Our Locations

Currently Sacred Road serves both the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. We are based in the town of White Swan on the Yakama Reservation and have been serving there since 2003. We have been serving on the Warm Springs Reservation regularly since 2007 and established full-time staff, living and working in Oregon, in January of 2023. We hope, in time, to replicate what we are doing on other reservations in the Pacific North West. Our mission is to love our “first neighbors” like family. Learn more about Sacred Road's history.

History of the Yakama Nation

The tribes that make up today’s Yakama Nation were traditionally semi-nomadic. They moved around the central Washington plateau throughout the year - spending winters in the Yakima valley, moving into the foothills for roots during the spring, fishing for salmon on the Columbia River, and gathering huckleberries at the base of Pahto (Mount Adams).

On June 9th 1855, the Yakama people reluctantly signed a treaty (which has never been upheld by the Federal Government) with the United States giving up approximately 17,000 square miles (or 91%) of their territory for 1,500 square miles of reservation land in the desert of eastern Washington.

The Yakama Reservation is the largest Indian Nation in the northwest and one of the largest in the United States, made up of fourteen confederated tribes and bands, with approximately 10,000 enrolled tribal members. The valley where the reservation is located has a desert climate (annual rainfall of about eight inches) but the volcanic soil makes it a desirable agriculture area, when irrigation is added. The reservation is at the foot of snow-capped Pahto, also known as Mount Adams (12,307 feet), half of which belongs to the Yakama Nation.

Learn more on the Yakama Nation website.

History of Warm Springs

The Warm Springs Reservation, sister reservation to the Yakama Nation, is located in north, central Oregon (about a three hour drive from Yakama). The reservation is nestled in the bottom of a beautiful canyon.

Before becoming the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the three tribes and bands - Wasco, Warm Springs, and Northern Paiute - lived on over 10 million acres of land. In 1855, the Warm Springs and Wasco Tribes signed a treaty under duress that reserved only 640,000 acres for themselves. In 1879, people from the Northern Paiute Band first arrived in Warm Springs from the Yakama Reservation to be closer to the land they had originally inhabited. The vast majority of federal obligations in the treaty were never fulfilled. The early years were difficult as federal policies attempted to force tribal members to assimilate. Despite these challenges, the people of Warm Springs have held onto their culture and traditions and their elders continue to pass them on to the next generation. Today, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is self-governed and strives to protect and strengthen its treaty rights for the benefit of its enrolled members.

Learn more on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Website.