Portland State University is honored to host the Oregon Tribal Language Speaker Series. Our tribal partners will present their language program’s history, revitalization efforts, and future projects.
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Language Program
Ɨtísyawak, Mildred Quaempts, was born in 1953 and raised on the Umatilla Reservation by her maternal grandparents who were fluent Ičiškiin speakers of the Umatilla and Yakama dialects. Mildred was raised in the language and learned to speak English fluently by 3 rd grade. She finished high school in 1972 then went on to raise five children who also carry language knowledge. Today, she is a grandmother to 11 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild with another on the way. Mildred has been an active MMIW/P/R (Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women/People/Relatives) advocate since 2009. Recently, Mildred has gotten back into dancing and has danced traditional style at multiple pow wows since 2025.
Professionally, Mildred’s work has always been centered around youth, families, and language and culture preservation. Mildred has been a steadfast and vital part of the CTUIR Language Program since its establishment in 1996. In her 30 years with the program, she has held multiple titles including, Education Language Coordinator, Language Instructor, and her current title, Umatilla Master Speaker. She is one of six fluent speakers of Umatilla left and one of four working with the CTUIR Language Program. Mildred shares her language and cultural knowledge through storytelling, cultural excursions, singing, and traditional crafting. Currently, she is active in the classroom setting as the master speaker and teacher for Tamalúut, the Umatilla language immersion school for 3–5-year-olds, the master speaker for Sunridge Middle School language classes which are led by one of her former apprentices, and is the master speaker and teacher for credited Umatilla language classes for Eastern Oregon University (La Grande, OR). Mildred also partners with Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA) and University of Idaho (Moscow, ID) for occasional performances, presentations, and classes, and she is a partner to the “Walk to Language” program that teaches Umatilla in the elementary schools of Pendleton, OR.
“Miyánašma pawá átaw ayáyat tɨmnáii ku px̣ʷít.” - Ɨtísyawak, Mildred Quaempts