You want to use an Indigenous word, name, design, story, or cultural reference in your business, event, publication, or project. Maybe you live in Whatcom County and want to honor the name’s origin. Maybe you’re an artist, educator, or organizer who believes Indigenous culture deserves visibility. Your intentions may be good. Good intentions are not enough.
This page is practical guidance. It is not a list of rules handed down by a single authority. Indigenous communities are diverse, with their own protocols. But there are principles that apply broadly, and there are specific steps you can take in Whatcom County and beyond to move from borrowing to relationship.
What is language sovereignty?
Language sovereignty is the principle that Indigenous peoples have the right to control how their languages are used, taught, documented, and shared. This includes place names, personal names, ceremonial language, and everyday vocabulary. It extends to spelling, pronunciation, and translation.
When a non-Indigenous organization uses “noisy water” as a brand name without consulting the Lummi Nation or Nooksack Tribe, it is exercising a privilege that was never granted. The word was not offered as a brand. It was taken as a place name, simplified into English, and repurposed. Language sovereignty means the people whose language it is get to decide how it is used.
Appropriation vs. ethical engagement
Appropriation is taking cultural material without permission, credit, or relationship. It typically involves:
Using Indigenous words, designs, or cultural references without consulting the source community. Profiting from that use without any benefit flowing back. Simplifying or distorting the original meaning to suit your purposes. Presenting yourself as an authority on something that is not yours. Treating culture as a resource to be extracted, like timber or minerals.
Ethical engagement starts from a fundamentally different place. It asks: whose is this, and what do they want? It involves:
Contacting the relevant Tribe or Nation before using their cultural material. Asking what protocols exist for the specific type of use you’re proposing. Accepting “no” as a complete answer. Ensuring that Indigenous people benefit from any use of their culture. Giving Indigenous communities editorial control over how their material is presented. Building a long-term relationship, not executing a one-time transaction.
Who to contact in Whatcom County
If your project involves Lummi or Nooksack language, culture, or history, the first step is reaching out to the appropriate tribal department. Do not assume that finding information in a book or on a website gives you permission to use it.
Lummi Nation
The Lummi Indian Business Council is the governing body of the Lummi Nation. For cultural matters, contact the Lummi Nation’s Cultural Department. The Lummi Nation’s website is lummi-nsn.gov.
Nooksack Indian Tribe
The Nooksack Tribe’s Cultural Resources department oversees language and cultural matters. Their Culture Program publishes the official Nooksack place name list based on Galloway and Richardson’s research. Contact them through nooksacktribe.org.
Children of the Setting Sun Productions
An Indigenous cultural organization that has led projects including the QwotQwem art installation. They are a point of contact for collaborative cultural projects in the region.
What to ask
When you contact a Tribe or Indigenous organization about using cultural material, come prepared. Here are questions to guide the conversation:
“We would like to use [specific word/name/design/reference] in [specific context]. Is this something you’re open to discussing?” Be specific. “We want to honor Indigenous culture” is too vague. Say exactly what you want to use and how.
“Are there protocols we should follow for this type of use?” Different types of cultural material may have different protocols. Some things may be freely shared. Some may require specific permissions. Some may not be available for outside use at all.
“Who is the right person or department to discuss this with?” The person who answers the phone may not be the decision-maker. Ask to be connected to the appropriate cultural authority.
“How can we ensure this benefits your community?” This is not about writing a check (though financial reciprocity may be appropriate). It is about asking what the community actually wants and needs.
“Would you like editorial review of how we present this material?” Offering review power demonstrates respect. It also prevents errors and misrepresentations.
“Is this an ongoing relationship or a one-time permission?” Cultures are living. Permissions may need to be renewed or renegotiated. Build for the long term.
Common mistakes
“It’s public information, so it’s fine to use.” The fact that a word appears in a book, on a website, or in a news article does not mean it is available for commercial or promotional use. Published does not mean public domain. Cultural material has living owners.
“We’re honoring them by using it.” Honor is not something you decide unilaterally. If the community you claim to honor did not ask for your tribute and does not benefit from it, it is not honor. It is decoration.
“We credited them in a footnote.” Attribution is necessary but not sufficient. A footnote is not a relationship. Credit without consent is still extraction.
“We have one Indigenous person involved.” One person does not speak for an entire nation. Tribal governments have formal structures for cultural decisions. An individual’s participation does not constitute tribal approval.
“But we’re a nonprofit / school / government agency.” Your tax status does not change the ethics. Non-commercial use is still use. Educational institutions, in particular, have a long history of extracting Indigenous knowledge without reciprocity.
Examples of doing it right
The Nooksack Tribe’s Lhéchalosem Teacher Training Program, led by George Adams, uses place names as tools for language revitalization. This is Indigenous-directed, community-serving work. Supporting it (financially, logistically, or through amplification) is an example of ethical engagement.
The Children of the Setting Sun Productions‘ QwotQwem installation was Indigenous-conceived, Indigenous-directed, and housed in a non-Indigenous venue (Hotel Leo) through a collaborative partnership. The venue provided space; the Indigenous organization controlled the content, the framing, and the cultural narrative.
The Noisy Waters Mural Festival‘s Indigeversal Collective represents an imperfect but real attempt at inclusion: paying Indigenous artists, giving them platform space, and creating a track specifically for Indigenous work within a larger non-Indigenous event. The attribution could be more accurate, and the relationship could go deeper, but the structural inclusion of Indigenous artists with compensation is a meaningful step.
The baseline
At minimum, any use of Indigenous cultural material in Whatcom County should:
Name the specific nations (Lummi and Nooksack, not just “Indigenous” or “Native American”). Use accurate translations from scholarly sources, not simplified versions. Link to or cite the primary scholarship. Have contacted the relevant tribal cultural department before publication. Include a mechanism for ongoing feedback from the source community.
If you cannot meet this baseline, reconsider whether you should be using the material at all. The word Xwótqwem survived because specific elders chose to share it with specific researchers who had tribal approval. That chain of consent matters. It does not end because the research was published.
See also: Sources, the full bibliography of scholarship, tribal publications, and coverage cited throughout this site.