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Articles by Lisa Snell
Thousands gather in New Mexico for the largest powwow in North America
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Thousands of people are gathering in New Mexico for a celebration showcasing Native American and Indigenous dancers, musicians and artisans from around the world. Billed by organizers as the largest powwow in North America, the annual Gathering of Nations festival kicked off Friday with a colorful procession of dancers spiraling into the center of an arena at the New Mexico state fairgrounds.
April 21, 2025: CTUIR Board of Trustees meeting summary
Meeting called to order at 9:01 a.m. by Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman Gary I. Burke. Invocation given by Member at Large Toby Patrick. Quorum of six was verified with Vice Chairman Aaron Ashley and Members at Large Lisa Ganuelas and Steven Hart on personal leave. Agenda approved 5-0-0. Old Business Public Law-280 Retrocession Testimony (25-002): This resolution authorizes Member at Large Corinne Sams and key staff to give testimony on Oregon Senate Bill 1011 at 1 p.m. on April 22 in Salem.
Free training offered by Wildhorse Resort & Casino
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Mass layoffs rattle Head Start leaders already on edge over funding problems
By MORIAH BALINGIT, AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The problems for Head Start began days after President Donald Trump took office. Trump’s administration announced it would freeze federal grants — the primary funding for the early education program that serves more than half a million low-income children. Then came glitches with the funding website that forced nearly two dozen Head Start centers to close temporarily.
Unsolved violent crimes in Native American communities to get more attention with FBI surge
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The FBI is sending extra agents, analysts and other personnel to field offices in 10 states over the next six months to help investigate unsolved violent crimes in Indian Country, marking a continuation of efforts by the federal government to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities.
PUBLIC NOTICE: APRIL 1, 2025
PTRIBAL MEMBERS: This notification formally announces that applications are now being accepted from tribal members who wish to serve on the Commission(s)/Committee(s) listed below. Appointed members will receive a $125.00 stipend per meeting, effective January 1, 2022, once the minutes have been approved and processed on CTUIR paydays.
Click to read the April 2025 CUJ
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The Pentagon’s DEI purge: Officials describe a scramble to remove and then restore online content
By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Every day over the past few weeks, the Pentagon has faced questions from angry lawmakers, local leaders and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from Defense Department websites and social media pages after it purged online content that promoted women or minorities. In response, the department has scrambled to restore a handful of those posts as their removals have come to light.
Pentagon restores histories of Navajo Code Talkers, other Native veterans after public outcry
By TERRY TANG, Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — The Pentagon restored some webpages highlighting the crucial wartime contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans on March 19, days after tribes condemned the action. The initial removal was part of a sweep of any military content that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion, or commonly referred to as DEI.
CTUIR TERO helping people obtain job skills with HECC grants
MISSION – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO) is helping people enhance their job skills after receiving two grants from the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC). TERO Apprenticeship Training Coordinator Michelle Bratlie said one grant is for service-learning education, while the other is for on-the-job training.
Airman charged in killing of Native American woman who went missing 7 months ago in South Dakota
By SARAH RAZA, Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A 24-year-old airman has been charged with killing a Native American woman who went missing in South Dakota about seven months ago. Quinterius Chappelle, 24, made his first court appearance March 17 on one count of second-degree murder in the killing of Sahela Sangrait, 21.
Some student loan repayment plans have been suspended. Here’s what borrowers should know
By CORA LEWIS, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration’s recent changes to student loans are causing frustration and confusion for some borrowers. In response to a February court ruling that blocked some Biden-era programs, the Education Department has taken down online and paper applications for income-driven repayment plans.
Clinic closures, firings, buyouts: Northwest tribes sound alarm about cuts to health care, education and other key services
Moves target programs that are already underfunded and understaffed, tribal leaders tell Congress By MELANIE HENSHAW, Investigate West A cascade of actions from the Trump administration represents a “grave threat” to health care, social, educational and other critical services in Indian Country, including for Native American communities in the Northwest, tribal leaders say.
