Johnny Rustywire: Dancing with bears and Old Man Toponotes

Old Man Toponotes would sit in this ‘84 Chevy pickup, wearing a faded brown cowboy hat that had seen more youthful days. His face weathered from the sun, he is sitting and watching a group of young men who are unloading tree branches in an area along the Uintah river in Randlett, a small Indian community named after some cavalry officer who watched over this band of Indians 160 years ago.

“Eeeehaaah!” he yells out, swinging his hat as the young boys on the threshold of manhood assemble the brush around a corral that provides shade with an opening to the East. They place two wooden logs where the singers will sit and sing.

Notched pieces of wood, two pair, two feet long are laid on the ground. These make a hollow sound when rubbed together. As time passes, some people begin to gather in the open area next to the Old Man, some walking and others parking their cars. Black hair, gray hair and children moving about find a place around the inside of the shaded corral, men on one side, women on the other.