relations with Ecology’s 32 federally recognized Tribal partners and governments and has also served as an advisor for numerous sister agencies, committees, and workgroups, including the Governor’s Office. Tyson joined Ecology after 15+ years of service in Tribal governance and administration at Lummi Nation, having served as the Native Environmental Science Academic Advisor at Northwest Indian College. He also served as the shellfish biologist, economic development chairman, human resources staffing coordinator, and restorative justice reentry program manager to name a few prestigious positions held by him at the Lummi Indian Business Council before coming to the Department of Ecology.
Tyson’s true passion comes from his 34 years of treaty-based subsistence and treaty fishing of salmon, prawns, crab, and halibut of the Salish Sea; the gathering of his traditional foods from the Cascade mountains to Puget Sound’s tidelands; and hunting elk, deer, and ducks from Mt. St. Helens to the Sumas Mountains. Tyson’s appreciation for his people’s “since time immemorial” connection to their ancestral lands is what drives his work ethic and mindset to leave the environment better off than we have received it from the generations before.
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