ENTERPRISE — The award came as a surprise to the staff members of the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland.

In fact, until they received an email with the news that the organization had won the 2023 Oregon Travel and Tourism Award for stewardship, they didn’t know they had been nominated.

Joshua Sigmon, the facilities and grounds director for the Homeland, was among those surprised by the award: “I was just like, ‘Well, what the heck is that?’”

But as he and others found out more about the award, administered by Travel Oregon, the state’s tourism commission, the more it seemed like a good fit.

The award honors an organization that uses a stewardship approach to impact Oregon’s economy, culture and natural environment.

And that certainly fits in with the work the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland is doing on its 320-acre site adjacent to the city of Wallowa — land that belongs to the original homeland of the Wallowa Band of the Nez Perce.

But Sigmon appreciates how broadly the award defines “stewardship” — because, he said, the work of the Homeland goes beyond just working on the land.

The award, he said, “represents an organization that not only is a steward for the land but also is a steward to culture and people and community. That was the biggest thing that struck me. … That was what made it special to me.”

The Homeland is a nonprofit organization made up of tribal and nontribal people that seeks to bring Wallowa Band culture back to the Wallowa Valley.

“We’re such a unique organization,” Sigmon said. “A lot of people just don’t understand what we do.”

Travel Oregon has helped get the word out. The agency arranged for a video shoot at the Homeland, and the video was shown at the 2024 Oregon Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Salem in March. Homeland staff members got the opportunity to travel to Salem for the conference — expenses paid by Travel Oregon — which gave them an additional opportunity to spread the word.

“It’s nice to have some recognition as an organization sometimes and this solidified that for me,” Sigmon said.

Just as important to Sigmon is the chance that the work Homeland is doing could serve to inspire others.

“There are people who are seeing what we’re doing,” he said — and he hopes that will inspire others to tackle similar efforts in their communities.

The work the Homeland is doing, he said, could help to show other communities how to bridge “the gap between locals and displaced First Peoples of that area. … A lot of people say, ‘oh, you can’t do that, it doesn’t work.’ So that’s the stereotype we’re trying to break.”

You can check out the prize-winning Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland on Tuesday, April 23, at a Tamkaliks fundraiser at the Homeland Longhouse, 70956 Whiskey Creek Road.

The event, scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m., will feature a showing of a new film about Tamkaliks, the annual celebration on the third weekend of July that reunites the original inhabitants of the Wallowa country and features song and dance, a walasit service and a Friendship feast.

Fundraiser attendees can win prizes and check out  new Homeland merchandise and can also learn about powwow etiquette. The fundraiser’s menu includes fry bread and NDN tacos. 

A donation of $10 per person is suggested.