Kinatechitapi's first efforts to open discussions about the property with the City of Seattle, in advance of surplus land being transferred to the city, failed. The City, under mayor Wes Uhlman, said it would not open discussions until it had acquired the land, and referred the group to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). As Whitebear later wrote, "This action displayed their ignorance of both the BIA's restricted service policy, which excluded urban Indians, and also the disregard and disfavor urban Indians held for the BIA." The City said that the Indian Center in a former church near Stewart Street downtown was an adequate facility for Seattle's Indians. The members of the Magnolia Community Club, a group with significant political clout, were opposed to an Indian presence on the Fort Lawton land.