The homeland of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla peoples has long been used by and shared with relatives and neighbors including the Palouse, Wanapum, Yakama, Wishxam, Wyam, Tenino, and Nez Perce. In 1805 and 1806, Lewis and Clark became the first non-Indians to travel through the area, when state boundaries did not exist and tribal areas were designated by natural landforms, rivers, and trails. The people spoke their own languages, lived by their own laws, maintained their own forms of governance, and lived with the land. The mountains provided roots, berries, deer, elk, and antelope, while the rivers provided abundant fish. Thousands lived along the rivers near important fishing, spawning, and trading sites, and tribes traveled from afar to trade along the Columbia River for dried foods such as fish, meat, roots, and berries. Today, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation exercise their sovereignty, preserve their cultural lifeways, provide for the well-being of their people, acknowledge the wisdom of elders and spiritual leaders, and honor a sacred covenant by preserving and protecting the species and habitat that have sustained them for millennia.