fjTfl l Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
AAA 1995 and 1996 Annual RePrt
Profile: George Schneider-
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George Schneider 1910-1996
"In order to really know the
people here, a person has to break
bread with them," said George
Schneider who, after 40-plus
years of employment, residency
and breaking bread in Warm
Springs, goes about a weekly
routine not unlike that of any
other tribal elder on the
Reservation. George passed away
last year at the age of 86. For all
intents and purposes, George is a
tribal elder, as he lived here
longer than most Reservation
residents. (Most weren't even
weren't even born when
Schneider moved to Warm
Springs.) What's more, Schneider
was the only non-tribal
member a non-Indian to be
offered a place in the Senior
Citizen housing project.
"I mentioned to a tribal leader
that I was considering
retirement, and that I was
looking for a house somewhere
between Tygh Valley and The
Dalles," recalled Schneider. "A
couple of weeks later, he brought
me up here and offered me this
house. I was honored....there is
no other place I would rather
live."
Much about Warm Springs
has changed since Schneider
arrived as an Oregon State
College extension agent in
November of 1955. He recalls
that Warm Springs' population
was less than 1,000, there were
probably fewer than 100
automobiles around to travel the
Reservation's mostly dirt and
gravel roads, and the present site
of his home on Ollalie Lane near
the Senior Citizen Center, was an
expanse of juniper and
sagebrush tar from the center of
town.
The most significant
difference, he said, was the quiet
determination with which tribal
members labored through hard
times.
"To make ends meet, many
people had to take outside work
people had to take outside work
close to home, and that usually
meant work in the potato
harvest," he related. "You see,
they didn't have all of the
services that the Tribe offers
today...."
George Schneider was born
September 21, 1910 in Pendleton.
One of five children born to
Alfred and Bertha Schneider,
George was raised on the family
farm and attended Pendleton
schools. He graduated from
Pendleton High School in 1928.
Schneider spent his early years
working on the family's 1,100
acre wheat farm, a very large
farm considering it was
harvested entirely with horse
drawn equipment.
Schneider enrolled in the
Agricultural Science Department
at the University of Idaho in
1928, earning a Bachelor of
Science degree in 1932 and a
Masters Degree in 1933.
Schneider never returned to
the family farm much after
leaving in 1928, spending his
summers working for the U.S.
Forest Service during summer
breaks.
George was employed as
manager of a farm implement
dealership in The Dalles when
the Extension Service offered him
the job in Warm Springs.
"I'm really not cut out for the
kind of pressure that was
involved in sales-type work," he
involved in sales-type work," he
said.
When he first started working
with Warm Springs
livestockmen, he recalled,
Reservation cattle had developed
a bad reputation with livestock
buyers because of poor growth
potential.
"Most cattlemen were buying
their bulls through a single seller,
all for about three- to five
hundred dollars," George
recalled. "It turned out that the
seller was passing off culls, and it
hurt the Reservation's cattle
production."
Knowing that simply telling
people was not enough,
Schneider joined Land
Operations director Joe Warner
to help with the Rockin' 4-H
Livestock Club in 1958. Starting
with 15 young cattlemen, and a
top regional bull on loan from a
rancher, Schneider set out to
prove a basic tenet of cattle
ranching: quality bulls equal
quality nerds.
"Most cattlemen at the time
were weaning off calves in the
300 pound range," George said.
"When they saw that the club
was producing weaning weights
of five- to six-hundred pounds
under the very same range
conditions, well, no more cull
bulls were sold around here."
For George, one gauge of the
steady passing of time is in the
children who once made up the
children who once made up the
Rockin' 4-H Club. Many former
club members, who George first
encountered as eight-year-olds,
are grown with families. But,
George says, he still remembered
them as the rambunctious
youngsters who helped feed,
vaccinate and brana the club's
herd in the early years.
Gardening, both for landscape
and fruits and vegetables, has
always been a favorite pastime
for George. He feels that the
cultivation of plants and
vegetables is therapeutic. He
recalls he recently was assigned a
number of workers through the
summer work program. With no
specific duties for the youngsters
to perform, it would have been
easy to simply put them to work
pulling weeds and hauling
garbage. Instead, George
explained landscape design to
them, then let the youngsters
create their own landscape plan
in his yard.
"For months afterward,"
George said, "they came back to
weed and water the plot, and
they asked about it for much
longer. They took pride in their
work."
As usual, George's thinking
was focused on the long-term
benefits to the youth of the
Reservation just as it had been
for the past 40 years.
Profile: Rita arid Earl Squiemphen
She is a tribal leader, a retired member of Tribal Council. He is a retired
sawyer at the small log mill. She is a mother, a grandmother, and through her
years on Tribal Council, a champion of those in need. He is a father,
grandfather, cattleman and farmer. Together, Earl and Rita Squiemphen are
the architects of an enduring marriage that has lasted more than 45 years.
