NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
A7
Celebration: Tamkaliks dances into Wallowa this weekend, July 19-21
Continued from Page A1
also in honor of the reunion
and continuance of the Nez
Perce people. The tradi-
tion of the memorial pro-
cession originated in 1885
when the Wallowa Band was
returned to the “northwest”
as promised, but exiled to
the Colville Reservation at
Nespelem Washington, 300
miles from Wallowa County.
“A rider comes calling
out the names of Indians,”
Nez Perce elder Albert Red-
star said, explaining the ori-
gin of the Memorial Horse
Procession and it’s use at
Tamkaliks. “You could hear
the weeping. He rode three
times all the way around
the encampment to trig-
ger that sorrow. He called
out the names of everyone
that was killed and was left
out there on the trail. It was
those names he was saying.
On the third time around,
he picked up the pace, and
began to move, began to gal-
lop. And you could hear him
saying ‘Now we are rejoic-
ing. Look around you… We
are together yet. Now stand
up and shake each other’s
hand. We’re here today.’
“That was our memo-
rial. That is what we teach
our children today,” Redstar
said. “Take care of the pain
that’s inside and bring it out.
But also teach them how to
take care of that pain in the
days ahead.”
At 1 p.m. on Saturday the
dance competitions begin
with the Grand Entry. This
entry parade is led by vet-
erans who will carry the
U.S. fl ag, as well as the Nez
Perce’s eagle staff. Danc-
ers and elders follow. The
ceremony includes prayers,
songs and drumming. Com-
petitive dancing follows.
Dances include cate-
gories for senior men and
senior women, and dances
for children. Dances to
watch include the Men’s
Traditional, Men’s Fancy
Dance, Men’s Grass Dance,
Women’s Shawl Dance
and Women’s Jingle Dress
Dance. The Grass Dance has
its origins with Great Plains
peoples, and also would
have served the Nez Perce
well. It may have originated
as a ceremony or exercise to
trample down high grasses
TAMKALIKS
SCHEDULE
Perce Homeland Interpretive
Center open.
In 2019, Tamkaliks’ schedule has
changed slightly with the ad-
dition of a Veterans’ Dance and
two new dances on Saturday
night. As always, Tamkaliks will
begin Friday evening with social
dancing, singing and drumming,
beginning at 7 p.m. at the dance
arbor on the Homeland Project’s
grounds. Note that some events
may start slightly later than
their scheduled times. Please be
patient
• 9 a.m. Memorial Horse Proces-
sion.
Friday, July 19
• All day: Wallowa Band Nez
Perce Homeland Interpretive
Center open.
• 7 p.m. Social Dance, singing
and drumming.
Saturday, July 20
• All day: Wallowa Band Nez
• 1 p.m. Grand Entry: 1 p.m.
• 1:30 p.m. (approximate) Dance
competition. Includes men’s,
women’s, and youth dances.
• 7 p.m. Veterans’ Dance.
• 8 p.m. (approximate) Slick Style
and Short Fringe special dances.
Sunday, July 21
• All day: Wallowa Band Nez
Perce Homeland Interpretive
Center open.
• 9 a.m. Washat Service at the
Longhouse
• All day: Arrival and camp setup
for participants. Arrival and
booth setup for vendors.
• All day: Nez Perce Homeland
Interpretive Center open.
dances that are fun and
non-competitive, with tra-
ditional categories for men,
women, and children. The
event wraps up about 5 PM
with awards for the danc-
ers who won their categories
and a closing ceremony.
Tamkaliks is on Whis-
key Creek Road just south
of Wallowa on 320 acres
along the Wallowa River.
Along with traditional cul-
tural events, vendors from
around the Northwest sell
a variety of food including
Indian fry bread, along with
handmade goods like moc-
casins, jewelry, leather, and
beaded purses. You’ll fi nd
some Nez Perce vendors
among the plethora of more
commercial booths.
Historic
bridges,
bedecked with informa-
tive interpretive signs, link
the powwow grounds to the
town of Wallowa, and pro-
vide easy access to the Wal-
lowa Band Nez Perce Inter-
pretive Center. The steep
hill on the north side of the
grassy meadow and dance
arbor is known as Tick Hill.
A trail from the valley fl oor
winds up to the top. Inter-
pretive signs along the way
explain plants, animals, and
Nez Perce life. The view
from the top provides a
nice overview of the Wal-
lowa Mountains and the fer-
tile lower Wallowa Valley,
home to the Wallowa Band
Nez Perce for thousands and
thousands of years.
Primitive camping is
available. There are no spe-
cifi c designated campsites,
no electrical or sanitary
hookups, and water is avail-
able only at spigots near the
Dance Arbor. A corral and
horse stalls are on site for
those bringing horses. A lim-
ited number of showers and
vault toilets are available for
campers.
To reserve a campsite,
time for a naming or memo-
rial ceremony or to get more
information on the Wallowa
Homeland Project and the
Tamkaliks Celebration call
541-886-3101 or visit www.
wallowanezperce.org.
• 12 Noon: Friendship Feast.
Please come early and bring a
dish to share!
• 2 p.m. Grand Entry
• 2:30 pm (approximate)
Non-competitive dancing, with
categories for men, women,
children, and families.
• 5 p.m. (approximate) Contest
dancing awards.
Ellen Morris Bishop
Mary Harris performs the Shawl Dance at the 2016
Tamkaliks Celebration.
