Introduction

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon include three tribes – Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute. The Warm Springs and the Wasco people are from the Columbia River.  The Paiute people come from the plateaus to the southeast of the Columbia River. Since time immemorial, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Spring people have taken care of the gifts of the Creator: water, fish, wildlife, roots and berries. The gifts have guided their way of life, spiritually, as they give connection to their lands and guide how they manage those lands.

With the arrival of colonization, the Warm Springs tribes negotiated a Treaty with the US government to relinquish their lands, upsetting the balance they long sustained.

In 1855, the tribes retained full control over their own reservation with extensive off-reservation rights and reserved inherent sovereignty in its Treaty with the United States of America. Yet for decades, they were not consulted in major decisions about how to manage their sacred resources, and the tribal ecological knowledge they have developed over generations was ignored by state and federal governments.  

Today they continue to resist the erasure of their voices in matters concerning their sovereign environmental, cultural and economic interests, and they assert the right to determine their destiny.

Our Objectives

The leadership of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs asked Mixte to help the tribe more effectively communicate with outsiders about its culture, co-management of natural resources, and leadership in the energy space. The tribes, which remain in a large and rural reservation with strong boundaries, have not fully adopted the Western modes of communication that are familiar to many folks outside the reservation – media relations, narrative building through online media, and strategic communications. Mixte is working with the Tribes to develop comfort with these practices, focusing first on media relations.

The Outcome

Working with a sovereign nation requires a long introduction phase, including patience on Mixte’s part to watch and learn about the culture of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. We cannot come with all of the answers as we must allow recommendations, storylines and opportunities to unfold from within the community at a pace and with an approach that builds trust.

We have developed a strategic communications roadmap for the Tribe that connects its legal, policy and communications and a media relations plan to bring awareness to the benefits of its Warm Springs Water and Power Enterprise – from ecological management to the possibility to increase revenue to bring more funds to the Tribe. 

Now, we work with the Tribal leadership to implement the plan and to tell stories through local media that highlight the power, resilience and impact of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Stories such as: