Tribes battle PGE's plan to seize Willamette Falls land

OREGON CITY, Ore. (KOIN) -- A federal trial is now underway in the legal battle for a fishing area at the base of Willamette Falls, pitting the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde against Portland General Electric's plan to seize 5 acres of land at the banks, citing cultural and historical significance.

Members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde held a rally against PGE's plan, and Council Member Kathleen George told KOIN 6 News those inside courtroom could hear the beat of the drummers gathered at Lownsdale Square.

“Oregon waters should not be controlled by a private company -- they belong to all Oregonians,” George said. “All Oregonians have a right to the falls, to go there and to recreate, and many people do. But if this place is taken into private property ownership, PGE will determine whether or not Oregonians can go there and under what terms.”

PGE issued a notice to the state in 2022 requesting to condemn the land. The utility later argued in a legal memo the move was needed, “to assure public safety” and allow operations to consistently run at their hydroelectric station in West Linn.

Under the Federal Power Act, the utility has the right to condemn property if the decision is driven by safety concerns.

However, a federal judge granted members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde a motion to intervene and challenge the request, as Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission authorized the tribe to operate a temporary fishing platform at the falls in 2018.

“PGE has been operating at this site for over 100 years, and there has been absolutely no need to condemn the land or calls for safety in all decades they've operated there,” George said. “What's changed in the meantime? The Grand Ronde people, in consultation and partnership with the state of Oregon, we've restored a seasonal fishery at Willamette Falls, and we erect a platform in the ways of our ancestors to fish there. So, I think it's really the burden of PGE to explain why safety concerns have changed when their operations haven't changed at all.”

PGE declined to provide an updated statement. However, in a statement on December 4, 2024, the company's vice president of Policy and Resource Planning, Kristen Sheeran wrote:

“PGE respects the longstanding ties of Tribes to the Willamette Falls area, and its continued importance for traditional cultural practices. That is why in 2022, we requested federal regulators grant a perpetual cultural practices easement to facilitate safe and equitable access for all Tribes with cultural ties to the falls. To advance that easement, the federal government is requiring PGE to resolve the dispute involving a permit issued by the Oregon Department of State Lands that impacts PGE’s operations, safety at the falls and our ability to comply with federal licensing requirements. This lawsuit was filed in early 2023 as the best way to resolve issues essential to our operations and we trust and respect the process underway.”

Grand Ronde Tribal member and ceremonial fisher Jade Unger told KOIN 6 News he questions the timing of the company’s 2023 lawsuit and feels the safety argument doesn’t hold water.

“I've been through the swift water rescue training. We are very serious about safety. We have spotters and use all kinds of safety precautions,” Unger explained. “And PGE has had years to bring up safety concerns and never brought anything up about this, until this seemingly political effort has come about.”

Unger said he and other ceremonial fishers are worried condemnation of the land could thwart traditional annual salmon fishing and the harvesting of pacific lamprey.

"It's one of the great honors of my life to go out there and represent my family, my tribe, my ancestors,” Unger said. “We waste nothing. We bring those fish back to our community and it’s a healing process for us; it’s a cultural revival. We’re putting ourselves back in the ways that our ancestors lived and trying to bring that in for future generations.”

“Our efforts to restore the fishery, to honor that tradition, to bring those things back home would be ended, essentially,” he added.

In a joint statement of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Siletz Indians wrote on April 18, 2025:

“Willamette Falls, a place of profound cultural and historical significance for the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, is witnessing a rare and vital act of reconciliation. Amidst the often-fraught landscape of attempting to balance resource development and indigenous rights, Portland General Electric (PGE) has chosen a path of collaboration and respect to the rights of all tribes to continue their traditional uses of the Falls, and that effort deserves our recognition and support.”

Governor Tina Kotek, a longtime advocate for restoring public access at the falls told KOIN 6 News, “I hope the tribes can come together and reach some mutual consensus on both sides of the river to meet the needs of the different tributaries. At the end of the day, I hope we can respect our sovereign Nations as well as get public access, because I think that would be great for the area, and I think Oregonians deserve to see it."

The four-day trial is expected to last through the week.