The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon

Warm Springs tribal leaders in 1938. In this year, the Warm Springs accepted a corporate charter from the United States for their business endeavors. Their forward-thinking has allowed the tribe to establish a wide range of businesses designed to promote tribal self-sufficiency.

A 640,000-acre reservation in north central Oregon is home to a confederation of three tribes: the Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute tribes. The Warm Springs tribe is made up of the Upper Deschutes (Tygh), Lower Deschutes (Wyam), Tenino, and John Day (Dock-spus) bands. The Wasco tribe is made up of The Dalles (Ki-gal-twal-la) and Dog River bands. Several Paiute bands from southeastern Oregon were removed to the Warm Springs Reservation in 1869. In 1855 the Warm Springs and Wasco tribes treated with United States in the Treaty with the Middle Oregon Tribes of Oregon. In the treaty, 10 million acres of aboriginal lands were ceded to the United States. Today, the enrolled membership of all three tribes totals over 4,000. Over 3,300 of those members reside on the reservation.

The reservation government is led by an 11-member tribal council. Three are chiefs who serve life terms, and the remaining eight are elected from reservation districts for 3-year terms. The Warm Springs tribe co-manages the Columbia, Deschutes, Fifteenmile Creek, John Day and Hood River watersheds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operates a chinook hatchery on the reservation. Tribal headquarters are in Warm Springs, Oregon.

The Cascade Mountains flank the reservation on the west, and the Deschutes River forms its eastern border. The river now supports spring chinook, fall chinook, and steelhead. Tribal members still fish with dip nets and set nets from wooden scaffolding at the falls near Sherar's Bridge.