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History
and cultural background of the Burns Paiute Tribe
Nine
thousand years ago the northern Great Basin, which is now desert, was probably
a series of very large lakes. The ancestors of the Burns Paiute people
lived in caves near their shores. Horses, camels, mammoths, bison, elk
and deer roamed the hills. These people used the fibers of the tule
plant, willow, Indian hemp, and sagebrush bark to make woven sandals, coiled
and twined baskets, and rope. They also made duck decoys, fish nets, and
traps for small game with these fibrous plants. A beautiful soft blanket
woven from the furs of rabbits and child's sandals made from sagebrush fibers
were found preserved for close to 10,000 years in a cool, dry cave.
Archeologists also found clothing made from deer, animal and bird hides.
Their diet included a wide variety of items, such as fish (including a great
deal of salmon), birds, deer, small animals, plants and seeds.
During
the next one to 2,000 years, the climate slowly became drier and warmer.
The lakes began drying up and food sources were less readily available.
By 7,500 years ago, large mammals such as horses, camels and mammoth were
extinct. People began seasonal migrations to take advantage of plants
and animals in certain areas. Small family groups would travel
separately collecting seeds, berries, roots, hunting small animals, deer,
mountain sheep, elk and fish.
These
smaller groups came together to harvest, socialize and intermarry with other
Paiutes, as well as other Indian tribes. Spring offered roots to be
gathered on the sunny hillsides and meadows, and fishing for salmon during the
salmon runs. During the summer, berries and fruit were collected as food
and stored for winter use. By late summer and early fall, seeds were the
main resource to be gathered. Families also came together during this
time of the year for communal antelope and rabbit drives. Late fall was
the time to collect plant material to make items such as sandals, baskets, and
clothing during the long winter months. By November, the families had
gathered the cached goods they had put away during the months of
harvesting. Materials were then gathered from the area (sagebrush in the
desert or tules near the lakes) and they built houses near springs in which to
live out the winter. The Paiutes lived in this manner for thousands of
years.
The
Paiute people believe that the Paiutes have lived in this area since before
the Cascade Mountains were formed as they have learned from their stories and
legends. Recent researchers, on the other hand, believe that about 1,000
years ago an influx of Paiute-speaking people came from the south and migrated
throughout the Great Basin. They brought with them not only their
language but also certain types of atlatl and spear points, and brownware
pottery. Pottery was not found in the Great Basin before this
time. However, the people of the Burns Paiute Tribe were basket makers
and did not make pottery. According to the researchers, the language
spoken here before the arrival of the Paiute is unknown. This, however,
contradicts the Paiute stories and legends that are handed down from
generation to generation which tell of the Paiute people living in the Great
Basin for thousands and thousands of years.
The
Burns Paiute Tribe descended from the Wadatika band, named after the wada
seeds they collected near the shores of Malheur Lake to use as food.
Bands were usually named after an important food source in their area.
The Wadatika's territory included approximately 5,250 square miles between the
Cascade Mountain Range in central Oregon and the Payette Valley north of
Boise, Idaho, and from southern parts of the Blue Mountains near the
headwaters of the Powder River north of John Day, to the desert south of
Steens Mountain.
The
appearance of the White settlers
The
first Europeans with whom the Wadatika had contact were trappers who explored
the area looking for beaver in the 1820's, 30's and 40's. By the late
1840's, the relations between the Indians and the Whites were already
strained. By that time many Whites were moving through the area on the
Oregon Trail on their way to western Oregon and the coast. Epidemics of
smallpox, cholera, and other diseases brought into the area by Europeans had
swept through the tribe in the 1830's and 1840's. The diseases killed
many Indians, especially the young and the elderly tribal members.
