Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2003)
R.COLL. 75 .568 v. 8 no. 9 May 1, 003 P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 . ECRWSS SERIALS DEPT. KNIGHT LIBRARY 1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON EUGENE, OR 97403 Bulk Rate Permit No. 2 Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Coyote News, est. 1976 May 1, 2003 Vol. 28, No. 9 Spflyay ymoc '.-. w - '" " I " '' ' -""' tr f.l-. - .,- r i -A -: '..fcV-.'.. ; ' -; ? c i 7 v --'"'T''; ;- -n - 'V - & ' r ssi'f - ; W - . - - " C. I - . v . ',- i Unive Recei Spilyay tyioo Saddle-bronc rider let's her buck Rodeo revives Root Feast tradition By Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo After disappearing for several years the Root Feast Rodeo is mak ing a strong comeback on the ro deo circuit. "This was one of the best ro deos we've seen in Warm Springs," said Delford Johnson, president of the Warm Springs Rodeo Associa tion. The association sponsored the Root Feast Rodeo this past week end. "We had close to 200 contestants, and some of the finest contestants in the world," said Johnson. Seniors honored next week A children's powwow, posting of the colors, special honors, food and fun will be part of I lonor Seniors Day, set for Friday, May 9. This year I lonor Seniors Day - one of the most popular annual events in Warm Springs - is celebrating its 13''1 Anniversary. The theme for the day this year will be "OP Time Radio Daze." Warm Springs can expect to sec many visitors on Honor Seniors Day, with delegations of people traveling to Warm Springs from other parts of In dian Country. Expect to see over 1,000 people at I lonor Seniors Day, held at the Agency Jxmghouse. The day begins at 8 a.m. with on site registration. The Children's Pow wow starts at 10 a.m., followed by the Posting of Colors, invocation and wel come, at 1 1:30. Noon is the time for free sack lunches, and then at 1:30 will be the Special 1 lonors. The afternoon will feature fun and games, and at 5 p.m. the Longhousc will host the Farewell Till Next Year Banquet. For information call the Senior Citi zen Center at 553-3313. - - ' - "' -' - - - - lfl'J at the recent Root Feast Rodeo. The rodeo, held at the Warm Springs rodeo grounds, saw competition by a world-class barrel racer, a top team roper, some of the best bull riders in the country, top-notch wild horse rac ers and calf ropers. There were contestants from the reservation and around Oregon, as well as from California, Washington and elsewhere. A large number of bull riders showed up for the competition, another indication of the growing popularity of the newly reenergized Root Feast Ro deo. A lot of times the smaller-sized rodeos don't have a lot of bull-riding Lewis and Clark study focuses By Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo In October of 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition was in the area of the John Day River, part of the Ceded Lands of the Confederated Tribes. In mid-October of that year one of the expedition members wrote the following: At 10 o'clock, in the morning we came to the lodges of some of the na tives, and halted among them about two hours. I lere we got some bread, made of a small white root, which grows in this part of the country. A recent explanatory note to this journal entry says: "The root was noted to likely be camas, and the area they encamped for the night is believed to be in the vicinity of the John Day Dam." Another Lewis and Clark Plxpc dition journal entry from October 1805 reads as follows: The natives dry and pound the best of their fish which they put up in small slacks, along the river shores for winter, and cover them over with straw and pile stones up high round them. These are two examples of the many Lewis and Clark Expedition journal passages describing Native American life along the Columbia River. Dave McMechanSpilyay contestants, but there were more than 30 of them at the Root Feast Rodeo. Other indications of the success of the rodeo: There was a good turn out of spectators on both days, and the concession booth did very well, said Johnson. Years ago the Root Feast Rodeo was a very popular event in the re gion. The rodeo used to happen at the same time as the actual Root Feast, and was the first competition of the new rodeo season. See RODEO on page 10 The journals overall are extensive, with many expedition members keep ing separate notebooks describing the entire route of the Lewis and Clark Trail. Recently, a professor and his stu dents at the University of Idaho col lected together the expedition journal passages that relate just to the Wishram Wasco and western Columbia Sahaptin people. These would be the ancestors of some of the people who were later moved to the Warm Springs and the Yakama reservations. Evalinc Patt, program manager at the Museum at Warm Springs, is hop ing that local tribal members can help clarify, or shed more light on journal entries that have to do with the Warm Springs and Wasco tribes. For instance, said Patt, in the first journal passage cited above, was the bread actually made of the camas root, or was there some other plant used to make bread? And in the second pas sage, is there more that can be said of the way the salmon was stored? Over 