Oregon company designs new app for tribal members

A company owned by an Oregon tribe has launched a new app designed to improve communication among its members.

Cayuse Native Solutions has launched "Camp Crier," an app that has been customized for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

“This gives them another tool to be more targeted in their information," Company President Debra Croswell said. "And it also allows tribal members who don't live locally on the reservation to participate in those discussions and be active in discussions going on around the community.”

The app allows tribal members, employees, and people living on the reservation to create focus groups. Those groups could be for everything from book clubs to small business owners.

Croswell says the app also lets the tribe post necessary and sensitive information that users might not feel comfortable sharing on social media.

For example, the app was used last month to share information about an armed robbery at the tribe's Wildhorse Casino. The tribe was able to quickly post information and let people know the status of the situation.