Settlers
first moved into what is now Harney County as late as 1862, years after
settlers poured into western Oregon. Cattlemen then quickly began to
take land or buy up homesteads to run their huge herds of livestock over the
land. The limits of the native ecology were severely stressed due to the
grazing of livestock by the expanding foreign population and the increase in
hunting and fishing by those same people. Resources depended upon by the
Paiute people were depleted or destroyed. But, as the Paiutes noticed,
the settlers brought with them resources of their own--those very livestock
and horses that were eating and trampling the Wadatika's food supplies.
Raiding wagon trains and camps increased as more outsiders came through the
Wadatika's territory and destroyed their livelihood. By the 1840's the
northern Paiute bands had acquired horses and guns, and such raids became an
important way for the Wadatika people to defend themselves and survive.
In response, the U.S. Army set up its first military outpost, Camp Alvord, in
1864. By 1867 Fort Harney was established.
While
the tribes to the north (the Cayuse, Umatilla, Wallawalla, Wasco, John Day,
Deschutes and Tygh) were confined to the Umatilla and Warm Springs
reservations by 1856, the northern Paiutes continued their seasonal migrations
for another decade. During these years the fighting between the Indians
and the encroaching Whites became bitter, with the raids on wagon trains and
army surveyors increasing. Punishing parties were sent out by the Whites
to kill any Indian seen, whether man, woman or child. The Indians were
fighting for their land, culture and their very lives.
Treaties
and reservations created
In
1866, General Crook was appointed to the area to squash the resistance of the
northern Paiute bands and to force them onto a reservation. For the next
two years, he carried out a devastating and relentless campaign. He
broke their usual circular migration pattern and harassed and killed them
during the winter, their usual season of rest. By spring of 1868, the
Indians had suffered a terrible winter, losing half their total population to
starvation, freezing and fighting. General Crook then made an offer of
"Peace or Death." That year Paiute Chiefs We-You-We-Wa, Gsha-Nee,
Po-Nee, Chow-Wat-Na-Nee, E-He-Gant (Egan), Ow-Its (oits), and Tash-E-Go signed
a treaty guaranteeing them a reservation in their homeland. Included
were promises that raiding and hostilities toward the Whites would cease in
return for army protection from the hostile, encroaching settlers.
Unfortunately, the cutoff date for signing Indian treaties was passed before
the treaty went before Congress, therefore, Congress never ratified this
treaty.
Several
attempts were made in the next four years to move and confine the various
northern Paiute tribes to reservations outside their territory. Finally,
however, the President signed into law the Malheur Reservation, taken from the
larger area of Oregon's entire southeastern corner, which was the first set
aside for that purpose. The 1,778,560 acres of reservation land included
Castle Rock, Strawberry Butte, the Silvies River, Malheur Lake and the North
and South Forks of the Malheur River within its boundaries. This area
was reserved for all bands of Indians still "wandering" in eastern
Oregon. Samuel Parrish was appointed Special Indian Agent in 1873.
He was well liked by the Indians, treated them fairly, and went into debt in
order to provide the food, shelter, education, and resources needed to begin
farming. This did not make him popular with the local Whites, and he was
replaced by Harrison Linville the next year. There was a great deal of
corruption while Linville was in charge--rations were sold rather than handed
over to the Indian people for whom they were intended. Finally, in July
of 1874 Parrish was reinstated after Linville left fearing for his life.
The
numbers of Indians on the reservation grew under Parrish as groups came down
from the hills. By the fall of that year, there were over 800 on the
rolls. Unfortunately, funds were not increased with the increase in
population and they were having great difficulty surviving on the scarce
resources, both federal and natural, available to them. Parrish
wrote several letters to the President pleading for money and resources.
He argued that this was a critical time for the tribe as they were eager to
become self-sufficient. They only needed a bit of capital to start a
cattle herd and other industries.
Treaties
broken
During
the same period, the stockmen and ranchers were pressuring the government to
turn over reservation lands for settlement and grazing of cattle. They
were not even waiting for a federal mandate but began to run their livestock
and even build ranch homes on the reservation. A particular area of
dissention was the valley southeast of Fort Harney, an area important to the
tribe for gathering camas. Ranchers fenced this location in order to run
cattle there and did not allow Indians in. In January of 1876 President
Grant, under pressure from settlers, ordered the northern shores of Malheur
Lake open for settlement, an area important to the tribe for wada seeds.
