Jeremy Takala, known as Pax’una’shut in the Yakama Nation, is of the Kahmiltpah Band (Rock Creek) located on the Columbia River and a proud descendant of Hopi. He was nominated in 2020 to serve as a Tribal Councilman for Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. He currently chairs the Fish and Wildlife, Law and Order Committees; serves as Secretary of the Legislative Committee; and is a member of the Heath, Employment and Welfare Committee. Prior to his time in office, he worked 12 years for the Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) as a fisheries technician. His hands-on training and Washut upbringing have contributed to his skillset as a Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fisheries Commission (CRITFC) Commissioner, alongside the Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs Tribes. He is compassionate about upholding his tribe’s Treaty Rights with the federal government and protecting resources for those yet unborn.
Jeremy was raised in Goldendale, WA, and is a proud member of the Rock Creek Longhouse. Learning to drum and provide for the longhouse at an early age is a tribute to his elders who have passed on their traditional educations. He continues to carry on old-style values with his wife Kim, their two sons Tyler and Clint, and infant daughter Nena, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and extended community participants. When time allows between his son’s baseball and basketball schedules, he finds time to display his Round Bustle style of dance on the Pow-Wow circuit, with his boys right behind mimicking his every move. He has led students to national conferences as part of the Big River Council and has been an instrumental presence in local schools and parent committees as a voice for Native representation.
Jeremy’s passion has always been in the mountains gathering traditional foods and medicines, hunting, fishing, and practicing the ways of time immemorial. He resides as a steward for future generations to understand and defend natural foods, streams, and animals. Striving to carry out the visions of past leadership while embarking on ways to preserve natural laws in the contemporary world. Jeremy attributes his large family and Longhouse gatherings as a reason for his achievements and for preparing him to be a team player—“it takes a village”. When called upon by the elders to take the helm, he graciously accepted their words of encouragement and stepped into his governance role.