30 tribal members have al ready been interviewed regarding Lewis and Clark. The interviews are being conducted by Brigette Whipple and Duran Bobb of the Cultural Resources Oral 1 listory Program. Information from these interviews Senior students speak of hopes for future By Shannon Keaveny Spilyay Tymoo This year 35 Warm Springs tribal members will graduate from Madras High School. Anxious to be on their own, many will leave the reservation. Some will stay close to home. All will have a chance to fulfill their hopes and as pirations for the future. Spilyay Tymoo inter viewed some graduating students, who shared with the community what Warm Springs youth plans to do. All the students inter viewed gave the same ad vice to the kids younger than themselves. "Stay in school, it will keep you out of trouble!" Eliah Gary M. Villa A dancer and a singer, Gary Villa taught himself to dance and sing as a young boy when He accompanied his parents to powwows. Now that he's done with school he hopes to take some time off from his studies and travel to powwows. He thinks if it goes well, powwows could be more than a weekend hobby and could possi bly turn into a career. That is, a short-term career, because in the long term Villa wants to study tribal law and be come a lawyer for the Confederated Tribes. "We need lawyers with an understanding of what people go through on the reservation," he says. Still he always sees singing and danc ing at powwows in his life. Villa wants to leave the reservation for a while but will return. "I want to come back and help the tribe. I feel a strong affiliation to the tribe. They are like an extended family, could become available through an Internet project dedicated to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which in com ing years is marking its 200,h anniver sary. Dr. Frey of the University of Idaho is working with the Confederated Tribes Cultural Planning Group on the Internet project. Tribal Council estab lished the Cultural Planning Group by resolution earlier this year. The group is working with others who are preparing for the 200lh anni versary of the I.ewis and Clark Expe dition. But the Warm Springs group is focusing on culture and history of the tribes, with some emphasis on the Treaty of 1855. By coincidence the treaty will be marking its 150,h anni versary at just about the timp of the 200 anniversary of Lewis and Clark's journey down the Columbia River. The Tribal Council resolution that created the group provides the follow ing insight: "The Lewis and Clark Expedition was greeted with great hospitality and generosity by our people, and we wish to continue this tradition with today's visitors to our country." Also, "a group of interested Warm Springs members, including the Culture and Heritage Committee and Rudy Clements, Evalinc Patt, Robert Brunoc, Louis Pitt, Myra Johnson, Ginger Smith the tribe and my powwow family," he says. In 10 years, Villa sees himself in college, perhaps with some kids of his own, and a home. "In 10 years maybe I'll be living in some big castle or something," he says. Eliah Squiemphen A mother to a one year old, in many ways Eliah Squiemphen already lives the life of an adult. Each school day, she runs to the daycare at lunch to breastfeed her baby. Every school break, instead of chatting with friends, she goes Squiemphen to the nursery to tend to her baby. In the morning, she rides the bus to school with her baby. The school, she says, is very cooperative and allows her to leave five minutes early from her classes. But having a baby has directed her studies. Since having her child, her grades have improved. She says it's motivat ing to have a child. Having a kid, she says, has given her someone else to think about. Plus, hitting the books is easier when you are at home with your child most of the time. Immediately after graduating, Squiemphen wants to Gary M. Villa b. , . , nence is mostly in of fice work. But in a year or so, she hopes to attend Mount Hood Community Col lege and become a nurse. Eventually she'd like to work in the emergency room. See SENIORS on page 10 on tribes and Sally Bird, are willing to serve on a committee to promote celebration of the Treaty and survival of our culture." The website will be an important way to share the tribal experience of the arrival of Lewis and Clark, said Frey. He already has been working with other tribes along the Lewis and Clark Trail. The Nez Perce and Couer d'Alene tribal members on their websites. The tribal websites are collected to gether under a site called Lifelong Learning Online, which is sponsored by NASA, the University of Idaho, the University of Montana, and the Cen ter for Educational Technologies. The website address is "L3 lewisandclark.org." Part of the site is dedicated to explaining the NASA mis sion to Mars. Another part is about the I-cwis and Clark Expedition. The spirit of exploration is the link between the mission to Mars and Lewis and Clark, said Dr. Frey. To view an example of a completed tribal website through lifelong Learn ing Online, go to "L3 lewisandclark.org," then click on "Ex plore the Part and Present: The Iwis and Clark Rediscovery Program." Skip the introduction, then on the bottom of the screen click on "low bandwidth version."