Limit Mount Hood development
August 29, 2003
To the Editor: Regarding Steve Duin's column, "Where's Karl Rove when you need him?" (Aug. 10), I was introduced at the Mount Hood Summit as a Simnasho Long House leader of Warm Springs. I am not a shaman [as Duin wrote], I am a Washut leader of Simnasho, which is in the northern part of the Warm Springs reservation.
The Washut is an Indian religion that has been handed down from generation to generation since before the White Man came here.
The mountain is sacred to our people, and from the mountain comes our sacred water, from which all life comes.
The song I sang was about respecting the spirits of all creation. Everything has spirits. It is an ancient song that was sung in Warm Springs "Tiax" Indian language, that our people have used since time immemorial. Our people lived with the earth, not against it.
Mount Hood already has a lot of lights on it that warm the earth. Any further development on Mount Hood would do more damage and take more away from the earth. We need to always think of the future generation, to make sure we have something there for the children.
FRED WALLULATUM SR.
Warm Springs