THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022 A3
LocalNews
Artist channels Warm Springs culture
BY LEO BAUDHUIN
Redmond Spokesman
Speakthunder Berry strung
the bottom of his drum together
with a long strip of wet rawhide
before wrapping the strings into
the shape of a cross. After mak-
ing sure the face of the drum
was even and tight, Berry set the
drum in a patch of sun to dry.
Besides the drums, Speak-
thunder’s table at the Deschutes
County Fair featured a variety of
pieces that ranged from coastal
Salish-style paintings to jewelry.
“When you look at the art,
you’ll see all of those familiar
shapes you see on totem poles,
longhouses and carvings in Se-
attle and that whole area,” Berry
said.
His “inter-tribal coastal art”
combines his mother’s Puyallup
heritage with his Nakota Sioux
side, along with influences from
the Seven Drums Religion,
which Berry began practic-
ing growing up on the Warm
Springs Reservation. He also
works in his family’s horseman
lineage.
“I like to take the good out
of each one and hold onto it,”
he said.
Speakthunder Art is “unapol-
ogetically for-profit,” as Berry
puts it, with the goal of pro-
moting food sovereignty and
self-sufficiency in both tribal
and non-tribal communities.
Berry said he doesn’t believe
in depending on the govern-
ment, since both sides of the
American political spectrum
have taken away tribal rights,
Photo by Leo Baudhuin/Spokesman
Speakthunder Berry paints an eagle on one of his handmade drums at his booth at the Deschutes County Fair.
implemented policies that harm
the land and tried to destroy
Native American reservations
and the people who live on
them.
“I think that all communities
should come together out of di-
vision and create a community
that is self-reliant, self-indepen-
dent, everyone puts their dif-
ferences aside to feed their chil-
dren,” he said, pointing toward
the United States’ polarized
political climate. “Because that’s
what it’s all about. It’s about our
kids.”
He wants to help people —
Indigenous or otherwise — es-
tablish that sovereignty and
community care for themselves,
relying on things like farming,
solar power and food preser-
vation.
“The community as a whole,
there’s a lot of good people, a lot
of good longhouse people with
good hearts, good teachings,”
he said. “But a lot of people
have gone astray, fall into alco-
holism, drugs and other things
like that, addictions. We live in
one of the poorest communities
in the nation.”
Many of the houses on the
Warm Springs reservation don’t
have running water, Berry said,
and some people’s homes are
so dilapidated that they set up
tents inside them. The commu-
nity faces high mortality and
crime rates, he said.
“We are originally godly
Gas prices keep some close to home
were camping and fishing on
the Umpqua, but the price of
gas was just too much so we
rounded up the kids and came
to the fair,” said Cory, who
was pleased with the decision.
“Saved a ton of money and
had an incredible time.”
BY BILL BARTLETT
For The Redmond Spokesman
High gas prices are causing
Redmond residents to rethink
their summer travel plans,
and some have canceled far
flung adventures to stay closer
to home.
Hal and Lindy Cunning-
ham used to go to British Co-
lumbia each summer, an 11-
hour drive covering the 461
miles to Nanaimo, a city on
Vancouver Island where the
temperature last week was 20
degrees cooler than Redmond.
But high gas prices, and the
rising prices of everything
else, convinced them to vaca-
tion closer to home this year.
Instead, the Cunninghams
are headed to the Wallowas
and Eagle Cap Wilderness in
northeast Oregon — another
cooler option, but one much
closer to home.
“That’s half the gas and
half the time and every bit as
beautiful as B.C.,” Hal said.
“And we’re keeping our
money in Oregon which feels
good,” Lindy added.
The Cunninghams ar-
en’t the only ones changing
travel plans. Bev and Walt
Masters would head for Port
Townsend and the Olympic
Peninsula every August. It
took more than six hours to
drive the 346 miles to a spot
where, last week, temperatures
were topping out a a cool 75
degrees.
The Masters are instead on
their way to the Oregon coast
— more specifically, Florence.
“We did the math,” said Bev.
“It’s what we learned in
school ... the shortest dis-
tance between two points
is a straight line,” said Walt.
“It’s 190 miles, all on (High-
way) 126, no road changes
and we’re there in 3 and a half
hours.”
They are leaving after
breakfast and expect to have
lunch in Old Town Florence
where one day last week the
high was — wait for it — just
63 degrees. The gas savings
is about $45 each way, a $90
benefit for the couple.
AIR TRAVEL
While the number of pas-
sengers flying from Roberts
Field is steadily growing, June
enplanements were 48,492,
only a small gain over 2021
when COVID was still stalling
Dean Guernsey/Bulletin file
FILE- Drivers line up for gas at Fred Meyer in Bend on March 8.
travel that saw 42,933 passen-
gers take off. RDM boarded
45,427 in June of 2019 be-
fore the pandemic so there is
growth, albeit slow.
Across the U.S year air traf-
fic in the first six months of
2022 was up 5.2% following
pent up demand but is reced-
ing in the face of air fares that
have increased by more than
37% and frequent delays and
cancellations, some historic.
