TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Take Part in Run to the Rogue VII
You are invited to join Siletz Tribal members on Sept. 13-15, 2001, for Run
to the Rogue VII. This is a 234-mile relay run/walk to celebrate the continuing
return of the Siletz Tribe to its ancestral lands along the Rogue River.
The run begins in Siletz and follows Highway 101 to a location near Agness,
Ore., at the confluence of the Rogue and Illinois rivers. Everyone can participate
in the Run to the Rogue in the following ways:
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You can help get the run started by running or walking one mile on Sept. 13
if you are unable to take part in the entire three-day run. This group gets the
main group of runners off to a good start each year. It is a very important part
of making the run a success.
Other runners/walkers can join the group as it travels south on Highway 101
and take part as long as they are able. People may join us in the evening and
participate in the relay for as long as possible before returning home. Those
who help in this way are very much appreciated by runners who continue
through the night.
People unable to run may volunteer for the support team. Our support team
sets up base camp each afternoon where relay runners/walkers can eat, shower,
and rest until their next shift on the run. Base camp is at Honeyman State
Park just south of Florence on Sept. 13 and at Humbug State Park, south of
Port Orford, on Sept. 14. A group of supporters in Port Orford provides us
with a potluck dinner on Friday evening at the community center.
Supporters/participants can run or walk to represent a tribal elder or tribal
member who cannot run or walk.
All participants should attend the orientation meeting on Sept. 12, 2001,
at 6:30 p.m. at the Siletz Tribal Community Center. The run begins on
Sept. 13 at 8:30 a.m. and ends on Sept. 15. Those who make a commitment to
join us need to bring a sleeping bag, towels, good shoes, plenty of socks, and
personal care items.
For more information or a registration packet, please call 1-800-922-1399 or
541 -444-2532, ext. 290,373, or 237. This is a wellbriety event - no alcohol or drugs.
Head Start students and families start Run to the Rogue VI.
More Details About Run to the Rogue
Run to the Rogue is an annual relay run from Siletz to a point near the
confluence of the Rogue and Illinois rivers in Southwest Oregon. This run
commemorates the Siletz Tribal ancestors who were forcibly removed from their
homeland in Rogue River country and marched north to Siletz to the confinements
of the Coast Reservation in the mid-1800s.
This annual relay run is the closest we can come to our ancestors’ experience
on the journey from their homeland.
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Volunteers are needed for this three-day event to run, walk, or help out with
camp setup, cleanup, cooking, and other areas.
Youth may participate but need a designated adult committed to traveling and
camping with the youth.
Transportation is provided along the route for runners, elders, children, and
volunteers. Camping, meals, and runners’ support and refreshments are provided.
Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom
by Walt Klamath
Long ago, the people east of the
mountains were having a bad time.
They were starving and very little food
was available to them. Now, it’s
Coyote’s job to see to it that the
two-legged had food. He
decided to go looking for food.
L
Coyote crossed a large
area, went over the mountains
until he came to a beach. While
lere resting, he smelled something
very good so he went looking. He
bund some two-leggeb ones cooking
omething; he didn’t know what it was.
Coyote put on his most woeful hungry
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look so the two-legged would feel sorry
for him. They did and they fed him.
That was the best he had ever had.
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“What is it?’’ asked Coyote. The
¿two-legged said, “It was Salmon.”
Coyote asked, “Where does it
come from?” The two-legged took
him to the river, now called the
Columbia, and showed him how to
catch salmon. Now Coyote was very
impressed and thought this is what the
two-legged east of the mountains
needed. How come there weren’t any
there? Coyote decided to find out.
August 2001
One of Coyote’s many talents was
being able to change himself into
anything that he wished. He changed
into a giant salmon and started upstream
to his home. Many fish followed him
and he came to a great wall that
blocked
the
way
upstream. This would
be called the Bridge of
the Gods.
Coyote started bumping
the rock wall with his nose. As he did,
chips would fall from the wall. Coyote
kept this up for a long time, hitting it
harder and harder. At long last Coyote
did break through the wall and went
through, and the other fish followed
him. The fish did go upstream
and Coyote did show the two-
legged how to catch and
prepare the fish to eat.
The fish went to all the
rivers and streams. Now the
two-legged had plenty to eat. So
today when you see the
magnificent Salmon in the little
streams, notice the nose on some of
them. Their noses will be sore and bent
over like a hook from boring through
the wall of the Bridge of the Gods.