Moments after Cowlitz tribal leaders urged the Vancouver City Council to begin working with them, the council unanimously voted Monday to overturn a 2007 resolution opposing the tribe’s casino project west of La Center.

The resolution ends the city’s participation in the current lawsuit challenging the casino, and it invites dialogue between the city government and tribal government.

“We feel it will be a new beginning, turning a page on a history that maybe we’d rather not look back at. But it’s a breath of fresh air,” Cowlitz Tribe Chairman Bill Iyall said during Monday’s public hearing. “We’re more than happy to work on any remaining issues you have.”

Cowlitz tribal member Dave Barnett, project founder and son of the late Cowlitz Chairman John Barnett, recalled how his father had shaken hands years ago with then-Mayor Royce Pollard and the two had agreed to work together. Soon afterward, the city council passed a resolution that directed the city attorney to explore all legal options to oppose the location of the casino in Clark County.

“My dad — it bothered him, you shake a hand and then that happens,” Barnett said. “But I know he’s smiling today. … This government relationship will go far beyond what we can anticipate.”