Tribal Leadership Committee

The efforts of Willamette Falls Trust to restore public access at the Falls is being guided by our four Member Tribes: Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, who collectively represent over twenty-five thousand Tribal citizens.

The inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples are founded in the lands they have long stewarded and protected, and through treaties which guarantee rights and privilege including access to usual and accustomed fishing and hunting grounds like those at Willamette Falls. The Trust honors the many Nations who have histories at the Falls and who remain committed to healing and protecting these lands and water for future generations. 

The Trust’s Tribal Leadership Committee, composed of appointed representatives from the Member Tribes, works to ensure Tribal voice is centered, represented and respected in our efforts and in our guiding principles. We are committed to bringing public access back to Willamette Falls and helping Indigenous Peoples from throughout the Pacific Northwest reconnect with this sacred site and continue the lasting legacy and traditions of the ancestors who walk these lands before us.

Board Leadership

In Fall 2019 the Trust formally requested Tribal representation be appointed to the Willamette Falls Trust Board of Directors to provide leadership, guidance, and support to organizational development reflective of Indigenous cultural protocols and norms. The goal was to honor and elevate the Tribal nations that have stewarded this land since time immemorial.

Following installation onto the Board, the Tribal Leadership Committee (TLC) was created. At present, it is composed of representatives from the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. As the project evolves, the TLC will expand and welcome interested Tribes with a historic connection to Willamette Falls, as well as organizations serving Tribal citizens locally, regionally, and nationally.

Inter-Tribal leadership is leading a national movement

Willamette Falls Trust is forging a path forward and creating a model for how public spaces not only acknowledge and honor Tribes as stewards of the land for millennia but are led by multiple Tribes and their deep wisdom and perspectives. 

Our structures are grounded in culturally relevant practices. Tribal leadership, staff, and partners build our organizational values through a shared vision for a better future that heals the landscape and its many communities.

The Tribal Leadership Committee is an inclusive Inter-Tribal group for delegates from Tribal nations and Indigenous communities to come together and build a collective vision for Native leadership in shaping public access projects in the greater Willamette Falls area. 

Member Tribes Technical Staff

We have the honor of working day to day with technical staff from our Member Tribes: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.

We are proud to work alongside the Tribal Leadership Committee and their Technical Staff as we pursue public access at Willamette Falls.