Spilyay Tymoo
J u n e 2 9 ,1 9 7 9 Page 7
Nelson Wallulatum celebrates 20th year
Wasco chief keeps an eye on two worlds
by Cynthia Stowell
Tribal chiefs are not what
they used to be. There was a
time when being a chief meant
staying home and interpreting
customs or arbitrating family
disputes. Now a chief like
Nelson Wallulatum of the
Wasco tribe is more apt to be
found in a Washington, D.C.
office drumming up support
for the latest Congressional
lobbying effort.
As Chief Wallulatum passes
the twenty-year mark of his
tribal leadership he looks back
not only on his own changed
style but also on a century of
evolution in the meaning and
function of a chief. And yet, in
the spirit of continuity, which
Wallulatum says is one reason
for the chieftain institution,
some things don’t change.
Many of a chief’s concerns are
the same, itotes Wallulatum. It
is just the methods that evolve.
Chiefs role not simple
At a time when tribal
boundaries are less clearly
defined and decision-making
re sp o n sib ilitie s are m ore
o b v io u sly e x e rc ise d by
m anagem ent and council,
chiefs might appear to be
obsolete. But Wallulatum has
not worn himself out during the
last twenty years being a
figurehead. If anything,_ his
duties have expanded.
When he’s on the reservation
he’s a traditional leader and a
tribal councilman. When he’s
off the reservation he’s a
delegate, politician, P.R .
person, and interpreter of
treaty rights. And wherever he
goes, the chief is a reminder
that tribes are governments
unto themselves. “We stand as
a symbol of tribal sovereign
governments under the treaty,”
said Wallulatum of the three
chiefs.
Wallulatum was a young
man of 33 when he was elected
chief of the Wasco tribe on
May 23, 1959. Not so young
when you consider that ,a
century ago chiefs were dying
younger than that, noted
Wallulatum. His was a family
of leadership. His uncle Joe
McCorkle was Wasco chief
until his death in 1958. His
brother was a councilman and
his mother Ida Mae Palmer
was a self-styled “politician” in
her district. Chiefs sprinkled
his family tree.
“The greatest thing in my life
was when the opportunity
arose for me to dedicate myself
to th e p e o p l e , ” s a id
Wallulatum. “That dedication
was to the welfare and
NELSON WALLULATUM
Traditional braids and a Day-timer in his shirt pocket mark
Wasco Chief Nelson Wallulatum as a modern-day chieftain.
Spilyay Tymoo Photo by Stowell
advancement of my people to
something beyond what we
experienced.” That dedication
was also a lifelong commit
ment, a term that usually ends
only with death.
“After twenty years a person
becomes tire d ,” adm itted
Wallulatum. “Everyday you try
to initiate some way to'
progress, establish programs to
better your people.” But the
chief plans to stick with it.
Besides, “my people won’t let
me retire,” he smiled.
Carrying on the Wasco
tradition
His people are the Wascos,
descendants of the Chinookan
linguistic family that inhabited
the southern side of the
Columbia River, before the
1855 treaty. W allulatum ’s
ancestors were a powerful
economic force in pre-treaty
days, exercising control over
the salm on resource and
trading their goods for slaves.
Wasco dominance can still
be seen to d a y on the
reservation, observes the chief.
“You can see it in every
department,” he said. “They
a re a m o re a d v a n c e d ,
leadership-oriented people.”
Treaty-signer Billy Chinook
was the first to be educated off
the reservation and a hundred
years later a Wasco was the first
co lleg e g r a d u a te , n o te d
Wallulatum.
Their willingness to adopt
new ways resulted in the Wasco
tra d itio n s becom ing less
v isib le , said th e c h ie f.
W allulatum himself cannot
speak Wasco fluently although
it was his first language. While
he claims not to worry too
much about the preservation of
tradition (“it’s natural”), the
chief has brought some songs
and dances out of obscurity in
recent years, using them “not
for exhibition but to teach
Indian tradition.”
Part of his mandate as chief,
Wallulatum believes, is to
interpret and be a spokesman
fo r W asco cu sto m s and
trad itio n . As the trib e ’s
representative, he recognizes
that there are “strict rules to
follow,” including discipline,
respect for elders, and the
preservation of resources.
Wallulatum also considers it
his duty to settle disputes when
they arise—to be “the final
rule”.
A life term on Council
The Wasco chiefs other
responsibliities derive from the
tribal constitution adopted
u n d e r th e 1934 In d ia n
R eorganization A ct. The
constitution recognizes three
chiefs for the three districts,
which roughly correspond to
membership in the Warm
Springs, Wasco and Paiute
tribes. Also recognized is the
tribal custom* for selecting
successors for the chiefs, which
today is. done through a
majority vote of the district.
It is in the constitution that
chiefs are granted life terms on
the Tribal Council, the single
most demanding responsibility
of their chieftainships. As the
lifelong “leader of a political
b o d y ” W allu latu m feels
naturally in tune with his
constituency. “The Wascos put
their full confidence in me to
operate in their interest. I don’t
need to go back and meet with
them regularly. I live with my
people.”
W allulatum is probably
most visible in his capacity as
councilman. 'Council duties
include at least two days of
meetings each week, occasional
general council and district
meetings, and com m ittee
meetings. Chiefs along with
other council members, spend a
great deal of time on the road,
tra v e lin g to conferen ces,
m eeting w ith le g isla to rs,
negotiating with federal and
state agencies, and promoting
good public relations.
It is the amount of off-
re se rv a tio n a c tiv ity th a t
makes the chieftainship a very
different function than it was
w hen W a llu la tu m f ir s t
assumed responsibility. The
issues and concerns—treay
rights, sovereignty and the
people’s welfare—are the same,
assures the chief, but the
method of achieving those ends
has evolved.
