Oregon Rodeo Show Says Let 'em Buck

Feb. 3, 2004 -- Rob Bell sat inside chute No. 5 atop Inside Out, a ton of snorting Brahma bull carefully chosen for his bad attitude and dislike of people generally.

Someone shouted "Let 'er buck," the slogan of the PendletonRound-Up. That's what Inside Out did, leaving the Canadian rider onthe ground.

It happens each year for four days in the second full week ofSeptember (Sept. 15-18 this year), when this friendly, normallyplacid Eastern Oregon city of 16,600 at the foot of the BlueMountains hosts more than 50,000 visitors for one of the nation'sbiggest rodeos and premiere Wild West celebrations.

But even though this year's event is eight months away, a spot-check of Pendleton motels in January found many were already bookedsolid for Round-Up week, frequently by people who made reservationsas they left last September and are drawn back year after year byfast action, splendid horses and horsemanship.

Reservation clerks said rooms sometimes open up later in theyear. Accommodations in surrounding towns such as Hermiston,Umatilla, Walla Walla, Wash. and La Grande are easier to get.

More Than a Rodeo

Last year more than 700 riders and ropers, including many of theworld's best, took part. But Round-Up is more than a rodeo. It's anattitude.

The Round-Up and the hell-roaring town that spawned it havequieted since it began in 1910.

Monk Carden, now 94, a rodeo clown at the Round-Up in the 1920sand 1930s, remembers.

"During the moonshine days during Round-Up, if they caught youwith a bottle, they couldn't put you in jail because the jails werefull," he said. "All they could do was to pour it out on theground. Word got out and that made Pendleton mighty popular.Anyway, if someone had a bottle, he probably tried to drink it allat once, so he wouldn't get caught."

Carden said he would sneak into town as a small boy on Saturdaynights just to watch the fights. It's different now. City Manager Larry Lehman says even an opencontainer downtown, where the celebration is in full tilt duringRound-Up week, is rare.

These days Pendleton is a comfortable, unpretentious, openlyfriendly, middle-class town that retains a Western flavor. Whilethe Round-Up fiercely defends its traditions and Old West flavor,it, too, has become more family friendly.

Round-Up historians recall one steer wrestler in the early dayswho bit his quarry on the lip until the critter went down,something the East Oregonian newspaper called "a mighty classyexhibition." These days veterinarians and animal rightsrepresentatives are on scene.

For years in the Let 'er Buck Room bar under a grandstand, youngladies known as "buckle-bunnies" would bare all from the waist upand then don a T-shirt that said they had done so. Authorities madethem knock that off a year or so back.

A Handed-Down Narrative

The late author Ken Kesey documented the tradition and more, inhis way, in his novel about the Round-Up, The Last Go-Round.

More than 150 teepees go up on the Round-Up grounds each year,and some families from area tribes have been coming forgenerations. More would, say Round-Up directors, but there isn'troom.

The script of the Happy Canyon Night show, a pageant depictingthe development of the West as seen by the Indians, then thesettlers, was written in 1916 and includes some turn-of-the-centurystereotypes. Yet hundreds of tribal volunteers participate in rolesthat are handed down from one generation to the next, and anarrative has been added that outlines the disease, injustices andland-grab treaties that ended the tribal ways of life.

The cowboys drawn to the Round-Up also have changed. "It's not the local guys off the local ranches any more," saidCity Manager Lehman. "That'sbeen a big change over the years."

A Draw for Professional Cowboys

Riders come in from most Western states and as far away asAustralia, paying hefty entry fees with no guarantees and a fairchance of getting injured in events such as steer-wrestling,bull-riding, bareback and saddle-bronc riding, barrel-racing,wild-cow milking, and more.

"More are professional cowboys now, and while they are here tohave a good time, because of the business they are in, they have tostay in top shape to compete," he said.

Most riders are young, and few grow old at it. Grayer heads walkthe sidelines with a limp or bent shoulder that suggests they werecaught by the odds.

The Round-Up draws top talent because it is the last rodeo on asummer tour that leads up to the championships.

Many Indians who take part in Round-Up say they see it as acultural statement, an assertion of their identity and a chance tohobnob with friends and relatives they haven't seen all year.

Some complain that the Happy Canyon script doesn't recognize thesocial and economic gains the tribes have made.

The Indian half of the popular nighttime pageant closes with thetribes, stripped of 45,000 square miles of their land, being forcedonto the reservation.

"We hope to give people the opportunity to realize who we aretoday, not who we were when the show ends," said Bobbie Conner,director of the 46,000-square-foot Tamastslikt Cultural Center thatthe tribes built on the reservation east of town.

