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Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
A teepee at the Museum at Tamástslikt Cultural Institute on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. (Scenic photo No. umaDA0007)
Contact
Address: 46411 Ti’mine Way, Pendleton 97801
Phone: 541-276-3165
E-mail: info@ctuir.org
Web: www.ctuir.org
About
Treaty Date: June 9, 1855; 12 Stat. 945
Number of Members: 2,787
Land Base Acreage: 172,000 acres
Number of people employed by the Tribes: 1,452
Economy
Prior to the 1855 Treaty, the Tribes’ economy consisted primarily of intertribal trade, livestock, trade with fur companies, hunting, fishing and gathering. Today, the economy includes agriculture, livestock, tourism, a travel plaza, grain elevator, the Wildhorse Resort (casino, hotel, RV Park, golf course), Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and Cayuse Technologies.
Another economic opportunity includes Coyote Business Park, a 520 acre development on Interstate 84 for commercial and light industrial business. Sixty acres of the Park have been recognized as “Project Ready” by the State of Oregon Certified Industrial Site Survey, the first and, thus far, only tribal land in the state to do so.
Points of interest
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Wildhorse Golf Course, Nixyáawii Warriors Memorial, Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts, Indian Lake Recreation Area, seasonal upland gamebird hunting, spring gobbler season.
History and culture
Three tribes make up the CTUIR: Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla. They have lived on the Columbia River Plateau for over 10,000 years, an area of about 6.4 million acres in what is now northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. In 1855, the tribes and the United States Government negotiated a treaty in which the tribes ceded 6.4 million acres of land in exchange for reservation land. The CTUIR reserved rights in the treaty, including fishing and hunting rights and the right to gather traditional foods and medicines on public lands within the ceded areas.
The traditional religion of the tribes is called “Washat” or “Seven Drums.” Native languages are still spoken by some and a language preservation program is helping to re-establish the languages.
Tribal court
Tribal Judge William Johnson, 46411 Ti’mine Way, Pendleton 97801, 541-276-2046
Tribal council
2010-2011: Elwood Patawa, Chairman; Aaron Hines, General Council Chairman; Leo Stewart, Vice-Chairman; Rosenda Shippentower, Treasurer; N. Kathryn Brigham, Secretary; Members: Fred Hill Sr., William Quaempts, Bob Shippentower and Althea Wolf