2019 Tamkaliks Program

NEZ PERCE HOMELAND GROUNDS, 70956 WHISKEY CREEK ROAD, WALLOWA, OREGON

FRI, JULY 19 (EVENING) • Roll Call 7 pm • Social Dancing - points given to participants if in regalia

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SAT, JULY 20

Horse Procession: 9 am Roll Call: 1 pm for Youth Contests 7 pm for Adult Contests Points for Grand Entry & Exit Participants

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Slick Style Special (18 & up) $400, $300, $200, $100 Prize Money Plateau Short Fringe Special (18 & up) $400, $300, $200, $100 Prize Money

SUN, JULY 21

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Walahsat Services 9 am Wallowa Longhouse Friendship Potluck 12 pm - at Arbor Roll Call 2 pm - Hand Drum & Social Contests Contest Dancing Awards

WELCOME TO WALLOWA Tátc Néex ki Lèheyn (This day is good) I am very honored once again to welcome each of you to our 29th Annual Támkaliks Celebration here in the original Ancestral Homelands of the Wallowa Band Nez Perce Peoples.

The inception of the Tamkaliks Celebration has allowed many tribal families to reconnect with their Nez Perce ancestry over the years, as many have met relatives.

I personally have learned more of my Paternal side of my Family's history, as Peyó'peyo Ipsi'waatx (Lone Bird) was my Great-great grandfather. He protected his people as a rear guard Warrior while our Ancestors traveled thoughout Oregon, Idaho & Montana.

I am very honored to have bestowed His name to my Grandson (Juelz A.Terry) while at Wallowa, who is now known as Peyó'peyo Ipsi'waatx.

We laud the efforts of the Wallowa community volunteers who have made Tamkaliks Celebration the successful event it is each year - Hemaaqus Qayci’yaw'iyaw (A Huge Thank You).

Also a special thank you to the local area businesses & tribal entities who have contributed financially in their sponsorships.

Have an enjoyable time here & we wish you safe travels throughout.

Take care & may Hónyuwaat watch over each of you.

Kowtoliks, aka Fred Hill Sr. Chair, Tamkaliks Celebration

PLEASE REMEMBER TO ASK BEFORE YOU SHOOT!

Even though we want to see your captured moments on social media, camera, video equipment, and other recording devices should not be used without the express permission of the event coordinator. Certain dances and ceremonies are not to be recorded or photographed. Listen to the M.C. who will announce when such activities are to be suspended. Consider the privacy of the individual and ask permission before you record them on film or tape. This includes spectators and craftspeople as well as dancers and singers. Thank you.

WE WANT TO SEE YOUR PICTURES

please share them on Instagram and Facebook! #tamkaliks

*NO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS* *LEASH YOUR DOG*

Vendors welcome - Free RV & Tent Camping Prize money and raffle items donated by friends of Tamkaliks/Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland Not responsible for personal injury; lost, stolen or damaged property www.wallowanezperce.org. 541-886-3101 info@wallowanezperce.org

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Tamkaliks Celebration ~ Always the weekend before Chief Joseph Days

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST POWWOW

The contemporary Powwow is a link to the past that helps maintain Native Heritage.

Seen by outsiders as entertainment due to the singing, dancing and colorful regalia, the Powwow is a spiritual legacy which should be treated with respect and honor.

It is a time for Indian families to be together with other family members and friends.

It is a time of sharing, of laughter and tears, or learning, and caring.

It is a time when Indians reflect on their traditions.

It is a time to honor the past and celebrate the future.

Indian families travel hundreds of miles to attend Powwows across the continent.

Time and distance are not relevant. The renewal of traditions and reinforcement of heritage is the important thing.

It is a time to strengthen the circle.

The dance arbor is blessed before the powwow begins and

is considered to be sacred ground for the duration of the celebration.

There should be no drugs, alcohol, profanity, or boisterous behavior in this area.

The front seats of the Arbor are for dancers, singers, and their families.

Elders are also given preferred places to sit.