This was a blow to the Indians, as was the replacement of Agent Samuel Parrish
that summer due to the urging of the settlers. His replacement, William
Rinehart, had fought under General Crook and his derogatory attitudes toward
Indians had not changed since the war.
Under
Agent Rinehart, hostile settlers continued to invade reservation land and
appropriations dwindled. Chief Egan gave an eloquent speech against
Rinehart and the taking of the reservation by Whites. He said,
"Did
the government tell you to come here and drive us off this
reservation? Did the Big Father say, go and kill us all off, so you
can have our land? Did he tell you to pull our children's ears off,
and put handcuffs on them, and carry a pistol to shoot us with? We
want to know how the government came by this land. Is the government
mightier than our Spirit-Father, or is he our Spirit-Father? Oh, what
have we done that he is to take all from us that he has given us? His
white children have come and taken all our mountains, and all our valleys,
and all our rivers; and now, because he has given us this little place
without our asking him for it, he sends you here to tell us to go
away. Do you see that high mountain away off there? There is
nothing but rocks there. Is that where the Big Father wants me to
go? If you scattered your seed and it should fall there, it would not
grow, for it is all rocks there." (Hopkins, Life Among the
Piutes, pages 133-34.)
The
Bannock Indian War
The
Indians began to leave the reservation fleeing the worsening conditions.
By June of 1878 tensions came to a head. The deprivations suffered from
lack of rations and supplies during the winter and the lack of support from
their government agent set the stage for revolt. Then, too, the news
came in that an Indian village in the hills had been destroyed by
soldiers. Forty-six Bannocks looking for allies against the Whites
visited the Malheur Reservation and brought news of the Bannock uprising at
Fort Hall. Some Paiutes became increasingly convinced that war was the
only effective way to bring attention to their plight. They understood
the hopelessness of such a war, but they preferred to fight rather than to
starve to death.
The
Bannock Indian War, as it was later called, consisted of few actual battles,
but a resurgence of raiding by the Indians and killing of Indians by the
Whites. By mid-July the army got the help of Umatilla Indian scouts to
the north in a scheme to kill Chief Egan. The Paiutes believed the
Umatillas to be friendly and were hoping to find allies at the meeting.
Instead, they walked into an ambush. The scheme succeeded, and Chief
Egan was killed. With the last of their leaders dead, the Bannocks and
Paiutes surrendered. The northern Paiutes, who had numbered close to
2,000 ten years before, had lost two-thirds of their people.
"Trail
of Tears"
All
Indians were then rounded up and held as hostages at Fort Harney, regardless
of who sided with the Whites or those who fought against them. Many of
the Indians did not understand why they were being rounded up and brought to
Fort Harney. In the coldest time of year, January 1879, over 500 Paiutes
were loaded into wagons or ordered to walk under heavy armed guard to Fort
Simcoe on the Yakima Reservation and Fort Vancouver in Washington state.
In knee-deep snow the men were forced to march, shackled two by two, while the
women and children were later taken to Fort Boise. The fate of yet
another group is unknown. Perhaps they were massacred by the soldiers,
or maybe they faded into the hills and disappeared. The tribe suffered
great loss of life due to this forced abandonment of their home. It was
the Paiutes' own "Trail of Tears."
The
majority of those who survived the journey to Yakima found little welcome
there and did not stay long. After approximately five years, the
Wadatika people were allowed to make their long way back home. Many had
not survived the experience; others chose to stay with the Yakima; while still
others left to live with relatives on reservations of neighboring
tribes. The ones who chose to made the long, difficult journey to
Burns. They would travel in small groups or individually. Swimming
the Columbia River holding onto their horse's tail, and walking the long miles
through the mountains, they eventually arrived in Harney Valley. None
returned to the empty reservation still staffed by Agent Rinehart. They
were considered outlaws, so they lived on what they could find hunting and
gathering in the hills, and quietly working for local ranchers.