CTUIR issues statement on the passing of Rep. Raúl Grijalva
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) is deeply saddened by the passing of Arizona Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who died March 13 at age 77 from cancer complications. “Rep. Grijalva was a true public servant, advocating 22 years in Congress for his constituents and Native American nations. He was a champion of the environment and an active member of the Congressional Native American Caucus.
Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, champion of environment and progressivism, dies at age 77
By STEPHEN GROVES and LEAH ASKARINAM, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, a champion of environmental protections and progressive ideals who took on principled but often futile causes during a two-decade career in Congress, died March 13. Grijalva, who was 77, had risen to chair the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee during his 12 terms representing southern Arizona, a powerful perch he used to shape the nation’s environmental policies.
Tribal nations concerned Trump cuts have potential to violate trust responsibilities
By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, Associated Press NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — In tribal nations across the United States, leaders are scrambling to respond to a directive from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to close more than a quarter of Bureau of Indian Affairs offices, which provide vital services to Indigenous communities.
Tracy Lawrence, Rodney Atkins to headline Round-Up & Happy Canyon kick-off concert
PENDLETON – Chart-topping country stars Tracy Lawrence and Rodney Atkins will headline the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Kick-Off Concert at the Happy Canyon Arena on Saturday, September 6th. Tickets go on sale March 14th.
Tribes and Native American students sue over Bureau of Indian Education firings
By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, Associated Press NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Three tribal nations and five Native American students say in a lawsuit that the Trump administration has failed its legal obligations to tribes when it cut jobs at Bureau of Indian Education schools. Firings at two colleges as part of the administration’s cuts to federal agencies, with the help of Elon Musk, have left students and staff with unsafe conditions, canceled classes, and delayed financial aid, according to the lawsuit Friday.
By ANNIE FOWLER, THE CUJ BAKER CITY — Nixyáawii has been a fixture at the 1A state basketball tournament for years. The Golden Eagles are making a return trip this week and will face Country Christian at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in the quarterfinals. The Golden Eagles and Cougars met at the 1A preview in December, with Nixyáawii coming away with a 74-52 victory. “You have to start new,” Nixyáawii coach Aaron Noisey said of the state tournament. “Everyone is there for a reason.
TCOC Powwow introduces unique new contests
WIL PHINNEY TCOC Committee PENDLETON – More than 500 dancers and drummers competed over three days at the Two Cultures – One Community Powwow (TCOC) in Pendleton Feb. 28 – March 2. Dancers and drummers came mostly from the Western states – Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Montana, but also from as far away as Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada and Window Rock, Arizona. Attendance for all three days was estimated to exceed 10,000.
Executive Director letter to tribal members
Dear CTUIR Members, Since President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, we at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) – along with our lobbyist teams in Oregon, Washington State and Washington, D.C. – have been keeping an eye on the executive orders emanating from the White House and their impacts. Many executive orders are Trump’s attempts to consolidate power into the executive branch. Others have dealt with cutting spending, including the infamous Jan.
Leonard Peltier remains defiant in AP interview, maintaining innocence and vowing continued activism
By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, Associated Press BELCOURT, N.D. (AP) — More than 50 years after a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation landed him in federal prison, Leonard Peltier remains defiant. Despite being convicted and sentenced to life in prison, he maintains his innocence in the killings of two FBI agents in 1975 and sees his newfound freedom — the result of a commutation from former President Joe Biden — as the beginning of a new phase of his activism.
Title VI more than just Indian Education
LISA SNELL The CUJ MISSION – Youth Services Manager Kendall Rosario needs you to understand what she does and why it is important. She manages the Title VI Indian Education program for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). “When I first started, there was a really negative idea of what Title VI was, why we were here,” she said. “Parents didn’t see and didn’t reap the benefits of what Title VI is.
Read the February 2025 CUJ
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Public Notice
TRIBAL MEMBERS: This notification formally announces that applications are now being accepted from tribal members who wish to serve on the Commission(s)/Committee(s) listed below.
