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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2005)
8 JUNE 1, 2005 Smoke Signals 2 Communications Pioneer, Pow-wow Voice And Friend Passes Away PI IOENIX He was a forerunner in the print and broadcast business and a pow wow icon as thousands of Native Americans throughout the country either read his words or heard his voice. Communications pioneer Roy Track, 63, and popular master of cer emonies at pow-wows passed away early on April 24, 2005. His wit, his contribution to the com munity, his jokes and how no one was immune to his teasing, will be missed by the many people who were enriched by his presence. The ribbon shirt, the colorful vest, and the dark sunglasses were his regalia. His jokes and teasing were his way of showing love and respect for you. If he laughed at you, he cared about you. Roy is Assiniboine Sioux of Fort Peck, Montana and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde of Oregon. He was born in Nevada, then his family moved to Montana where he was raised by his grandmother in Wolf Point, Montana. He attended Brigham Young Uni versity in Provo, Utah taking classes in communications and that's where he met Nita, his wife-to-be. Later after college, he moved to Parker, where he worked for a few years, then moved to Phoenix in the early 1960's. Roy constantly encouraged people to help others and was a good friend to the late Ray Boley, founder of Can yon Records to help get the record label started. Canyon Records pro duces Native American music and has launched the careers of many Native music artists in Arizona in cluding the popular group ClanDes tine, who have always given free con certs at the Mesa Pow Wow on behalf of Roy's work in the music industry and being their friend. Roy started his career in journalism as a freelance writer in the Phoenix area writing for Indian newspapers. A time he was very proud of while working in print journalism was when he took pictures of the Fort McDowell Indian Community in the 80's when the Yavapai community was going to be flooded. His pictures helped convince the public and politicians who saw the pic tures that "these poor people in the middle of nowhere .... were being driven off their land" he said, accord ing to an interview in 2002 at Grand Ronde, Oregon. He soon after moved into the broad cast business and had a opportunity to be the first Native American television reporter in the early 70's for KOOL-TV in Phoenix, but declined as he wanted to learn more about the technical as pects of broadcast rather than being in front of the camera. His choice proved historic as he launched his new television show, "2 1st Century Native American" in the early 1970's which was still in produc tion at his passing. The show has been running over 30 years as hundreds of Phoenix Native Americans have ap peared on his show. Roy Track has the longest running co r I Roy Track Native American public affairs show in Arizona according to Channel 3 where his show was aired every Sun day morning at 6:30 a.m. for thirty years and recently moved to every other week this past year. In the early days, while he was in volved with the community and played basketball for local teams. He played with a team called Phoenix "Chiefs" for a while, then he formed his own basket ball team called the "Scottsdale Indians" and traveled the southwest and the west coast to play and coach at the same time. He played and later coached his team for over twenty years. His sons, Hawk and Chad played along side him for many years. He was always very proud of sons and their athletic ability. He also was avid bowler and golfer. Amid the all the memories of Roy, perhaps the most remembered char acteristic will be his ability to make dry jokes funny and how no one es caped his teasing. The jokes even were about cultures and American Indian Veteran's Memo rial Organization President JeffBegay recalls an original one Roy told at a pow-wow. "What does a White Ghost say? You know, Casper the Ghost." "Boo!" "What does an Indian ghost say?" "BooIAaaay." Roy would sometimes be a keynote speaker at Native American gradua tions and would always tell of what his grandmother told him at an early age which became his driving force to work in the community. "Give back to your community," he would say. "As you succeed, remember all the people who got you there and give back to them and the community." Roy is survived by his wife Nita of 43 years and his two boys, Hawk and Chad; brothers Kenton, Don, and Gale Track and sister Dana Runsabove; and seven grandchildren, Rose, Colby, Tay lor, Cedric, Frances, and Talia; and one great-granddaughter, Mikela. Please send cards and donations to: Nita Track, P.O. Box 645, Phoenix, AZ 85001. Article courtesy of Loren Tapahe, Arizona Native Scene, April 28, 2005. Native American Day At The Capital , 'J 1 A1 ,f . pi - 4 Tribal Awareness Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Legislative Commission on Indian Services, the Oregon State Capitol hosted a Tribal Infor mation Day on Thursday, May 19. Many events took place including a tribute to Tribal Veterans, honor songs by the Many Nations Drum, an opening statement by Senate President Peter Courtney, Tribal acknowledgement from former Governor Vic Atiyeh and booths set up by local Oregon Tribes. Did you hear? Did you hear? The rumbling of the clouds. The rumbling of the clouds as they parted the way. Cear the path, Gear the path for a warrior is coming today. He is tall, He is strong, He is brave. He carries his love, He carriers his passion, He carries his pride, He carries his heritage. He shows his humble side. Make way for the Narror that is coming today, My DAD, Carl Dee Jeffere. E5y Charlene Hoover in honor of "My DAD" Carl D. Jeffere. St Michaels Reunion Former Students, All Grades June 25, 2005 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lunch will be served. Does anyone know the whereabouts of Ramona or Bill Kraemer or Eddy Cody? If so, please relay the information to them or any other classmate that may live outside the area about the reunion. For more information, please contact Judy (McKnight) Olsen at 503-843-3362. VOLUNTEERS WELCOME Long House Cedar Splitting Project Contact Don Day at 503-769-3290 e-mail dbdaywvic.com ml June 13 -17, 2005 3 Day Class - 2 days Field Work Entry level FFT-2 Wild Land Firefighting, Training Red Card Certification, and Wild Land Fire Certification for completion. Education & Natural Resources Building MUST HAVE WORK BOOTS AND GLOVES Tribal members must register for class at the Social Sercies Department by calling 503-879-2034. r" yf