The Master of Ceremonies keeps the powwow running smoothly. He is the one who announces the contests, which drums are to sing, and explains ceremonies as they take place.

Spectators should listen to him to understand what is taking place.

Contests are judged by dance styles and age group. The dancers are judged on their regalia as well as their dancing ability. Dancing out of beat, losing regalia, and failing to stop on the last drum beat can disqualify a dancer.

The Longhouse The longhouse is a spiritual gathering place for the celebration of life and provides an environment for the practice of traditions of Native People. It is a living space where families, and extended families can share special time including everything from birth to death. It is a place to offer thanks to the Creator for all that has been provided, season to season, day to day. Visits to the longhouse are available during Tamkaliks, and respectful behavior is expected in and around this spiritual place.

Visit our Website: www.wallowanezperce.org

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Wallowa Band Of The Nez Perce For many generations the Wallowa Band of Nez Perce, Walwáama, lived the life of hunters and gatherers.

They followed the big game, the roots and berries, and the seasons. Sometimes they traveled long distances each year, from the Great Plains to the Pacific, north to Canada and south to the heart of Mexico.

In the beginning, the deer, the buffalo and the salmon showed their ways to the Nimíipuu. The people learned which berries were best for eating, and which make the best dyes.

The calendar was based on the best time to dig camas root, and when the salmon would be returning to Wallowa Lake. Later generations learned to use horses. A complex culture evolved based on the changing seasons, the animals, and the land.

This area, Walawa, was a special place for the ancestors of the people who are honored at this annual celebration. In the summers, “the Wallowa” provided ample game and other foods, as well as abundant grass for the livestock.

Families would gather at the confluence of the Lostine and Wallowa Rivers to camp, fish and celebrate.

Today the Nez Perce people preserve the traditions of their elders and invite people of all nationalities to join them in a campout by the Wallowa River, sharing food, dance music and culture of the indigenous people of the Wallowa country, or Walwáama.

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Tamkaliks Celebration ~ Always the weekend before Chief Joseph Days

Tamkaliks

“From Where You Can See the Mountains”

In 1990, a handful of Wallowa citizens and Nez Perce residents began developing an idea to bring together present day inhabitants of Wallowa and the descendants of the Wallowa Band Nez Perce. The first powwow and feast was held at the Wallowa school gymnasium. It was a monumental event of reunion for the dispersed Nez Perce and a celebration for all. In 1998, thanks to the continued efforts of volunteers and generous donors, we moved to our present site at the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland grounds and renamed the event after the place: Tamkaliks “From where you can see the mountains.”

Growing out of the success of the annual celebration, the nonprofit Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland (NPWH) was formed. The mission of the organization is “to secure, develop, and manage real property and related assets to enhance and enrich the relationships among the descendants of indigenous people and the contemporary inhabitants of the Wallowa Valley; to create a physical place to build these relationships and to preserve and celebrate the culture of the indigenous inhabitants; and to educate the general public on the history of the area.” Today NPWH owns and manages the 320-acre parcel adjacent to the City of Wallowa along the Wallowa River.

Visit our Website: www.wallowanezperce.org

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HONORS & AWARDS Veterans' Honor Dance

If you are, or have been a member of the United States Armed Forces, Thank You! Please join us for the Veterans' Honor Dance in Saturday Evening, shortly after Grand Entry. ©Photography by Joe Whittle

The Taz Conner and Terry Crenshaw Memorial Scholarships Together, Taz Conner and Terry Crenshaw helped found Tamkaliks in 1990. Each year the Tamkaliks Celbration Committee awards two $500 academic scholarships; one to a Native American student, and one to a Wallowa High school senior.

Duane Heglie Scholarship

Professor Duane Heglie brings groups of teachers to the Tamkaliks Celebration as part of an accredidited educational program hosted by the Nez Pere Trail Foundation. In his honor, Duane's family and friends award $500 scholarships annually to two Native American students to use for college.

Scholarship recipients will be announced during Tamkaliks weekend.

