CRITFC is made up of four Columbia Basin tribes. These tribes are the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Nez Perce Tribe.

The tribal vision is rebirth of the spiritual values of the BasinÕs land, water, air, plants and fish and wildlife, and the importance of these values expressed in terms of love, purity, respect and worship that sustained life for native peoples before the time of Christianity, Judaism, or any other of the worldÕs great religions. This strength should not be lost.

The tribal vision is how the tribes came to be part of the earth and part of creation and what the future holds. This vision is not easily expressed into non-tribal language, but it is sovereignty, respect of the air, water, plants and animals and the interconnection of the spirits of these and tribal peoples, past, present and future.

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The salmon is a sacred animal to the tribes. They are a vital part of the tribes' culture, religion, and well-being. Ceremonies were celebrated each year honoring the first salmon.

Historically, tribal fishers caught salmon at places like Celilo Falls with nets and spears. Modern fishers use a variety of traditional and modern fishing techniques to obtain salmon for subsistence, ceremonies, and marketing.

The right to fish is very important to many aspects of tribal life. It was so important that the treaty negotiators specifically reserved the right to fish in their treaties with the United States. These rights are very precious to the tribes, and they have fought diligently in the last 150 years to protect them. These rights are often misunderstood by the non-tribal public and CRITFC attempts to dispel some common myths about treaty rights.