Tribal Government Affairs

About Tribal Government Affairs

The State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) joins other state agencies and public education institutions to build government-to-government relationships with Washington's 29 federally recognized tribes. 

We recognize that every member of our community has benefited, and continues to benefit, from living, working, and occupying the ancestral territories of first peoples of Washington state, the 29 federally recognized Tribes, all sovereign nations. 

Learn more about SBCTC values.

Official SBCTC Land Acknowledgment

As a step toward honoring truth and achieving healing and reconciliation, we open today by acknowledging the traditional territories of the Squaxin Island Tribe of the South Puget Sound.

The people of the Squaxin Island Tribe lived and prospered along the shores of the southernmost inlets of the Salish Sea for untold centuries. We acknowledge throughout time immemorial, the people of the Squaxin Island Tribe’s strong cultural connection with water, and traditionally known as the People of the Water. Today, we honor the descendants of the Squaxin Island Tribe, the People of the Water, on which Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges office resides.

While our colleges are distributed across many first people’s nations, we remain dedicated to opening our time together by honoring those that came before us.

We know that such statements only become truly meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and sustained commitment, and as such, we commit to continued efforts to build our collective understanding and action to foster authentic Tribal community connections. (Endorsed by Council Chairman Kristopher Peters, Squaxin Island Tribe. March 2023)