A5
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021
Oregon Trail video game aims
for accurate native depictions
OBITUARIES
Keith Alan Rooney
Seaside
April 8, 1967 — Jan. 4, 2021
By ANNA KING
Northwest News Network
Keith Alan Rooney was born in Astoria on April (Christine); uncle, Gary Bergeson (Pat); uncle, Larry
8, 1967, to Robert E. Rooney and Deanna Rooney Bergeson (Linda); uncle, Wayne Bergeson (Joni); uncle,
(Bergeson).
Wade Bergeson (Jackie); and aunt, Lynn Bergeson.
I miss him so much. He always had a big
Dusty Cheuvront was always a big part of
smile for everyone, and a big heart, but his
Keith’s life. He has always been a big part of
heart failed him on Jan. 4, 2021.
our family. He was like a son to Keith, and
He loved his sons, Robert Leslie Rooney,
Keith was so proud of him. Dusty is now a
age 12, and Ronny Russell Rooney, age 10,
staff sergeant with the U.S. Marines. Keith
so much. His boys were named after grandpa
was close to Dusty, his wife, Rachell, and
Rooney and grandpa Les Ronny Russell
their kids, Baily, Zeke and Ellie.
Rooney, best friend, Ron Hopla, and great-
Keith was a great father. He raised his
grandpa, Russell.
children by himself, with a little help from
Keith graduated from Seaside High
grandma Deanna.
School in 1986 and went to Mount Hood
I love you son, and miss your daily phone
Keith Rooney
Community College for a short time before
calls.
joining the U.S. Army in 1988. He attended
Love you forever,
boot camp in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and then was
Mom
stationed in Germany, where he was trained as a com-
“When I am gone, release me — let me go / I have
bat engineer.
so many things to see and do. / You must not tie yourself
Once he was out of the Army, Keith moved to to me with tears / Be happy that we had so many years.
Alaska to work with his dad as a heavy equipment oper-
“I gave you love, you can only guess / How much
ator. Most recently, he worked as a driver Clean Sweep, you gave me in happiness. / I thank you for the love
owned by Ben and Tammy Olson.
each have shown / But now it is time I traveled alone.
We lived in a logging camp in Thorne Bay, Alaska,
“So grieve awhile for me if grieve you must / Then
from 1969 to 1974. Keith attended fi rst grade there. He let your grief be comforted by trust. / It is only for a
became a big brother when his sister, Shannon, was while that we must part / So bless those memories
born in Ketchikan, Alaska, in 1971.
within your heart.
Baseball was Keith’s favorite sport growing up.
“I will not be far away, for life goes on / So if you
From pee-wee to varsity, we never missed a game. need me, call and I will come. / Though you cannot see
Keith was a catcher for all four years on varsity. He or touch me, I will be near/ And if you listen with your
had a lot of respect for coach Jim Auld, from whom he heart, you will hear / All of my love around you, soft
learned a great deal.
and clear.
Keith had a lot of friends and family. He is survived
“Then when you must come this way alone / I will
by his dad, Robert Rooney (Sandee), in Fairbanks, greet you with a smile and ‘Welcome Home.’”
Alaska; and his mother, Deanna, and stepfather, Les
We would like to thank everyone who was so kind
Philbrook, of Seaside.
in sending fl owers and cards and and making condo-
In addition, Keith leaves behind the following fam- lence calls.
ily members: brother, Hunter Rooney; sister, Dakotah
We would also like to thank Providence Seaside
Rooney; brother, Brandon Philbrook, his wife, Jen, and Hospital and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
nieces, Emily and Leiana; sister, Shannon Lahaie, her for taking good care of Keith and for everything they
partner, Jim, and their children, Kaelee and Jacob; sis- did. We appreciate it.
ter, Charmagne Stous (Ray); brother, James Philbrook
Thank you from the Philbrook and Rooney families.
Jazz Halfmoon remembers play-
ing the educational video game Ore-
gon Trail as a reward for doing well
in her Oregon grade school class.
“It was on a super old computer,”
she said. “The green screen was like
the only color.”
She said it was really exciting,
and the kids would often clamor
and fi ght over who could play the
game on the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Reservation in Eastern
Oregon.
“I remember being like ‘oh, like
the Indians killed off somebody in
your wagon train … and then being
like, ‘Oh, we’re Indians, you know,’”
Halfmoon said.
Halfmoon, 38, and a generation
of kids like her grew up playing it.
They remember the game mostly for
the moment — wait for it — their
party died of dysentery.
Now, a new spin on the wagon
train game focuses on more
accurately representing Native
Americans.
