Oregon Public Broadcasting

This week we’ve brought you two stories on the sacred tradition of Native American root gathering.

Now, for the story behind those stories. These features have been four years in the making. It took that long for correspondent Anna King to gain the trust of Umatilla tribal members.

Over those years she has been attending ceremonies as an observer. This year, Anna was invited to participate. She has this reporter’s notebook.

Correspondent Anna King snaps a quick self-portrait in her borrowed basket hat and traditional native-style dress just before a root feast ceremony near Pendleton, Oregon.

I woke up early to get to the longhouse near Pendleton, Oregon on time. I planned to spend the day root digging with the Native Americans of the Umatilla Reservation. They had different plans.

Once I walked into the longhouse, two women escorted me into the women’s bathroom. This was my first clue it was not going to be a normal day at work. There, they pulled a native-style dress over my head.

OK ... I was moving from observer to participant. Next, the spiritual leader of the reservation, Armand Minthorn, told me if I wanted to do the story on sacred roots I would have to stay for about a week. And then he added, “Of course you’ll have to have a giveaway.”

Sound: Mournful song

A giveaway is a common ceremony for Pacific Northwest Indians. When a boy catches his first salmon or kills his first deer, he gives his elders and other tribal members gifts.

It’s a way to honor the sacred food and those who have been his teachers. The same goes for girls who dig their first roots or pick their first huckleberries.

The prospect of a giveaway is daunting. What do you buy a tribal elder?

After a full day of digging roots in the mountains, I went to Fred Meyer to pick out appropriate gifts. For the elders, I finally decided upon Starbucks mugs and coffee gift cards. Everyone likes lattes right?

The next day I had my giveaway with two other women. We stood in front of dozens of people. The gifts spread out on blankets.

One of the men called up each elder by name and we gave them our gifts. I could tell some people were perplexed to see a white girl in a native dress and basket hat in the ceremony.

I asked leader Armand Minthorn why he had let me participate.

Armand Minthorn: "One of the reasons that we had you do what you did is because you have an open mind and an open heart. And you can help educate other people and let them know how we actually are. What we eat, how we believe and how we live."

I spent a total of four days with them. One was spent digging roots in the mountains.

Ambient Sound: "It’s really steep! This poor white girl is not up to the task. Anyways...."

The other three days I painstakingly peeled roots one-by-one with my fingernails. And even now, I feel like I’ve just peeled back the first layer of getting to know the native Columbia River people.