The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation on July 10, 2025, announced Daneli Atilano is the new editor of the tribes' newspaper, the Confederated Umatilla Journal, (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation/Contributed Photo)

MISSION — The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation has hired Daneli Atilano as the new editor of the Confederated Umatilla Journal.

Atilano, who has worked as a journalist serving Eastern Oregon communities, started her role on July 1. She is a former staff reporter for the Hermiston Herald and freelance writer for Go! Eastern Oregon magazine.

“My goal is to honor the purpose and values of the CUJ while helping it grow in ways that serve the community,” she said in a press release announcing her new role. “I want to support accurate, respectful reporting that reflects the voices and experiences of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla people.”

The CUJ covers the news for CTUIR and publishes monthly. Atilano said she hopes for increased community involvement by including local contributions and perspectives from young people.

“Above all else, I’m here to listen, learn and serve,” she said.

Born in Pendleton and raised in Hermiston, Atilano graduated from Hermiston High School in 2019. She attended Eastern Oregon University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in business administration. During her junior year there, she joined the student newspaper, The Voice.

Atilano worked as a student reporter for about two years before the newspaper shut down, she said. In that time, she also worked as a freelancer for Go! Eastern Oregon and as a staff writer for EOU’s marketing department.

In her senior year, she worked for a few months as a general assignment reporter for the Hermiston Herald.

As editor of the CUJ, Atilano will oversee operations of the monthly newspaper as well as its daily website and social media — writing and editing local, community-focused news stories, designing and laying out the newspaper, selling advertisements to generate revenue and establishing and maintaining subscriptions.