Instead of working only at
the reservation level, leaders
like Wallulatum have begun to
cooperate with the private and
p u b lic s e c to r s o ff th e
reservation. And rather than
simply reacting to policy and
legislation, they are anticipat
ing events and providing input
in the planning stages.
“ I’ve been criticized by
members of other tribes as
being a “white man thinker,”
commented Wallulatum with a
shrug. But he feels his own
people understand.
Not ‘White Man’ concerns
Wallulatum’s concerns are
certainly not typical ‘white
man’ concerns. And they go
beyond his allegiance to the
Wasco people. The chief is
known for his bold assertions
of tribal sovereignty and treaty
rights. “Being a descendant of
those who signed the treaty,
you have to follow along and
understand what is in it,” he
rem arked. “ O ur sovereign
powers are derived from the
treaty—the constitution only
strengthens them.”
In f i g h t i n g f o r th e
preservation of treaty fishing
r ig h ts , W a llu la tu m has
considered not only the legal
importance of the treaty’s
credibility, but also the cultural
and economic role of the
salmon in tribal survival. As
chief, he has seen treaty fishing
rights tested and upheld in
federal courts and the tribes
granted a greater role in fishery
planning.
Wisdom, experience, and
worldliness
While he works to preserve
the tribal sovereignty, without
which chiefs would certainly be
o b so le te , W allu latu m is
concerned about the future of
his own Wasco tribe. He has no
o f f s p r in g , h a v in g n e v e r
married, and has not been able
to p in p o in t a s u ita b le
successor.
As always, it takes wisdom
and experience to be a good
chief, says Wallulatum. but
these days it also takes a
measure of worldliness and
perhaps some formal educa
tion, although Wallulatum has
managed with just six years of
schooling.
Perhaps more than anything,
it takes sacrifice. Chiefs must
be satisfied with a humble
standard of living—they receive
no salary beyond their Tribal
C o u n c il c o m p e n s a tio n .
Wallulatum supplements his
tribal income with a tree
thinning business, being a self-
confessed failure at commercial
f is h in g , a n d w e a ry o f
construction.
Public appearances as well as
c e re m o n ia l and c o u n c il
obligations make privacy
im p o ssib le, g o b b lin g up
available hours. But somehow
Wallulatum finds time for the
personal study that keeps him
abreast of the contemporary
legal and political climate.
For, if Nelson Wallulatum’s
twenty-year career is any
indication, the modern-day
Indian chief cannot be content
with tending to tradition. The
whole world demands his
attention.
Tenth Annual Pi-Ume-Sha Powwow Contest Results
Queen - Kimiko Danzuka
1st princess - Annette Jim
2nd princess - Jana Henry
3rd princess - Mariam Tias
4th princess - Ruth Anderson
Girls 6-under Round Dance
1st Irene Onepennie
2nd Shirley Allen
3rd Masami Danzuka
4th Angela Polk
Boys 6-under War Dance
1st Merle Eaglespeaker
2nd Joseph Boise
3rd Jose Calica
4th Brian Lincoln
Girls 7-11 Round Dance
1st Julia Onepennie
2nd Sara Scott
3rd Lavina Colwash
4th Rosella Anderson
Boys 7-11 War Dance
1st Michael Allen
2nd Curt Jim
3rd Aaron Smith
4th Danny Hobbs
Girls 12-16 Round Dance
1st Melissa Johnson
2nd Sandra Shike
3rd Becky Rhoan
4th Angie George
Boys 12-16 War Dance
1st Frederick Johnson
2nd Todd George
3rd Ted Umtuch
4th Steven George
Girls 16-under Graceful Dance
1st Masami Danzuka
2nd Brenda Honena-
3rd Julie Seelatsee
4th Alice Sam
5th Shari S a m p s o n \
Boys 16-under Straight Dance
1st Jordan Whiteye
2nd Steven Whiteye
3rd Pierce Harrison
4th Darryl Growingthunder
5th Jason Allen
Women’s Buckskin Dance
1st Theresa Willis
2nd Joyce Azure
3rd Liz George
4th Vivian Peters
5th Sally Rhoan
Men’s Traditional Dance
1st Leander George
2nd Robert Allen
3rd George Meninick
4th Galen Yallup
5th Arnie Patrick
Women’s Team Round Dance
1st Esther Telakish, Cindy Yal-
lup, Charlotte Herkshan
2nd Shirley Patrick, Mavis
Spencer, Jeannette George
3rd Vivian Peters, Theresa Wil
lis, Titto Moses
4th Marlene George, Josephine
George, Janice Jack
Men’s Fancy Team Dance
1st Johnson Meninick, Reggie
Walsey, Leon Thompson
2nd Merlin Bullchild, Lake
Whiteman, Verlin White-
man
3rd Mike Thompson, Wilson
Totus, Frank Totus
4th Raymond Meanus, Gene
Harvey, Bryce Neaman
Men’s Individual Fancy
1st Norman Johnson
2nd Leon Thompson
3rd Rainbow Azure
4th Mike Thompson
5th Johnson Meninick
Judges
Bernard Whitehat
Arlita Rhoan
Paul Smith
Thomas Bigspring
Hattie Johnson
Mary Thomas
Drummers
Walking Eagle, Treaty of 1855,
Four Sacred Mountains, Bear
Paw, Amikay, Snake River,
Umatilla, Percy Bullchild,
White Horse,- All Chiefs, and.
Heart Butte.
Stick Game Winners
J o h n n y D e S o to , N ix o n ,
Nevada and Schurz, Nevada