By Clark Brown

My Indian Life

My name is Palladon. Palladon means warrior. I am part of the Yakama/Yakima tribe. My family and I live in the Northwest Coast Region.

This is my story…

Journal Entry #1: A day of life

As I woke up I put the grass shirts and leggings that my mom had made. My mom loved making clothes and farming. My little sister loves to help her. Sometimes I feel like my little sister is the one gets the most things in the house. My mom made always makes dyed clothes for her. SD he has the most premium clothes I’ve seen in the tribe. It was easy to make clothes because the grass was right out side and so was the river, the Columbia river. Yesterday my dad promised me that we could go hunting because there was no school. So I got my bow and Arrow, my little hunt dog, Otis, who was still a puppy but growing up, and woke up my dad. When we went out farther into the valley, we hid behind a shrub steppe watching a small rabbit skip across the valley. I slowly pulled my bow out… slow… steady.. BULLSEYE! I hit it in the leg and it toppled over. Otis went to fetch it. This would be a good meal.

Housing and Living

As for now, we live in an earth lodge. It is round and has wooden poles to hold it up. It has big fire place in the middle for cooking and keeping warm, wooden poles around the fire place, and a big hole in the middle so the smoke can flow out. It has a kind of snout in the front that you can walk through to get into. It’s almost like a igloo except it is made with wood. We put dirt and land over it to make it sturdier and that makes it partly underground to protect from harsh winds and storms. I like it because when I’m bored, I will run around in circles and feels endless.

Journal Entry #2 The Reservation

It is 1855, and our tribe leader, Tah Pa Shah, had announced that he was signing a treaty with the white men to have over 12 million acres of land. We would be there for all of eternity. It would be made up of all the tribes that were in the Yakama Nation; which was over 10 tribes. That made me feel important for a moment, looking at the ground, saying this is the Yakama Nation’s sacred land. To think that even after 150 years.

One of the Major Things to Watch Out for

Today me and my friends were walking in the valley. All of a sudden there was a loud KAAAAAAAAA! And an eagle swept down and a snake goes HISSSSS! And the snake goes up with the eagle. Next thing you know we were face to face with a mountain lion. My dad told me about how my Uncle tried to fight cougar un armed and, and well… it didn’t go well. But I was prepared. I had gotten my knife and spear before I left the house. So I took out my spear first and pointed it towards the cougar. But something wasn’t right… it seemed to be looking for something.. It was hunting! So me and my friends ran as fast as we could. Then the mountain lion jumped strait over some fireweed and alpine strawberry bushes and ran up a Cascade mountain and jumped at a mountain goat. Strike! The goat was down. Luckily we got out alive.

Getting lost

There are too many mountains where my tribe lives. About a month ago me and my dad went hunting and we went three mountains deep into the land, or I think, and we saw a duck running across the Valley. So my dad threw his spear, got it, and we turned around to walk back to the village and…Well…we got lost in the valleys. So we went up the highest mountain we could see and looked over the side. All it was was vast mountains and mountains going in every direction except you could see the sea. So we had to follow the shore down to the Columbia River where we walked followed it all the way to our village. It all took 3 days and 2 nights. We caught and killed several salmon and trout, and killed several rabbits and geese. Luckily my mom had taught me how to sew, weave, and make clothes out of grass and plants. It was a long, horrifying, challenging journey.

Journal Entry #3 The Storm

Today I me and my little sister were helping my mom plant and harvest crops when we heard shouting from the west side of the village. “STORM! STORM!” They yelled. “QUICKLLY GET INTO YOUR HOUSES! HURRY UP!” “Grab your sister!” my mom yelled to me. I looked up while grabbing my sister. The storm looked like a giant moving ball of gray cotton that had streaks of shiny blue in it because of the lightning. CRASH! BOOM! The thunder shook the whole ground. It looked like the mountains were moving the thunder was so strong. We rushed in the house my dad was in it sharpening his spear. He told us to barricade the door so we wouldn’t be harmed. We waited about 30 minutes until the storm was over. That was the worst storm we had ever experienced.

The Clean Up

When we got out of our houses, it was terrible. The crops, seeds, and dirt that we had been working on for years was washed away. Some houses had flooded. 2 people had died. Everybody in the village was helping to clean up except my sister who was playing with her buckskin doll. It was a tragic and landmark making day. The village looked destroyed except for the houses and the people. The lightning had struck the trees and burned some down. That night we had a funeral for both of the people that died. I almost cried. The next day it took the whole day to fix the ground for growing crops; and what made it harder was the fact that all the dirt had turned into mud and had hardened over night in the cold weather. It only helped a little bit that we had digging sticks.

Reflection

I hope that my tribe lives to be a legendary tribe. A tribe that is honored and respected for years to go. They say that the Yakama Tribe has been there since the beginning, and that it would be there until the end. I hope that there will be places where people can look at ancient bodies and relics. I hope that when I grow up, I will be a honorary person in the Yakama tribe history.

I think I got a B+ because I think I didn't make it a journal enough. I finished this project at the last minute. Luckily I didn't have to finish the whole project. Wo! I’m finally done.

Sources

• Ostertag, George. Yakama Indian Reservation. Boy in a traditional clothing, Yakama Indian Reservation. Web. 8 Oct. 2014. <https://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1596-669>.

• Pawnee Indian earth lodge. Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site, Republic, Kansas. Yakama Indian earth lodge - . Web. 8 Oct. 2014. <http://www.kansastravel.org/pawneeindianmuseum.htm>.

• Yakama Nation Reservation map. 2010. Yakama Nation, Toppenish, WA. Yakama Nation History. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. <http://www.yakamanation-nsn.gov/history2.php>.

• Dancing Leaf Earth Lodge in Nebraska. 2009. Reader's digest, Neibel, Nebraska. Dancing Leaf Earth Lodge in Nebraska in Off the Beaten Path. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://www.rd.com/advice/travel/dancing-leaf-earth-lodge-in-nebraska/#.>

Sources

• Cougar Cat. 98.9 the goat World Class Rock. Conservation officer explains why cougar was shot. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://989.thegoatrocks.ca/news/conservation-officer-explains-why-cougar-was-shot/>.

• Mountain Goat Animal. blogspot. mountain goat. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=mountain+goat&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=32B67B33AEB71D93E9B164C09431A8FAC5C3EC9C&selectedIndex=4>.

• Cascade Range. Wikipedia. cascade mountains - Google Search. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Range>.

Sources

• 2003 Chase Images. 2003 Chase Images. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://www.stormeffects.com/2003_chase_images.htm>.

• SW China Battles flood. 2009. China Daily. SW China Battles flood. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2009-07/14/content_8426136_4.htm>.

Sources

• http://www.yakamanation-nsn.gov/

• http://www.critfc.org/member_tribes_overview/the-confederated-tribes-and-bands-of-the-yakama-nation/• http://www.ehow.com/facts_5611094_kind-indian-tribe-live-in_.html• bigorrin.org/Yakama_Kids.htm• yakamamueseum.com/home-history.php• http://www.bhg.com/gardening/gardening-by-region/pacific-northwe

st/top-native-plants-of-the-pacific-northwest/