Born: Makah Reservation, Neah Bay, Washington
Tribe(s): Rogue River Tututni (Siletz), Northern Cheyenne/ Arapaho/ Turtle Mountain Chippewa, Iroquois
Instrument(s): Drums
Role(s): Musician
Years active: (1962 – 2016) (member of Redbone 1969-72)
Credited with: Invented the “King Kong” drum beat
Honors and awards: “Redbone was inducted into the Native American Music Association Hall of Fame in 2008 and was part of the exhibit Up Where We Belong at the New York Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in 2013. Redbone is accredited in the Smithsonian as the first Native American rock/Cajun group to have a No.1 single in the United States and internationally” (source: History of the Native American Band Redbone).
Associated with: Redbone, Jim Pepper, Jimi Hendrix, Bobby Womack, Archie Cavanaugh
Discography with Redbone: Redbone (1970), Potlatch (1970), Message From A Drum (1971), Already Here (1972), Wovoka (1973), Come And Get Your Redbone / The Best Of Redbone (1975)
Genre(s): Rock, pop, Native, Cajun, Popular/Historic/Artist or Band with Oregon ties
Biography
“Peter DePoe (also known as Last Walking Bear) was born in Neah Bay, Washington, in 1943. His tribal descents are Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho, Chippewa, Siletz, Rogue River Tututni, and Iroquois. DePoe is also of French and German descent. He became in 1969 the drummer for the Native American rock band Redbone. He was credited with developing a style of drumming known as “King Kong”. In 1972, following the death of his father, he left the group. (More from Wikipedia)
“The band name Redbone is adapted from a Cajun term for “half-breed” and highlights the mixed ancestry of the bandmembers. Pat Vegas and Lolly Vegas are of Yaqui, Shoshone and Mexican heritage. Pete DePoe is descended from six different Indian tribes. Tony Bellamy has Yaqui and Mexican American blood.
“The music by Redbone also has a mixed ancestry; while primarily a rock band, there are R&B, Cajun, jazz, tribal and Latin influences as well. Pete DePoe is credited with pioneering the “King Kong” style of drumming, and Lolly Vegas played improvised jazz-influenced guitar; he is one of the first guitarists to use the Leslie rotating-speaker effect in his amplification set-up”.
Performances
Honor Song For Pete Depoe
Format: Live, Date: 2016, Duration: 3:40
Note: Students from the NAYA academy in Portland, Oregon sang this honor song with Pete watching. Performed by The Nephews (NAYA-PDX). “World-famous Redbone drummer returning home”
Redbone – The Witch Queen of New Orleans
Format: Live, Date: 1971, Duration: 4:50
Note: This is the only known video of Redbone performing live with Pete DePoe on the drums and should be treated as a historical document. Performed at Olympia Theater, Paris
Redbone – Prehistoric Rhythm
Format: Audio, Date: 1970, Duration: 3:59
Redbone – We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee
Format: Audio, Date: 1970, Duration: 3:32
Tutorials
How to Play the “King Kong” Groove on Drums
Format: Tutorial, Duration: 4:47
The Most Important Beat I Ever Learned
Format: Tutorial, Duration: 11:00
Tribal Information
“We the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians are the most diverse confederation of Tribes and Bands on a single reservation in the United States. Our ancestors spoke 10 completely different languages, each of which had multiple dialects. Our ancestors brought with them deep connections to more than 20 million acres of ancestral territory combined, including all of Western Oregon from the summit of the Cascade mountains to the Pacific and extending into what’s now SW Washington State and northern California. Our ancestors signed many treaties with the United States. We were promised the 1.1 million acres Siletz Reservation as our permanent home, but following massive reservation reductions Congress passed the Western Oregon Termination Act in 1954 (took effect in 1956), and our federally recognized status as a tribe was also taken. In 1977 our lobbying of Congress to repeal our Termination was successful, and we became the second formerly Terminated Tribe to regain federal recognition as a Tribe.” (Source: Tribal website)
“The Siletz Language and Traditional Arts program was established in 2003 to teach and promote use of the Siletz Athabaskan Language and Siletz Traditional Arts. The Language program offers a comprehensive array of Language materials for beginners to more advanced speakers. Siletz Dee-ni Language Volumes 1 & 2 offer a graduated approach to learning basic nouns, simple greetings and goodbyes and table talk. Volume 3 deals with verbs and verb conjugation and Athabaskan sentence structure. These Volumes of materials play on most standard computers, with the written word and the audio combined for ease of learning. Included with the audio and visual lessons are Word documents and tests that can printed for personal study and assessment. The Nuu-Wee-ya’ (Our words) Athabaskan Language Dictionary is completed and now available, along with an online “Talking Dictionary”. These resources can be found in the Member Area under “Our Language”.
“The Language Program is also being taught in the Siletz Valley School, along with community classes ongoing monthly in the Siletz, Portland, Salem and Eugene Area offices. Traditional Arts are also taught in the Area offices prior to Language classes. The classes are scheduled two months in advance and posted in the Siletz News and in Area Newsletters. We also conduct seasonal gatherings of basket materials and teach Siletz basketry, regalia making and other Siletz traditions.” (Source: Tribal website)
Tribal website:
- Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
- Ancestral lands, reservation and language group maps
- Heritage, history and culture
These videos tell the Siletz story in their own ways:
Shookum Tillicum: The Strong People of Siletz
Format: Documentary, Duration: 12:57
The People are Dancing Again: The Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon
Format: Documentary, Duration: 8:48
Alfred “Bud” Lane III, Confederated Tribes of Siltez Indians
Format: Documentary, Duration: 4:59
Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution (the Supremacy Clause)
“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”