The Umatilla Indian Reservation is an
Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
of the United States. It was created by The
Treaty of June 9, 1855 between the United States and members of the Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla tribes. It lies in northeastern
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, east of
Pendleton. The reservation is mostly in
Umatilla County
Umatilla County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,075. Hermiston is the largest city in Umatilla County, but Pendleton remains the county seat. Umatilla County is part of ...
, with a very small part extending south into
Union County. It is managed by the three
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are the federally recognized confederations of three Sahaptin-speaking Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited the Columbia River Plateau region: the Cayuse, Umatilla, and ...
.
Located on the north side of the
Blue Mountains, the reservation was established for two
Sahaptin
The Sahaptin are a number of Native American tribes who speak dialects of the Sahaptin language. The Sahaptin tribes inhabited territory along the Columbia River and its tributaries in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Sahaptin-s ...
-speaking
Native American tribes: the
Umatilla and
Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to:
* Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named
* Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...
, and for the
Cayuse, whose language, now extinct, was an isolate. All the tribes historically inhabited the
Columbia Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Col ...
region. The tribes share land and a governmental structure as part of their confederation.
Geography, demographics and headquarters
![Umatilla Indian Reservation map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Umatilla_Indian_Reservation_map.png)
The reservation has a land area of and a tribal population of 2,927 as of the
2000 census. In addition, some 300 Native Americans from other regional tribes and 1,500 non-natives live on the reservation.
["Who We Are" (January 2013)](_blank)
, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation The largest community is
Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
, which is the site of the tribal headquarters as well as the Umatilla Agency of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
.
Some BIA agency offices serve more than one
federally recognized tribe
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
, but the Umatilla Agency exclusively serves the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).
History
The tribes developed the
Wildhorse Casino Resort on their reservation to generate revenues for their people. The
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
is located near
Interstate 84. In 2006 it started Cayuse Technologies, to provide software development and related services. These enterprises employ 1,000 persons and have markedly reduced unemployment.
Pendleton photographer
Walter S. Bowman photographed tribe members in the early 20th century.
[http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/tlegacies&CISOPTR=282&CISOBOX=1&REC=2] The CTUIR founded the
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, a museum that provides both historical and contemporary exhibits related to the confederated tribes, as well as exhibits of contemporary Native American arts and traditional craftwork.
Communities
*
Cayuse
*
Gibbon
Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...
*
Gopher Flats
*
Kirkpatrick
*
Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
*
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
*
Tutuilla
See also
*
Henry Roe Cloud
Henry Roe Cloud (December 28, 1884 – February 9, 1950) was a Ho-Chunk Native American, enrolled in the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, who served as an educator, college administrator, U.S. federal government official (in the Office of Indian Af ...
, Superintendent, Umatilla Indian Reservation
*
Shoni Schimmel
Shoni Schimmel (born May 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player. She is a former All-American college player at the University of Louisville and was selected with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2014 draft by t ...
, WNBA player born and raised on the reservation until leaving with her family while in high school
References
External links
Umatilla Reservation, OregonUnited States Census Bureau
*
ttp://www.commonties.com/blog/2006/09/25/on-the-res-in-oregon/ A middle-aged man reflects on his life at the Umatilla reservation
{{authority control
American Indian reservations in Oregon
Geography of Umatilla County, Oregon
Geography of Union County, Oregon