Native Americans

The power of a powwow has been described as a collective heartbeat that draws people together. Celebrants often say they feel unity and freedom as they dance in a circle. Those elements are especially vital for those serving time at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem, where life is spent behind barbed wire and fortified walls. But for one day a year, inmates get to don Native apparel and move to the rhythm of a rawhide drum with friends and loved ones.

Elderberry Wisdom Farms near Salem brings together urban forestry, Native plant nursery operations and micro enterprises. But its future is uncertain as earmarked money is set to run out in 2028.

Roseburg Schools and the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe partner to offer high school credit for the revived Takelma language and boost Native student support in Oregon.

Native youth in Eugene revive the traditional camas bake, harvesting and cooking this First Food in underground ovens. The event celebrates Indigenous culture, community, and a centuries-old Northwest tradition.

Crews searched an area outside Junction City this weekend in an effort to locate 63-year-old Jonathan House. The Eugene resident and Grand Ronde tribal elder disappeared on March 12, leaving his crashed pickup truck near the Lane County town of Cheshire.

An effort to improve response to reports of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) in Oregon is underway in the state legislature.

The tradition of catching lamprey by hand under the falls has fed generations of Indigenous communities over thousands of years.

A prized plant for regional Native Americans has been carefully cultivated for more than 3,500 years, according to an Oregon State University study.

Golden eagle feathers are sacred in many cultures. The Yakama Nation aviary is now home to a 1-year old golden eagle. That’s a big deal because it’s hard to get those feathers legally from the federally protected birds.

After a roughly four-year hiatus, Gov. Tina Kotek announced Tuesday that she’s reviving a task force dedicated to inventorying Native American items in state and public collections across Oregon, via executive order.

Historically, museums across the U.S. have taken a detached, scholarly, and archaic view of Native Americans. But over the past decade especially, there’s been a push by Native advocates and their supporters to “decolonize” -- or alternately, “Indigenize” – these institutions, including here in Oregon.

Tribes across Oregon are reigniting their relationship with tobacco. Not just any tobacco, but the very kind their ancestors grew and used before colonization and the fur trade.