MISSION — Participants with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) put the finishing touches on colorful parade entries outside the Umatilla Tribal Fire Department before the annual Treaty Day Parade.
Families, tribal programs and community members gathered early to decorate floats, prepare vehicles and make last-minute adjustments before the parade stepped off at 9 a.m. on June 18.
The procession traveled from the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices through Mission, circled the Department of Economic and Community Development and ended at the Mission Longhouse, where Treaty Day activities continued.
The CTUIR’s annual Treaty Day commemorates the Walla Walla Treaty of 1855. Although the tribes ceded millions of acres through the treaty, they reserved the rights to fish, hunt, gather traditional foods and medicines and exercise other sovereign rights. The treaty also established the Umatilla, Yakama and Nez Perce reservations.
The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty on March 8, 1859. The CTUIR established a constitutional government in 1949 to protect and uphold the treaty rights reserved by its members.
The annual celebration honors those enduring treaty rights and the resilience of the CTUIR.
Boots Pond, General Council vice chairman of the CTUIR and Treaty Day Parade donations coordinator, said this year’s Treaty Day Parade centered on the theme of “guiding the children” and preparing future generations.
“For the children, we want them to realize this is a big day that established a lot of our Northwest tribes and the rights they have today,” he said. “With the tagline ‘guiding the children,’ we’re helping them develop a healthy mindset and balance two worlds — the modern world with technology and our traditions and culture.”
Pond said the message is meant to encourage young people to carry cultural knowledge forward as they navigate contemporary life.
Community members gathered along the parade route with family and friends as children eagerly waited at the curb, ready to dash into the street to collect candy tossed from passing parade entries.
The parade was led by Happy Canyon Princesses MyaLyn Mills and Manaia Wolf, who guided the procession through Mission as spectators lined the route.
Candy flew through the air as decorated floats and vehicles made their way down the parade route. Children dashed forward to collect the treats. Passengers in pickup trucks waved to friends and family. Some participants turned their squirt guns on the crowd to cool them off from the heat.
Youth Council member Lisa McIntosh said Treaty Day is a time for remembrance and celebration of the community. While Youth Council member-at-large Violet Kemp said the event reflects cultural unity.
“To me, Treaty Day means it brings all our culture together,” Kemp said.
Although the parade drew a large crowd, Treaty Day featured a full slate of events, including a Veterans Memorial commemoration.
“We’re going to honor the veterans and give them the respect they’ve earned and deserve,” Pond said.
During the Veterans Memorial, Trustee member Corinne Sams said the ceremony reflected gratitude for the sacrifices of ancestors who secured treaty rights that continue today.
“We’re here to celebrate our treaty, the long and hard effort that our ancestors made so we can stand here today,” Sams said. “Along the banks of Mill Creek at Walyatpu, we signed an agreement with the United States and reserved our usual and accustomed areas so we can hunt, fish in perpetuity and gather.”
Sams said the names on the memorial represent a lasting responsibility to uphold those agreements and honor those who came before.
“These people on these names on this wall mean something,” she said. “We owe an enormous gratitude to those predecessors who thought of us and didn’t think of themselves.”
She said the community shares responsibility for carrying those obligations forward under tribal law and tradition.
“We rely on one another to carry these words, this agreement forward. It’s all of our responsibility,” Sams said.
She expressed gratitude to attendees, honored veterans and welcomed families who traveled from outside the region, including relatives of Guy Herrera from Rocky Boy, Montana.
“We continue to pray for those that are serving,” she said. “Thank you all for coming to celebrate with us.”
Following the memorial, attendees went inside the Mission Longhouse, where a free lunch was provided along with vendor and exhibit booths, a tipi race and an official Treaty Day program featuring keynote speakers, the Happy Canyon Princesses. The celebration continued throughout the day as families gathered to recognize treaty rights, cultural traditions and community strength.