In
January of 1883 the reservation was made into public domain, open for settlers
to claim under the Homestead Act. As Peter Teeman, a 90 year old elder,
testified in 1948 at the Warm Springs Reservation:
"The
Bannocks kept their reservation but we, the Paiutes, who remained friends
with the soldiers, lost our reservation and were taken to Yakima and turned
over to our enemies. We did not give up our reservation." (Burns
Paiute Colony: Its History, Population and Economy, p. 19)
The
federal government then gave out 160 acre parcels of marginal land in the Rye
Grass area to anyone who had lived on the Malheur Reservation. Only 115
parcels were ever given out, although many more of the Wadatika
survived. Distrust and fear of the government were running high and more
than a few tribal members thought this new offer to be a trick.
Many
Indian families camped near the towns of Burns and Drewsey in tule or
gunnysack "wickiups" or lived on their allotment. The men
found seasonal work with ranchers. Women washed clothes and made
buckskin gloves to trade occasionally for flour, sugar and coffee. After
the Edward Hines Lumber Mill opened in 1928 in Hines and later near Seneca
when the mill opened there, more jobs were available to the Indians.
Problems
finally addressed
During
the beginning of this century, some attention was brought at last to the Burns
Paiute Tribe. A Cherokee Indian came to visit the tribe during a hard
winter in 1923. He must have taken word of the desperate conditions
under which the tribe was living to the proper authority, for the following
spring a superintendent from the Warm Springs Agency came to Burns. Soon
after, army tents were brought in and set up where the Burns Cemetery is now
located. In 1928, the local Egan Land Company gave the Burns Paiute 10
acres of land just outside the city of Burns. The land was the old city
dump which the Indians cleaned and drilled a well to make ready for the
houses. Twenty two-room homes, a small school and a community center
were built by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A small church was built by
the local Catholic Church in 1932. The school, church and community
center were moved to the new reservation after it was established.
Schooling
was a problem for the tribe. The public school for many years would not
accept Indian students for health reasons since many children had tuberculosis
and trachoma. A school opened on the reservation in 1934. However,
some families continued to send their children to boarding schools far from
home on reservations such as Fort Bidwell Indian School, Fort Bidwell,
California. Health care for the Indians did improve and in 1949 Burns'
public schools were finally opened to the Indian children.
Christianity
is introduced
Father
Heuel, a Catholic priest, who was the first to meet the spiritual needs of the
tribe, came to the area in 1927. Before this the tribe had no Catholic
or Christian religious leader. The earliest visit of a priest to the
Burns Paiute people was mentioned by Peter Teeman. He said that a
Chinese priest, Father Chan, stopped by on his way to Canyon City in
1861. Today, many tribal members follow a Christian faith.
The
fight to regain the land
Father
Heuel was a friend to the Burns Paiute people. He encouraged the tribe
to seek payment for Malheur Reservation that was taken from them without their
agreement. The case dragged on for 35 years. In 1969, after
enormous legal fees were subtracted from the total settlement, 850 Paiute
people received as little as $741 each for the loss of their land. This
was because the price of the land was set at 1890 prices, approximately .28 to
.45 cents per acre.
In
1935, 760 acres of homestead and submarginal land was purchased with a loan
provided by the National Industrial Recovery Act. The tribe repaid the
loan with money earned from leasing the small arable farmland of the new
property. This land is held in trust by the U.S. government for the
Burns Paiute Tribe. In 1938 the Bureau of Indian Affairs built 27
two-bedroom homes on the new land.
