We thought we knew the Oregon Trail…
Turns out, we only knew half the story.

“The settling of the West,” says Bobby Conner, “was the unsettling of the West for our people.”

In this episode of The Hidden Trails of Oregon, we’re exploring the past, present and future of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes, whose ancestral homelands stretch across Eastern Oregon.

In 1993, the 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail, tribal leadership attempted to build a center to tell the story of the trail from a Native American perspective. But they were denied funding.

So on August 12th, 1993, a wagon train celebrating the anniversary was interrupted at the reservation border by Natives on horseback. One rider was Antone Minthorn, chairman of his tribal council. He spoke in protest of the poverty and unemployment affecting his people. But also of his vision of a place for learning and research; for a different perspective on manifest destiny.

It worked. Funding was secured and soon the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute opened its doors.

We’re taking an immersive, sound-rich journey through this world-class museum. You’ll hear horses rumbling across the grassy plateau, storytellers in winter lodges, ringing bells and worshipers in song and prayer.

We’ll sit down with Bobby Conner, director of the Institute, to talk about the achievements, aspirations and concerns of her community. And we’ll explore the meaning of a phrase you’ll find emblazoned on the walls of the final exhibit:

Cháwna mun na’ámta–We will never fade.

🧭 Planning a visit?
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute is just outside Pendleton, Oregon, and trust us, it’s worth the detour. You’ll leave changed. Learn more at TravelOregon.com and Tamastslikt.org

🎧 Next up, we’re sticking around Eastern Oregon to uncover more hidden trails. So hit subscribe and follow us wherever you get your shows.

Special thanks to Bobby Conner and all the staff at Tamástslikt

Hidden Trails of Oregon is produced by ⁠Armchair Productions⁠. Jason Paton wrote and produced the episode with Aaron Millar, who also presented the show.

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Newsletter: ⁠⁠armchair-explorer.com⁠⁠

It might’ve been my first rodeo, but it won’t be my last!

“It’s part action movie, part rock show blurring into the superbowl. It feels modern, but bull riding itself goes back to the bronze age. And that’s true for rodeo contests in general: bull riding, barrel racing or wild cow milking, they’re all based on tradition, and in keeping those traditions alive.

‘Let ‘Er Buck’ makes a lot of sense from the back of a bull. But as we find out, it’s much more than a rodeo shout: it’s a way of life.”

Welcome back to Season 2 of ‘The Hidden Trails of Oregon.’ In our second episode, we’re leaping headfirst into the rodeo to end all rodeos, the 115 year-old Pendleton Roundup!

In this episode, host Aaron Millar tests his mettle on a massive mechanical hog, before climbing into the stands for a (literally) explosive ‘Xtreme Bulls’ finale. We’ll lean over the bucking chutes and get clobbered by dirt flung from bronco hooves. But the roundup isn’t all spectacle, it’s also about family and tradition. We’ll step back in time to learn about the history of the event while sipping whiskey in the notorious ‘Let ‘er Buck’ room. Stories of champions, princesses, suicide-racers and steer-wrestlers wait around every corner.

We’ll meet a generational indigenous horse relay racing team, hand them microphones, and listen in on their insane bare-back bid for victory. And through it all explore the western ties that bring all these groups to rodeo together each September.

LET ‘ER BUCK!

Remember you can see all of this yourself. Go to PendletonRoundup.com for details and take our advice: book early!

Plan your next Oregon adventure at TravelOregon.com

Thank you to all guests featured on the show: Toni Minthorn, Scott and Dylan Abramson, Pat Nogle and Butch Knowles

A special thank you to Greg and Petra for showing us such a great time, we can’t wait to come back.

This series was produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts for the travel industry. Find out more at armchair-productions.com

Brian Thacker led our pre-production, Charles Tyrie assisted on audio editing, and the episode was recorded by Jason Paton who also wrote and co-produced along with host Aaron Millar.

Thank you to our guests: Bobbie Conner, Rich Wandschneider, Jacey Sohappy, and Nancy Crenshaw

Do you want to know what it's like to stand at the feet of giants? It feels something like this...

Check out the full series, Hidden Trails of Oregon, for an immersive first-person journey across America’s wild, weird, and wonder-filled state.

