October 2024 Member Highlight

Department of Natural Resources Superintendent for the Yakama Nation, Phil Rigdon

In south-central Washington, under the shadow of Mount Adams and along the Columbia River, lies the Yakama Nation. This is where Phil Rigdon, a Yakama Nation Tribal member and the Superintendent of their Department of Natural Resources, works to manage Tribal forests and fisheries. 

The Yakama Nation Fisheries is a program of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The Tribe works "To honor, protect and restore Nch'i-Wa'na (the Columbia River), its tributaries and its resources for the benefit of current and future generations of the Yakama people as reserved for them in the Treaty of 1855 (12 stat. 951),” (Yakama Nation Fisheries). “We're a timber Tribe, and we're a fisheries Tribe,” said Phil.

“Everybody thinks everything is naturally about casinos with Tribes, but really our background is natural resources. Our background is the places we come from and the stories and the legends of land.” 

Natural resources, water, and water rights are critical to the Tribal community. As a result, the Yakama Nation has the largest irrigation project in Indian Country with the Wapato Irrigation Project. 

Access to natural resources tethers identity and culture for many Tribal communities, and the Yakama Nation is explicitly guaranteed these rights through their treaty, “We're a treaty Tribe that has over 13 million acres that we ceded in the Treaty of 1855,” Phil explained. ”The Tribe retained Article III, treaty rights including the right to hunt, fish, and gather foods.” This treaty is the heart of the Tribe, and they continue to fiercely protect it along with their rights to the land itself, “We have gone to the highest courts advocating on behalf of the Tribe and dealing with our right to fish.” Phil said. “This has led to co-management with the state and the idea that, if we're going to participate, we need to take a bigger role.” 

The Yakama Nation is on the east side of the Cascades, where Tribes historically burned the typically dry forests. Phil shared how the lack of Tribal management of forests today is connected to the catastrophic fires in the west, “We want to play a role in co-stewardship, and we are looking at opportunities to manage adjacent forests,” he said. “I think we should be doing a lot more burning. We should be incorporating a lot more landscape-level restoration for forest health.” Phil shared examples of how his ancestors have stewarded the land for centuries, “On the reservation, I think we have a great model when you come and see our work in forest restoration which provides an economy for our people. It’s due to our thinning and management activities. Our forest still provides the resources that we need as a community.” 

In addition to blazing the trail in forest management, Phil explained how the Yakama Nation has plans for extensive salmon restoration work, “We are wanting to do treatments and focus on watersheds, fixing culverts, pushing roads away from habitat areas and making sure recreation is responsible and not damaging to those resources.” Salmon health is vital to their ecosystem, highlighting how access to treaty resources for salmon recovery is critical for Yakima Nation’s Department of Natural Resources. Through a coordinated effort, success is achieved in the greater agriculture landscape. Phil said, “I'm excited about a lot of the awesome things the Tribe is achieving in working with our partners on the land acquisition and co-stewardship, but on the other side of it, I still think there are places where the bureaucracy of the government makes it almost impossible for us to achieve.” 

Phil stressed that the Farm Bill needs to be expanded to include co-stewardship of natural resources and development of the workforce, saying, “Working to develop not just Tribal people, but also the non-Tribal people or descendants coming to the reservation and making sure that we're creating opportunities so that they can work towards our mission.” 

Phil acknowledged that the Native Farm Bill Coalition has the power to unify Indian Country for the greater good, saying, “I do want to say it's great to see Tribes from across the country come together, with the same mission of trying to do better for our communities and opening up the toolbox. The Native Farm Bill Coalition really demonstrates that despite all the obstacles.”

As an NFBC member, the Yakama Nation brings a diverse and unique agriculture perspective to the Coalition’s voice of advocacy,

“It's exciting to see what we're trying to do in agriculture from forestry to fisheries to wildlife and how they fit together with our economy and our people,” Phil said. “Just talking to other folks from different places is always exceptional to see […] When we get resources, we're able to do some of the coolest stuff in the world.”