About URHA

The Past

In the old days the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people had to have housing that was easy to move from place to place because they had to travel much of the time to gather food.

The Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla and other Plateau tribes had a special kind of tent that no other Indian people used. It was called a longhouse. The longhouse was made out of lodgepoles much like a tepee, only much longer. It could reach up to 80 feet in length. The longhouse resembled the modern day "A" frame house in appearance. The covering was made out of "tule" mats. The long skinny-leafed tule plants grow along rivers and ponds. They were gathered, dried and strung together to make mats. The mats were placed on the poles and tied down. When the family wished to move they simply removed the mats and traveled on to the next camp. The poles were left behind because it was much easier to have a set of poles at each camp.

Today the Indian people of the Umatilla Reservation live in houses, but they still use teepees on certain occasions, like traditional celebrations or camping in the mountains. However, the tepees are now covered with canvas instead of tule mats. The reservation is also home to a variety of "modern" housing, using prefabricated, modular, stick-built, and other methods of construction. No new homes have been built by the Umatilla Reservation Housing Authority since the early 1990s.

Mutual Help Housing was a special program that is no longer available.

The Future

The Housing Authority has an ambitious plan. We want to build quality, green, energy-efficient, universally accessible homes, rentals, and activity centers. Because our budget is severely limited, and our staff is stretched a bit thin right now, we need to leverage the small amount of funding we obtain under the Native American Housing Self Determination Act by obtaining grants, donations, and like-kind exchanges for Tribal people and their families to enjoy access to quality housing.

We are always looking for your ideas and constructive input about what you would like to see the Housing Authority accomplish for you, your family, the Tribe, and the land. If you ever want to talk or if you ever have questions while we work toward our goal of superior housing and energy efficiency, please feel free to call on any one in the office. We are here to serve you. If we can't help you, we probably know someone who can.

If you ever need to speak to someone after hours or weekends, just let us know. We have a great team and each and every one of us is willing to meet with you when it's convenient for you. Don't let "office hours" be a barrier to your housing or rental needs.