They met at the Wasco County Fair in Tygh Valley in 1947. On that hot
summer day, so long ago, they were locked in dusty battle on the race track.
Rita was riding race horses for her Aunt Lena Picard and her father, Alfred
Smith, Sr. Earl was riding for Thomas David and William McBride.
She was a member of the Wasco Tribe living on a ranch at Sidwalter. He
was a member of the Warm Springs Tribe living on a farm at Miller Flat. In
those days, almost half a century ago, tribal lines were drawn more tightly
and it was uncommon for someone from one tribe to marry someone from
another tribe. However, on December 2 1 , 1 950, a little more than three years
after meeting in Tygh Valley, they were married in the Presbyterian Church
at Warm Springs.
Both Earl and Rita were raised in families that spoke their respective
language. Earl still speaks Sahaptin while Rita says she understands Wasco
better than she speaks it.
Both remember their fathers traveling to Celilo for fish. "Dad used to go
down to the river to fish. Mom would trade her beadwork for dried salmon,"
Rita remembers. Earl's dad, Sammy, was from Celilo, so he, too, was a
fisherman. Remembering the Root Feast and Huckleberry Feast, Rita says,
"The children had to stay home.. ..only the adults went. The same way with
funerals.. ..only the adults were allowed to go. That was the traditional Wasco
way. Earl remembers the two feasts as being the big events of the year in his
family. The Tribe furnished nothing for the celebrations, that responsibility
was left up to the people. "My dad used to take the stock over for the rodeo.
He provided wild horses, cows.. .he even furnished the hay," Rita says.
The newly weds moved in with Rita's folks at Sidwalter on the ranch. Earl
worked at Dahl Pine, a logging operation owned by Phil Dahl of Sisters,
Oregon. "I started out as manual laborer, learned all the other jobs and by the
time I left, I was sawing," Earl reflected. "I spent twelve years at Dahl Pine,
two years at Titeknot in Redmond, and finally got on at Warm Springs Forest
Products in 1970." Twenty-five years later he retired as the sawyer at the
small log mill.
For the first 15 years of marriage, Rita stayed home raising their family
of five girls and one boy. In 1965, Rita went to work at the Agency. She
worked part-time at the Post Office and part-time in Macy's store. In 1970
she was elected to Tribal Council. This was the beginning of a political career
that would span more than 25 years, 18 on Tribal Council.
Things were busy enough in the Squiemphen household with Earl work
ing at the mill and Rita on Tribal Council. But things were about to get busier
in 1 973 ! That' s the year that daughter C.R., a 7th grader, picked up a rope and
said, "I'm going to learn to rope." That simple proclamation started a chain
of events that would change the Squiemphen household forever.
Earl remembers saying, "Well, we'd better buy some steers." CR was on
her way. "We spent our last dollar to buy her a horse so she would have a good
horse to ride," Rita remarked. "Yeah, we bought a diesel pickup because she
just had to have one to haul her horse," Earl reminisced. Before the dust
settled, the entire Squiemphen clan was into rodeo. Daughters Valerie,
Priscilla, Sammi, Earlynne, and CR all barrel raced and Priscilla, Sammi and
CR team roped and break-away roped, too. Brother Terry rode saddle broncs,
team roped, and wildhorse raced. Larry Squiemphen, Jr., a nephew that Earl
and Rita raised from age 1 1 until he graduated from high school, rode bulls.
The kids competed in high school and college rodeos, and eventually the
Western States Indian Rodeo Association. With the family traveling to
rodeos and spending lots of time in the practice arena, Earl decided he might
as well join them. He started team roping and wild cow milking.
Considering their heritage, this was a natural progression for the family.
Both Rita and Earl came from farming and ranching backgrounds. They
spent much of their early life on the back of a horse. "I remember when we
were real young, my mother wouldn't let us use saddles.. ..she said we would
have to learn to ride.. .so if we fell off we couldn't get hung up in the stirrups,"
Rita recalled.
The family enjoyed remarkable success. In 1977, Priscilla won the barrel
racing at the Crow Fair in Montana. Percy had to beat over 60 barrel racers
to ride away with the buckle. CR. is the only female to ever win the Ail
Around Championship title at the All Indian Pi-Ume-Sha Rodeo. In the early
1980s she and her dad won the team roping, she placed third in team roping
with Anson Begay (who would later become her husband) and finished
second in barrel racing. In 1983, CR. and her brother Terry qualified for the
All-Indian National Finals Rodeo in Albuquerque, New Mexico. CR.
qualified in barrel racing and Terry in saddle bronc riding. CR. made five
trips to the All-Indian National Finals.
