Shalaya Marie Williams

Shalaya was born on May 10, 1982 in Pendleton, Oregon to Roberta Williams and Robert Jones and passed peacefully on October 12, 2025. She was a proud descendant of the Akimel O-odham and enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation. She arrived into her family circle with thick black hair and huckleberry eyes, as one uncle described her. As a child she was energetic. Her dad recalls a time when she competed in a track meet and he watched as dust was flying and Shalaya came running through it in first place, beating everyone by far. She was an athlete and loved basketball. She played in the first BADD tournament at 8 years old and basketball continued to be her sport. She loved dancing as well as working out and weight lifting. She attended and graduated from Chemawa Indian School and made many lasting friendships throughout Indian Country. A few years later she attended and graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University in 2010 with a business management degree and her family of friends grew. Shalaya, also known as Shugga Shay to some, was friendly, outgoing, resilient, a leader and as colorful with so many diverse friends. Her Indian name, Tamùutsanmay or Gambling Woman, described her love for stickgame. She traveled the Northwest and beyond to sing, gamble, laugh and connect with others. She even led the stick game club while at Haskell and started the first stickgame tournament during the tribe’s Wild Horse pow wow weekend. Shalaya loved her nieces and nephews and enjoyed watching their games and other activities. She smiled with pride recently as she attended her last Pendleton Round Up’s Happy Canyon and cheered for her family members participating. She had her last stroll through the tipi village- a place she remembered fondly, especially camping as a child with her grandmother, Tessie, hosting dinners and running around camp. Like her grandma, Shalaya was adventurous. She loved to travel and that took her to India, Costa Rica, Australia and New Zealand. She even lived in Hawaii for nearly a year. She loved music and going to concerts. She loved paddling on the canoe and experiencing canoe journey. She loved the outdoors from hiking to rafting to farming and camping. She loved to work hard and had many interesting jobs- a cultural preservation worker at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, she moved to Portland and worked at the Nike World Headquarters. She became her own boss and sold Native clothing products throughout the U.S. She found a love for construction and was attending the Northwest Construction School and working on an all-Native construction crew where she easily outlifted all of the men. She broke trail for other women in this industry and pushed back against discrimination. She was becoming an accomplished MC and dabbling in video production. Her grandmother Tessie had a profound impact on her life. She talked about her often and repeated the teachings that were instilled in her by her grandma. Shalaya aspired to be like her. She loved to be the big sister or auntie to others where she would give guidance, just like her grandma did for her. She went out of her way to do this because she wanted to protect you and make sure you did good things and to be proud of who you are. She wasn’t afraid to scold you, either. Shalaya was a genuine person who loved life to the fullest. She gave her best and expected the best from you. She had a strong faith in the Creator and her tribal ways. She battled cancer for the past year and was a true warrior woman through it all- inspiring those around her with her courage and bravery. She was comforted knowing that her grandma would be there to greet her. Her parting words: “drink water.”