Spilyay tymoo., January 08, 1979, Page 9, Image 9

JANUARY
Indians in Media, A Series
8, 1979 PAGE 9
Edmo left a life on Burnside for poetry, TV career
by Carol Craig
Articulate words come from
the small-framed man who tells
of his life on skidrow. His
experiences are also depicted in
the poems he has written.
But his braids, traditional
ceremonial Indian garb and
“just keeping busy,” have
changed all that.
“Yeah, I lived down there on
Burnside for a few years,” he
said. “I’d dig around for empty
wine bottles, curse at the cops as
they picked me up, and I even
hung around PSU asking people
for spare change.”
For Ed Edmo, a Shoshone-
Bannock tribal member, life has
not been a dream. Born in 1946 in
Owyhee, Nevada, on the Duck
Valley Reservation, his family
later moved to Celilo Falls,
Oregon.
There he lived each day
watching his father fish and
learning customs of his people.
That life was cut short at age 11
when the village was flooded, (by
order of U.S. Government),
creating The Dalles Dam.
From there, his family
moved to Wishram across the
Columbia River on the Washing­
ton side where he graduated
from high school in 1964. He ran
away from home seeking refuge
in the big city of Portland,
dreaming of becoming “some­
body”.
“I drank a lot when I was
young and this guy gave me a
ride into Portland and let me off
at Burnside saying that I could
¡find other Indians there.”
“I tried going to college in
1964 but ended up goofing off
instead,” he said. Since then he
has attended Northwest Christ­
ian College, the University of
Oregon, Portland Community
College and Portland State Uni­
versity. .
But his road to education
wasn’t an easy one, as Ed
describes his days on “skidrow”.
“I slept in telephone booths, on
the sidewalk and anywhere I
could.”
It was at this time in his life
5-4-3-2-1-YOU’RE ON - Ed Edmo, a Shoshone-Bannock Indian, has turned the course of his life from
drifting on Burnside to producing a monthly TV program and presenting his poetry publicly.
he began writing poetry, scribb­
ling notes on scratch-paper.
“This guy I knew who was a poet
too, talked to me and told me he
liked what I was doing. He would
sit and talk to me and eventually
talked me into going back to
school.”
“It was a combination of
things . . . writing poetry, being
recognized as a poet, and keep­
ing busy telling other people that
that is not the road to take,” he
continued.
Today, he is noted for his
countless poems that have been
published throughout the North­
west. He has worked as a tutor
through the Indian Education
Act Project in the Portland
Public Schools teaching Indian
children their culture, legends,
songs and self-identity, as well as
providing counseling to the stu­
dents.
“It’s hard for some of the
tribal members to move to a big
city. It’s hard for them to
identify with the happenings
surrounding them, I guess that’s
what happened to me.”
Through his poetry he des­
cribes what life is like on
Bumside. He constantly carries
with him a “log” where he jots
down his inspirations as the day
progresses. “I was waiting for a
bus and jotted down some
thoughts,” he explains as he
displays some of his writing. The
end result is sobering and touch­
ing.
His busy schedule has taken
him to Indian Education pro­
grams teaching cultúrelo Indian
and non-Indian students. He also
participates in alcoholism dis­
cussions, speaking to Indian
inmates at the Oregon State
Penitentiary.
Lectures and readings of his
poems have been on his agenda
for quite some time and he is in
the process of writing his auto­
biography.
Edmo, a multi-faceted indi-1
Teaching Your Preschool Child, Part Four
(This eight-part series was
r prepared by Betsy Sullivan,
E Reading Specialist for the Red­
mond School District. It contains
I many practical ideas for work-
I ing with your preschooler tc
prepare him for school.)
Take time out for One, Two,
Buckle My Shoe! Encourage
your child to memorize and
recite poems.
Poetry trains the ear to hear
sound-alikes and beginning and
ending sounds—an important
first step toward hearing the
phonetic sounds of letters and
words. Rhymes introduce new
words and ways of putting words
together. Poetry with coordinat­
ing action also helps develop
muscle and motor control —
-besides, its fun!
Children love to hear and re­
peat the same things over and
over.
BUSY SQUIRREL
The little, gray
squirrel
makes a scampering sound,
(Wiggle fingers.)
As he gathers the nuts which
fall to the ground. (Hold fingers
high, then move them down
slowly.)
He buries the nuts in a dark,
secret place, (One hand over
Other fisted-hand.)
Rhyme Time
And covers them over with
never a trace.
The little gray squirrel al­
ways seems to know (Hands out­
stretched.)
That winter is coming and
it’s time for snow. (Hold fingers
high and then lower slowly.)
LET’S MAKE A SNOWMAN
Let’s make a snowman round
and fat (Extend rounded-arms in
front.)
On top of his head, let’s put
on a ha,t. (Tap top of head.)
Let’s give him two eyes on
his funny cold face. (Point to
both eyes.)
