Mission, OR –Jonetta Herrera and Shana McConville-Radford have been hired to serve as Deputy Executive Directors of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). “Jonetta has an educational background in construction and business administration combined with work experience as a former Department Director for CTUIR. Shana has a law degree and has worked in national and regional legislative…

MISSION, OR – The Board of Trustees of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) formally condemned Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation for the invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing genocide of the Ukrainian people that this vicious and unprovoked attacked is causing. The CTUIR supports the sovereign authority of the government of Ukraine and the protection…

BY THE CUJ WASHINGTON, D.C. – CTUIR attorney Brent Leonhard was one of 21 citizen members appointed to President Biden’s Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities (CPID) on March 11. He will begin a two-year term as part of a committee that reflects the diversity of America and includes people with intellectual disabilities and their family members, researchers, service providers…

MISSION – Normally, Zoom sessions aren’t full of laughter and heart-felt reminiscence at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), but after more than 30 years with the Tribes, no one would expect anything different in bidding Carl Scheeler adieu. Scheeler, former Wildlife Program Manager, was honored via a digital retirement party Feb. 7. Board of Trustees (Board)…

BY JILL-MARIE GAVIN CUJ Reporter MISSION – The Board of Trustees (Board) for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) discussed lifting the indoor mask mandate briefly during their Feb. 28 meeting. The consensus of the Board, during the Executive Director’s information part of the agenda, was to wait to make any decisions until they could hear from…

Jill-Marie Gavin hired as reporter in February MISSION – A CTUIR member has rejoined the staff of the Confederated Umatilla Journal after serving as a Board of Trustees At-Large member for the past two years. Jill-Marie Gavin was hired by the CUJ as a reporter in late January and started on Feb. 2. “It was an honor to serve my…

BY CARY ROSENBAUM MISSION – Nixyaawii Community School reported highlights for the 2020-2021 school year in January. Among the success, the school has increased its overall graduation rates each of the past four years — including rising above the state average in Native American graduation rate. Noticeably, though, NCS increased it’s overall student graduation rates above the state average (82.76…

An Oregon law that went into effect in January provides full faith and credit for tribal court judgments. This means that if a judge from a federally recognized tribe requires child support or grants a restraining order, those decisions will be better enforced off reservation as well. Chief Judge William Johnson of the Umatilla Tribal Court has been working toward…