Cultural Items Task Force

The task force was first created in 2017 to obtain information relating to cultural items currently held in storage or on display at Oregon state agencies, state universities, colleges, and public schools. Executive Order 17-12 directed the creation of a Governor's Task Force on Oregon Tribal Items to survey these public entities.

In 2019, Oregon was the first in the nation to report its survey findings of tribal cultural items, but the task force’s work has been paused since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Task Force completed the hard work of determining best practices for gathering information, developing definitions of cultural items, and providing training to state agencies on how to conduct these surveys. The Task Force also established a process for annual updates by state agencies.

The reestablished task force has been created through the signing of Executive Order 24-06, which replaces Executive Order 17-12. In March 2020, the Task Force began the next phase of surveying the public universities and community colleges. During the COVID pandemic, this new phase, as well as the state agencies ' updates, stalled and have been on pause. It is time to renew this important work for the tribes and the state.

The resumption of the Task Force will continue the process for identifying best practices for gathering information about these types of cultural items associated with Oregon Tribes. The Task Force will also work on developing the most appropriate next steps for establishing workable strategies for determining the provenance, the appropriate custodian, and the appropriate storage or display of such items. The task force will submit an annual report to the Governor beginning in 2025.

Membership

The Governor’s Tribal Affairs Office Director or other designee; any additional member of the Governor’s staff as directed by the Governor; a representative of the State Historic Preservation Office, appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the Director of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department; a state agency director, appointed by the Governor; a representative of the Legislative Commission on Indian Services, as appointed by the Commission; a representative from each of the nine federally recognized Tribes of Oregon, as appointed by each Tribe's respective Tribal Chairs, Councils, or Boards; one or more representatives of one or more public universities or colleges, appointed by the Governor; one or more representatives of primary or secondary Oregon public schools, appointed by the Governor; and additional members, as invited by the Governor.

The current members are:

Brenda Meade: (Co-chair) Representative, Coquille Indian Tribe
Danny Santos: (Co-chair) Representative, public university
Shana Radford: Tribal Affairs Director, Office of Governor Tina Kotek
Sarah Means : Representative, Office of Governor Tina Kotek
John Pouley: Representative, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
Kirsten Anderson: Tribal Affairs Director, Oregon Department of Transportation
Elissa Bullion: Physical Anthropologist, Oregon Legislative Commission on Indian Services
Thierry Veyrié: Representative, Burns Paiute Tribe
Ben Steward: Representative, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
Jesse Beers: Representative, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians
Garin Riddle Sr.: Representative, Klamath Tribe
Robert Kentta: Representative, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Toby Patrick: Representative, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Carlos Calica: Representative, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
April Campbell: Representative, Oregon Department of Education
Patrick Flanagan: Director, Oregon Legislative Commission on Indian Services
Ricardo LujánValerio: Representative, Oregon Secretary of State
Nicole Yasuhara: Museum Director, Oregon Historical Society
Teara Farrow Ferman: Cultural Resources Manager, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Chief Doug Barrett: Chief, Confederated Tribes of Coos Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw
Briece Edwards: Representative, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Dawn Marie Alapisco: Director of the NAGPRA Office, Oregon State University
Jason Younker: V.P. Government to Government, University of Oregon
Ryan Tague: Representative, Oregon State Police