Speak/Sing Native™ Artist Archive
Pete (Last Walking Bear) DePoe
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
by Sean Aaron Cruz
Pete DePoe, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, was the original drummer of the seminal Native American band Redbone (1969-1972) and appears on five of its albums. The city of DePoe Bay, Oregon, bears his family name. His Indian name is Last Walking Bear.
Pete was also the drummer in several configurations of Jim Pepper’s bands over the years, performing at concerts and festivals, celebrations and social justice rallies from coast to coast, including “The Night of the First Americans” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Jim Pepper was the Music Director for the event.
In 2017, after living in Europe for many years, Pete returned to Oregon to live on the Siletz Reservation. He stayed in the Jim Pepper House in Portland for a week on his way to Siletz, where he had many fond memories of his old friend and bandmate. Pete returned to Portland to play drums with our tribute band, led by Gary Ogan (Cherokee), at the Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival that year.
“We also played together at the 100th anniversary of the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon in 1980. This is interesting when I think about that because I did not like that school when I attended there back in the 1950s… His legacy is amazing… I’m proud to say that I played with Jim Pepper, but more importantly, he was my friend and I loved him.”
– Pete DePoe, 2017.
“Peter DePoe (also known as Last Walking Bear) was born in Neah Bay, Washington, in 1943. His tribal descendants 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.
“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”.
Professional Information
Invented the “King Kong” drum beat.
Redbone, Jim Pepper, Jimi Hendrix, Bobby Womack, Archie Cavanaugh (partial list)
(1962 – 2016) (member of Redbone 1969-72)
Rock, pop, Native, Cajun
Musician
Drums
Video
- The Nephews (NAYA-PDX)
Honor Song for Pete Depoe - The Nephews (NAYA-PDX)
Venue: NAYA-PDX
Format: Live
Duration: 3:40
- Redbone
We Were All Wounded At Wounded Knee - Redbone
Venue:
Format: Audio
Duration: 3:32
- Redbone feat. Pete DePoe on drums
Prehistoric Rhythm and the King Kong Beat - Redbone feat. Pete DePoe on drums
Venue: Released on album titled Redbone
Format: Audio
Duration: 3:59
Tribal Information
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
also known as "Siletz"
“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)
Tribal website Ancestral lands, reservation and language group maps Heritage, history and culture
Skookum Tillicum - “This video recounts the history of the Siletz Tribe from our (the Siletz) point of view”
Language & Arts
“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))
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.”Pete Last Walking Bear DePoe on Mark Guerrero Radio 1:09:47 podcast 2020
“Mark interviews Pete DePoe, a founding member and original drummer of the legendary band Redbone. Mark and Pete talk about and play some of the Redbone recordings Pete played on, including their hit records Maggie, Witch Queen of New Orleans, and the iconic Come and Get Your Love. Pete also talks about some of his experiences with the band on the road and some of the other major artists he played with in his career.”