MARCH 2025 | CONFEDERATED UMATILLA JOURNAL
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CONFEDERATED UMATILLA JOURNAL
NEWS DAILY @ CUJ ONLINE
VOLUME 33 • ISSUE 03
THE MONTHLY NEWSPAPER OF THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE UMATILLA INDIAN RESERVATION
BOT passes alcohol sales referendum Fish & Wildlife
Code update to benefit disabled tribal members
“[T]he Board of Trustees shall determine whether to permit Arrowhead alcohol sales based on the results of the referendum vote,” the resolution said.
CHRIS AADLAND The CUJ
CHRIS AADLAND The CUJ MISSION – Tribal members will be asked to vote on potentially extending alcohol sales on the Umatilla Indian Reservation (UIR) to the tribally owned truck stop and convenience store after leaders agreed to hold a referendum later this year. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s (CTUIR) Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously voted on March 3 to hold a referendum during the November General Council election to ask tribal members ALCOHOL CONTINUED PAGE 10
have settled on a plan to repatriate the remains, the process raised concerns among tribal officials about how the city handled the process, including publishing pictures of the burial site and publicizing the location.
MISSION – Changes to Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) fish and wildlife regulations will make it easier for disabled tribal members to exercise their hunting rights. On March 3, the Board of Trustees (BOT) voted unanimously to adopt a resolution amending the CTUIR’s Fish & Wildlife Code to address accessibility concerns after hearing from tribal officials about how current policies can make it challenging for disabled tribal members to go hunting. “The Law & Order Committee and Fish & Wildlife Commission had gotten requests from tribal members to look into creating some exceptions for disabled tribal members,” CTUIR Office of Legal Counsel attorney Garrett Brown told tribal leaders during a Feb. 27 work session. “There are some restrictions, especially about hunting – how you go about hunting – and some tribal members felt like this was restricting disabled family members from exercising their rights.” The changes mean that a tribal member who can demonstrate having a disability would be able to obtain a special permit from the CTUIR allowing them to hunt from a parked vehicle, which is otherwise prohibited. Those tribal members won’t be allowed to shoot from a moving vehicle or fire across a road, states the resolution.
REMAINS CONTINUED PAGE 9
CODE CONTINUED PAGE 13
Although cooler space inside Arrowhead Travel Plaza is marked for beer and wine, the shelves are stocked with a collection of non-alcoholic items while management waits for guidance from tribal leadership. LISA SNELL | THE CUJ
Ancestrial remains found in Walla Walla The city says it will use the incident as a “lessons learned” opportunity to improve how it handles such finds in the future. CHRIS AADLAND The CUJ
Yellow tape and orange cones mark off the site in Walla Walla where construction workers accidentally dug up the remains of a tribal ancestor. COURTESY
The remains were eventually determined to be of tribal origin, which brought the CTUIR and Yakama Nation into the process of determining what to do with them. Although the CTUIR, Yakama Nation, Walla Walla and Washington State archaeologists
CTUIR 46411 Timine Way Pendleton, OR 97801
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) officials hope the recent inadvertent discovery of an ancestor’s remains in a city within the CTUIR homelands leads to better policies for addressing those situations and protecting remains. In December, construction workers in Walla Walla accidentally dug up what appeared to be human bones.
Presorted Standard U.S. Postage PAID Pendleton, OR Permit #100