In a moving and unprecedented show of deference, today Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced he’s ensuring every police officer recites a land acknowledgment before sweeping homeless Native Americans this Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
“It is vital that we, as One Seattle, recognize that that we are on stolen Coast Salish land, specifically the ancestral land of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Stillaguamish, and Muckleshoot People, when we order our homeless Native American neighbors to get off the street and get out here,” Harrell said. “Native Americans are disproportionally represented in Seattle’s homeless population, and that’s why it’s all the more important to compassionately honor them with a recitation of a land acknowledgment that reminds them of what else they’ve lost.”
Even though Harrell’s land acknowledgement executive order will only last one day, the Seattle Police Department assured local residents they will be equally respectful and empathetic whenever uprooting people without giving them anywhere else to go for help.
“Look, you can always trust that whenever we’re talking about suffering Indian community members, we’re being respectful,” said Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan. “Even though you may notice we’re suddenly turning our body cams off a lot more and canceling contracts for technology designed monitor our conduct through their recordings, don’t worry: Our mission is always to protect and serve. And, hey, if you somehow still find a way to prove we’re not doing that, you’re totally free to punish us with a paid vaca—I mean, paid administrative leave and possible reassignment.”
At press time, Mayor Harrell was stamping away from an Indigenous Peoples’ Day event after someone interrupted his land acknowledgment to remind everyone that the City and County never fired or charged the police officer who shot and killed a beloved local and often homeless woodcarver John T. Williams, a member of the Ditidaht First Nation, after crossing the street in front of him.
