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…
This photo provided by the environmental group Earthjustice shows Ha’Kamwe’, a sacred spring near Wikieup, Ariz., March 5, 2022. ASH PONDERS | EARTH JUSTICE PHOTO
By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press A federal judge has temporarily blocked exploratory drilling for a lithium project in Arizona that tribal leaders say will harm land they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries. Lawyers for the national environmental group Earthjustice and Colorado-based Western Mining Action Project are suing federal land managers on behalf of the Hualapai Tribe.…
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, right, and Gov. Tim Walz speak to reporters at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., Monday, March 21, 2022. MOHAMED IBRAHIM | REPORT FOR AMERICA PHOTO | FILE
By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. – If Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are elected this fall, not only would a woman of color lead the country for the first time, but a Native woman would govern a state for the first time in U.S. history too. Peggy Flanagan, the…
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland at the Interior Department’s press conference on its federal boarding school investigation in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. JOURDAN BENNETT-BEGAYE | INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY PHOTO
Legislation is moving through Congress to create a Truth and Healing Commission. Meanwhile, Catholic bishops issued an apology for boarding schools run by the church. By MARY ANNETTE PEMBER, ICT The U.S. is beginning to face its Indian boarding school history. Both the U.S. Congress and the Catholic Church took visible steps forward last week in officially taking action on…
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation member Weptas Brockie, who serves as the CTUIR Senior Youth Council chairman, speaks during the Salmon Keepers event on May 22 at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Mission. The 16-year-old said restoring salmon to healthy and sustainable runs should be important to Native and non-Native people because they are a keystone species. Also shown are CTUIR Department of Children and Family Service Director Julie Taylor and CTUIR Board of Trustees Member at Large Corinne Sams. TRAVIS SNELL | CTUIR PHOTO
MISSION – In collaboration with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) on Wednesday, May 22 hosted the first-ever Salmon Keepers dinner at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Corinne Sams, CTUIR Board of Trustees Member at Large and CRITFC chair, said the event highlighted the work CRITFC and its member tribes…
