Center for Indigenous Health, Culture and the Environment - CIHCE

02/09/2026

02/02/2026

Our SAGE team had a lovely afternoon in Patrica Wade Temple of socializing over sandwiches and the shared interests of STEM!
🔭🔬🧪🌱✨

Today we were happy to join Adelante STEM and HU’s Science department to introduce ourselves with STEM faculty alike, to HU students and share all of the exciting opportunities and resources available to them.

We look forward to seeing and supporting these students throughout the year and hope to meet more along the way! 🦅

02/02/2026

Tribes and Indigenous people have harvested Pacific lamprey since time immemorial. For many Tribes, lamprey is a first food—deeply tied to culture, ceremony, identity, and family. They are prepared by smoking, drying, or grilling, and elders teach younger generations how to harvest and care for them. Pacific lamprey are not just food—they are respected as elders and relatives, and Tribes carry a responsibility to protect them.

Lamprey also play an important role in river ecosystems. Like salmon, they face threats from climate change, habitat loss, and barriers in our rivers. Protecting lamprey means honoring culture and restoring healthy rivers.

Learn more: https://critfc.org/fish-and-watersheds/columbia-river-fish-species/lamprey/

01/27/2026

Threats to the River: PCBs

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are a group of toxic, human-made, hazardous organic chemicals that, even decades after their ban, continue to impact rivers, fish, and people. PCBs are among the most widespread contaminants in the Columbia River, and they do not readily break down in the environment. On top of that, PCBs accumulate in the food chain, impacting human and environmental health. Although the United States banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1979, with some exceptions, contamination throughout the Columbia River Basin remains today.

There are many contaminated waste sites contributing to the significant PCB pollution in the Columbia River. At the Bonneville Dam, for example, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers disposed of toxic waste into the Columbia River for decades.

Learn more:
https://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/2025/polychlorinated-biphenyls-eng

01/22/2026

Mish pam aw wa wɨshúwani? Are you ready to start taking Ichishkíin classes? The classes start TODAY. Please share or tag somebody who may be interested.

01/22/2026

01/20/2026

11/11/2025

Shix máytski! Mish nám cháw tún mísha páxałkwi klawitka? - Good morning! Are you free Friday afternoon?

Please join us in celebrating Native American Heritage Month at Heritage University in Patricia Wade Temple at 12pm for a book reading by Kara Briggs, Suak-Suiattle/Yakama author.

This event is free and open to the public! ✨

11/11/2025

Shix máytski!
Mish nám cháw tún mísha páxałkw'i? -Good morning! Are you free on Friday?

This workshop is free and open to the public!

Please join our HU students this Friday and learn how to build your own air purifier with a box fan. The students will also share results of research they did about wildfire smoke in our community earlier this year and a YouTube video they made about the dangers and impacts of wildfire smoke.