The Umatilla Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in eastern Oregon in the United States, mostly located in Umatilla County, with a very small part extending south into Union County. The reservation is owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
The reservation has a land area of 271.047 sq mi (702.009 km²) and a population of 2,927 as of the 2000 census. The largest community is Mission, which is the site of the Umatilla Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Some BIA agency offices serve more than one federally recognized tribe, but the Umatilla Agency serves only the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Located near the city of Pendleton on the north side of the Blue Mountains, the reservation was established for three Sahaptin-speaking Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region: the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla. The tribes share land and a governmental structure as part of their confederation.
The reservation has a casino on Interstate 84, the Wildhorse Casino Resort. The Tamástslikt Cultural Institute provides a historical exhibit about the reservation and the three tribes, as well as exhibits of Native American arts and traditional craftwork.
Read more about Umatilla Indian Reservation: Communities
Famous quotes containing the words indian and/or reservation:
“We had not gone far before I was startled by seeing what I thought was an Indian encampment, covered with a red flag, on the bank, and exclaimed, “Camp!” to my comrades. I was slow to discover that it was a red maple changed by the frost.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Music is so much a part of their daily lives that if an Indian visits another reservation one of the first questions asked on his return is: “What new songs did you learn?””
—Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)