PUYALLUP, Wash. — As a member of the Puyallup Tribe, Dakota Case said his people have a connection to the land that is deeper than just a shared name with the city, and that connection still holds today.
“This would’ve been prime location for my people to live," said Case. "There would’ve been berries around. There would’ve been access to water, and people tend to forget that."
Last week, the city put forward plans to change one of the welcome signs. When the design debuted, residents pushed back, with quite a few saying the sign should be more inclusive and highlight the Puyallup Tribe.
Case said even a small highlight would be enough.
“Welcome to the city of Puyallup, and homeland of the Puyallup, and even something that says, 'This is the homelands of the Puyallup,'” said Case.
After the feedback, Puyallup officials said they’re going back to the drawing board, and the new redesign will include input from other community groups.
Sylvia Miller, the vice-chair of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, said including the Puyallup Tribe in what the next sign would look like would help in building a stronger relationship between the tribe and the city.
“I think this is a good start,” said Miller. “Usually, with anything that happens in the city of Puyallup, we try to be respectful to their thoughts, as well as them to ours. So, I think this is a first step.”
Though that relationship is being built, Case hopes Puyallup Tribe members will make their way into the rooms where these decisions are being made in the first place.
“We need to get our members on the city councils around us, and actually get representation there so someone can say, 'Hey, the Puyallup people are still here,'” said Case.
The city of Puyallup released a statement saying they’re working on additional outreach strategies for the project and will present those strategies at the next city council meeting on Sept. 28. City officials said they're proud of the strong relationship with community stakeholders, including the Puyallup Tribe, and want to make sure that this new welcome sign is representative of the community.