Yakama Nation

The U.S. government recently recognized the harm caused by the dams and has promised to work to restore salmon runs but tribal members doubt much will change.

The Badger Mountain development in eastern Washington threatens heritage foodways on sacred lands.

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.

The Biden administration, leaders of four Columbia River Basin tribes and the governors of Oregon and Washington have signed papers formally launching a $1 billion plan to help recover depleted salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest.

A controversial energy project in south central Washington is one step closer to breaking ground. A federal commission released its final environmental review for the Goldendale Pumped Storage Energy Project – to the consternation of several tribes and environmental groups.

Cadaver dogs, ground-penetrating radar and high-tech computer mapping are all employed to help reveal suspected unmarked graves at Mool-Mool, or Fort Simcoe Historical State Park, on Yakama Nation lands.

Fish counters are seeing thousands of lamprey going past Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. But tribal biologists say these toothy, eel-like fish have a long way to go before they’re in the clear.

Pacific lamprey are returning to the Columbia River in record numbers. That’s boosting tribal efforts to help the fish, which are a big part of some tribe’s histories.

Three Native American tribes have devoted decades to returning their ancestral land in Washington to the days before they became the most radioactively contaminated site in the nation’s nuclear weapons complex.

Long before the U.S. government made plutonium for bombs at the Hanford Site in southeast Washington [state], the land belonged to native peoples. For the Yakama Nation, the area was vital for hunting and fishing. Tribal leaders want young people to know about their legacy, and the fight that lies ahead.