Customs: Respecting Nez Perce customs, culture
Continued from Page A1
Wallowa County, includ-
ing the Tamkaliks grounds,
is home for the Wallowa
Band Nez Perce. Please
respect and observe these
important tribal ways and
sacred customs, as you
would when visiting any-
one’s home.
• Do not take photo-
graphs of anything or any-
one during prayers, songs,
and remembrances. Please
stand quietly, be respect-
for a campsite. Plains tribes
also say that it originated as
a way for a handicapped boy
to learn to dance by imitat-
ing the swaying grasses on
the prairie.
The men’s fancy dance
became popular in the
1920s. Loosely based upon
a number of war dances,
the fancy dance was fi rst
performed at “Wild West”
shows. Men wear bright-
ly-colored regalia, usually
including feathers, bustles
and a variety of head-pieces.
It is an athletic and energetic
dance, and the Drum may
ful during these times and
please remove your hats.
• Many drums—the
group of men and women
who are drumming at the
large drum and may also
be singing—prefer that you
not take their photograph
while they are singing. Pho-
tographs and recordings
are prohibited when they
are singing a sacred song.
Please ask permission prior
to taking photographs or
recording.
• Please ask permission
to take a photograph, espe-
cially of children, unless
your subject is performing
in a dance.
• You are welcome and,
in fact, invited, to the Washat
ceremony in the Longhouse
at 9 a.m. on Sunday, July
23. Some things to keep in
mind include:
1. Please do not walk
on the large square of earth
just inside the entryway.
This earth has been care-
fully brought from all the
places where the Wallowa
try to fool the dancers with
unexpected fi nal beats.
The women’s fancy
shawl dance is one of the
most graceful – and newest
— of all the dances, orig-
inating in the 1920’s and
performed at most Indian
gatherings beginning in the
1950’s. Dancers employ
spinning moves, may run,
jump, and use their shawls
as props. It is as close to bal-
let as any dance you will
fi nd at Powwows.
Saturday evening there
are two newly-added spe-
cial dances: Slick Style
and Short Fringe. The short
fringe is a women’s dance
performed long ago in the
Northwest. Dancers wear
traditional buckskins with
very short fringes.
On Sunday, the Washat
Service at the Long House
begins at 9 a.m. This spiri-
tual tradition is also known
as the Seven Drums ser-
vice. It includes prayers and
drumming. Photography and
audio recording during the
ceremony are prohibited.
All are welcome to
observe and participate.
The Friendship Feast is
Band was scattered, and this
soil is considered sacred
ground.
2. Please dress well, as
you would for a church
service or other special
occasion.
3. Please do not take
any photographs anywhere
inside the longhouse.
4. Please do not photo-
graph or record any part of
the Washat Service.
5. Please do not talk
during the Washat Service.
Yo x Ka lo! That’s all!
a highlight of Tamkaliks. In
2018 more than 600 people
shared salmon, buffalo, and
a wide variety of potluck
dishes. The line was long
and stretched almost half-
way around the dance arbor.
Elders and honored guests
are served fi rst at tables set
up in the dance arbor.
Tamkaliks
concludes
Sunday afternoon with
THE ONE
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Stampede: Walla Walla bull rider Derek Kolbaba wins
PARTS S &
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MAINTENANCE
72
INSTALLATION
Ed Staub & Sons
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201 East Hwy 82 Enterprise, OR 97828
541-426-0320
WALLOWA COUNTY
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Ellen Morris Bishop
LEFT Derek Kolbaba scores 82 points on a re-ride, on his way to clinching fi rst place in the bull riding Thursday night.
RIGHT Eddie Weiser takes a header off of a bull named Sammy’s Fine Line during the second go-round of bullriding.
Continued from Page A1
to practice—doing drop bar-
rels, and some other things
to keep balance and agil-
ity. But the strongest guy
in the world can’t control a
1500 to 1800-pound bull, or
even stay on for long, just on
strength alone.”
The specter of injury dogs
every bullrider and rodeo
contestant. “It’s one of those
kind of things. You’ve just
gotta roll with the punches
and heal up when you can
and just go right back to
business,” he said. Last year,
Kolbaba tore up his knee at a
rodeo in Little Rock, Arkan-
sas. “It was a setback,” he
said. “But you’ve just gotta
gather it up, do the physical
therapy, take the time and
come back stronger than you
were before.”
Kolbaba’s quest for a
PBR championship keeps
him on the road almost con-
stantly. From Elgin, he’ll
travel to a rodeo in Cheney,
Washington. From there he
goes to Jackson Hole, Wyo-
ming, then to Salinas, Cali-
fornia, then Salt Lake City,
then to Ogden, Utah, back to
Salinas, and then to Chey-
enne, Wyoming for Fron-
tier days Then it’s back to
Salt Lake and then per-
haps, if time permits, Chief
Joseph Days. And that’s just
two weeks. “It’s pretty much
a rat-race from January thru
November,” he said.
“Sometimes, when you
are on the road you get it
into your head that you’ve
got a bull drawn that’s not
very good, or an all-night
drive isn’t really all that
fun,” Kolbaba said. “And
then you think ‘Well, shoot,
we’re gonna do what we
love, and every day is pretty
dang special. It could be a
whole lot worse.’ So when
I say that we’re living the
dream, that’s about the only
way you can sum it up.”
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