Indigenous Affairs Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Tribes celebrate as lamprey make a comeback

By Courtney Flatt July 20, 2023

Yakama Nation biologist Dave’y Lumley shows Aleeyah McJoe, 7, an adult lamprey at the Yakama Nation’s Willamette Falls Lamprey Celebration. (Credit: Courtney Flatt.) Listen (Runtime 4:15) Read On the banks… Continue Reading Tribes celebrate as lamprey Read More

Para las tribus, la bienvenida del salmón al Alto Columbia es un recordatorio del ‘trabajo de toda una vida’

By Courtney Flatt June 30, 2023

imagen de un hombre cocinando salmón a la parrilla

El sol apenas comenzaba a salir sobre el río Columbia en Bridgeport, Washington, cuando un pescador Colville capturó el primer salmón de la temporada. Continue Reading Para las tribus, la bienvenida del Read More

Fighting fire with fire: Bringing prescribed burns back to Washington state

By Lauren Gallup June 27, 2023

Two fire managers dressed in heavy green and yellow clothes with helmets walk through the brushy grasslands, setting fires with red drip torches.

As the days get hotter and warmer, many Washingtonians are gearing up for the wildfires that will ignite across the region this year, causing smoky skies, evacuations and potentially devastating loss. Continue Reading Fighting fire Read More

‘It’s going to take all of us’: Yakama Nation youth learn about Hanford’s legacy

By Anna King June 8, 2023

Jordan Ashue, 18, says he was surprised by how long it will take to clean up portions of Hanford. Credit: Annie Warren / NWPB Listen (Runtime 4:00) Read On a… Continue Reading ‘It’s going to take all of us’: Yakama Read More

For tribes, welcoming salmon to the Upper Columbia is a reminder of ‘lifelong work’

By Courtney Flatt June 5, 2023

A man in a blue plaid shirt, black apron and white fedora holds a green bottle of olive oil above six pink filets of salmon. The filets are sitting on a white plastic table. A crowd of people stands behind him looking at a blue river.

Ira Stevenson preps salmon filets for the salmon bake after a First Salmon ceremony at Chief Joseph dam in north central Washington. (Credit: Courtney Flatt.) Listen (Runtime 4:04) Read The… Continue Reading For tribes, Read More

Nisqually Tribe’s sovereignty summit focuses on MMIWP crisis

By Lauren Gallup May 5, 2023

Chay Squally and Sarah Colleen Sotomish at the Nisqually Indian Tribal Summit on May 4. Photo courtesy of Debbie Preston.

Washington state has one of the largest numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples cases in the nation. On May 4, the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s Annual Protecting Our Sovereignty Tribal Summit focused on the missing and murdered Indigenous peoples crisis. Read More

Washington establishes cold case unit to investigate missing and murdered Indigenous peoples cases

By Lauren Gallup April 20, 2023

A photo of families gathered for May 5th MMIWP Awareness Day 2022

On April 20, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law House Bill 1177 that establishes a cold case unit specifically for missing and murdered Indigenous women and people in the state. “This legislation will ensure that Indigenous victims of crime receive robust, thorough investigations, and potential prosecution,” Inslee said. Read More

Native American Heritage Month: In their own words – Laurene Contreras

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour November 29, 2022

Top l – r – Brittany Eberle, Alfonso Contreras, Gabriel Contreras Bottom l – r Ryan Contreras, Laurene Contreras, Raeshelle Goodluck Listen (Runtime 1:39) Read For over 30 years, Native… Continue Reading Native Read More

Native American Heritage Month – In their own words: Don Sampson

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour November 23, 2022

Two men stand in front of the CTUIR flag clasping hands and smiling toward the camera. The man on the left is white, tall, wearing a plaid shirt and khaki pants, the man on the right is shorter, Native, his hair braided into two braids, pulled over his shoulder, he's wearing a blue patterned shirts with geometric, patterns and jeans.

Gary James, left, and Don Sampson, the two original employees of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Fisheries Program, at the tribe’s Department of Natural Resources 40-year anniversary… Continue Read More