Under
the Indian Reorganization Act of 1936, tribal elections were held for the
first time. This early government consisted of a five-member governing
body, elected by position. It was not until 1968, however, that the
Constitution and Bylaws for the tribe were written and approved. This
formalized and made operational the current tribal government. The tribe
was then able to receive government contracts and grants which are the basis
of the tribal administration today. Finally, on October 13, 1972 the
Burns Paiute were recognized as an independent Indian Tribe.
At
that time, the 760 acres bought in 1934 plus the 10 original acres of land
were established as the Burns Paiute Reservation. The jurisdiction for
this reservation was placed in the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Warm Springs,
191 miles northwest of Burns. Individual tribal members still own over
11,000 acres of allotment lands scattered over four townships east of the
reservation. Local ranchers lease these allotments for grazing
cattle. Allotment lands are also held federally so that they are exempt
from taxes, but unlike the reservation, they are within county jurisdiction.
Burns
Paiute tribal administration today
The
Constitution and Bylaws of the Burns Paiute Colony, adopted May 16, 1968,
delineates the objectives, membership, powers of the General Council, and bill
of rights of the Burns Paiute Tribe. the Constitution and Bylaws were
revised in 1988 changing the five-member Business Council to the seven-member
Tribal Council of today. This was necessary to avoid conflict between
the two governing bodies, the Tribal Council and the General Council.
Now the Tribal Council is directly responsible to the General Council.
The
Constitution and Bylaws of the Tribe also outline the format of the governing
body, elections, and duties of officers. The governing body, or General
Council, consists of all qualified voters. To qualified to vote one must
be a tribal member 18 years of age or older who lives on the reservation, or
be an absentee voter. The General Council meets twice a year to discuss
and vote on important matters.
The
standard business of the tribe is conducted by the seven-member Tribal
Council, which includes a chairperson and a vice-chairperson. Each
member of the Tribal Council is nominated and elected to a three-year term by
the General Council. The Tribal Council meets several times a month,
overseeing the tribal government and carrying out the decisions of the General
Council.
The
tribal government includes nine departments and various committees. The
departments provide essential services to the community and uphold tribal
interests when working with state and federal agencies. For example, the
tribal administration takes care of day to day management and accounting of
the tribal government. They also assist in the formation and
implementation of plans for community development and the administering of
federal and state grants and contracts. The Education Department, on the
other hand, works to help students of all ages stay in school, while the
Health Department provides the community with health care and social
services. Other departments cover such areas as environmental and energy
issues, lease compliance for all the allotments and tribal lands, mitigation
for fish and wildlife, cultural preservation and enhancement, law enforcement,
and maintenance.
Whereas
the departments are made up of tribal employees, the committees are small
groups of community members appointed by Tribal Council. These
committees advise, oversee, and are responsible for some of the important
aspects of the tribe's organization. A five-member Election Committee
organizes and runs any elections held and any recalls or initiatives called
for by the tribe. The incorporated Farmland Board contracts out for hay
to be produced on the farmland and puts any funds received from the selling of
the hay back into supplies and production. The Parent Committee works as
an advisory board tot he Education Specialist. There are also committees
on culture, housing, social services, and the annual Mother's Day Pow Wow,
among others. Some tribal members also are involved in committees in the
nearby community of Burns.
Wadatika
today
Tribal
members continue to hunt and gather traditional foods. Roots such as
camas, bitterroot, and biscuitroot are dug in the spring. In late summer
chokecherries and berries are gathered. People also gather willow and
tule for making baskets and cradleboards. Other crafts traditional to
the Burns Paiute, which are practiced in the community, include beadwork and
drum-making. The hunting of elk, deer, quail and groundhog as
supplemental food sources continue as well.
A
yearly celebration and gathering of tribal members and neighboring tribes is
the recently started annual Burns Paiute Reservation Day Pow Wow, which occurs
in October.
This was declared a tribal holiday in honor of the day the land held in trust
for the tribe became a reservation. The Pow Wow includes
traditional dancing and drumming, dance contests, a raffle, and crafts and
food booths. This is a continuation of a tradition of dance in the
community. During the 1950's there was a vigorous boys dance
group. Later in the 1960's and 1970's, a girls dance group was
active.
