Happy Camp and Indian Village

Pendleton Round-up began as a fourth of July celebration in 1909.  Searcy’s account of the first Round-up states, “[t]here was horse racing and bucking horses…Nothing was very organized but the bruised and dust laden cowboys who limped back “uptown” from the gravel bar on the river where the events were held nourished roots that were deeply implanted in the soil of Eastern Oregon” (57). Indeed this allusion to the roots, river and soil of Easter Oregon is justified. Just as the industrial success of the town was linked to the ecology of the region, so was the development of the Round-up “homegrown”.

                  Furthermore, just as Pendleton’s industrial success with textiles was intimately linked with the town’s proximity to the Umatilla Reservation, so is the town’s cultural identity indelibly marked by the iconic image of “cowboys and Indians”. The Pendleton Round-up, an annual event which has become as synonymous with the town as the Pendleton Blanket, relies strongly upon these American West icons. From the earliest Round-up Indians have been active participants. On September 29, 1910 the first official Pendleton Round-Up began. Gilbet Minthorn of the Umatilla led a number of his people to the cottonwoods alongside the Umatilla River and set up tipis there (Rupp 4).  Indian parades and dances were held as part of the first celebration (5). In 1911, Pendleton Woolen Mills sponsored and Indian race which had a $250 prize (7). Pendleton Mills and the Bishop brothers were instrumental in encouraging Indian involvement in the early years of the Round-up.

                  Authors Ronald J. Pond and Daniel W. Hester note that “[i]n the early years, the people held on to their traditions and practiced them at the Round-up Grounds and Indian Village” (133). Such traditional practices include the construction and use of sweathouses, and large tribal dinners.  Other traditions specific to the Round-up have developed. Pond and Hester write: 1911, Pendleton Mayor Roy Raley wrote the Wild West show…called the Happy Camp Pageant…The story told…was rife with stereotypes, yet  efforts to update the show have been thwarted. The paegent in its original form is still held dear to many, giving all who participate a chance to laugh at themselves once a year. The Indian participants know their roles just like people remembered their camping places in the Indian Village,  and those roles have been passed down to the younger generations (133).

                 The Round-up is still a major event in Pendleton   

Karson, Jennifer ed., As Days Go by/ WIYÁXAYXT / WIYÁA AWN: Our History, Our Land and Our People — The Cayse, Umatilla and Walla Walla (2006)

Searcey, Mildred. Way Back When. East Oregon Publishing Co. Pendleton 1972. 203ps