Not long ago, low-income Indian families faced a seven-mile trip from the Umatilla Indian Reservation to purchase groceries. But that was before local inspiration and support from the federal government helped the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTIUR) complete construction of a grocery store/deli in the Mission District of the reservation. The store is expected to become more than just a place to shop - it will become the heart of the community for more than 700 residents of the Umatilla Reservation Housing Authority (URHA).

The Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Tribes became the current-day Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) when they signed a treaty with the U.S. Government in 1855. For over 10,000 years, these tribes - as well as the Nez Perce, Yakama, Wasco, and Warm Springs tribes - lived a nomadic life on the 6.4 million acres known as the Columbia River Plateau, today known as northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. The Plateau culture groups were really bands, not tribes. Each band had its own dialect, traditions, and leader known as a headman. Tribal groupings and names came when the explorers found several bands camping together and named them for the location of the camp. The Plateau lifestyle was directly related to food supply. The plentiful salmon, roots, berries, deer and elk were each found in different places and each was available in different seasons. This caused the bands to move from place to place from season to season to gather their food and prepare it to be eaten and to be saved for the winter. They followed the same course from year to year in a large circle from the lowlands along the Columbia River to the highlands in the Blue Mountains. In the spring, as the next cycle began, the bands gathered along the Columbia River to fish for salmon and trade goods with other bands.

Families living in the Mission Community of the reservation, which is comprised predominately of residents of the URHA low-income housing developments, were forced to travel approximately seven miles, to the nearest grocery store. However, recently the CTUIR opened a unique grocery store-deli combination for the community. The 5,000 square foot facility also includes a postal annex, and generous seating space both indoor and outdoor for eating and social gathering. The store complex was funded by a HUD Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant ($400,000), a Department of Agriculture Rural Business Co-operative Services grant ($150,000) for purchase of grocery store equipment, and matching funds ($583,000) from the Tribe.

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have over 2,300 enrolled members, of which two-thirds live on or near the 172,000-acre Umatilla Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon. The tribally owned and operated store, which was built debt-free, is not intended to be a tribal economic development project. It is intended to offer a wide variety of foods and other grocery store items to tribal members at the lowest prices possible - without profit to the CTUIR. The service will employ other cost-reducing measures, such as buying locally grown produce directly from the farmers and selling it at cost in the store. Another element of the operating plan is to coordinate with a management-training program offered through the Oregon Native American Business Entrepreneurship Network (ONABEN).

After years of struggle and limited opportunity, CTUIR today are moving towards economic self-sufficiency by diversifying their reservation economy. An economy once based primarily on agriculture and natural resources has grown into commercial development such as a trailer court, grain elevator, the Wildhorse Casino Resort, and the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. The tribe is the second largest employer in Umatilla County, Oregon, following behind the State of Oregon agencies and institutions.