Schools nationwide, including in Oregon and Washington, have increasingly grappled with how to manage cellphones over concerns that unchecked use of mobile devices in the classroom or in school keeps students from learning or leads to bullying.
By CHRIS AADLAND, The CUJ MISSION – With a new school year at Nixyáawii Community School (NCS) comes new rules for students, including stricter requirements to miss class for cultural activities and a cell phone ban. The changes come after NCS staff tired of wrestling with the consequences of students taking advantage of lenient policies and what school officials say…
A map shows the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s (CTUIR) proposed project area in Mill Creek near Walla Walla, Washington. A federal investment up to $10 million will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer and CTUIR to improve fish passage along the creek by notching 63 grade control sills to create a low-flow channel. CTUIR DEPT. NATURAL RESOURCES GRAPHIC | COURTESY
MISSION – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) learned Sept. 3 that it is one of 12 communities around the country chosen for a pilot program designed to invest federal dollars in small or economically disadvantaged communities. The CTUIR’s federal investment will be up to $10 million to improve fish passage along Mill Creek in southeastern Washington…
Bald and golden eagles are sacred to many Native Americans. U.S. law prohibits anyone without a permit from killing, wounding or disturbing eagles, or taking their nests or eggs. STOCK PHOTO
By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A man helped kill at least 118 eagles to sell their feathers and body parts on the black market as part of a long-running wildlife trafficking ring in the western U.S. that authorities allege killed thousands of birds, court filings show. Travis John Branson is scheduled to be sentenced in federal…
Corinne Sams
MISSION – Corinne Sams, a Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Board of Trustees Member at Large, has been named a 2024 Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award (ILA) winner. Ecotrust is a Portland-based nonprofit working with community members and organizations toward a vision of an equitable, prosperous and climate-smart future. It celebrates determination, wisdom and continuum of Indigenous leadership…
UTFD Chief James Hall said that at approximately 4:20 p.m. the UTFD received a call of a fast-moving grass fire that was ignited by a baler on the west side of South Market Road that jumped the road and moved east. KAELEEN McGUIRE | THE CUJ
MISSION – The Umatilla Tribal Fire Department battled and contained a grass fire on Tuesday, Aug. 27 along South Market Road south of the Wildhorse Resort & Casino. UTFD Chief James Hall said that at approximately 4:20 p.m. the UTFD received a call of a fast-moving grass fire that was ignited by a baler on the west side of South…
Lt. Michael Blasy, senior environmental engineer for the Indian Health Service’s Yakama Field Office, right, listens as Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Public Works director Justin Northern talks about a planned 60-acre manmade wetlands area located near Tamástslikt Cultural Institute. The wetlands will store reclaimed and recycled wastewater for use on Wildhorse Resort & Casino’s golf course and serve as habitat for birds, pollinators, waterfowl and native plants. CHRIS AADLAND | THE CUJ
By CHRIS AADLAND, The CUJ MISSION – Standing on the edge of dry, brown fields near the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute (TCI) on Aug. 26, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Public Works director Justin Northern told about two dozen tribal leaders and federal officials gathered around him that much of area would likely soon be much wetter. That’s…
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Chairman (CTUIR) Gary I. Burke and Indian Health Service Deputy Director Benjamin Smith sign a ceremonial memorandum of agreement appropriating $38 million from the IHS Sanitation Facilities Construction Program for the Mission Community Wastewater System Upgrade. The signing was held Monday, Aug. 26 in front of the Nixyáawii Governance Center. Also shown is CTUIR Interim Executive Director J.D. Tovey. CTUIR PHOTO
MISSION – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) chairman and Indian Health Service (IHS) deputy director signed a memorandum of agreement on Monday, Aug. 26 for the tribe’s $44.5 million wastewater treatment project. In front of the Nixyáawii Governance Center, CTUIR Chairman Gary I. Burke and IHS Deputy Director Benjamin Smith signed the MOA appropriating $38 million…
A bipartisan group of senators is demanding immediate action from USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack after several tribal nations reported that a federal food distribution program they rely on has not fulfilled orders for months, and in some cases has delivered expired food.
DAILY MAIL | COURTESY PHOTO
By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, Associated Press A bipartisan group of senators is demanding immediate action from USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack after several tribal nations reported that a federal food distribution program they rely on has not fulfilled orders for months, and in some cases has delivered expired food. Last spring, the USDA consolidated from two contractors to one for deliveries…
Smoke rises into the air from a grass fire on Wednesday, Aug. 21 near the Johnly gravel pit in Cayuse, Oregon. The Umatilla Tribal Fire Department first responded to the fire and helped extinguish it later that day. JAMES HALL | UMATILLA TRIBAL FIRE DEPARTMENT COURTESY PHOTO
CAYUSE – At approximately 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21 the Umatilla Tribal Fire Department (UTFD) helped contain a grass fire near the Johnly gravel pit. According to an incident report filed by UTFD Chief James Hall, firefighters responded to heavy smoke with a brush truck, a water tender truck and a chief’s vehicle near the gravel pit and immediately requested mutual aid…
MISSION – Elected leaders of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and Indian Health Service (IHS) officials will sign a memorandum of agreement on Monday, Aug. 26 for the tribe’s $44.5 million wastewater treatment project. The ceremonial signing is set for noon at the Nixyáawii Governance Center to celebrate the $38 million IHS has appropriated from its…
