Warm Springs tribal member, veteran and educator Rain Circle discussed language, cultural identity and community radio during an appearance on the One Breath Podcast that was also featured KWSO’s Our People and Mother Earth program. Circle described how he came to understand the cultural meaning behind his name after returning to Warm Springs following his military service. He later worked with the Culture and Heritage Department’s language programs.
Circle said his mother gave him the name Rain Circle after stories told by his aunt about Celilo Falls before the Columbia River was dammed in the 1950s. His aunt recalled rainbow circles appearing in the mist above the falls.
Circle has taught Kiksht to students in grades one through 12 and uses storytelling to support language revitalization. He said federal boarding school policies that restricted Indigenous languages disrupted language and cultural traditions. To connect students with the language and its history, Circle used historical materials including the Wishram Texts, recorded by linguist Edward Sapir on the Warm Springs Reservation. He has also used traditional oral histories, including stories connected to volcanic eruptions in the Cascade Range. Circle said oral histories help preserve the history and identity of the Warm Springs people and provide knowledge passed from one generation to the next.
His work with community storytelling also includes radio. In 2005, after his military service, Circle worked as an announcer at KWSO using the radio name “DJ Coyote.” Having grown up listening to community radio in Warm Springs, Circle said he understood its role in connecting residents through music, information and conversation. He recalled weekend request programs where young listeners called the station to dedicate songs.
Circle said KWSO continues to provide an important platform for Indigenous perspectives and community stories. “We’re like a bastion of Native American media,” Circle said. “Stories let us know who we want to be, who we think we are, and a standard we strive to maintain.”
