SEPTEMBER 15, 2001
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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.
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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
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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
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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