Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Working to put fish back in the Columbia River basin. CRITFC supports intertribal representation in planning, policy, and decision-making.

The organization operates by consensus and is governed by a commission made up of elected and appointed members of each member tribes’ fish and wildlife committees. CRITFC efforts are aligned with each of the four tribes’ respective fisheries programs through coordination. CRITFC is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the fisheries enforcement office is located in Hood River, Oregon, and the Hagerman Genetics Laboratory is located in Hagerman, Idaho.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The final day of the 2026 Indigenous Media Conference turned the lens on photography itself. The "Throu...
07/31/2026

PORTLAND, Ore. — The final day of the 2026 Indigenous Media Conference turned the lens on photography itself.

The "Through Our Lens" panel brought together CRITFC Public Information Specialist Jill-Marie Gavin (Cayuse), photojournalist Lee Gavin (Cayuse) and photojournalist and commercial photographer Kari Rowe (Lakota, Ojibwe), moderated by Confederated Umatilla Journal Editor Yasser Marte, for a conversation on visually documenting Indigenous communities and telling tribal stories through the camera.

The conference closed that evening with the Indigenous Media Awards Banquet. Carina Miller (Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs) was highlighted speaker during the evening, speaking to the lineage of journalism in Indian Country and its role in serving Native communities.

CTUIR Public Relations Specialist Travis Snell (Cherokee) also addressed the banquet on behalf of the tribe. Champion men's dancer Kellen Lewis (Nez Perce) performed three songs during the evening. Antonia Gonzales (Navajo Nation) and Brian Bull (Nez Perce Tribe) co-emceed.

Photos by CRITFC/JM. Gavin with contributed photos by Sam McCloud with CTUIR Communications

Warm Springs' Ryan Smith Sr. Sworn-in as CRITFC Chair WARM SPRINGS, Ore. — Ryan Smith Sr. of the Confederated Tribes of ...
07/31/2026

Warm Springs' Ryan Smith Sr. Sworn-in as CRITFC Chair

WARM SPRINGS, Ore. — Ryan Smith Sr. of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (Warm Springs) was sworn in Thursday as the 2026-27 chair of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), by outgoing chair Ashton Picard of the Nez Perce Tribe. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the opening of the commission's July on-site meeting on the Warm Springs Reservation.

As chair, Smith presides over CRITFC commission meetings where the four CRITFC member tribes, Warm Springs, Umatilla, Yakama, and Nez Perce work together on the shared work of salmon and lamprey restoration, treaty-reserved fishing rights, climate resilience, and First Foods protection across the Columbia River Basin.

Picard, who was sworn in as chair a year ago at the commission's July 2025 meeting in Lapwai, Idaho, spent his term working alongside representatives from all four member tribes on shared Columbia Basin priorities. Looking back on the experience, Picard said serving as chair gave him a deeper appreciation for the institutional knowledge that underpins CRITFC's work. Picard said during his swearing-in last summer, “There are staff who have committed 30, 40, even 50 years of their lives protecting the fish.”

"This past year showed me just how much this commission carries, not just the science and the policy, but the responsibility to our elders and the generations still to come," Picard said. "I'm proud of the work our tribes accomplished together, and I'm confident Chair Smith and Warm Springs will carry that work forward. The salmon, the lamprey, the river, they don't wait for one tribe or one term. That's why we do this together."

The other CRITFC officers elected for the 2026-2027 term were Corinne Sams (Umatilla), vice-chair; Jeremy Takala (Yakama), secretary; and Ashton Picard (Nez Perce), treasurer. The election of CRITFC officers takes place every June with the seats rotated among the four member tribes.

Photos by CRITFC/JFC

Contact: CRITFC Communications Director Jeremy FiveCrows at [email protected]

Thank you to NWIFC for the invitation for a much-needed joint meeting, and thank you sharing these images.
07/31/2026

Thank you to NWIFC for the invitation for a much-needed joint meeting, and thank you sharing these images.

07/30/2026

At Bonneville Hatchery, CRITFC fisheries staff clip a small piece of fin from each Pacific lamprey before the fish continue on to waters managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Yakama Nation and Nez Perce Tribe.

The clips are separated by destination and sent to CRITFC's Hagerman Genetics Laboratory, where staff analyze and record the genetic material. The data lets biologists track individual fish, along with their offspring and siblings, across multiple generations — showing how lamprey translocation efforts are working and keeping records of fish moved between sites.

The work is part of the tribes' Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan, recently updated by CRITFC's four member tribes (details: critfc.org). It continues daily even as visitor numbers at Bonneville Hatchery climb; hundreds of people, and sometimes more than a thousand in a single day, now come through to see lamprey up close.

