Reva Hoover, manager of Bashas’ supermarket, demonstrates the time clock for employees that will change for with daylight saving time, Monday, March 4, 2024, in Tuba City, Ariz. MATT YORK | ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

The US is springing forward to daylight saving. For Navajo and Hopi tribes, it’s a time of confusion

For the next several months, business meetings always come down to “Hopi time” or “Navajo time.” By TERRY TANG, Associated Press TUBA CITY, Ariz. (AP) — Melissa Blackhair is not eager to spring forward Sunday. “I’m dreading it. I just don’t want to see how much we have to adjust,” Blackhair said while sitting in her home office in Tuba…

Mitchell Craig Hayes

February 16, 1958 – March 9, 2024 Mitchell Craig Hayes, Sr. 66 died on Thursday, March 7, 2024 at a local care facility.  He was born on February 16, 1958 in Pendleton, Oregon to Wendell Hayes and Loretta Quaempts.  Dressing will be held on Saturday, March 9, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at Burns Mortuary.  A Catholic Service will be held…

Master weaver Celeste Whitewolf, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, taught participants how to weave cattail baskets. She credits her Karuk grandmother for her knowledge of weaving the cattails into baskets. JARRETTE WERK | UNDERSCORE NEWS PHOTO

Inaugural gathering of Native Weavers of Oregon keeps tradition alive

By NIKA BARTOO-SMITH and JARRETTE WERK Underscore News + Report for America At a conference on the Oregon Coast hosted by the Portland All Nations Canoe Family, traditional weavers of all ages and skill levels shared stories and knowledge, stitch by stitch. During the first week in March, snowflakes the size of dollar coins melted into the ocean waves and…

Weaskus named CTUIR’s new Legislative Affairs Manager

MISSION – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) has found its new Legislative Affairs manager in tribal member Brandie Weaskus. Weaskus, who has served as the CTUIR Higher Education program manager for more than 10 years, will take over the Legislative Affairs role March 18 when she starts tracking and analyzing legislation that may affect the CTUIR.…

Water flowing out of a tunnel at the base of Iron Gate dam on Jan. 11, 2024. PHOTO COURTESY REN BROWNELL | KLAMATH RIVER RENEWAL CORPORATION

Hundreds of thousands of juvenile Chinook salmon die in Klamath River while moving through dam

By ERIK NEWMANN, Jefferson Public Radio Hundreds of thousands of juvenile salmon (salmon fry) are believed to have died over the past week after being released into the Klamath River from the Fall Creek Fish Hatchery on Feb. 26, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Fall Creek is a tributary of the Klamath River. The fish were…

Corinne Sams, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Member at Large and chair of Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, speaks during a ceremony on Feb. 23 in Washington, D.C., to honor an agreement between the Biden-Harris administration and the CTUIR, Nez Perce Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, Yakama Nation and states of Oregon and Washington. The agreement lays the groundwork for the federal government and the Six Sovereigns to protect and restore salmon, steelhead and native fish to the Columbia River Basin. TRAVIS SNELL | CTUIR PHOTO

Ceremonial signing celebrates historic Columbia River Basin Agreement

WASHINGTON – Delegates representing the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) visited the White House on Feb. 23 for a ceremonial signing of the Columbia River Basin Agreement between the U.S. government and the Six Sovereigns. This historic accord, which was announced Dec. 14, lays the groundwork for the federal government to work with the CTUIR, Nez Perce…

Nez Perce fishers pull in nets on the Columbia River. NEZ PERCE TRIBE | COURTESY PHOTO

Initial Columbia River spring Chinook season dates set

CLACKAMAS – Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington adopted initial recreational spring Chinook seasons on the Columbia River during a joint state hearing Feb. 21. Effective March 1 (downstream of Bonneville Dam) and April 1 (upstream of Bonneville Dam), the following regulations will take the place of permanent rules for the mainstem Columbia River between Buoy 10 and the Oregon/Washington border…

The #2 ranked Golden Eagles won the district championship by beating Union 66-51 over the weekend.

Golden Eagles advance to state tournament

By CHRIS AADLAND, Reporter The Nixyáawii Community School boys basketball team is closer to winning another state championship with a first round playoff victory on Tuesday after capturing the Old Oregon League District tournament title just days before.   The #2 ranked Golden Eagles won the district championship by beating Union 66-51 over the weekend. The team then won its…

Evelyn Jefferson, a crisis outreach supervisor for Lummi Nation, stands at the grave of her son Patrick George Jr. at the Lummi Nation cemetery on tribal reservation lands, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, near Bellingham, Wash. George died last September due to an overdose of street drugs containing the synthetic opioid carfentanil and Jefferson had to wait a week to bury her son due to several other overdose deaths in the community. LINDSEY WASSON | AP PHOTO

Tribes in Washington are battling a devastating opioid crisis. Will a multimillion-dollar bill help?

By HALLIE GOLDEN, Associated Press BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Evelyn Jefferson walks deep into a forest dotted with the tents of unhoused Lummi Nation tribal members and calls out names. When someone appears, she and a nurse hand out the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone. Jefferson, a tribal member herself, knows how critical these kits are: Just five months ago,…

To encourage Oregonians to save for college and job training, the Education Savings Credit for Oregon 529 Plan contributions allows single filers to receive a refundable credit of as much as $170 ($340 for joint filers) if they contribute to an Oregon College Savings Plan account before tax day.

Oregon Kids Credit offers boost for low income families

Free filing assistance available to help taxpayers claim their credits SALEM – A new state tax credit could provide up to $5,000 for Oregon’s lowest income families who file an Oregon state income tax return. The Oregon Kids Credit, created by the Legislature last year, is a refundable credit for low-income people with young dependent children. For those with a modified adjusted…