Ten-Finger Exercises

Happy Canyon

Happy Canyon is a show that is performed the last night of the Pendleton Roundup depicting the history of the Umatilla River area of Oregon. This was its 90th year. The "Wild West" portion of the script was written in 1916. It is now billed as the "world's most unique Indian pageant."

The event takes place in an outdoor stadium at the back of the Pendleton Convention Center. The scenery has several levels of mountains and rocks wide enough for horses to ride up. The arena has up to six inches of sawdust, and there are tepees in the first scene. A mounted band began the program playing western and patriotic tunes. A much larger band was seated in the grandstands under cover.

After the music finished and the mounted band left the arena, an elk came in, and the narrator began to tell the story of the Indians' traditional way of life, beginning a thousand years ago. When the elk was led out, rather unwillingly last night, as he had not finished the hay, the Indians began to come in. A few at first came out of the tepees, and pheasants strutted around. Then more women and children came in. Two braves came in from a higher level carrying a deer hanging from a pole.

The narration was done from two main places, and the one at the top level of the set could only be seen when lighted. In it the chief of the Confederated Tribes welcomed the crowd, first in the native language and then in English. The tribes represented were the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla. As the history was told, hundreds of people appeared in costume on all levels of the set, some on horseback. The Cayuse became so famous as horse dealers and breeders that the word "cayuse" became associated with Indian ponies. Appaloosas, a breed developed by the Nez Perce tribes, were there too.

Then the explorers began to come; Lewis and Clark made their way through this territory. Then traders, and wagon trains. There were two conostoga wagons pulled by six oxen who stood so still you'd have thought they were posing for pictures.

The narration continued with Indians in war bonnets, and scenes of wagons of settlers surrounded, as well as the accounts of Indian villages burned and the inhabitants killed. Treaties were made and broken; Indians were herded to smaller and smaller territories. Missionaries tried to teach them to settle and farm and leave their old ways.

The set went dark, and large spot lights flooded into the audience, making it almost impossible to see the giant set change. When the lights went off, it was the western town of Pendleton with cowboys and gold miners, sheep herders and saloon girls. The serious tone was over, and the comedy began, complete with music and slapstick and ropers and riders and square dancing on horseback as history continued. There was so much going on all the time you didn't know where to look.

Near the end of the performance, an Indian in his buckskins riding a beautiful black and white horse, raced up to the top of the set holding a flag, casting a silouette on the sky behind him. The settlers down below raised a flag, and the Star Spangled Banner was sung, with fireworks gong off in the right places. (The rocket's red glare, bombs bursting in air.)

When it was over, everyone exited through the stage set saloon, which opened into the convention center for a big dance and a gambling hall. It was nearly 10, and we had a long drive ahead of us, so we came on home.

Today when I was telling someone about it, she said there has been a lot of controversy about it in the past few years; people felt it was not politically correct and were offended. Consultants had been brought in, and she didn't know if anything had been changed. She thought that nobody had liked what the consultants had suggested either, but she didn't know.

I don't know if I wasn't being sensitive, or if things have changed, or if I don't completely buy into people being offended all the time. It obviously didn't stop the Indians from participating, so I assume they weren't too offended. The originals shows did not have any of the Indian history, but that isn't a recent addition.

I know we enjoyed it, and I hope I will be able to bring my grandchildren some day. I know they would like it too.

For pictures and more information, look here.
http://www.happycanyon.com/