The company Gameloft tack-
led the redesign of Oregon Trail for
Apple Arcade just in time for the
increase in worldwide play because
of the coronavirus pandemic. Its tar-
get audience: the now-40-year-olds
and their kids. And more Native
American players.
Gameloft Brisbane creative
director Jarrad Trudgen had to root
out historical inaccuracies and cli-
ches about Native American culture.
“Well, as a white, middle class
Australian, I don’t think I can really
speak to that,” he said about getting
everything right for Indigenous peo-
ples in the new game. “I’d like help
with that. And I’d like to talk to some
Native Americans, and some Native
American history professors.”
So he brought in three Indigenous
historians. They listened to early test
music for the game and said back off
the drums and fl utes. And don’t use
broken, stilted English. Trudgen got
it.
“It’s like a trope to make Native
American people seem primitive
somehow,” Trudgen said. “When
actually there were a lot of bilingual
or polylingual Native Americans at
that time.”
The team of historians came up
with more appropriate names for
game characters and advocated for
new roles for Native Americans, not
Charles (Chuck) Cameron
Seaview, Washington
April 23, 1931 — April 18, 2021
Charles (Chuck) Cameron, 89, of Chuck’s Fly
Shop in Seaview, Washington, passed away in his
sleep on April 18, 2021, of natural causes, at Ocean
Beach Hospital.
Charles was born on April 23, 1931, in “Cherry Cor-
ner,” Parker Heights, Wapato, Washington. Charles
was raised on a fruit farm on Lombard Loop Road and
graduated from Wapato High School in 1950.
He and his family moved to Seaview in 1964,
where he worked at the Crown Zellerbach paper mill
at Wauna until retirement.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Lois Cam-
eron; sons, Chris Cameron, and ex-wife, Janice, of
Logsden, and Patrick (Sherryl), of Seaview; daugh-
ter, Martha Thompson, of Port Angeles, Washing-
ton; grandchildren, Dana Cameron, of Newport, KC
(Ty) Wilson, of Bellevue, Washington, Rachel Cam-
eron, of Yelm, Washington, Sean (Lauren) Thompson,
of Acworth, Georgia, and Tina (Dean) Martineau, of
Seaview; and six great-grandchildren.
Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Virgil
and Clio Cameron; brother, Virgil Cameron; daughter,
Susan Durant; and a grandson, Charles Thompson.
Charles lived and breathed fi shing. He was an artist
when it came to tying fl ies. He always had a river or
lake he wanted to fl y fi sh wherever he went.
A memorial service will be scheduled at a later
date.
Gameloft
The Oregon Trail game is part of the
new Apple Arcade. It features more
accurate depictions of Native American
characters, historically-based story
lines and researched clothing styles.
just as guides or trappers.
University of Nebraska his-
torian Margaret Huettl has Lac
Courte Oreilles tribal ancestors. She
researched old photos and drawings
for accurate depictions of diff erent
tribes’ clothing and style.
“Initially, all of the Native people
(in the revamped game) had braids,”
Huettl said. “And I think we sug-
gested, maybe they don’t all have to
have braids.”
One major teaching moment
for Trudgen was about bows and
arrows. He defi nitely wanted them.
“There are a lot of popular games
out there, ‘Tomb Raider’ and ‘Last
of Us,’ and like these big games
where bows and arrows are sick,”
Trudgen said.
But Huettl explained if you were
a Native American trapper at the time
of the Oregon Trail, you were more
likely to have a rifl e, so bows and
arrows are an outdated stereotype.
“That wasn’t our intention at all,
obviously,” Trudgen said. “We were
just coming to it sort of as a naive
‘bow and arrows are cool’ angle.”
David Lewis teaches anthropol-
ogy and ethnic studies at Oregon
State University. He’s a member of
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde, the territory where many
Oregon Trail settlers ended up.
“(Tribes) were excited initially
for all the new products: the guns,
the metals and fabrics and things like
that,” Lewis said.
But, he said, the real Oregon Trail
wasn’t a positive story for Native
Americans. The settlers kept com-
ing, and the government forced
tribes into bad deals, like treaties that
gave away their best land and forced
their people onto reservations where
many died.
Hi Lisa,
I just wanted to drop a note to say how pleased I am working with you and The
Astorian. Your expert skill and years of knowledge in working with the public and
companies like Lucky Duct comes shining through the phone. You have navigated
us through the abundant options with regular success in reaching a wider audience
and expanding our business. In addition to regularly attending to artwork changes,
staying within my budget guidelines, you always let us know when grants or specials
were available too.
