NAFPS Forum

Lelooska, whose common name is Don Smith, was born in northern California, grandson of a fierce Apache known as He-Kill. Lelooska remembers He-Kill telling him:

"Let the hatchet be buried. But let not the Indian ways be forgotten."

"My warrior grandfather was a whittler," Lelooska once told an interviewer. "He taught me to carve as soon as I could hold a knife."

Lelooska's grandfather, He-Kill, a full-blooded Cherokee, also taught him the myths and legends of his people.

"Grandfather always told me, `Let the hatchet be buried. But let not the Indian ways be forgotten.'

It is illegal to offer or display for sale, or sell, any art or craft product in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization, resident within the United States.

I've been interested in Indians and Indian lore ever since I can remember. I think my grandfather was the start of the thing He was an Oklahoma Cherokee and very proud of it. He had done a hitch in the cavelry (Troop A, Sth Cav-) and upon his discharge went to work for the old Bill Cody Wild West -— he danced and track rode with them for several seasons, he also worked for the 014 101 Ranch show for a while. . Gramp and Will Rogers were first cousins and worked one season with the ranch show together- He loved the songs and dances and hated to see them lost and misused. I went to celebrations with him, met the wrinkled old ones who could remember the good days of the buffalo, and learned to appreciate my Indian heritege- Some where along the line I learned to use a pocket knife and soon was spending most of my time carving and painting (Indian subjects of course). In school I won some art awards and soon was doing a brisk business in carved Indian dolls and suche The house was always full of friends from the reservations, customersas well as a growing Indian collection. In 199 I left school and we moved to Hubbard and started the museum and shop; and it just grew-At first there was just the house and a converted fruit stand for a museum and craft shop- Next came the Ol' darn and after that the log house.

I have danced always- Since I was a little fellow and still do whenever we attend one of the local feasts- As my younger brothers and sisters came along they were trained to dance. At first we kept the dancing the way most Indians do, we danced with our friends at the Salmon, Root, and Huckleberry feasts learning all the while from books & actual experience. Gradually we started putting on a show once in a while for the public-My brother Dick (Thunder Eagle) became pretty expert with the hoop dance working up to l2 in all and 2 fire hoops as an encore. Then a rodeo announcer saw our group and geve us a contract for an appearance at each performance of the Oregon State Fair. The following spring we got a bid & appeared at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Well one thing led to another; We became the featured dancers at the Pendelton RoundUp, making several publicity trips East for them. Now the show includes the entire family from Little Smitty to Grandmae We do a lot of traveling to shows in the summer and quite a few lectures etc. in the winter. Patty Fawn, my sis, is a good bead worker and now a pretty good hoop dancer. With the show and museum and the craft shop we're an awful busy bunch of people. I'm just really happy over the whole thing - anyone who can make a living at the thing he likes is mighty lucky.

Our dances are mostly of Plains and Plateau. We are doing 3 Coast dances nowwith more to come- I am 2)! now-The name "Lelooska" was given to me by the Nez Perce- It means something pertaining to cutting wood with a kmife- I am one of their honorary chiefs.

Our dance group includes me, sister Patty Fawn, brother Dick (aged 16) little Smitty ( Lodge Wrecker ), my mother (Grey Dove ) — Ah heck’ you know all that. At the moment I'm doing some masks for a collector in Frisco & Pat is doing a button blanket, Mom is painting some dolls to go to Arizona ( we have a pretty fair wholesale line too).

I think the Indian hobby is the finest in the world. The Indian tradition belongs to all Americans, Indian blood or not. Preserving the crafts and lore can be a fascinating hobby or a going business at least its proved that way with me Well I hope you can raed this mess, also hope there is enough here with what you already know of us to do the job.

Editors Note; The story above is exactly the way Lelooska presented it in his letter, we didn't want to change a word bee cause it shows some of his personality.

We can add however,that Don is one of the finest, big hearted individuals that we have ever met and a truely wonderful wood carver, Anyone interested in his carvings

€ither wholesale or retail can contact him

at; Lelooska's N-W- Museum; Rt-1,Box 33, Hubbard, Oregon.

The Tsungani Totem pole, located in the entryway of the James E. Brooks Library, was carved in 1999 by Tsungani (Fearon Smith, Jr.). He served as the chief of the Wiummasgum Clan of the House of Lelooska and the House of Sewide.

The Lelooska Family began sharing educational programs in the 1960's.  In 1977, the Lelooska Foundation was organized to preserve and encourage the study of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Native Peoples of North America through sponsoring living history programs and performances and operating the Lelooska Museum.
For over 45 years the Foundation has served as an educational resource for students, parents, teachers and the general public of Southwest Washington and Oregon.

The Lelooska Family was formally adopted, named and recognized as members of the House of Sewide of the Qwe’qwa’sot’enox and Mamalequla of the Kwakwaka’wakw by hereditary Chief James Aul Sewid and given the rights to the hereditary ceremonial privileges of stories, songs, masks and dances. These names, rights and privileges have been confirmed at multiple potlatches over several decades. The family was given full rights to use this box of treasure to share these rights and privileges through the creation of art and to educate the public about these traditional songs, dances and stories. They remain committed to honoring their family and the gift that was given to them.

Lelooska, Don Morse Smith, for whom the foundation is named, was a non-Native artist who carved sculptures and totem poles, one of which is displayed at the Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand, and another at the Oregon Zoo.

Culture/People Non-Indian
Artist/Maker Don Morse Smith (Lelooska), Non-Indian/Cherokee descent, 1933-1996

Please do not promote the Lelooska Foundation. Lelooska was a fraud who appropriated Native cultures of the Pacific Northwest and they do not have any authority to teach the things they do. Look for events that are held or sponsored by actual Tribes or Tribal organizations, not entities where the guy they praise was of Cherokee descent, claimed Kwakwaka’wakw, had a Nez Perce name, spoke Chinook Jargon (a trade language of no more than 700 words), claimed to be an authority of all Indians of North America, “adopted” into multiple families, described deeply ceremonial practices that shouldn’t be shared with the public, and only has descriptions of him and his family from 20+ years ago. This all screams as suspicious for Indigenous persons.

Don Smith - or Lelooska, as he was usually called - was a prominent Native American artist and storyteller in the Pacific Northwest. Born in 1933 of “mixed blood” Cherokee heritage, he was adopted as an adult by the prestigious Kwakiutl Sewid clan and had relationships with elders from a wide range of tribal backgrounds. Initially producing curio items for sale to tourists and regalia for Oregon Indians, Lelooska emerged in the late 1950s as one of a handful of artists who proved crucial to the renaissance of Northwest Coast Indian art. He also developed into a supreme performer and educator, staging shows of dances, songs, and storytelling. During the peak years, from the 1970s to the early 1990s, the family shows with Lelooska as the centerpiece attracted as many as 30,000 people annually.