Colville Tribe Youth Development Program shares Stick Game with Upper Valley students

LEAVENWORTH — Fourth graders of Alpine Lakes Elementary met with the Colville Tribe Youth Development Program to learn about Stick Game, its origins, and how to play on June 8.

“Stick Game is one of our traditional ancestral games that we play all up in the Northwest, so not just Washington, but Idaho, Montana, Oregon, even all the way up into Canada,” Tashina Gorr told students before playing, noting that different versions are played in other regions.

The presentation and demonstration were led by Gorr and Airion Andrews, Education Advocates for the Colville Tribe Youth Development Program. For Gorr and Andrews, the classroom visit was the first of its kind in the Upper Wenatchee Valley.

“It was awesome to be invited down,” said Gorr. “This is ancestral territory, and a lot of times public schools aren't always open to just letting us come in and teach our Tribal culture, so this is awesome.”

The upper valley is the ancestral home of the p’squosa/Wenatchi, which is one of twelve Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. As part of their lessons on Indigenous history, Alpine Lakes teacher Abde Elshafei said the visit is a way for students to learn through firsthand experience and direct connection. It also ensures that the tribes have the central voice when it comes to sharing their history and culture.

“By inviting people from Colville down here to come and teach us, we are learning directly from the people who are the holders of the knowledge,” said Elshafei. “For me, that’s the most important thing.”

Before playing, Gorr and Andrews walked students through the origins of the game, the cultural significance, and the context of the songs and game pieces. By the second game, students were fully engaged in songs, strategy, and playful competition.

“It was really fun, and something I learned was the story that they told. It was really cool,” said team captain and fourth grader Josephine Schumacher.

Throughout the Northwest, the game is often played with 11 sticks and two pairs of bones — with one plain bone and one striped bone in each. In a nutshell, the object of the game is to collect all of the sticks by correctly guessing which hand holds the plain bone. According to Gorr, Stick Game is more than just a guessing game; it is a spiritual tradition historically used as a means for peaceful conflict resolution.

“There's that stigma that Stick Game is just a gambling game,” said Gorr. “It actually kind of goes back to our creation stories and our legends. In our way, we were taught this game by the animals that were here before the people.”

Game play is accompanied by singing, drums and rattles, one of Gorr’s favorite aspects of Stick Game. According to Gorr, the music creates a sense of unity among players, helping build memories and camaraderie while adding energy and playful rivalry to the competition. While it’s typically played in two teams of three to five people, there’s no limit to how many can play, added Gorr.

“There are some games that I've seen that have 100 people on one team. They're all singing together, and you can imagine that feeling, just all the drums and the rattles in unison and singing together. It's awesome,” said Gorr.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media