Wewa and the Grouse

BirdNote^®

Wewa and the Grouse 

Written by Ashley Ahearn

Ashley Ahearn: This is BirdNote.

Sage-grouse populations are declining across the West. The birds are known for their ornate displays at mating sites —  or "leks," as they’re called. 

Wilson Wewa, an elder of the Northern Paiute tribe of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, remembers the first time he saw a sage-grouse lek: 

Wilson Wewa: My grandpa and I went to get some water from the spring. And he heard … we heard that fluttering sound, kind of like a popping noise. 

[Sage grouse sounds]

And as a little boy of about five or six years old, I got scared… I didn’t know what it was. But we went through that sagebrush and then we got to a place where we had a good vantage point. And we seen the sage hens doing their dance.

Ashley Ahearn: The Northern Paiute and other tribes in sagebrush country have stories, legends and dances about the sage-grouse. The birds once numbered in the millions, before European explorers and settlers arrived and the birds’ habitat came under threat. 

Wilson Wewa: If they don't have the right kind of environment, they will disappear. What happens to them is what will happen to us as people.

Ashley Ahearn: You can hear more stories from Wilson Wewa on our new series Grouse. Subscribe to BirdNote Presents in your podcast app, or listen at BirdNote.org. I’m Ashley Ahearn.
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Sounds recorded by Ashley Ahearn
Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Editor: Ashley Ahearn
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2020 BirdNote   October 2020    Narrator: Ashley Ahearn

ID#  GRSG-07-2020-10-06    GRSG-07