Nixyaawii, Awkú Čáwpam Áḱaatta!: “Nixyaawii, Don’t Throw it Away!” Project

Longhouse Food Waste Assessment & BioDigester Demonstration
Logo for the Nixyaawii Don’t Throw It Away! Project illustrates the circular aspect of closing the loop for materials management, four elements of earth, fire, air, and water, the flame of the biodigester as a stomach and Coyote at the bottom for the transformation element of this project. Logo was designed by Alx Kujana, a Nez Perce artist in Pendleton.

We are excited to invite you to our Biogas Workshop! Please find our registration form at the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7FNQMJM 

Initial Project Reception 

State Interest

Oregon Public Broadcasting wrote a wonderful story about our project launch, please read that story here:

Umatilla tribes to launch food waste reduction project in northeast Oregon reservation - OPB

National Recognition

The Nixyaawii, Don't Throw It Away! Project is also honored to have been nominated by the Harvard Kennedy School's Project on Indigenous Governance and Development for their 2025 Honoring Nations Award! We are grateful to Harvard for recognizing the potential of this project and look forward to submitting an application to the award in the future.

Past CTUIR projects that have received this award include DNR Cultural Resources Protection Program (2003), CTUIR Homeownership: Financial, Credit & Consumer Protection Program (2006), Kayak Public Transit Program (2010), and Čáw Pawá Láakni - They Are Not Forgotten (Place Names Atlas) (2016).

Please read more about Harvard's Honoring Nations Award here: Project on Indigenous Governance and Development

Past Presentations 

We are ALWAYS excited to talk about our project with anyone interested! We will archive past presentations here on this page, and link to any recordings available. Please find those past presentations below in the downloadable materials.

 

Funding Agency Disclaimers

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2024-70510-41990.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, any reference to specific brands or types of products or services does not constitute or imply an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for those products or services.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Webpage updated: July 26 2025