Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Saturday’s Tribune.
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JACQUES SPUR — A Facebook post last year piqued my interest and led my husband and me on a Sunday afternoon jaunt to locate the gravesite of Jackson Sundown.
Jackson Sundown, or Wana’tón’cickanin’, was from the Wal’waáma Band of Nimiipuu (Nez Perce). He was the nephew of Chief Joseph. At age 14, in 1877, he rode with his uncle during battle.
I knew of the famous Sundown because of his involvement in rodeos and due to his famous ride at the Pendleton Roundup and also riding at the Border Days Rodeo in Grangeville. When I heard his gravesite was close by, just past Culdesac, I was determined to find it.
Sundown, who was called Buffalo Jackson in his early years, raised a family on the Flathead Reservation in Montana before moving to Idaho in 1910. He married Cecelia Wapsheli in Idaho, and settled down in Jacques Spur, 6 miles east of Lapwai. In both Montana and Idaho, Sundown made his living by breeding horses — and raising, breaking and selling them.
According to Mary Hawkins, Nez Perce Tribe, “In his late 40s, Sundown entered rodeos in Idaho and Canada. He became a favorite because he was tall, lean and handsome, wore his hair in braids tied under his chin, and always wore elegant, brightly colored outfits. Sundown’s riding ability was so superior that cowboys, mostly non-Indian, would not take part in contests that he entered. Eventually, rodeo managers decided to remedy this by paying him $50 a day to entertain the crowd, rather than enter the contests which he was sure to win.”
In 1915, Sundown (age 52) placed third at the Pendleton Roundup, Sundown planned to retire from the rodeo, but was persuaded to enter the 1916 Roundup by sculptor Alexander Phimester Proctor, who paid his entrance fee.
Hawkins relayed that Sundown’s ride at the 1916 Pendleton Roundup finals is legendary. At age 53, Sundown took on a fierce horse named Angel. Angel bucked so furiously that Sundown removed his hat to fan it. Spectators reported that horse and rider merged into one during that frenzied ride. According to one account, “The crowd went wild, and threatened to take down the grandstands board by board if Sundown wasn’t awarded the title he had so clearly won.” Sundown won the all-around event and entered the realm of myth for horse riders and rodeo enthusiasts alike.
Jackson Sundown died of pneumonia in 1923 at age 60. His memorial is located at Slickpoo Mission Cemetery near Jacques Spur. He was not considered an American citizen by the U.S. government at the time of his death. He was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame in 2014.
Where to visit the grave:
Sundown is buried at Slickpoo Cemetery. From Grangeville, drive on U.S. Highway 95 North toward Culdesac. It takes about an hour to get there (55 miles). Drive past Culdesac and turn left on Mission Creek Road. The entrance to the cemetery is located about 3.8 miles on the left side of the road.
— Lorie Palmer, The Clearwater Progress (Kamiah), Thursday
