Group Excludes Grand Ronde From Willamette Falls Project

A trust of inter-Tribal leaders and Oregon stakeholders are seeking to purchase land around Willamette Falls near Portland, but without including the Oregon Tribe who calls the falls their ancestral land.

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde wrote a letter to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek urging the state to exercise caution with the Willamette Falls Trust project. The group has requested up to $75 million from the state to complete a purchase of 60 acres at the falls.

“Proponents are presenting this project as returning lands to Oregon’s tribal nations; however, the Willamette Falls Trust excludes the Confederated Tribe of the Grand Ronde, which is the tribe of record in the area, and includes an out-of-state Tribe,” wrote Grand Ronde Chair Cheryle Kennedy in the letter.

Willamette Falls Trust includes members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Yakama Nation. Yakama Nation is headquartered in Toppenish, Washington. Former Oregon Governor Kate Brown is the chair of Willamette Falls Trust.

The Grand Ronde are currently engaged in a federal lawsuit against Portland General Electric over a ceremonial fishing platform at Willamette Falls that was agreed upon in 2018.

“The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde encourages further evaluation of the request and engagement by tribes with documented treaty rights, and whose aboriginal lands encompass the Willamette Falls waterway,” wrote Chair Kennedy. In an article with Willamette Weekly, Willamette Falls Trust spokesperson Michelle Cole said that many Tribes have “deep history” at the falls, and they remain committed to an inclusive process.