As stay-home restrictions for the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted during the summer of 2020, the temporary “Plaza on First” popped up as a street space with tables, chairs, and umbrellas for people to come together and enjoy in-person connection and local food. Containing this city block with flower planters reduced vehicular access to the area and improved pedestrian safety in this bustling downtown location.
The overwhelming community support for the plaza led the city to move forward and make the location permanent. The city paid for the structure with combined local funds and money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the federal stimulus bill to aid public health and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design of the project included input from the community and incorporated historically significant cultural elements informed by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute. Including: officially naming the space Walawála Plaza, which is the traditional indigenous name and means many small waters. The name invites the community to be curious about the spelling and learn of the cultural history of the land on which the plaza is built. Two water features signify the location of Mill Creek and the ‘many small waters’ located in the valley. There is also an incorporation of the Pàšxa ‘balsamroot sunflower’ that was prevalent in the valley and significant to the local Cayuse band known as Pàšxapu ‘sunflower people.’
The Walawála Plaza serves the community as a permanent location to gather as well as a reminder of our history. It provides everyone a free space to socialize, which combats loneliness and depression, which were two unfortunate consequences of the pandemic that many communities are trying to resolve.
