Adam Becenti, Diné, was fired as the head of Portland's Tribal Relations Program on Oct. 2, 2024
Courtesy of the city of Portland
Adam Becenti had big dreams for his first Indigenous Peoples Day as Portland’s Tribal Relations Program manager. His plans to host a panel discussion with Native journalists in a city building felt like an opportunity to demonstrate the city’s commitment to listening to Indigenous communities.
But those plans never came to fruition.
Less than two weeks before the day intended to recognize and honor the contributions of Native American people, Becenti was abruptly fired with little explanation.
Becenti is a member of the Diné Nation, and had led the city’s Tribal Relations Program for five months. His firing has drawn a swift outcry from several of the city’s prominent Native-led organizations, who say the decision calls for a serious overhaul to a program they believe city leaders have long overlooked and underfunded.
“This news has shocked the Native community and beyond,” reads a letter sent Saturday to the city by Jillene Joseph, executive director of the nonprofit Native Wellness Institute and member of the Gros Ventre or Aaniiih Nation. “Terminating the Tribal Relations Program Manager right before Indigenous Peoples’ Day is not a good look for the city and is a slap in the face to the Native community.”
The Portland metro area sits on the traditional village sites of at least nine different tribes. Recent U.S. Census Bureau data reports that nearly 6,500 Portlanders identify as American Indian or Alaska Native.
Becenti, 40, said he spent his brief tenure at the city working to rebuild the government’s frayed relationships with tribal councils and organizations through meetings, grant funding and events. So he was surprised to hear during an Oct. 2 meeting with his manager, Government Relations Director Sam Chase, that he wasn’t the “right fit” for the office. According to documents reviewed by OPB, Chase gave Becenti the choice to resign or be fired on Oct. 2. Becenti accepted termination because he wanted it to be clear that it wasn’t his decision.
Becenti told OPB that his firing is less about him and more about the city’s lack of commitment to Portland’s Native American community members and partners.
“What this tells me is that the Native community is not a priority for the city,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “Tribes and the community want to be seen … they fight to be seen and to be heard by our government. [To vacate this office], it’s honestly a failure.”
Becenti believes he was fired because he didn’t follow the direction Chase had in mind for the office. He said Chase didn’t seem “fully committed” to building relationships with tribal governments and didn’t seek Becenti’s input on plans that would impact the office. Becenti said Chase never gave him a warning that his job was in danger — or gave him a chance to improve — before he was let go.
In an email to OPB, Chase said he was unable to discuss HR matters, but that “meaningful relationships with interested Tribal governments, and urban Indigenous people is essential to inform and guide city policies.”
Becenti said the office should be a standalone department under the city’s new governance structure.
“This action will show the city is committed to this work and remove the bureaucracy,” he said, noting the program doesn’t belong under the Office of Government Relations.
Becenti’s firing is just the latest in a string of problems for the Tribal Relations Program, which was established in 2016.
Before Becenti took the job in May, the position sat vacant for five months. His predecessor was Miranda Mishan, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and a Muskogee Creek descendant. Mishan also held the job for only five months. Her predecessor, Laura John, led the office for five years. She left in June 2023, after signing a severance agreement that required her to waive any potential discrimination claims, according to reporting by Underscore News.
John, from the Blackfeet and Seneca Nations, told OPB Tuesday that she believes the office is hindered by a core misunderstanding of its purpose.
“The nature of that position is to be an advocate to the community and tribal governments,” she said. “But internally, people assume that that person is there to just work on behalf of the city, and represent the city’s needs. And it leads to unclear expectations.”
Many programs John began were paused after she left. The city also cut the office’s staff from three to two last year, and had yet to fill the second position — meaning Becenti was the Tribal Relations Program’s sole employee when he was fired.
In her letter to Chase and City Council members, Joseph with the Native Wellness Institute said that if the city was really interested in being an “anti-racist” employer, it would “provide more Native staff to support each other in these toxic workspaces.”
She invited city leaders to the monthly meeting of the Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable, a group of representatives from 24 organizations that serve Native communities in the city, to discuss the future of the Tribal Relations Program and how it will be better supported by the city. This invitation was echoed in another letter sent to Chase on behalf of the Future Generations Collaborative, a Portland nonprofit that advocates for Indigenous communities.
“We hope this conversation will help you and your colleagues to better understand how to serve and be an ally to our community,” the letter, sent Tuesday, reads.
Chase told OPB that he plans on meeting with community members to discuss plans for the program, but offered no specifics. In a statement emailed to OPB, Mayor Ted Wheeler said the Tribal Relations Program holds a critical role in the city’s government.
“This office merits strong leadership, and we are committed to filling this role with an individual that has strong ties to the native community to drive our shared goals forward,” Wheeler wrote.
Becenti wasn’t the only Native American city employee fired the first week of October. A day after his termination, Portland Water Bureau staffer Peche Barteaux was let go. Barteaux, a member of the Oneida Nation, had only worked as a risk specialist for the city for two months, and had grown frustrated with the lack of managerial support she had requested in her demanding job. She said she was fired for missing a meeting — a meeting that Barteaux said she was told to skip by her manager.
“It felt like a set up,” she said. “Like they were just looking for an excuse.”
The Portland Water Bureau said it cannot comment on circumstances that led to an employee’s termination.
Barteaux had been working with Becenti on programming for the city’s Indigenous Peoples Day event. While some elected city leaders shared social media posts acknowledging the day, the city did not hold any kind of official event to recognize it.
“It was just erased,” Barteaux said. “It’s so unfortunate — I thought the city was about doing good things and involving our community. I guess not.”
Correction: A previous version of this story referenced an incorrect U.S. Census population estimate for Native American and Alaska Natives living in Portland. This number varies widely in public and newspaper accounts in recent years. OPB regrets the error.