The art of Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) member James Lavadour features over 30 paintings and prints from various private and public collections and the artist’s studio. Based in Pendleton, Lavadour makes work that expresses the land and sky of the CTUIR homelands. JORDAN SCHNITZER MUSEUM OF ART

Lavadour’s ‘Land of Origin’ exhibit showing at Schnitzer Museum

EUGENE – A career retrospective of artist and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) member James Lavadour is on display at the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene.  “James Lavadour: Land of Origin” includes painting and printmaking and spans more than 40 years of Lavadour’s art, celebrating his status as one of the Pacific…

From left are Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) members Bronson Trevor, Zelda Bronson and Mato Treloar as they select backpacks and school supplies during the Education Department’s Tribal Youth Backpack Distribution held Aug. 11-15 at the Nixyáawii Education Center. ANDRIA SCOTT/EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Education Dept. distributes free backpacks, school supplies to CTUIR members

By TRAVIS SNELL MISSION – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s (CTUIR) Education Department gave away 228 backpacks during its annual Tribal Youth Backpack Distribution event. Held Aug. 11-15 at the Nixyáawii Education Center, CTUIR members who are enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12th were eligible to receive backpacks and school supplies to assist them with costs of…

The incoming Šináata Scholars visit the Whitman College campus on Aug. 14 in Walla Walla, Washington. From left are Joel Satterwhite, Oscar Huesties, Addison Jones-Kosey, Lauralee Stanger and Addison Carey. Not pictured is Tatiwiyat Buck. WHITMAN COLLEGE

Largest-ever cohort awarded Šináata Scholarships to Whitman College

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman College in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) have named Addison Carey, Addison Jones-Kosey, Joel Satterwhite, Lauralee Stanger, Oscar Huesties and Tatiwiyat Buck as the Šináata Scholarship cohort for the 2025-26 academic year.  “It is a joy to welcome these six incredible students to Whitman’s growing cohort of Šináata Scholars,” said Whitman College President Sarah…

A returning coho salmon at the Suquamish Tribe’s Grovers Creek Hatchery in Poulsbo, Washington. K. KING/U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE

WSU team unlocks biological process behind coho die-offs

BY SHAWN VESTAL, WSU NEWS & MEDIA RELATIONS For years, scientists at Washington State University’s (WSU) Puyallup Research & Extension Center have been working to untangle a mystery: Why do coho salmon in Puget Sound creeks seem to suffocate after rainstorms — rising to the surface, gaping and swimming in circles before dying? In 2018, the die-offs were linked to…

A grass fire burned about 300 acres near Highway 11 and Duff Road from the evening of Monday, Aug. 11 to Wednesday, Aug. 13.

Fire burns 300 acres on Umatilla reservation

By DANELI ATILANO MISSION – A grass fire burned about 300 acres on the Umatilla Indian Reservation from the evening of Monday, Aug. 11 to Wednesday, Aug. 13, prompting a large multi-agency response. No structures were damaged, and no injuries were reported. The fire was reported at 6:52 p.m. on Aug. 11 near Highway 11 and Duff Road. It quickly…

Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center’s Little Free Pantry located at the July Grounds near the Veterans Memorial. CHRIS AADLAND/CUJ

Little Free Food Pantry Project Comes to Fruition

Press release provided by Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center MISSION – Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center (Yellowhawk) is excited to announce the completion of the “Little Free Food Pantry” project led by Mariah Watchman, Yellowhawk Resource Coordinator. This project began in March of 2024 and has been a collaboration with various staff and community members to whom we are extremely grateful. CTUIR…

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) member and knowledge keeper Brosnan Spencer, kneeling, shows celery diggers what to look for when harvesting this First Food. CTUIR First Foods are found on lands under different management types, and carbon sequestration initiatives have the potential to harm or help their habitats. The CTUIR will host a symposium Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 in Cove, Oregon, to develop a regional consensus in response to carbon sequestration projects impacting First Foods. CTUIR FIRST FOODS POLICY PROGRAM

CTUIR to Host Carbon & Culture Symposium Sept. 29-Oct. 1

By TRAVIS SNELL COVE, Ore. – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) will host a symposium Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 to develop a regional consensus in response to carbon sequestration projects impacting First Foods habitats. “Carbon sequestration initiatives are being funded in the Pacific Northwest, and CTUIR’s First Foods habitats and the working lands that can…

Spanning 11,438 acres, the Qapqápa Wildlife Area in Union County, Oregon, will be co-managed as a working forest by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION

$22M Earmarked for CTUIR-backed Wildlife Area Project

MISSION – A wildlife area project backed by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) has been awarded $22 million in federal funding. Funded through the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program, the Qapqápa (pronounced cop-COP-a) Wildlife Area State-Tribal Partnership Project will complete an acquisition of more than 11,400 acres with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife…

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