Oregon Spider Gets Indigenous Name in Tribal Ceremony

When evolutionary biologist Greta Binford flipped over a rock in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge a few years ago, she knew immediately that something was different about the spider staring back at her.

The spider looked like trogloraptor, a rare family containing just one known species that lives 350 miles away. After several years of research, Binford confirmed this was indeed trogloraptor, but an entirely new species.

Scientists who discover new species get to name them, usually choosing words that describe the organism or honor someone who inspired their work. But Binford's team at Lewis & Clark College had a different idea, one proposed by student Madeline Jones: ask the local tribes for a name.

The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation suggested tulishpun, which means "cave predator" in Sahaptin, the Native language traditionally spoken on the land where the spider lives. Donella Miller, a Yakama Nation member and biologist with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, joked that giving the spider an Indigenous name meant they'd need to hold a proper naming ceremony.

And they did exactly that. This past week, dozens of tribal members and scientists gathered under hemlock and fir trees near the spider's cave home for a traditional ceremony.

Why This Inspires

Naming ceremonies typically celebrate people, not spiders. But Yakama elder Anthony Washines, who created the name tulishpun, reminded everyone that every creature deserves recognition.

He pointed out that this small spider remained on the land even when his people were forced to leave. "We were literally herded to a reservation up in the high-desert plateau, which was not our land," Washines said. "But he stayed here and remained. He still took care of this land."

The ceremony included songs, shared food and gifts, and a formal introduction of the name. A few spiders were carefully collected to receive their name before being returned to their caves. When Washines asked attendees to repeat the name, voices echoed through the forest: "Tulishpun."

Most new species discoveries are celebrated with pizza in a lab or a brief acknowledgment from university administrators. This gathering transformed a scientific milestone into something deeper: a celebration of connections between scientists and Indigenous communities, between humans and the natural world, and between past and present inhabitants of the same land.

The event showed what's possible when science makes room for the knowledge and traditions of Indigenous peoples who have lived on and cared for these lands for thousands of years.