The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Yakama Nation, and the Nez Perce Tribe have been an integral part of HAMMER, since its conception. Representatives from the three tribes continue to hold seats on the HAMMER Steering Committee. These and other northwest tribes design programs then conduct them at HAMMER, using the facility's modern classrooms and realistic life-sized props.

College accredited Intertribal Fire and Law Enforcement Academies held at HAMMER include valuable emergency preparedness and response training. Several northwest tribes, as well as the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, have worked with HAMMER to develop the seven-acre Cultural Test Bed. The bed contains a Reference Target Area for non-intrusive subsurface detection classes, as well as buried simulated cultural features and artifacts for training to identify and investigate potentially looted cultural sites.