We all need to have things and people we can count on every time and on time; this
has been spot-on! I have confidence the advertising is working well for us! I sincerely
look forward to more opportunities to service our community and working with
a local individual like yourself whom represents with the upmost integrity creates
certainty for more to come.
Thank you Lisa and my gratitude to The Astorian for having you on my extended
team.
Personally, Renae Nelson, owner
Gain Exposure.
Drive More Business.
Find New Customers.
Marketing assistance from the print & digital experts.
Talk to our customer success team today.
Vinnie Arcadio - Master Technician
503.325.3211
Renae Nelson - Owner
Lacie Nelson - Assistant Technician
SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TODAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
REGIONAL FORECAST
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Seattle
61 49
Partly sunny
60 48
Areas of low
clouds
61 49
61 49
Mostly cloudy
Areas of low
clouds
60 45
58 44
61 45
Mostly cloudy
Showers
possible
Showers
possible
Aberdeen
Olympia
63/48
71/50
Wenatchee
Tacoma
Moses
Lake
71/46
ALMANAC
UNDER THE SKY
TODAY'S TIDES
Astoria through Tuesday
Tonight’s Sky: Conjunction of
the waxing crescent and Venus
below the western horizon. (Not
visible.)
Astoria / Port Docks
Temperatures
High/low ................................ 65/40
Normal high/low .................. 60/45
Record high .................. 85 in 1926
Record low .................... 34 in 2012
Precipitation
Tuesday ................................... 0.00”
Month to date ........................ 0.39”
Normal month to date ......... 1.32”
Year to date .......................... 34.57”
Normal year to date ........... 31.36”
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Sunrise today .................. 5:45 a.m.
Sunset tonight ............... 8:39 p.m.
Moonrise today .............. 6:52 a.m.
Moonset today ............ 10:54 p.m.
Full
Last
High (ft.) Time Low (ft.)
2:17 a.m.
3:52 p.m.
New
1:58 a.m.
3:23 p.m.
2:07 a.m.
3:38 p.m.
Warrenton
2:12 a.m.
3:47 p.m.
Knappa
2:54 a.m.
4:29 p.m.
Depoe Bay
May 19 May 26 June 2 June 10
8.2 9:29 a.m. -0.4
6.7 9:11 p.m. 3.0
Cape Disappointment
Hammond
SUN AND MOON
First
Time
1:08 a.m.
2:42 p.m.
8.1 8:33 a.m. -0.5
6.6 8:20 p.m. 3.3
8.4 8:54 a.m. -0.7
6.8 8:41 p.m. 3.1
8.6 9:13 a.m. -0.3
7.1 8:55 p.m. 3.1
8.5 10:30 a.m. -0.4
7.0 10:12 p.m. 2.6
8.2 8:04 a.m. -0.7
6.6 7:49 p.m. 3.3
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Honolulu
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
Phoenix
San Francisco
Wash., DC
Fri.
Hi/Lo/W
64/49/pc
69/54/s
67/47/pc
74/56/pc
73/46/pc
84/73/sh
79/60/pc
75/60/pc
89/75/t
70/52/s
101/72/s
66/52/pc
70/50/s
71/53/pc
71/54/pc
70/50/s
77/63/pc
70/49/pc
85/71/sh
82/62/s
71/60/pc
87/73/t
70/53/pc
101/71/s
64/52/pc
70/50/pc
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy,
c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,
r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.
79/53
Hermiston
The Dalles 84/53
Enterprise
Pendleton 70/45
79/53
83/57
La Grande
74/50
78/54
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Hi/Lo/W
71/48
Kennewick Walla Walla
76/54 Lewiston
84/53
74/50
Salem
Pullman
80/51
Longview
61/49 Portland
76/55
74/50
Yakima 83/52
73/49
Astoria
Spokane
78/53
Corvallis
77/49
Albany
79/51
John Day
Eugene
Bend
78/50
77/48
76/48
Ontario
84/56
Caldwell
Burns
79/46
82/51
Medford
87/54
Klamath Falls
79/43
City
Baker City
Brookings
Ilwaco
Newberg
Newport
Today
Hi/Lo/W
75/43/pc
62/49/pc
59/51/pc
77/52/pc
57/47/pc
Fri.
Hi/Lo/W
73/42/c
66/50/pc
59/50/c
77/45/pc
56/45/pc
City
North Bend
Roseburg
Seaside
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Today
Hi/Lo/W
59/49/pc
81/53/pc
61/50/pc
81/50/pc
76/54/pc
Fri.
Hi/Lo/W
59/47/pc
78/45/pc
61/49/c
79/42/pc
77/47/pc