PELC Kindergartners Learn Umatilla Culture at CTUIR Fisheries

Kindergartners from Pendleton Early Learning Center visited the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Fisheries site on Mytinger Lane in April to observe salmon and lamprey in person.

Before the trip, Umatilla Language Teacher Shawndine Jones led classroom lessons on salmon and lamprey life cycles and taught students Umatilla words for the aquatic species. At the fisheries site, students fed salmon, held live lamprey, and watched staff explain how the facility raises and releases salmon into local rivers.

PELC Principal Angela Lattin said the outing combines tribal history and culture with science and language instruction. "Students who sometimes face challenges in a regular school setting achieve significant success during this outing," Lattin said. After returning to school, students wrote about their experiences.

PELC thanked CTUIR Fisheries staff for hosting the event.