John Matt has served as the Spokane Tribe Preservation Program Manager since 2006. His employment with the program began in 2001, when he was hired as an Archeological Technician, later becoming the crew supervisor. He oversees multiple budgets for the office, including on-reservation projects and off-reservation contract jobs. John serves on the American Indian Cultural Council for the Museum of Arts and Culture, representing the Spokane Tribe’s delegation. He believes that preserving cultural resources is important for future generations of the Spokane people. It shows where his people came from, and tells the story of the Spokane ancestral way of life along the river banks, from preparing for the long winters gathering fish, to where the winter camps were located. In John’s words, “We were river people. We had to walk away from the river due to various dams being installed along the Columbia River, and we have lost a whole way of life since we cannot fish for salmon anymore. The benefits of saving our cultural resources is in years past we used to pass things down from generation to generation through oral histories. Now we have the benefit of using modern technologies to record these oral traditions for future generations to enjoy.