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Tamkaliks Celebration ~ Always the weekend before Chief Joseph Days

THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF DRUMS

©Photography by Angelika Ursula Dietrich

Drumming is integral to the Tamkaliks Celebration and Native American culture as the heartbeat of religious ceremonies, weddings, social dancing and calls to battle.

Fred Hill of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla and an instructor of singing and drumming said hand drums have a much longer tradition than the big drums.

“The big drum has only been a thing since we had the whole concept to come together to celebrate Native culture,” he said.

Hand drums weren’t used for powwows, originally, but for songs honoring the warrior’s return and for stories re-enacted through dance.

Single hand drums are also used in the longhouse, typically along with seven singers.

Depending on the region, he said there could even be up to 12 drummers.

Hand drums are used in social dances, stick game style singing and round dance singing.

In the walahsat tradition the bell ringer conducts the long house service, working with hand drummers and singers. Facing east, the singers and drummers start one song after another.

Then the bell ringer chimes in at different parts of the songs.

Originally hand drums were made exclusively of deer hide.

“Our origin story says Deer spoke on our behalf and offered its hide to worship our creator,” Hill said.

In return, it’s important to make drums out of deer hide so it isn’t left in the field to waste.

When he teaches high school students how to make and play drum, they use pre-tanned hides.

The uses of rawhide are endless.

Good, thick buck hides are still used on some two-sided drums. On the big drums, Hill said, horsehides are sometimes used for the sake of the memory of a good horse.

Hill said, “So his memory would never leave.”

The big drum is played along with multiple singers – two to 15, according to Hill, depending on the drum. For the social dances, three singers play the rabbit dance and owl dance songs.

His ancestor’s drums were always round, not octagonal, like some tribes, and were decorated with paintings.

Beating large sheets of rawhide with sticks is also a part of the drumming tradition. Hill said with the ends rolled, slashes are made in the hide for handholds. Beating rawhide, he said, is one way to preserve the old songs of the Umatilla and were used as a call to war.

Visit our Website: www.wallowanezperce.org

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Tamkaliks Celebration ~ Always the 3rd Weekend in July

Visit our Website: www.wallowanezperce.org

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THE GRAND ENTRY

Each dance session begins with a Grand Entry, a procession of dancers. The Flag Bearers lead the procession carrying the Eagle Staff, American Flag, the Canadian Flag, and frequently, the MIA-POW Flag.

Being a Flag Bearer is an honor usually given to a veteran, a respected traditional dancer, or a traditional elder.

Everyone is asked to stand during the Grand Entry and men should remove their head coverings unless it has an eagle feather. After all the dancers are in the Arbor, a flag song is sung to honor the Eagle Staff and flags.

Then a respected person, usually an elder, offers a prayer. This is followed by a victory song during which the Eagle Staff and flags are placed in their standards.

DANCE CONTESTS Contests are divided into categories by age, gender, and style of dance. Judges are selected for knowledge of styles, dress and songs for each category. The untrained spectator may miss a very important aspect of the contest. While the dancers are competing with one another, they are also in contest with the drummers and singers.

A drum group may sing a trick song with many surprise stops. The best dancers know the songs, and dance closely to the beat to hit every drum stop. Judges look for dancers to reflect their own personal style as

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well as their ability to carry on traditions that go with specific songs or dances. The dancers will be evaluated for footwork, rhythm, agility, and demeanor. Regalia should be appropriate and reflect care and maintenance. A dancer may be disqualified or disqualify him\herself if an article of regalia fall off. Dancers follow directions from the Whip and begin immediately upon the signal to commence.

They must stop when directed to do so if an eagle feather hits the ground. The ceremony to retrieve the feather takes precedence over all else.

Tamkaliks Celebration ~ Always the weekend before Chief Joseph Days

Circle Dance - Everyone can join in this dance of friendship.

The circle of dancers moves to the left in the clockwise direction and three circle dance songs will be sung in succession. Variations of this nearly universal social dance include the Oklahoma two-step, the rabbit dance, the owl dance, the serpentine, and the Indian square dance (in a circle) which mimics pioneer square dance moves to tribal songs.