Recorded on-location in surround sound audio, this documentary style podcast is designed to put you in the heart of Oregon’s most spectacular travel experiences. 

Led by expert guides and local characters, award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar will take you beyond the guidebook to reveal Oregon’s secrets and discover the places only locals know.

For more information visit traveloregon.com

Produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts of the travel industry.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jason Paton

Do you want to know what it's like to go kayaking with a whale? It feels something like this...

Check out the full series, Hidden Trails of Oregon, for an immersive first-person journey across America’s wild, weird, and wonder-filled state.

Recorded on-location in surround sound audio, this documentary style podcast is designed to put you in the heart of Oregon’s most spectacular travel experiences. 

Led by expert guides and local characters, award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar will take you beyond the guidebook to reveal Oregon’s secrets and discover the places only locals know.

For more information visit traveloregon.com

Produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts of the travel industry.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jason Paton

Do you want to know what it feels like to stand at the top of Crater Lake National Park? It feels something like this...

Check out the full series, Hidden Trails of Oregon, for an immersive first-person journey across America’s wild, weird, and wonder-filled state.

Recorded on-location in surround sound audio, this documentary style podcast is designed to put you in the heart of Oregon’s most spectacular travel experiences. 

Led by expert guides and local characters, award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar will take you beyond the guidebook to reveal Oregon’s secrets and discover the places only locals know.

For more information visit traveloregon.com

Produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts of the travel industry.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jason Paton

“You really can't help but feel it when you put in a little effort to get a little higher, to get to another vantage point. It makes you feel a sense of being placed in this time and space in a different way. That’s the sublime, a timeless element that is beyond what we can conceive. It's so important for the soul of humankind in the future of this landscape, and the future of humanity.” 

– Nathan Dwyer, Main Street Tours (from the top of Crater Lake National Park)

Join us on the Central Nature Trail for the third part of our documentary road trip, following award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar from the top of Crater Lake National Park to the Columbia River Gorge.

We begin snowshoeing to the top of Watchman Peak, for the best view over Crater Lake in the park – “like a sapphire embedded in the Earth”, as Aaron describes it. It’s exposed, it’s hair-raising and it’s worth every shaky step. After that we head to Bend, one of Oregon’s premier adventure towns, for some sunset paddling along the Deschutes River surrounded by thousands of swallows, baby Ospreys and a surprise visit from Oregon’s state animal. Then it’s time to head underground for a spine-chilling 1000-foot descent into a lava tube, formed by a “River of Fire” over 7,000 years ago. We crawl through 18-inch-wide cracks, turn off our head lamps to experience true darkness and marvel at the geologic forces that could create this uniquely beautiful landscape. We finish at the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation for some “river therapy” and a fly-fishing lesson from a native guide. We learn of conserving native first foods, experience some river therapy and Aaron catches his first fish.Through it all, we’re going to explore the wonder and awe of the natural world in all its forms, from mile-high views to quiet moments listening to birdsong on the river. We’ll discover why the natural world for Oregonians inspires more than just gasps and awe, it inspires care and stewardship of the land. It inspires the sublime and we’re going to find plenty of that.

Find out more at www.traveloregon.com 

Produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts for the travel industry www.armchair-productions.com

Is adventure about more than just wild times in the outdoors? In Oregon it is, and we’re going to find out why.

Join us on the Coastal Adventure Trail for the second part of our documentary road trip, following award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar from Florence to Port Orford and beyond. 

This episode we’re taking the Coastal Adventure Trail. We begin at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, in Florence, for a sand-boarding lesson from world champion rider Gabe Cruz. Then head south down the coast, stopping at the sleepy seaside town of Port Orford for wild beaches, windswept headlands, ocean swells and one of the greatest wildlife experiences on Earth. Continuing along the coast, we explore the secret coves of the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor – perhaps the most spectacular stretch of road in the entire Pacific Northwest – and finish in a forest of giants, fit for a fantasy book. Through it all, we’re going to discover why adventure, for Oregonians is about more than laughs and gasps, it’s about fostering a deep connection to the natural world, and in doing so, perhaps, a deeper connection to yourself too.

Find out more at www.traveloregon.com 

Produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts for the travel industry www.armchair-productions.com