Yet she says she has missed just one Round-Up in 48 years and isan active participant in Happy Canyon. She would, however, like tosee it rewritten. But she said the plateau tribes have found that sitting down andworking things out is better than confrontation. "Historically,the tribes were known for hospitality and hostility and were verygood at both," Conner said.

Pageant directors tried to rework the script with results nobodyliked, and went back to the original.

Organizers of the Happy Canyon pageant defend it.

"This show depicts history. It has nothing to do with thepresent day and age," said Doug Corey, a member of the HappyCanyon board of directors.

"The tribes work closely with us on the script to make changesto get it like it is today."

Tribal Pride on Display

He said of complaints about the pageant: "I don't think that'sa general feeling among the tribal members."

The Round-Up does exude a sense of tribal identity, pride, and achance to display it.

Tribal participation in Round-Up Friday's massive, non-motorizedWestward Ho parade of beautifully restored wagons and stagecoachesand other Western memorabilia is huge.

Indians who take part get a small honorarium for putting uptheir teepees, taking part in Happy Canyon or riding a horse in therodeo. But many say they come for other reasons.

"I still bring my kids (to Happy Canyon). We still ride in theshoot-'em ups," said Douglas Minthorn, a Cayuse member of theConfederated Tribes of the Umatilla.

"I pass it on to them so they will know who they are."

If You Go…

GETTING THERE: Pendleton is about a 3 1/2-hour drive east ofPortland on Interstate-84, through the Columbia River Gorge,passing points of interest including Multnomah Falls and BonnevilleDam (usually open to visitors). In January, Horizon Air was servingPendleton from Portland and Seattle.

ACCOMMODATIONS: A wide variety of the usual chains are inPendleton as are many independents. Confirm rates for Round-Up weekbefore booking. Many Round-Up fans bring campers and motor homes,and some residents rent out rooms in their homes. Private homespace is coordinated by the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce, (541)276-7411 after April 1. Some residents rent out tent space in theiryards. THE RODEO: Early phases, or "slack" rounds Tuesday throughThursday mornings are free or at most $2. Those who score highenough go on to the regular rodeo Friday and Saturday afternoons.Tickets range from $11-$18 and some of the better sections alreadyare listed as sold out. The Pendleton Bull-Riding Classic, completewith fireworks, is held separately Monday and Tuesday of Round-Upweek. Phone (541) 276-2553 or Ticketmaster for tickets. The freeRound-Up Hall of Fame under a grandstand offers a well-researchedmultimedia look at the history of the Round-Up. HAPPY CANYON: The nighttime pageant Wednesday through Saturdaydepicts the settling of the West from the Indians' and settlers'point of view. It ends with an amazing square dance — on horseback.Tickets range from $7-$13 with special prices some days for familygroups, seniors and kids. A dance and gambling hall, free with apageant ticket, follows.

PENDLETON UNDERGROUND: The tour of Pendleton'sturn-of-the-century underbelly, which was housed beneath thestreets of the older part of town, offers a look at aspects of theWild West often forgotten. Some historians are skeptical of some ofthe information passed out, but it's a lot of fun. It highlightsthe bootlegging, gambling days and the Chinese immigrants who usedto have to live there. It ends with a tour through the former CozyRooms bordello, now restored but no longer open for business assuch. Reservations recommended, especially in summer. Most tickets$5-$10. The Underground organization also operates the WorkingGirls Hotel, which really is a hotel these days. Four rooms, onesuite, no smoking, no kids. Phone (541) 276-0730. PENDLETON WOOLEN MILLS: Pendleton woolen goods, even more thanthe Round-Up, have put this city on the map. The mill gives freescheduled weekday tours, but while its famous blankets and yardgoods are still made there, much of the clothing is manufacturedelsewhere. The sales room handles an extensive line of Pendletongoods. Phone (541) 276-6911.

TAMASTSLIKT CULTURAL INSTITUTE: This 45,000-square-foot, $18million cultural center, opened in 1998, was built by the tribes totell their own story. It does that, and more, with tasteful,low-key displays of Indian arts, history, culture and legend alongwith insights as to how the white pioneers in the area actuallylived. It's worth a morning, or more, before the afternoon rodeoperformance. The gift shop offers carefully chosen items, many byregional artisans, and a cafe. Daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closedThanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. Phone (541) 966-9748. Toget there, drive 4 miles east of Pendleton on I-84 to exit 216and Oregon 131. Follow the signs for the tribe-owned WildhorseResort complex, which also includes a casino, a hotel, golf courseand RV facilities; phone (541) 276-2323.