Sammi finished fourth in break-away roping in the Northwest Region the
only year she competed in college. She also finished third in break-away
roping in the Western States All-Indian Rodeo Association in 1995. A few
years earlier Sammi was named Queen of the Tygh Valley All Indian Rodeo
and also Queen of the Christmas Holiday Tournament in Warm Springs.
Earlynne was another tough competitor. She won the Barrel Racing event
at the Root Feast Rodeo. She says, "I was never so excited." Earlynne also
won the Queens contest at the Tygh Valley All Indian Rodeo, was Queen of
the Warm Springs Christmas Holiday Tournament, and was a Princess of the
Jefferson County Rodeo Court.
Kids and rodeo have played a big part in Earl's and Rita's lives. But they
have other interests too. On occasion, they have been in the horse racing
business. Their horses have raced in Portland, Salem, Grants Pass and
Yakima, Washington. For Earl there is farming and cattle. For Rita, now that
she has retired from Tribal Council, there is the timber committee, as well as
being on the Warm Springs Forest Products Board of Directors.
As mentioned earlier, Rita served 1 8 years on the Tribal Council as a
member from the Agency district. She was first elected in 1970 and served
three terms. After a break of six years she was re-elected and served three
more terms. Many momentous votes were cast in Council chambers from
1970 to 1995. When asked what she is most proud of in all her time on Tribal
Council, Rita recalls when Jerry Dibble was an engineer working with the
Tribe. "Jerry talked about putting a turbine in at the reregulating dam for the
purpose of generating electricity that the Tribe could sell. He talked about it
for a long time and we couldn't get anyone to budge. I finally made the
motion to start the little dam... .and that's what I'm most proud of." Since
coming on line in 1982, the hydro-project has returned in excess of $30
million to the general fund. Rita takes pride in the passing of the 'Rainy Day
Fund'. "We set aside $10 million, and also dedicated 10 of any excess to
be put in the Rainy Day Fund." When asked who she respected during her
long tenure on Tribal Council, Rita responded, "Zane Jackson....I had a lot
of respect for Harold Culpus, too. I would also have to mention Nelson
Wallulatum and especially Ken Smith."
The way Earl and Rita raised their children could serve as a blueprint for
parents of all children. "We had a rule at our house," Rita explained, "The
kids had to finish high school....that was mandatory. Then they either had to
go to college, or if not, they had to go to work." Daughter Valerie mentions
that her parents both obtained their GEDs and have never stopped trying to
learn. "I'm very proud of that," Valerie says. "When I was in college, my dad
used to borrow my math and accounting textbooks to study."
The Squiemphen family is a close knit family. Earl remembers having the
horses loaded in the trailer waiting outside during high school graduation. At
the conclusion of graduation, the whole family was headed south to the
Klamath Falls. "When everyone else was going out into the country to party
with the senior class, our kids were ready to go rodeo." Rita says that when
children are in school, their parents need to support them. "If they play any
sports, the parents need to be there. The kids are proud to see their parents
there. I spent so much time on the road going to football, volleyball, or
basketball games.. ..I used to go with Mrs. Elston."
Speaking of her parents, Earlynne Graybael remembers, "You could
always count on them to be there at any activity you participated in." She
went on to mention their support at rodeos. "They would be there watching,
helping us as we got set to run barrels or rope. If it wasn't for our brother, none
of use would be rodeoing."
Earlynne tells of two instances where the love of a grandmother is
touchingly revealed. "My son Dann needed a kidney transplant in 1991, and
I donated one of mine. My family was there supporting us during this time
of need. But my mother stayed around the longest, even her Council duties
were set aside, just to make sure we were all right after surgery." When her
daughter was five years old she needed heart surgery. "I took off two weeks
from work for the surgery, and my mother was also there from start to finish.
During this time Mom was complimented on how young she looked because
the nurses thought she brought her daughter in for surgery. She told them,
'no.. ..this is my Granddaughter.' Now if this isn't a Mother and Grandmother
who cares for her family, I don't know what is."
As to advice for raising their own children, Rita says, "One of the things
that I talk to my children about.. ..if you are going to discipline your children,
make sure that you and your husband agree before you discipline them. That
way they can't go back and forth between parents." Rita goes on to say,
"Always keep your children busy."
Earl and Rita kept their children busy. Those children are now grown and
busy raising and rodeoing with their own children. As for Great Grandma and
Great Grandpa Squiemphen? They do a little baby sitting, a little farming, a
little traveling, a little rodeoing, and still find time to visit Indian Head Casino
from time to time. They set an example on raising children, on serving the
Tribe in public life, on being employed even if it meant leaving the
reservation to do it, and on staying married for a lifetime. If they weren't so
busy in retirement, they would probably set an example on how to retire. You
don't suppose they found the answer to that, too, do you?
I A a M
V
Earl and Rita Squiemphen at their ranch in Sidwalter.