Today
there are 341 members of the tribe, less than 35.5% of which reside permanently
on the reservation. Both the small numbers and the relatively recent
formation of the tribal government and reservation have added challenges and
difficulties in starting the economic and social programs that other Oregon
tribes already have in place. Nonetheless, the Burns Paiute Tribe is
proud of its history and culture. The tribe is currently working to gain
a greater understanding of their culture, and preserve what knowledge they
have of their past, all the while looking toward the future and developing
a stronger, healthier community to pass on to the next
generation.
Tribal
administration
| Administration |
|
| Contact: |
Don Munkers |
| Position: |
General Manager |
| Email: |
don.munkers@burnspaiute-nsn.gov
|
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2088,
Ext. 262 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-2323 |
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| Burns Paiute Fish &
Wildlife |
| Contact: |
Lawrence Schwabe |
| Position: |
Program Director |
| Email: |
lschwabe@centurytel.net
|
| Phone: |
(541) 573-1375 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-7806 |
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| Education Specialist |
| Contact: |
Carla Gutcher |
| Position: |
Tutor |
| Email: |
carla.gutcher@burnspaiute-nsn.gov
|
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2088, Ext. 235 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-2323 |
|
|
| Finance Director |
| Contact: |
Sondra Schmidt |
| Position: |
Finance Director |
| Email: |
sondra.schmidt@burnspaiute-nsn.gov |
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2088, Ext. 237 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-2323 |
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| Cultural Resource |
| Contact: |
Diane Teeman |
| Position: |
Cultural Specialist |
| Email: |
diane.teeman@burnspaiute-nsn.gov
|
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2088,
Ext. 245 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-2422 |
|
|
| Planner |
| Contact: |
Kenton Dick |
| Position: |
Planner |
| Email: |
kenton.dick@burnspaiute-nsn.gov |
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2088, Ext. 250 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-2323 |
|
| Land Lease and Water Rights |
| Contact: |
Jason Fenton |
| Position: |
Manager |
| Email: |
justin.fenton@burnspaiute-nsn.gov |
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2088,
Ext. 260 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-2422 |
|
|
| HUD Housing Coordinator |
| Contact: |
Jody Hill |
| Position: |
Housing Director |
| Email: |
jody.hill@burnspaiute-nsn.gov
|
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2088,
Ext. 258 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-2323 |
|
|
| Human
Services Department |
| Contact: |
Kerry Opie |
| Position: |
HR Director |
| Email: |
kerry.opie@burnspaiute-nsn.gov |
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2088,
Ext. 236 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-2323 |
|
| Environmental Office |
| Contact: |
Lawrence Schwabe |
| Position: |
Director |
| Email: |
lschwabe@centurytel.net
|
| Phone: |
(541) 573-1375 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-7806 |
|
| Old Camp Casino |
| Contact: |
Judith McClain |
| Position: |
General Manager |
| Email: |
generalmanager@oldcampcasino.net |
| Direct Number: |
(541) 573-1500 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-3963 |
|
| Tribal Police |
| Contact: |
Darrell Gilmer |
| Position: |
Chief of Police |
| Email: |
darrell.gilmer@burnspaiute-nsn.gov |
| Phone: |
(541) 573-2793 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-3854 |
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| Pow Wow Committee |
| Contact: |
Phyllis Miller, David & Julie
Johnson |
| Position: |
Pow Wow Chairperson |
| Email: |
phyllis.harrington@ihs.gov |
| Phone: |
(541) 573-7312 Ext. 228 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-4217 |
|
| Wadatika Health Center |
| Contact: |
Twila Teeman |
| Position: |
Health Services Director |
| Email: |
twila.teeman@ihs.gov |
| Phone: |
(541) 573-7312, Ext. 227 |
| Fax: |
(541) 573-4217 |
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