Day 8: We arrive at the main office in Umatilla and meet Wenix Red Elk which in translation her name means Echoing from a Mountain Canyon. Most of the people in bandwagon are tired and are wearing pajamas. Wenix had kindly put together a presentation that would explain to us what and how natural resources are exactly used. Wenix described how DNR use the first foods as a guide. The first foods in correct order are water-salmon-deer-cous/roots-berries. She talked about the community and the traditions of many tribes and how Native Americans honor the food. the food takes care of them, so we take care of the food. We also learned about Community fest such as salmon feast and berry feasts, individual ceremonies such as the first kill or first digging,and also community celebrations such as powwows.
We have lunch for over a half and hour and we head out to the mountains where Wenix will teach about stream restoration! buda buda buda, the vehicles start slowing down. Bandwagon has a flat tire and so does Heritage but they have two flat tires! We were traveling along the railroads to get to our destination and now we have big holes in the tires. Great! While people stay behind and try to fix the vehicles. By the end of the day we had 5 flat tires..
Day 9: Today, is more of a relaxing day. We get up later than usual and when we woke up, we had breakfast and gathered around a table to get ready to make homemade paint. Everyone else and I took two rocks and then took a pigmented rock that crumbles and started smashing it up into fine material. After a lot of hard work with grinding, the science teachers from White Swan High School (Mr. Clinton and Ms.Morse) kindly demonstrated how to create the paint with the pigments we smashed and few other materials like chalk and lime-seed oil. WhiteSwan students along with Heritage and Davis students, put together a piece of artwork which had all of our hand prints on it. Once that was dried, we decided to give it to Wenix for her generosity.
Wenix so kindly did a visual presentation with the first foods on a table and she talked about what each thing were good for or how they helped people survive. After learning about the first foods we were able to try them just like you would at a first food ceremony. For me, I loved learning about the different herbs and berries and how each one could usually help heal you in some way.
We packed up the tents along with everything else from Wenix house and are almost ready to go, but first Bandwagon needs to change a tire. Great. We have a spare that is currently being used as our rear-left tire, but its only a spare, so we take it off and place the new tire on. Thanks to Eric, Giovani, and Mr.Clinton, we are on the road and ready to head out at 2:30 pm. Yet first, we stop for a bite to eat at subway.
Spoko Fuel, we had a situation. Bandwagon arrived first at Spoko Fuel, which is a general store that has an Arbys. Anyway, while our vehicle waited, Clinton decided to sit in the car. Once Ms.Morse (Tire Slayer) arrived Clinton locked the doors to the Suburban and went inside. Moments later did he realize he locked the keys in the Suburban. Oh great! After Heritage students arrived and ordered their food, they headed out to Wellpinit. After 10 minutes or so a lock smith showed up and started to work on getting the car unlocked. Just as the students in Ms.Morse's van walked out with the food, the lock smith got the car unlocked. I never knew a car alarm could make me that happy. Finally we are on the road once again heading to Wellpinit.
We arrive at the fairgrounds in Wellpinit, Spokane set up camp, then we are off to bed!
Day 10:We awake early as usual and get ready for people from the Spokane Tribes. Each one kindly introduced themselves along with the field of work they focus on. We head off into the mountains were we learn about setting up traps to see what animal they would get. They set up a trap that has a piece of paper taped to bottom which will indent and show the outline of a print when an animal steps on it. We create a trap and camouflage it next to a tree and our guide also shows us how and where they usually place a camera to monitor the animals that come.
We arrive next to a creek/river where we have lunch that is so kindly provided to us by John Matt a heritage coordinator. After a delicious meal, we learn how to shock a fish! Each person in the water has to wear knee high rubber boots or boots that so above your clothing this way the people who are shocking do not of course shock anyone else. Yet, in the end a few people did manage to get shocked or fall completely in the water. I watch as each student piles into the water, a lot of them with nets and another with a shocker (a metal object that will only give a small shock to the fish but will not kill them. As they shock the fish, they try to catch them with the net and place the fish in a bucket so we can observe. After two groups have gone, we decided its time to go and we release the fish back into the water. We head back to camp and relax.
After relaxing for an hour or so, we await the Spokane people and head to Lake Roosevelt where we are going swimming and having dinner! I am of course so excited because I absolutely love swimming. We swim for quite awhile until dinner is ready and then we say a prayer and eat. When everyone was finished eating, we all gathered around to watch the beautiful sunset and after that, we listened to the words of and elder, Bill Matt.
Another long day, we clean up Lake Roosevelt and make sure the area where we were is cleaner then what it was before and head back to the camp completely exhausted where we later have some cake and ice cream to celebrate Destiny's birthday. Then its bed time!
