Click Relander - Drummers and Dreamers Flashcards
Wanapum story of creation
Told by Smowhala, the founding of the dreamer religion at Priest Rapids
Sun, man and star were the sacred trinity, interwoven with the Washat dance which was developed to perfection by Smowhala
Nearby tribes ceding territory
Nearby Yakimas and other Shahaptiaan stock tribes ceded territory in 1855 when the Yakima Reservation was created
Initial spread of the dreamer religion
Spread along the Columbia
Born in the era of exploration, before the Upsuch (greedy ones) poured westwards
The faith flourished for a time, leaving its mark even on the third generation
Prophecies before white men
Dire prophecies of long-braided doctors antedated by many years the coming of the white men
Life was not always easy, and suffering and sickness ravaged up and down the Columbia and Snake long before the ‘suyapos’ came
Initial expeditions
A few expeditions - 1805, 1811 and 1814
Wise Smowhala sensed these first fingers of civilisation, foresaw extinction of pure Indian blood and the conquest for mother earth - fought to stem the onrush with religion
1815-20
Smowhala had been born to found a new religion and preach the old Indian way of living
He preached his religion against overwhelming odds of military might and the inrushing land-mad tide of immigration
Message of the religion
Smowhala set hopes alight - taught his people to expect the dawn of a new day, a resurrection leading to the overthrow of the greedy ones
Succession of Smowhala
Eventually succeeded by his son, Yoyam, and then his nephew, Puck Hyah Toot (the latter providing testimony for the book)
Eventual decline of Smowhala
His teachings eventually crumbled under the overwhelming weight of the white man’s civilisation and the undermining northern and southern chiefs, Moss and Homli
Followers deserted him, adopting the new soft life of the suyapo
Principle issue for Indians
A fundamental determination to retain the principle heritage, the Indian religion
Initial welcome of suyapo
By many tribes - soon faded after they took the choicest land and overran the favourite hunting grounds
Fulfilment of prophecies
Fear that the white men represented the fulfilment of the prophecies and that the retribution of Nami Piap was returning
As such, Smowhala was a new hope for the River People, he came when they needed a clear-visioned physical and spiritual leader
Breaking of promises
Smowhala looked upon each successive broken promise of the white man as fulfilment of his visions
They strengthened the River Peoples’ faith in his dreams
Smowhala initial spirit searching
Yearning of his spirit was born when he was a young man at Wallula - went alone to the Solemn Hills seeking a vision
Initial dream of Smowhala
Became semi-delirious after days of fasting in the hills - fell into the sleep of the dead
However awoke with a new song, a greater power, and instructions to add new rituals to the fragments of an old religion that has persisted through the dim years
Birth of the religion
Above the sacred mountain (La Lac), the religion was born - flags, bird, calendar
All became part of the Washani religion - dance was added later
Definition of dreamers
Those with the ability to die, go to the land in the sky, and return with rapturous messages for the faithful
Birth of the dance
After the death of his first born daughter, Anh (was to be priestess), he appeared to die from grief, however he came back to life after 2 days and broke his silence with a message
Reason for the dance
Brought back to go with the song - it was called the Washat
Smowhala suggested it would restore the country and the things belonging to the country to the Indians
Those who were pure would rise up form the dust and float up through the earth to live forever in happiness and peace
Nature of Washat dream
He was told not to let people forget the old customs - saw his daughter happy, singing and dancing
Importance of the drum
Crucial to the dance, representing the sound of life within you
Dancers also wore feathers to show their climbing up
Neighbouring Palouses
One of the first nations to disappear
Disastrous 1858 war with American troops in which no US troops were lost
Chief Wolf
Last chief of the Palouse nation - tried to reason with politicians in Washington; got no justice and lost the rest of his land and money
Large growth of Smowhala’s religion
Band of nontreaty Indians which grew to around 2000 people, expanding in all directions and defying government efforts to confine the River People to reservations
Smowhala’s position on reservations
In 1875, he made it clear that they were an evil influence on Indians - leading to drinking, gambling and marriage to white men
He fought to shield the River People from such unsavoury things
Rights wanted by the Wanapums
Wanted the right to choose their own locations as the whites did
In 1877, many of the Priest Rapids people were moved by the bluecoats to the Yakima Reservation
The Wanapums were soon hopelessly entangled in the complexity of the government’s workings
Major MacMurray
Met Smowhala and urged him to settle with the Indian homestead law - he refused to, as ploughing the Earth was considered to be tearing at Mother Earth’s bosom
Captain Huggins
Also met Smowhala - he explained that the men refused to labour as it would bring dreaming to an end, and that dreaming was the source of all meaningful wisdom
At this point, Smowhala still believed he would soon lead the people to be wealthy and powerful as in the past
Moses
Made a deal to get a reservation in 1879, however his 2000 square miles were soon examined by gold seekers and opened to home stagers and miners in 1886 (who swarmed all over their land)
Example of white attitude
2 men examined a boulder given to Moses by the government
It broke, exposing silver and gold - the men told Moses that the outside was given to them by the government, but the inside belonged to them
James H. Wilbur (Indian Agent from 1861)
From Fort Simcoe he oppressed Smowhala, since he was staunchly against freedom of worship
Civil war years
Cattlemen and land stagers overran Indian lands and violated their rights
Wilbur’s flaw
His principles of faith dominated his life and the lives of those near to him - converted Indians to preachers and believed in creating peace through the plough and Bible
Vast prejudices, as Methodists could get all the assistance they asked for, whilst it was denied to all others (Wanapums had to be self-supporting)
Death of Smowhala
Before the 20th century - Yoyami took over
Period of quiet
River People seemed to have been forgotten
The youth gradually moved away to reservations, etc, with only Yoyami and Puck becoming priests
Decline of Smowhala’s power
As his power as a doctor deserted him, people began to lose their religious fervour, and one by one his menage abandoned his shabby lodge
Decline of food
Some Wanapum were forced to plow land and plant small fields - game was scarce, and the root-digging grounds had been destroyed
Salmon runs of size ended in 1905 due to damns and fish wheels - the fish a ‘pitiful remnant of Indian glory’
1942
Last Wanapums surrendered ancestral fishing grounds and Rifted Canyon at White Bluffs for the government to flood and build a damn
Last piece of land left was the ancient site of P’na at Priest Rapids
Sources used in the book
A mixture of oral testimony from the last surviving members and official reports from soldiers, etc.
Coverage of the book
The other tribes and surrounding geography, as well as a deep coverage of certain customs in an anthropological manner (e.g. types of roots needed for feasts)
Myth is a key part of the Indian society and is blended into the book throughout
Captures paternalistic white attitude and deep sense of oppression felt by the Wanapum