Men & Boys Traditional - Dancers may wear a breechcloth, moccasins, feather bustle, a porcupine and deer hair roach with a spreader in the middle made of bone, rawhide or leather in which roach feathers are mounted. Dancers compete to special songs.

In the Crow Hop, dancers’ feet make slow deliberate moves to the beat, imitating a crow hopping. Actions in the Sneak Up illustrate events in war or hunting such as tracking enemies or game. In the Duck and Dive, the hard drumbeats represent cannon fire and dancers duck in unison to avoid being hit. The best dancers are light on their feet regardless of size and weight, match the drum with every move, bend close to the ground and use the whole body to dance.

Men’s Fast & Fancy - Colorful beadwork, elaborate feather bustles, ribbons, scarves, horsehair tips, angora bands, sheep bells, a roach headdress and dance sticks all punctuate the dance stunts and movements in this very fast paced contest that began in the 1950’s. After WWII, Korea, and the federal Indian Relocation policy that moved Indians to urban centers for jobs, many pan-Indian powwows sprang up across the U.S., and so did this dance. Drummers may orchestrate many quick stops in a song to test the dancers and to highlight the dancers’ athletic abilities.

Grass Dance - Wearing lots of fringe (representing tall blades of prairie grass), a porcupine and deer hair roach and no bustle, this dance was popularized by Northern Plains peoples where tall prairie grasses needed to be flattened for encampments or gatherings. Moves show how they would gracefully bend, fold, and weave grasses to an even surface, and dancers’ ribbons and yarn sway as grasses would.

Women & Girls Traditional - Plateau Women’s dresses may be made of buckskin, wool, velvet, or dresses are adorned with dentalia, cowry, or abalone shells, elk teeth, ribbon, seed and bugle beads as well as fringe on the sleeves and hem. Plateau dresses typically have shorter fringe and more flared skirts than plains dresses. Hand woven hats, headbands or beaded hair ornaments with feathers may be worn. In this category, two songs are typically sung in contests so that the females demonstrate both a slow and graceful straight style war dance and a circle dance. Historically, Plateau women did not war dance but would encircle the drum or dance area and keep time with the music stand-

©Photography page 10 & 11, Angelika Ursula Dietrich

Visit our Website: www.wallowanezperce.org

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ing in place gently bouncing or lightly swaying. In rare instances women who had committed deeds in combat such as taking the life of an enemy, rescuing others, or escaping from enemy captivity would join the men in the war dance. After WWII, as many women veterans returned from service in the armed forces it became more common to see women war dance. The dance exemplifies light-footedness, grace, modesty, and dignity with each song.

Women’s Fancy Shawl - Wearing a cloth fitted dress with ribbon and appliqué and complementing shawl with long fringe, leggings, cuffs, moccasins, hair ties, choker, and earrings, this dance imitates the rapid and fluid movements of butterflies. The light spinning and jumping moves requires athleticism & timing with the drum. Watch for complex footwork as well as poise, grace and agility.

Women’s Jingle Dress - In 1920, after a medicine man’s granddaughter became ill, his spirit guides told him in a dream to make her a dress that would please the ear and have her dance in it to heal her. The dress is decorated with rolled up snuff can lids or baking powder lids hanging from ribbon. There are two styles of jingle dance – a slide step and straight.

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Tamkaliks Celebration ~ Always the weekend before Chief Joseph Days

In Loving Memory of

Leah Jean Conner 1932-2018

Leah Joan Conner (June 29, 1932 - Nov. 15, 2018) was the second daughter of Gilbert Edward and Elsie Spokane Conner. She was an avid tennis player and swimmer along with dancing and riding horses.

With Loretta Pinkham, Leah served as a 1948 Chief Joseph Days Indian Princess, the first time such a selection was made.

She attended Willamette University her freshman and sophomore years. While a student at Willamette, Leah was selected to serve as queen of the all-Indian 1952 Pendleton Round-Up Court.

In various capacities, she met Averill Harriman, Robert Taft, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, Jeff Chandler, Dorothy Malone, Ward Bond, Lee Marvin, Eddy Little Sky, Jonathon Winters, and Peter Fonda.