Deb Haaland made history as Interior secretary. Now she’s running for governor of New Mexico
By MORGAN LEE and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Deb Haaland, who championed conservation and clean energy during her tenure as Interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination for governor in New Mexico, the nation’s No. 2 oil production state. Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo and the nation’s first Native American cabinet secretary under President Joe Biden, could be the first Native American woman to serve as governor of any state.
Letter to tribal members from the CTUIR regarding the President’s executive order halting federal spending:
January 28, 2025 Dear Tribal Members, With the change in presidential administration, we are seeing a flurry of executive orders shaking up Washington, D.C., and the nation. On Monday, Jan. 27, the administration issued a memo halting trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans to eliminate spending on programs.
TAX SEASON OPENS TODAY: COMMON ERRORS TAXPAYERS CAN AVOID
News Release from Oregon Dept. of Revenue SALEM – As the IRS and the state begin accepting tax year 2024 returns today, the Oregon Department of Revenue is offering taxpayers a list of suggestions to aid in efficiently processing their return and common errors to avoid that could slow things down and delay their refund.
Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship would overturn more than a century of precedent
By GRAHAM LEE BREWER and JANIE HAR, Associated Press WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has said since his first administration that he wants to end birthright citizenship, a constitutional right for everyone born in the United States. Last week he issued an executive order that would eliminate it, upending more than a century of precedent. On Jan. 23, however, a federal judge temporarily blocked it after 22 states quickly mounted a legal challenge.
January Title VI Youth Services Newsletter
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Biden commutes sentence for Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, convicted in killing of FBI agents
By COLLEEN LONG, ZEKE MILLER, JOHN HANNA and STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier will return home nearly half a century after he was imprisoned for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. President Joe Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence Monday following decades of community-led advocacy calling his imprisonment an example of the U.S. government’s mistreatment of Native Americans.
US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland reflects on tough choices during a historic tenure
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It started to get real when the artwork was taken down from her office walls. The collection — all creations of Indigenous artists — had been handpicked by U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland over the last four years as she guided one of the nation’s most expansive federal agencies. Then came the tears as people came and went, sharing hugs while Haaland tried to wrap up her last day at the office.
Nixyáawii soars past Pilot Rock
By ANNIE FOWLER, The CUJ MISSION — On a night where Nixyáawii honored two players for eclipsing the 1,000-point mark, the Golden Eagles opened Old Oregon League play with a 96-42 victory over Pilot Rock on Tuesday, Jan. 14. “Our kids never stopped playing hard, even when the game was out of reach,” Nixyáawii coach Aaron Noisy said. Before the game, Nixyáawii seniors Rylen Bronson and Symon Picard were recognized for their play throughout their career.
Rockets take down Golden Eagles at home
PILOT ROCK 47, NIXYÁAWII 26 — The Rockets picked up their first Old Oregon League win with a road win over the Golden Eagles. “We played good defense today,” Pilot Rock coach David Norton said. The Rockets (4-9 overall, 1-1 OOL) led 10-5 after the first quarter and 20-9 at the half. They broke the game open with a 16-6 run in the third quarter to take a commanding 36-15 lead. Each team scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Rockets preserve the win.
PUBLIC NOTICE 01-14-2025
TRIBAL MEMBERS: This notification formally announces that applications are now being accepted from tribal members who wish to serve on the Commission(s)/Committee(s) listed below. Appointed members will receive a $125.00 stipend per meeting, effective January 1, 2022, once the minutes have been approved and processed on CTUIR paydays. CTUIR is advertising the following positions: 2 positions for CTUIR Culture Coalition, 3-year term. Stipends, meets quarterly (TBD).
CTUIR, Corps of Engineers sign pact to improve Mill Creek fish passage
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) officials held a signing on Friday, Jan. 10 at the Corps’ Walla Walla District headquarters to honor a joint project to improve fish passage on Mill Creek. The project will remove 7 miles of flood control structures the Corps installed in the creek from 1939 to 1943 to protect the City of Walla Walla.
