This story originally appeared on Underscore Native News.

Following a nearly 16-month vacancy, the tribal relations department at the City of Portland has been filled.

At the annual Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) winter convention in downtown Portland on February 3, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson addressed hundreds of Native leaders from across the Pacific Northwest. As he welcomed people to Portland, he introduced the audience to Gerald D. Skelton Jr. as the city’s new tribal government relations manager. Officially, Skelton began his first day in the role the day before.

“Gerald’s addition is critical to us, because we need everybody at this table in Portland,” Mayor Wilson told Underscore Native News + ICT. “We need everybody rowing in the same direction. And the tribes are so valuable right now as we create this community of, sort of this renaissance. And so it’s really a welcoming gesture, and we need that relationship.”

Skelton, a citizen of Klamath Tribes, formerly served as the director of the Klamath Tribes Culture and Heritage Department for over 15 years. With the Klamath Tribes, he focused on archeological museum work and negotiating repatriation of ancestral remains. According to Skelton he also has a background in energy development and helped the Klamath Tribes work through the dam removal process on the Klamath River.

“People have been really warm and friendly,” Skelton told Underscore Native News + ICT. “It’s been a warm reception. The City of Portland is amazing, and I do appreciate the direction we’re heading in working with sovereign governments and tribal nations.”

Skelton is the fourth leader of this department at the city of Portland since the office officially began in 2017. He steps into an office that has been wrought with a pattern of abrupt departures including one firing, staffing cuts and political neglect.

Laura John, a descendant of the Blackfeet and Seneca nations, served as the first full-time tribal liaison for the city of Portland from 2017 until 2023 when she resigned, accepting a severance payout. In a story released last June, John said that she felt “forced out” of the position by Sam Chase, who was hired to lead the Office of Government Relations in 2023, overseeing the Tribal Relations Program.

After John left, what was once an office of three people under her leadership, downsized into a position of one. Miranda Mishan, a citizen of Chickasaw Nation, previously worked for John and took over as tribal relations program manager following John’s departure. Mishan left the office after five months and the office sat vacant for six months before Chase hired Adam Becenti, Diné. He was fired by Chase after only five months.

Following the abrupt termination of Becenti in 2024, the office once again sat empty for five months before the city announced plans in March 2025 to hire a new manager.

Skelton began his role as the tribal government relations manager nearly a year after the position first posted.

“Right now, it’s making sure I support the City of Portland in its effort to reconnect with the tribes and develop a strong trust to trust responsibility [and] consultation with the sovereign tribes,” Skelton said.

As tribal government relations manager, Skelton will report to Chase.

“Gerald brings deep knowledge, lived experience and a passion for collaboration to this critical work,” Chase said in a press release. “His leadership will produce outcomes that benefit Tribal Nations and Portland residents alike.”

In November 2024, the Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable sent a letter to the mayor’s office with a list of recommendations for this position. One of those recommendations was to establish a standalone Office of Tribal Government Relations. So far, this is not the case.

“It’s not about what office they’re in. It’s about the outcome, and it’s about the relationship. I need a high performing office with high standards, with radical hospitality being forwarded to the tribes,” Mayor Wilson said. “The office isn’t as important as the person and the leadership that creates this importance with the tribes.”

While this position will focus primarily on government-to-government relationships with the nine sovereign Native nations in Oregon, the city plans to hire another position to focus on engagement with Indigenous communities in Portland at a later date, according to Mayor Wilson. He did not specify when.

“Building strong, respectful relationships with Tribal Nations is essential to the work ahead,” Skelton said in a press release. “I’m honored to step into this role and build on the City’s commitment to equity, inclusion and government-to-government collaboration with Indigenous nations.”

Underscore Native News is a nonprofit investigative newsroom committed to Indigenous-centered reporting in the Pacific Northwest. We are supported by foundations and donor contributions. Follow Underscore on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/03/portland-gerald-skelton-jr-tribal-government-relations/