OCTOBER 15, 2001
Smoke Signals 9
Sacred Fire Keeper Steve Vincent Faces Adversity
Spiritual couple in Falls City plan to continue despite a lack of understanding.
By Chris Mercier
Appropriately, modernity
gives way to old
fashionedness on the
i drive to Steve and Cindy
Vincent's house. Not even a mile
outside of Falls City, the venerable '
paved road eventually turns to
gravel and farther on up sits the
Vincent sanctuary.
Now typically, one doesn't associ
ate the words "fight" with "sanctu
ary," in fact a sanctuary is normally
a place devoid of emotionally
charged activity. But as the story
goes and really my reason for com
ing here, the Vincents fought tooth
and nail for the right to stay here
and the first duty should be to un
derstand why.
Surveying the place, I don't won
der what drew the Vincents here in
August of 1994. Alluring, idyllic and
boasting a fabulous vista of the west
ern Willamette Valley from their
mountainside, even what would nor
mally be skittish animals feel at ease.
Rabbits abound, peacocks lurk
around the bushes, chickens main
tain the futile pecking order and even
a couple of horses roam the lawn.
Structures dot the property from a
barn. to a small guesthouse to a
chicken coop, everything basted in
earthy crimson.
Steve belongs to the Winnemem
Wintu Tribe of Northern California
(near Shasta), and Cindy is part
Choctaw and Cherokee and used to
work in Grand Ronde for the Chemi
cal Dependency Program. Locals will
likely know them as a spiritual
couple and visitors to their little ha
ven can't ignore the aura of their
home.
Whether one places faith in meta
physics or not, the legacy of the prop
erty is undeniable. Located uphill
from the Luckiamute River, the area
served as a passage for a Kalapuyan
band of the same name that trav
eled frequently to the coast. The
trail, Steve said, actually starts near
Silver Creek Falls and is slightly de
tectable even in this day and age.
Not surprisingly, the Vincents felt
a strong spiritual attraction to the
place.
"Olelbes is here," claimed Steve.
Whether the chief Wintu spiritual
entity or something else, they were
not alone in these sentiments. The
previous owners were also a couple,
Blackfeet, and maintained a sweat
lodge on the grounds. But they had
no qualms selling the property to the
Vincents, apparently because the
woman had a dream shortly before
Steve and Cindy arrived to peruse
the place. A black bear appeared
before her, spoke and revealed that
another spiritually inclined couple
would show up to take over steward
ship of the land.
Steve and Cindy were ecstatic
about buying the property and went
to great lengths to ensure the spiri
tual legacy would be continued.
They erected a sweat lodge, con
structed a pair of teepees, and in an
act that ultimately signifies their
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dedication, Steve began a Wintu sa
cred fire. -
The Wintu sacred fire is no ordi
nary fire and Steve will be the first
to say. Selected as Fire Chief for the
Wintus by Tribal doctor Flora Jones
(who was seen in OPB's In the Light
of Reverence), Steve does not take
the practice lightly. Fire occupies a
special niche in his life.
"All over the world," he said.
"There are sacred fires... in Europe,
Africa, Asia."
A sacred fire, he claimed, may be
one of the most common spiritual
practices around the globe. He has
seen many of them, from Mexico to
Greece, where he was invited among
firetenders to oversee the sacred
flame at Delphi in the Temple of
Apollo.
"When you know one fire, you'll
know them all," he said. "And they'll
know you."
The Wintus already have a sacred
fire, on the east side of Mt. Shasta.
And it, like others, is a veritable bea
con, bringing people from all oyer for
a few days every summer. Building
a new one is not taken lightly and
Steve had to first ask permission
from Jones before going ahead with
his own. He still tends the Wintu
fire every summer, meaning that
this one near their home in no way
takes away from his duties to his
Tribe.
The fire now sits over looking the
valley, safe in its wood-lined circle.
Protective colors adorn the posts. On
a clear day, even Mt. Hood is visible.
Grand Ronders are starting to take
notice. Margo Mercier and Shannon
Neria visit the Vincents to sweat and
say prayers. Steve estimates nearly
300 visitors have been up here al
ready, many from other Tribes. For
what the Vincents need, this place
is perfection. One almost imagines
the line "and they lived happily ever
2
IS
5
I
Fire Place Steve Vincent, a member of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe of
Northern California, has been charged with keeping a sacred fire on his property
in Falls City, Oregon. Vincent has suffered harassment from neighbors who don't
understand his mission of keeping the fire.
after" to close this little fable.
Enter Murphy's Law.
In 1999, neighbors to the north
and to the west filed property dis
putes and a whole host of troubles
ensued. A survey had been done
illustrating that their neighbor to
the north's property in actuality
stretched into the Vincents, the
boundary being, of all places, smack
dab in the middle of the sacred fire
circle. Likewise, the western bound
ary brought more of the Vincent's
property into question.
"Mysterious events" began to un
fold following the dispute. Steve and
Cindy found the carcasses of rabbits
strewn around the boundary lines.
One of their gooses was killed. A pea
cock was poisoned and its feathers
arranged in the form of a swastika
behind their house. The brakes on
their truck went out and one day
Steve found the wires in his tractor
crossed. A can of Red Dog beer,
wrapped loosely in a bullet-riddled
target, materialized in their mailbox.
Ultimately the timing of the dis
pute hit hardest, as the neighbors
pursued the case after Cindy had
been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Both neighbors built firing ranges
along the boundaries, and shot off
day and night while Cindy began
recovering from chemotherapy.
Steve recounts one day, when the
neighbor to the north got a court
order to come on to the Vincent's
property and inspect the bound
aries. Much to their shock, he
walked right through the smolder
ing fire, ignoring their requests and
muttered, "you'll get what land I de
cide to give you."
The onslaught stunned the
couple. In danger of loosing their
property and facing financial dis
may under the burden of legal fees
Vincents needed serious help. And
they got it, in the form of Lane,
Powell, Spears, & Lubersky, a Port
land law firm.
Lee Nusich, who represented the
Vincents, said the nature of the case
attracted them, enough that, even
though the dispute went on for a
year, they basically took the case for
free.
"When we saw what was entailed,"
Nusich explained. "We knew there
was no way they could pay for it."
After LPSL got aboard, the tide
turned and eventually the case was
settled out of court.
"This was big victory ," Nusich said.
"And it feels good to know we saved
a sacred site."
Nusich and company tasted the
fruits of their labors soon thereaf
ter. The Vincents honored them
with a ceremony and a sweat. Over
100 people turned out for that event.
Shannon Neria crafted a stunning
beaded certificate for the attorneys.
"Lane & Powell really deserve a
pat on the back," said Cindy. "What
they did was extraordinary."
Shannon Neria thinks of the or
deal as a victory for all Native
Americans.
"This was a travesty against, not
just against them, but against all of
us," she said. "We all need that
spirituality... that which was ripped
away from us years ago."
Nowadays, the Vincents have re
sumed the life they started. The
flames are being stoked again.
"I'll keep the fire going as long as
people want," said Steve.
Margo Mercier, who has been
friends with the Vincents for nearly
a decade, hopes the story opens some
eyes.
"I would like our Tribal members
to be aware of what other Tribes go
through," she said. "And be aware
of their rights as well.
"I'm anxious to get back up
there." B