Johnley Pond litter, pollution getting a cleanup
By TRAVIS SNELL, CTUIR Communications MISSION – After learning of a truck at the bottom of Johnley Pond, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Planning Department has initiated a cleanup of the pond and its surrounding area. Located along Johnley Road north of the Umatilla River, the 30-foot-deep pond is an old rock quarry that during the years became an illegal dump and party spot, said CTUIR Environmental Health & Safety Specialist Brian Fullen.
Read the January 2025 CUJ
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Anglers reminded of McKay Creek salmon, steelhead fishing closure
ODFW Media Release PENDLETON — Salmon and steelhead are returning to spawn in McKay Creek, a tributary of the Umatilla River near Pendleton, thanks to a fish passage project that dropped part of the weir that blocked passage for decades. ODFW is reminding anglers that salmon and steelhead fishing remains closed in McKay Creek. ODFW has received reports of anglers fishing for salmon and steelhead in the area, which is mostly private land.
PUBLIC NOTICE • DEC. 10, 2024
TRIBAL MEMBERS: This notification formally announces that applications are now being accepted from tribal members who wish to serve on the Commission(s)/Committee(s) listed below. Appointed members will receive a $125.00 stipend per meeting, effective January 1, 2025, once the minutes have been approved and processed on CTUIR paydays. CTUIR is advertising the following positions: 1 Position for CTUIR Culture Coalition, to fill a 3-year term, meets as needed.
Biden creates Native American boarding school national monument to mark era of forced assimilation
By MATTHEW BROWN and MARC LEVY, Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden designated a national monument at a former Native American boarding school in Pennsylvania on Dec. 9 to honor the resilience of Indigenous peoples whose children were forced to attend the school and hundreds of similar abusive institutions.
Happy Canyon Princesses named
PENDLETON – The Happy Canyon Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Avery Quaempts and Korie Spencer as the 2025 Happy Canyon Princesses. The two young women will serve as the official ambassadors for the Happy Canyon Night Show, held every evening during Pendleton Round-Up week in September. “We’re excited to welcome Avery and Korie as the 2025 Happy Canyon Princesses,” said Happy Canyon President Kipp Curtis.
Residents of Mission, other EO communities may qualify for $250 defensible space incentives
MISSION –Residents of Mission and other Eastern Oregon communities may be eligible for up to $250 to help pay for defensible space projects thanks to the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM). Defensible space is the area around homes and buildings managed to keep embers from having a place to land and catch fire. Creating and maintaining defensible spaces is one of the most effective ways to protect a home during a wildfire, according to the OSFM.
Read the December 2024 CUJ
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Pendleton’s Brown named Great Oregon League MVP
By ANNIE FOWLER, The CUJ PENDLETON — Pendleton had four players named to the Greater Oregon League first team for volleyball, including player of the year Avery Brown, a junior middle blocker. The honors, voted on by the league coaches, also saw three La Grande players land on the first team. Pendleton’s Jodi Primus was named coach of the year along with Ontario’s Peter Hamilton.
Pendleton braces for showdown with No. 2 Cascade
By ANNIE FOWLER, The CUJ PENDLETON — It’s that time of year where every football team left in the playoff bracket is good and each week the competition gets tougher. Pendleton/Nixyáawii will take on second-ranked Cascade in the 4A state quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday night at Willamette University. “We are excited,”Pendleton coach Erik Davis said. “I will be honest, at this point, everything moving forward is a positive. We had our goal to win league.
This holiday season, learn to protect yourself from online scams
By ADRIANA MORGA, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — With the holiday giving season upon us, it’s the perfect time to learn how to protect yourself from online scams. “Scams have become so sophisticated now. Phishing emails, texts, spoofing caller ID, all of this technology gives scammers that edge,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
In new term, Trump set to go after measures that are doing the most to fight climate change
By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The election of Donald Trump as president for a second time and the Republican takeback of the U.S. Senate could undo many of the national climate policies that are most reducing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to climate solutions experts. When they list measures that are making the most difference, it lines up with policies Trump has said he’ll target.
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