El sol apenas comenzaba a salir sobre el río Columbia en Bridgeport, Washington, cuando un pescador Colville capturó el primer salmón de la temporada.Read More
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 […]Read More
The Colville Tribes Fish and Wildlife Department have found several chinook salmon under 1-year-old. Biologists had transported 100 fish above Grand Coulee Dam to see if the habitat made for good spawning spots.Read More
Fifty years ago this week the federal government’s experiment with termination was crushed at the ballot box on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington. Termination was a policy that was designed to end the United State government’s role in Indian affairs. It would have abrogated treaties, eliminated federal funding, and “freed the Indians” from Read More
COVID-19 cases are hitting record highs throughout the state. And the reservation's borders are fluid, so even the tribe's extensive precautions haven't been enough to fully protect Colville members. About 300 people on the Colville Reservation have tested positive for the coronavirus.Read More
Bringing salmon back to the Upper Columbia has been a goal since the habitat was blocked by the Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams more than eight decades ago. Tribal members held a Ceremony of Tears 80 years ago when the final run of salmon returned.Read More
The Enloe Dam, built 100 years ago, blocks fish from reaching the Similkameen River and is of no use to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation wanting to bring salmon back to the river.Read More
Usually, fire season starts to tamp down in September. This year has been anything but normal. In an unprecedented fire event, at least 80 fires started in Washington over Labor Day weekend.Read More
Many states – including Oregon and Washington – have set renewable energy goals. But, there’s a problem. The wind isn’t always blowing, and the sun isn’t always shining. That’s why wind and solar power are variable, or intermittent. Enter pumped hydro. It's not a new technology, but it is gaining more interest regionally.Read More
This week, two Native American men, Faran Sohappy and Tim Brooks, who live in the Grand Coulee area, are going back east to complete what has been a surprising adventure. They are finalists, along with Chicago singer/songwriter Joan Hammel (who is not Native), for a Native American Music Award. Read More
Salmon are now swimming in the upper Columbia River for the first time in decades. For regional Native tribes, Friday’s ceremonial fish release is a big step toward catching fish in traditional waters. Cheers erupted from the crowd as the first salmon was released since 1955 into the Columbia River above Chief Joseph Dam.Read More
A team of researchers presented their findings on Tuesday to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. In short, they said, salmon can survive in the upper reaches of the Columbia Basin, and fish passage needs to happen above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams.Read More
Three Washington Native tribes are joining two state agencies and two public utility districts in targeting the northern pike. That’s a big species of fish that’s caught for sport in the upper Midwest, but which fisheries biologists say poses huge potential damage to Northwest salmon runs.Read More
British Columbia’s Court of Appeal has sided with a Washington man in a decade-long tribal sovereignty case. On Thursday the Court dismissed a second appeal of the sovereign tribal hunting rights case of Rick Desautel, effectively reinstating a tribe the Canadian government declared ‘extinct’ more than six decades ago. Read More
In what's being called a significant step for tribal communities, Washington state has a new law seeking to address the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. House Bill 1713 requires the State Patrol to write best practices for how to investigate those crimes. The new law also creates two state patrol positions to work on cases of missing Native people. Read More
A new five-year federal Farm Bill that could get a vote from the House and Senate next week contains a provision to fully legalize hemp production in the U.S. Northwest hemp entrepreneurs who have been operating under restrictive state laws are excited by the possibility.Read More
For nearly a decade, Desautel, who is a U.S. citizen living in Washington, has been making his way through British Columbia’s court system. He’s trying to reinstate his indigenous rights north of the border. His is a case about tribal sovereignty, recognition and reconciliation in Canada.Read More
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling in a case that revolves around metals pollution from a Trail, British Columbia smelter dumping in the Columbia River and flowing south to Washington state.Read More
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a rule change for licenses normally reserved for education and public broadcasting. In Washington, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville are calling on the agency to prioritize tribal reservations for improved communication.Read More
The Okanogan River has receded from its emergency flood stage seen for several weeks in May. Left behind are the memories and high-water marks of floods and natural disasters past.Read More
The United States and Canada next week will begin the official process of renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty, which expires in 2024. The 1964 agreement governs the upper reaches of the 1,200-mile Columbia River.Read More
Washington Supreme Court justices will be in northeastern Washington May 8 to hear three cases in Nespelem, where the Confederated Tribes of the Colville are headquartered. Legally, this land is sovereign— which means it’s a separate nation. It may be the first known time state Supreme Court proceedings have happened on sovereign tribal land.Read More
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville are celebrating an expansion of their sovereign rights. The federal government has granted them jurisdiction over water resources on tribal lands in northeastern Washington state.Read More
Federal officials were in Spokane this week to talk about the future of the Columbia River Treaty, an agreement between the U.S. and Canada that dates back to 1964. A six-member panel will represent the U.S. in negotiations to update the treaty. Noticeably absent were members of any of the numerous Native American tribes along the Columbia, which have been pushing to Read More
Over the past decade, surviving Sinixt tribal members who live in Washington have waged a legal battle to get their rights and access to traditional territory back. They recently celebrated their victories at an honor ceremony in British Columbia.Read More
If all goes according to plan, there could soon be salmon above the Grand Coulee Dam again. That’s according to Cody Desautel, director of Natural Resources for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville.Read More
What’s the best way to learn a language? Salish teachers are using music and song to introduce their Native American language to new speakers. It’s a language spoken by many tribes across the Northwest. And it's considered ‘critically endangered’ by UNESCO — the cultural arm of the United Nations.Read More
A federal judge in Oregon ruled Friday against several Northwest tribal members in a case over the destruction of a spiritual site near Mount Hood. A road expansion project a decade ago destroyed burial grounds and a stone altar, along with old-growth trees.Read More
It looks like the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation will be keeping their name -- for now. Tribal members have rejected a referendum that would have kicked off a name-change process. Read More