In the middle, a nose, let’s
stick it in place. (Put nose in
place.)
Let’s give him a mouth that
is big and wide. (Move finger
across mouth.)
Then button him up with the
snow inside. (Place buttons down
center front.)
DEAR LITTLE TREE
Dear little tree, what will
you do
When winter winds start to
blow,
And all of your leaves falls
down to the earth, (Flutter
fingers.)
And your branches are filled
with snow? (Arms outstretched.)
“I will be a house for a little
mouse, (Tips of fingers together
to make roof shape.)
Or a hole for a squirrel to
hide. (Fingers and thumbs touch,
round hands to make “hole”.)
And my trunk will make a
very nice place
For a skunk to sleep inside.”
(Hands clasped beside face.)
SNOWMEN
TALL AND SMALL
There was a great big snow­
man
Who was tall, t-a-1-1, t-a-1-1.
sonnel of Channel 12, a compro-
There was a little snowman
Who was small, small, small.
(Bend knees.) *
Then the sun came out to
play.
And all the snowmen went
away... /».->•> .... , ,, ,, <
vidual, is also producer of a
monthly television program,
“Indian Time,” on KPTV, Chan­
nel 12 in Portland.
His involvement in produc­
ing the Indian show came about
in 1973 while a number of Indian
people reacted to the “Daniel
Boone” series on television. Re­
marks pertaining to Indians
were made and members of the
Urban Indian Council did not like
what was being said.
After meeting with the per­
sonnel of Channel 12, a compro­
mise was made with the station
permitting the Urban Indian
Council one half-hour per month
to air their views through public
television.
The first program aired in
1974 with Charles Johnson as
director. Johnson contacted Ed
for help with a program about
Indian poetry. Ed was soon doing
in-studio interviews, arranging
studio time, choosing the format
and writing the program.
Johnson with commitments
in Alaska left, leaving Edmo as
producer of the program. He was
assisted by Lowell Curley. The
two began a partnership, putting
out Indian information for the
public.
As producer and moderator,
Ed has had input from Indians
around the state. Indian artists,
musicians, programs in Indian
education, alcoholism discus­
sions, traditional and culture
events have aired since.
“We’d like more input from
reservation Indians, but to date
have had little response,” he
said. “But there has been posi­
tive feedback relating to earlier
programs,” he added, which
excites him, “because it shows
people are watching and listen­
ing to what we’re saying.”
.Ed is also proud that recent
programs have appeared on
television listings in the Oregon­
ian’s “Click” tabloid in the
Sunday edition.
A recent half-hour program
explained PSU’s Indian Support
Program designed to aid Indian
students who want to further
their education.
He has been asked to read
some of his poetry at PSU by
invitation of Don Tyee from the
English department. Although
the date is tentative, Ed says he
always looks forward to speak­
ing to groups.
The change in him is evident
from what he describes of the
past, though he professes, “it
was a long hard road,” which he
still follows. He smiles and talks
about his family.
Married for three years, he
and his wife Carol have been
blessed with a daughter. Proud
of his Indian heritage, he passes
that heritage along to daughter
who he named Se-Ah-Dom,
meaning “beautiful” in the Ban­
nock tribal language.
A mere two years old, the
daughter of Ed Edmo will learn
many valuable traditions of her
native people.
Indian Educators to Meet
to Implement Legislation
Indian educators, students,
tribal community representa­
tives and Bureau of Indian Af­
fairs personnel will meet Janu­
ary 8-11 in Salt Lake City, Utah,
to begin implementation efforts
for two major pieces of Indian
education legislation enacted in
the closing days of the 95th
Congress.
Interior Deputy Assistant
Secretary Rick Lavis said that 12
Task Forces, selected through
consultation with tribal councils
and national Indian organiza­
tions, will work with a BIA
steering committee to imple­
ment the Tribal Controlled Com­
munity College Act (P.L. 95-471)
and Title XI of the Education
Amendments Act of 1978 (P.L.
95-561).
Lavis said, “The Education
Amendments Act calls for sub­
stantial changes and new de­
velopments in the organization
and administration of Indian
education programs both in pub­
lic school systems and in BIA
schools. In accord with our
policy of Indian self-determina­
tion, we will be working closely*
with the Indian community to
accomplish the purposes of the
legislation.”
Lavis said the conferees
would be identifying issues and
resources, formulating action
plans, and beginning to develop
proposed regulations.
This will be the first meeting
of the Task Forces. In early
November, Lavis asked Indian
leaders to nominate individuals *
to serve on the various groups
which will deal with such issues
as school boards, education per­
sonnel, student rights, funding
formulas, education policies and
other matters involved in imple­
menting the new legislation.
A summary of comments
and recommendations from BIA
school administrators, made at
an early December meeting in,
Phoenix, will be made available
to the Task Forces.
Lavis has been given respon­
sibility for managing the policy
and planning actions necessary
for implementing the legislation
by the Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs, Forrest Gerard.
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