Chief Wallulatum was born in Warm Springs on February 27, 1926 to parents Custer Wallulatum and Ida Palmer Wallulatum.

He had four brothers, Felix, Clarence, Frederick and Merris, who have passed away.

Chief Wallulatum is survived by one sister, Viola Wallulatum Kalama. Another sister, Alice Wannassey Lucero, is deceased.

Chief Wallulatum is a descendant of Chief Billy Chinook, and years ago lived next door to him on Miller Flat.

As a youth, Chief Wallulatum served in the U.S. Navy, from 1943-46.

He was sworn on to Tribal Council on June 2, 1959, a week after he became Wasco chief. By the time of his passing, Chief Wallulatum had served on 17 Tribal Councils.

He is only the third Wasco Chief to have served his people in the 72 years since the formation of the modern tribal government in 1938.

Treaty and Constitution

The Treaty of 1855 was the essential and guiding document for Chief Wallulatum during his years of service to the tribes.

"In my mind, that is the strength I’ve always leaned on," he said last year, during a dedication ceremony in his honor.

"I’ve never tried to go outside our treaty, and I’ve always tried to stay within the words of that document."

He became an expert on the Tribal Constitution and By-Laws. He always carried a copy of these documents with him, and referred to them often while conducting tribal business.

Fisheries

Chief Wallulatum for decades was a tireless salmon advocate, and fisheries protection was a focus of his attention as a tribal leader.

Chief Wallulatum served on the tribal Fish Committee before becoming Chief and joining Tribal Council. He continued to serve on the Fish Committee for most of his rest of his life.

He worked with the tribal attorneys during the many years of fisheries litigation, which eventually led to the creation of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

He worked on the Deschutes River Management Plan, and attended many salmon summits and meetings with the Corps of Engineers in regard to in-lieu fishing sites.

He worked with federal and state forest and rangeland departments over management of the Ceded Lands.

Major developments

Chief Wallulatum was a tribal leader during significant events that have shaped the present-day tribes. About the time he became Chief, for instance, the Confederated Tribes received payment from the federal government for the destruction of Celilo Falls.

The tribes used part of the money to commission an economic development study from Oregon State University. The study, as updated, still guides decisions of the tribes.

Some other significant developments for the tribes during his time as Chief and on Tribal Council include:

The tribes’ purchase of Kah-Nee-Ta in 1961 for $165,000, and the opening of the Kah-Nee-Ta Lodge;

The tribes’ purchase of the Jefferson Plywood Company and the old Wilson Lumber Company sawmill, now Warm Springs Forest Products Industries;

Establishment of the Tribal Elderly Pension Program and the Tribal Education Scholarship Fund;

The signing of the McQuinn bill into law by President Nixon;

The construction of the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery;

The creation of Warm Springs Power and Water Enterprises; development of Warm Springs Composite Products, the Museum at Warm Springs, the Early Childhood Education Center, and the new Health and Wellness Center.

Essentially, he had a part in all the significant tribal decisions over the past 51 years.

The park overlooking the Re-regulating reservoir was dedicated last year in the Chief’s honor. The plaque at the park explains in part:

Chief Wallulatum was a bridge from early tribal leaders such as Charlie Jackson, Vernon Jackson, Olney Patt Sr., Delbert Frank, Harold Culpus, Avex Miller, Ken Smith and others.

In the early years Chief Wallulatum was an astute student, and in later years a patient teacher.

Valerie Switzler is happy to be back living and working on the Warm Springs Reservation after a lengthy stay in the Midwest for her education.

Switzler, 49, now heads the tribal Culture and Heritage Department, the job formerly held by Myra Johnson-Orange.

"Myra wanted us to succeed in everything we did," Switzler said fondly of her predecessor, who retired several weeks ago.

Switzler recently completed her master’s degree at the University of Kansas in Global Indigenous Nations Studies, specifically language revitalization and documentation.

It has been a four-year trek for Switzler. She coordinated the tribal language program before moving to Kansas to return to her college studies at Haskell Indian Nations University. She had spent a year there in the 1980s, but felt then that she needed to be at home instead.

Switzler earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Indian Studies while working for the university extension office. She did such things as teach Native youths and help with computer programs.