Leah transferred to the University of New Mexico for her junior year as a physical education major and studied dance under modern dancer and choreographer Elizabeth Waters.

She graduated from Eastern Oregon State College in 1966 with an emphasis in health and physical education. She taught, counseled, and coached at Coulee Dam High School; District 16 R Hawthorne, Lincoln and Washington Elementary Schools; and Warm Springs Elementary and Madras High School.

Meanwhile, she attained her Master of Education from Oregon State University in 1973 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Washington in 1980 focusing on education and studio art. She also worked in parks and recreation for the City of Roses, Chemawa Indian

School, and for the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla.

She became the CTUIR’s first tribal member to direct the Education Department in 1981 until 1983.

Prior to that, she had served as certified teacher in the Tribes’ early childhood education program. She worked at the circulation desk of the Pendleton Public Library from 1984 to 1992.

Leah was the founding President of the Tiimutla Arts Council from 1981-1989.

She served on the Resources and Research Committee in the planning stages of Tamástslikt Cultural Institute.

Leah was devoted to the annual Tamkaliks Celebration in Wallowa and served on the Committee since its inception in 1991.

This year’s program cover art is from Leah’s collection.

The artist, J.C. Conner, is her nephew 13

Tamkaliks Celebration ~ Always the weekend before Chief Joseph Days

DONATIONS SOUGHT TO RESTORE DANCE ARBOR The graceful dance arbor in the middle of the Tamkaliks grounds is a gathering place for tribal song, dance and ceremony and events held in the lower Wallowa Valley.

Over the years it has been the site of a variety of ceremonies, including memorials, namings, weddings, fundraisers and feasts – an inclusive venue for all.

Each summer before the Tamkaliks Celebration several volunteers come together to attach a cloth parachute over the the grass dance floor, which shades dancers and spectators from the late July heat.

Time has taken its toll and many of the 20 foot tall poles supporting the structure need to be replaced, said Nancy Crenshaw, treasurer and board member of the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland.

She said at the ground level some of the poles were exposed to the right mixture of moisture and oxygen and began to deteriorate.

“We have to replace some and they are expensive,” Crenshaw said.

Expensive is the $15,000 already invested by the organization in order to determine which poles need to be replaced and treating those that are still good with a fumigant to make the wood impenetrable to water. Another $20,000, Crenshaw said, is needed to secure the damaged wooden poles in the ground with concrete footers, ensuring the long life of the dance arbor.

The Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland is looking for contributions to restore the arbor. Crenshaw said any contribution helps, and an entire pole can be sponsored with a donation of $1,000 or more.

To make a donation, you may use the donation form on page 15, or call our Homeland Office for more information at 541-886-3101

Visit our Website: www.wallowanezperce.org

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Thank You!!!

To all our our volunteers, raffle donors and dance sponsors.

We couldn't do it without you!

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About the Artist John Macy Connor, or JC (1950 – 2006), member of the Nez Perce Tribe, created art for more than three decades… often under the label “Dreamer Arts” in tribute to the Dreamer religion and the Wallowa Band of the Nez Perce or Non-Treaty Nez Perce.

He painted prolifically on tapestries, clothing, canvases, tipis, gym floors, and walls. He also sculpted, caved and sketched.

Many tribal folks knew him through the pow wow trail as an avid and accomplished fancy dancer and drummer. He studied art at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and the Art Museum in Portland, Oregon.

Another of John’s works graced the Tamkaliks program and T-Shirts in 1999 and 2014. John’s parents were Gilbert Cecil and Virginia Wilkenson Conner. He has one son, Damien Webster of Albuquerque, three brothers and eight sisters who reside in Wallowa, Ukiah, Pendleton, and Madras, Oregon.

Tamkaliks Celebration ~ Always the weekend before Chief Joseph Days

Qe’ci’yew’yew’ Lilóoynin’’eetx páaycix Thank you for coming.

Glad you are here.

©Angelika Ursula Dietrich