Almost forgot...!
I've been busy with a few things - namely the memorial ceremony for my grandfather, who was laid to rest on September 11th (yes, that September 11th). He served in the armed forces, and often spoke about that terrible morning when him and many of his friends were literally blasted out of bed in Pearl Harbor. Then I'm also busy quitting smoking. Yep, time to lay down that peace pipe. Actually, tobacco was used in a very different sense; never abused the way I was abusing my tobacco. I was smoking up to a pack-and-a-half a day. I quit, went crazy for about a week, and now I'm doing fine and can smell things again and taste my food. Then I've been busy trying to keep my ipaq pocket pc from going toes-up on me. It's an older model - 3650 - and it was practically taped together before I got it fixed up.
She-Who-Watches...yes, that is an important part of our people. The Warm Springs Indians are also called the Wayams. We lived and fished along the Columbia River, generally around the area known as Celilo Falls. In 1957, the gates of the Dalles Dam were dropped and it took six hours for the water to flood Celilo Falls. The fish there were so plentiful that tribal fishermen only needed dip nets to supply their families with fish. This was an awesome sight - I've seen pictures and have heard the stories, being an oral history technician for my tribe. The roar of the falls was deafening. Many people - both Native Americans and non-Indians - gathered on the hills surrounding the falls that fateful day to watch it vanish. When it was done, there was an awesome silence like none ever heard on the Columbia River. That roar, which had been a constant through most of the Native American's lives, was gone. Can you imagine how this must have felt? Imagine, if you live near a busy highway, waking up one morning to the sound of utter silence. Or imagine waking up in the city and hearing no traffic. It must have been very spooky! Anyway, the Wayams were a part of the Ichishkin speaking band of Indians. Yakama (changed from the spellnig of the city, Yakima) is also Ichishkin. We speak the same language, Sahaptin. Although if a person from Warm Springs journeys to Yakama today, we have a strange accent to them while speaking Sahaptin, and vice-versa. So yes, She-Who-Watches is a very important part of our culture. There is a project in effect now, in fact, to do some construction around Horsethief Park where the petroglyph is. Our tribe is in on this project, as is Yakama. Protective measures are being taken to keep this site as safe as possible.
I wanted to post a reply here, because I've read all of the wonderful comments! It's truly uplifting. Sometimes I forget that people are curious about Native American culture, because I live and work on a reservation. And being Native American today, I have to know about non-Indian culture and history as well as the history of my own people. I'm glad to pass any information along, so long as you give me an outlet to plug in my pocket pc!
Here's something I'll offer you today...how about a recipe? This one is fry bread, a family recipe. There are variations to it, some people use self-rising flour, some people sprinkle in some powdered milk. Almost everybody argues that their grandmother's fry bread is the best in the world. Every tribe argues that they're the people who invented fry bread. There are no special ingredients in my version. I grew up, like many other Natives, very poor. But I learned how to make it work.
2 cups flour
2 teaspons of baking powder
1 1/2 cup warm water (about)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg (optional)
2 cups of vegetable oil
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. If you want to use the egg, scramble it in a separate bowl. Add the egg and the water, adding most of the water at once while stirring and slowly trickling in the remaining water. You want the dough to be soft and wet, not as hard as biscuit dough. This dough should be sticky and when you give it a good stir with a spoon it should stick to the spoon when you pull it out. You may not have to add all of the water, it depends on what type of flour you use (I normally used Government Commodity flour, which required a lot of water). It may seem like it's too sticky to work with, but trust me. Put the dough mixture into the refrigerator for at least a half-hour. The longer you keep it in there, the better. I would even recommend making the dough on Friday night and surprising your family with breakfast fry bread.
When you're ready to make your bread, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Leave the dough in the bowl. Run the kitchen faucet on low, wet your hands, and then grab a handful of dough. It'll be easier to work with when your hands are wet. Quickly flatten out the ball of dough between your hands and stretch it into a thin circular sheet. Some people (including myself) poke a hole into the center of the dough before the next step. This helps to keep the fry bread flat - otherwise a huge bubble will form in the center. Sometimes the bubble is good, though. Carefully lay the dough into the hot oil and watch the magic! Turn when golden brown, drain on paper towels, and serve.
You can serve fry bread with jam, butter, cinnamon & sugar, or just plain. For something fantastic, add diced jalapeno peppers to the flour mixture before you add the water to the dough. Fry as usual, and serve with chili or stew. That's where you might want that huge bubble in the center, hehehe. Please be careful with the hot oil - I learned the hard way, and today I only cook fry bread on the back burner.
With fry bread, you can also make an Indian Taco, no kidding! This is a huge, satisfying meal so you might want to consider making the bread for these a little smaller. Put your cooked fry bread on a plate, top it with either chili or refried beans, add some lettuce, tomatoes, onions, grated cheese, olives, salsa, sour cream, mushrooms, whatever you may like. Eat it with a fork and a knife - it's sinfully delicious!
Axwaimatash Anch'a Q'inuta!
See you (all) later!
Duran Bobb