It was very hard at times for her to keep going. One night while she was up at 2 a.m. trying to do calculus homework, she cried and seriously wondered whether all of the misery was worth it. She managed to persevere, however—with a lot of help and understanding from others, she said.

"I was really blessed."

Teachers often understood her needs and many fellow students told her they thought "I reminded them of their moms," she said.

Talks with friends such as Deanie Johnson and Gladys Thompson also eased the stress. They were able to communicate by Skype, which allows voice and video communication using common computer and video equipment.

"It was like they were down the street, not 1,600 miles away," Switzler said.

And a tribal scholarship helped financially. While two of her daughters were independent, two still lived with her. She brought a lot of native foods from here with her, such as berries and salmon. That also helped stretch dollars.

What helped most was having her children and their families in that part of the world. Some of them were even attending college at the same time she did.

"My girls were really there for me," Switzler said.

Switzler has had the opportunity to learn how other native people across the globe preserve their own languages and cultures. She even spent some time in Hawaii learning about the natives in Honolulu. She discovered a lot of commonality between the various groups of natives.

"In order to jump start a language, you need an immersion school," Switzler explained.

This fall, there will be total language immersion for three-year-old children offered on the reservation. Only 15 children will be accepted and applications have already been submitted.

If it works well, then the idea is to add more students each year, she said.

This is why the other three-year-olds won’t be getting the same native language training that has been offered on the reservation during recent years.

There will be materials available for free through the department to help parents teach their children native language at home, including books, coloring books, CDs and DVDs.

"We’re asking for understanding. We want to concentrate now on producing native speakers."

The goal "has been to saturate the community. Any way we are able to let the languages be known."

The idea now, however, is to get some community members fluent in Ichishkiin, the language spoken by the Warm Springs tribe. Not enough people can fluently use Numu and Kiksht for those languages to be taught to children using an immersion method, she said.

Passing language down from mother to child–or grandmother to child—is considered the best method. Immersion is considered the next best way, but the most viable when most of the fluent communicators have died and taken their knowledge with them.

"It’s going to take a lot from parents to continue this dream our ancestors had," she explained. "If you know some words, even a few words, teach them to your children. Just teach what you know."

"Once the children become familiar with their heritage and culture, they become stable. They have the knowledge, the teachings of their people," she emphasized.

For adults on the reservation who want to learn native language, there is a program where they are paired for 20 hours a week with an older person in the community.

For details about the language program or to obtain learning materials, call 541-553-3290 and ask for Josie Miller.

Spilyay Tymoo

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will host the Forty-First Annual Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days Powwow during last weekend of the month, Friday through Sunday, June 25-27.

The three-day powwow commemorates the signing of the Treaty of 1855, signed 155 years ago this month. The signing date of the Treaty was June 25, 1855. On that day, 151 tribal leaders signed the document, following a three-day Council of the Wasco and Walla Walla tribes at The Dalles.

By the terms of the treaty, the tribes gave up ownership claim to 10 million acres of land, known since as the Ceded Lands. In exchange the tribes received the reservation land located between Mt. Jefferson and the Deschutes River. By the Treaty, the tribes also retained rights to the traditional use of the Ceded Lands.

Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days began in the late 1960s. While commemorating the signing of the treaty, Pi-Ume-Sha also traditionally has honored the veterans and service men and women of the Armed Forces.

The powwow begins with the Grand Entry at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 25. Grand Entries are also scheduled on Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m., and on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Traditional Dress Parade is at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Dance contests are throughout the weekend.

For vendor information, call Cassie Katchia at 541-553-0203.

Organizers of Pi-Ume-Sha Softball are raising money for the sporting event by holding a raffle.

Tickets are $1 each or $5 for 6. Items ticket holders might win include:

Two seats to the Mariners vs. Red Sox game at 1 p.m. on July 25; beaded Boston Red Sox medallion; Mariners’ shirt, Jacoby Ellsbury shirt; sports umbrella; Pendleton purse; beaded earrings; Walmart gift certificate; Safeway gift certificate and many more items.

People selling these tickets are Jerry Sampson, Norene Sampson, Sandra Greene-Sampson, Kristina Sampson, Jolene Switzler, Cena Wolfe.

The drawing will be June 27 but participants need not be present to win.

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