T Like all of the Peace and Dignity Journeys core runners who journeyed through our Central Coast region in July 2025, core runner, Shalaya Williams was a powerful inspiration to our community and to the many other communities she touched on the PDJ route.  A young Native Akimel O-odham woman of strong and joyful spirit, our sister, Shalaya passed away on October 12th after a year-long battle with cancer. She will be deeply missed. 

Reflecting on the impact Shalaya had on him, member of the PDJ -Central Coast Committee, Anthony Castello, shared; “ Shalaya created a beautiful world around her, wherever she traveled, and for everyone unconditionally. Shay's spirit empowers all of us to live everyday with Love and Laughter. In our hearts forever, she gives us strength and courage to be who we are, as Good Ancestors for the next 7 generations. Aho.”

One of her fellow-runners and friend, Amoneeta Beek, shared the following about Shalaya. “It was a great honor to run with and get to know Shalaya during the months she joined Peace & Dignity Journeys 2024. She told me the first day that she was going "all the way." Sadly, despite appearing healthy and running many miles with us everyday, she had to leave the run to get testing. What a shock to find out about her condition and to lose her so soon. It impressed me that she always spoke  confidently in her language in circle and about being healthy and the importance of eating well. Despite the daily challenges of the run, Shalaya had a positive attitude, a smile, and was very supportive, often lending a hand and offering suggestions for improvement. She left her cupping kit for us runners to use which helped with our body aches. She made meaningful and spiritual contributions to PDJ. Thank you Shalaya. Blessings to you in the spirit world.”

The following are the words shared as part of Shalaya’ obituary: 

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 journeys. 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.”