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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2001)
SEPTEMBER 15, 2001 Smoke Signals 5 -1 4l V. -iVij, . I 1 c .Q Chief Chief Jessie Jones, Jr. of the Cayuse Tribe spoke to the crowd at the All-Indian Rodeo on Sunday, Septem ber 9. Jones, Jr. said the two-day event was "wonderful" and brought back a lot of memories. -WMllHiilLLlMnu.iiUli IV "11 : i; JiMlfe5 . .... J 1 - I ' I .' . . Ij A, Rodeo Grounds Are Looking Good A lot of work has gone into getting the Tribe's rodeo grounds looking so good. The grounds were the site of the first-ever All-Indian Rodeo In Grand Ronde on September 8 and 9. Continued from front page .-it Tribe's Rodeo Committee. Justin Tom (grandson of Elmer) received a buckle for calf roping. In ladies breakaway Li ana Tom (granddaughter of Elmer) took home a buckle. Cody Barney won in the steer-wrestling event. Raquel Sam of Coleville, California won the ladies barrel racing. Waylon Beamer and Cody Barney won the team roping. Duke Kimsey awed all when he took on the bull in the "ring toss" and won that event. Shawn Best won the bareback event and Carson Badonie and Mel Sampson won the century team roping. The saddle bronc and bull-riding event went unan swered, as contestants were unable to hold on long enough to receive a time. Chief Jessie Jones, Jr., co-chief of the Cayuse Tribe in Umatilla, Oregon opened each day with a prayer. He was outfitted on his horse in full regalia. "It's been a wonderful last two days," said Jones, Jr. "We came down to represent the Tribe and also my family from Maki Creek, just outside of the Umatilla Reservation. I would like to thank the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde for the fine gift (Pendleton blanket) they gave me and the opportunity to perform for you people. I would like to again congratulate all the winners that won here at this first time All-Indian Rodeo. Thank you for the Grand Ronde Tribe for hosting this. There are a lot of memories that were brought back and a lot of memories will be carried on from 'tSt, . 'V' I mm) tr.Ti Hi hj ill. 7 .JX"fiT)",fflwi',i,' J3 I l lOTrl 1HQ iff ft-i M i. Peril Bull rider Shawn Best, Jr. is thrown headfirst off of a bull named "Zorro" during Sunday's Bull-riding competition. "Where's My Cape?" Luther Lee gets airborne af ter being bucked off his horse during the Saddle Bronc competition on Sunday, September 9. mouth to mouth." Grand Ronde Elder Marvin Kimsey, Chairman of the Rodeo Board, was very pleased with what he saw over the two days. "It was a longtime coming, I knew Elmer really well," said Kimsey. "I knew the Tom family a long time. I met a lot of nice people here today. I thank all the Tom family. Thanks to everybody for mak ing this a success." The Tom family hosted a salmon, elk and veni son dinner after the rodeo on Sunday to honor Elmer. Leon "Chips" Tom, a nephew to Elmer, was in attendance at the dinner. "I want to thank everybody here who stopped and had some food and attended the rodeo," said Chips. "I also want to thank Elmer's family that came over from Warm Springs and Siletz. Uncle Elmer was a very special person. When he set his mind to do something, he would never give up. He was a great man." This Western States Indian Rodeo Association (WSIRA) sanctioned championship rodeo is one that brought many great memories. Jones Jr. really enjoyed himself this year. "If God lets me, I will be back next year," said Jones, Jr. Rodeo Board members are Marvin Kimsey Chairman, Dale Langley Vice Chair, Billie La Bonte Secretary, Michaelle Kimsey Trea surer, Shonn Leno, Gene LaBonte, Norris Merrill, Buddy White, Duane Hussey and Tribal Council Liaison Butch LaBonte. Cody Barney won the Elmer Tom Champion ship saddle that was made for the rodeo. "I'm glad I won because that was my roping partner's (Justin Tom) grandpa (Elmer Tom)," said Barney. "I'm glad it was him or me." ROSES 101: A E:ginn:r's Quids to the terminology associated with ons of the oldest and fastest growing sports in the country. By Chris Mercier Enter the term "rodeo" into any search engine on the web and the num ber of links that comes up will be stag gering. Canadian Rodeo, Australian Rodeo and naturally just good old-fashioned, honest-to-God, beef-eatin Cow boy Rodeo. No pastime may be more synony mous with the mythical old West of John Wayne movies and Billy the Kid tales and for that we should not be surprised that nobody can really pinpoint its origins. Perhaps Cowboy writer Chuck Walters summed it up best in his 1957 article in the Rodeo Sports News Annual when he observed that "The Saga of Rodeo has no beginning or end." Cities like Santa Fe, New Mexico, or Pecos, Texas, and Deer Trail, Colorado all lay claim to being the birthplace of ro deo as an institution. But none of those places can outright prove it. Most rodeo enthusiasts do agree that rodeo developed on the open range of the mid-West in the mid 1800 an off shoot of the developing cattle industry.' Cattle driving was a demanding job, not just physically but temporally and cow boys engaged in the months-long drives from one point to another eventually de veloped odd skills that generally dealt with handling bulls, cows and horses in one form or another. These odd skills evolved into competitions in the cow camps, when mouthy cowboys often felt compelled to prove their mettle against beasts and one another. Reputations grew, egos soared, and some crafty individual realized that this could be a spectator sport and a prof itable one at that. The art (and busi ness) of rodeo materialized. Rodeo has always been accented with an element of danger. Animals posed dif ferent challenges, from wild mustangs to the longhorns that came with the Span ish from Andalucia hundreds of years ago. The longhorns had especially dangerous reputations due to their sword-like horns and an unbroken bronco could toss a lesser man to Missouri. The older generation of cowboys may lament the thinning of longhorn and mustang bloodlines; some contend the modern animals are fairly docile com pared to the days of old. Heck you dont even have to pay your dues on the range rodeo schools abound. Yet whether one agrees the sport has gone soft, ro deo has exploded into a multi-million dol lar industry and for that reason alone cowboys and wannabes will be polish ing their spurs for years to come. Grand Ronde's All-Indian Rodeo may continued on next page