Staff pictured: Laurie Porter, Lamprey Project Lead (Lac Courte Oreilles, Ojibwe); Vernon Smartlowit (Yakama), Fishery Technician IV; Ray Ellenwood (Nez Perce), Fisheries Technician III; Kaitlynn Spino (Yakama), Fisheries Technician; Wyatt Bedell, Fishery Technician III.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Day two of the 2026 Indigenous Media Conference turned toward craft and community. In an afternoon sess...
07/29/2026

PORTLAND, Ore. — Day two of the 2026 Indigenous Media Conference turned toward craft and community.

In an afternoon session, Oregon Public Broadcasting documentary filmmakers, producers and directors screened segments from three of their films, ”First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath,” “Guardian of the Land” and “Uncovering Boarding Schools” and spoke with attendees about the process of building documentaries with and for Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest.

That evening, conference attendees gathered at the University Club of Portland for “Off the Record: A Welcome Event Hosted by Your River City Relatives,” an after-hours reception sponsored by Confluence and Underscore Native News, alongside the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, Northwest Native Chamber, NAYA, Against the Current Consulting and Travel Portland. The University Club also hosted the gathering as venue sponsor. Confluence Executive Director Leah Altman and her team organized the event.

CRITFC stands with our member tribes facing wildfires burning across the Columbia Basin. Our thoughts are with the famil...
07/29/2026

CRITFC stands with our member tribes facing wildfires burning across the Columbia Basin.

Our thoughts are with the families, first responders and firefighters affected by the Bench Fire on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation, and the Signal Peak, Ransier and Hagen fires impacting the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Donate to official tribal relief efforts:

🔥 Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Wildfire Recovery Fund: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/the-confederated-tribes-of-the-warm-springs-reservation-of-oregon-ctws-wildfire-recovery-fund

🔥 Yakama Nation: https://www.clover.com/pay-widgets/666a09df-606c-45c8-88da-3e16dca21bdc

PORTLAND, Ore. — Indigenous journalists gathered July 22-24 in downtown Portland, near where the Columbia River Inter-Tr...
07/23/2026

PORTLAND, Ore. — Indigenous journalists gathered July 22-24 in downtown Portland, near where the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) is headquartered in northeast Portland, also within the ceded lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).

CTUIR is one of CRITFC's four member tribes, alongside the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Nez Perce Tribe. The 2026 Indigenous Media Conference, hosted by the Indigenous Journalists Association at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront is also within ceded territories of the other four Columbia River Plateau tribal peoples.

The conference opened with remarks from Gerald Skelton Jr. (Klamath Tribes), tribal government relations manager for the City of Portland, IJA President Sunnie Clahchischiligi (Diné), and Kara Briggs, a descendant of the Yakama Nation; Lucy Racehorse Suppah �(Warm Springs) offered the invocation.

CTUIR serves as the conference's inaugural Wampum Title Sponsor. The tier is the first-ever top sponsorship spot and CTUIR was honored with a plaque by the IJA board during a private Sponsor Appreciation Lunch.

After the first day of the conference concluded, attendees traveled across the Willamette River for the opening Night Reception at The Redd on Salmon Street, where Acosia Red Elk (CTUIR) performed a Contemporary Eagle Dance to kick off the event. CTUIR Communications Director Kaeleen McGuire, and Confederated Umatilla Journal publisher (CUJ), introduced a screening on the newspaper's history.

Keynote speaker Chuck Sams (Cayuse and Walla Walla), former CTUIR communications director and former National Park Service director, was honored with a blanket after concluding his address. The conference also recognized Chelsea Curtis (Diné) with the Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Journalism, and IJA board member Brian Bull (Nez Perce), a senior reporter for Underscore News, will co-emcee the Indigenous Media Awards Banquet.

Photos by CRITFC/JM Gavin

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation The CUJ Indigenous Journalists Association

Day two of the 30th Annual Wildhorse Pow Wow featured continued contest dancing and drumming, inter-tribal and social da...
07/20/2026

Day two of the 30th Annual Wildhorse Pow Wow featured continued contest dancing and drumming, inter-tribal and social dancing, a hand drum contest and a War Bonnet Special.

The pow wow is held annually during the first weekend of July on the Umatilla Indian Reservation at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino, approx. eight miles east of Pendleton, Ore.

Photos by CRITFC/JM. Gavin

Address

700 NE Multnomah Street, Ste 1200
Portland, OR
97232

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+15032380667

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category