It’s those flight interrup-
tion reports that are keeping
Roger and Marti Baker close
to home in Redmond. They’re
making day trips about once
a month. Last week they went
west over the Santiam Pass
and did the waterfall loop fol-
lowing 126 out and 242 back
taking in Cline, Sahalie, Koo-
sah and Proxy Falls along the
way all in under eight hours.
Next week they’re going
to make a Fossil, John Day,
Painted Hills loop up 97,
across 218, down 207 and
home on 26. That 253 mile
outing will take 5.25 hours,
some 8 hours with stops.
“We don’t need to go the
Grand Canyon or Glacier.
We’ve got it all right here
and with over $6 gallon for
my diesel pick up, absolutely
no way we’re gonna leave
our great state this summer,”
Roger insisted.
Indeed, it looks like more
and more Redmonders are
discovering or rediscover-
ing what’s in their back yards.
This follows national trends.
A study by George Mason
University’s Schar School of
Policy and Government found
that gas prices were a factor
for 61% of respondents an-
swering the question about
what could impact their vaca-
tion plans. Hotel and lodging
pries were mentioned by 52%,
the same number who said
flight prices were affecting
their plans.
Early estimates are that at-
tendance at the recently-com-
pleted Deschutes County Fair
are up substantially probably
setting another record.
Ward Paulson worked the
ticket window Saturday.
“It never let up all day,” he
said. “Every time I looked out
the window there were dozens
of people in line.”
Redmonders Cory and Brit-
tany Reynolds hadn’t been to
the county fair for years.
“Usually at fair time we
NATIONWIDE CHANGE
OF PLANS
A new survey suggests a
new trend for 2022, indicat-
ing a rise in desire for clos-
er-to-home adventures and
staycations. The Vacationer
surveyed more than 1,000
Americans adults about their
thoughts on staycations and
whether they’d consider tak-
ing one this year.
Of the respondents, over 67
percent of those surveyed said
they already have or are plan-
ning a staycation.
A study by Bankrate found
that 69 percent of American
adults who say they will vaca-
tion this summer anticipate
making changes to their plans
because of inflation, with 25
percent traveling shorter dis-
tances and 23 percent plan-
ning less expensive activities.
Among people planning to
take time off, a staycation was
the second most-popular op-
tion, behind heading to the
beach.
A different report released
in May by travel review web-
site TripAdvisor found that 74
percent of American travelers
were “extremely concerned”
about inflation; 32 percent
were planning to take shorter
trips this summer and 31 per-
cent were planning to travel
close to home.
Luckily for Redmond res-
idents, staying close to home
can be rich in rewards.
█
people,” he said. “People who
believe in the Creator, equality,
taking care of your neighbor.”
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs largely practice
the Seven Drums Religion,
a monotheistic Christ-based
faith that dates back to pre-co-
lonial times. Berry is no ex-
ception, and he carries those
teachings into his art.
There’s no one right way
to make a drum, he said. He
learned his craft from watch-
ing his grandpa work, then up-
dated it by putting his own be-
liefs into the craftsmanship.
“You always have to have
good feelings in your heart,”
he said, tightening the back
of a drum. “If you’re angry, if
you’re sad, if you’re crying, you
do not touch this. You don’t
do artwork, you don’t create
anything with your hands, you
don’t even cook or serve water
or anything until you feel bet-
ter. Until your mind is clear.”
Following a universal In-
digenous practice, Berry gave
away the first drum he made.
He’s still planning on offering
his art to Native people for free
as he expands, he said.
But he also wants his work
to be financially viable. Berry
has plans to expand through
Central Oregon and beyond —
hopefully with support from
other businesses and the peo-
ple around him.
“I’m learning how to find
success through my culture,
and I want to teach that and
share that,” Berry said. Those
living on his reservation need
money, he said.
“I want to teach people how
to make $1,000 a day,” Berry
said. “Because we literally do
that. We’re buying a house,
have a huge truck, a really nice
car. We’re making a real living.
And I think other people can
too.”
Berry’s art is available for
sale at speakthunderart.com.
█
Reporter: lbaudhuin@
redmondspokesman.com
Redmond man charged
with encouraging sex
abuse of children
the organization received help
from The National Center for
Police arrested a Redmond
Missing and Exploited Chil-
man August 9 and charged him dren, Internet Crimes Against
with 16 counts of encouraging
Children Task Force and the
child sex abuse.
Central Oregon Digital Foren-
Brian Zollman,
sic Laboratory.
47, was charged with
Police believe Zoll-
six counts of encour-
man had access to chil-
aging child abuse in
dren in both Redmond
the first degree and
and Bend. If your child
ten more counts of
had contact with Zoll-
the same crime in the
man over the past year,
second degree.
or have information
Zollman
According to Red-
regarding the case,
mond Police, officers
contact Redmond Po-
spent four months investigat-
lice through its non-emergency
ing Zollman before executing
number: 541-693-6911.
a search warrant on his home
Zollman has been lodged at
Tuesday. According to a release, the Deschutes County Jail.
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
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