MENTOR BIOGRAPHY
 | Traditional Skill/Art: Native American Storytelling Years Won: 2026 Phone Number:(503) 806-2627 Email: ededmo4@gmail.com Website: https://ededmo.tripod.com/ |
Ed Edmo is a storyteller from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. He grew up in Celilo Falls, an ancient Native American site along the Columbia River. During the evenings in his childhood, his grandparents and parents told stories to keep the young ones entertained. Edmo has vivid memories of the sounds of crackling wood in the woodstove and of the howling wind that raged along the Gorge.
Later, as he remembered the stories he grew up with, Edmo made the decision to make a career or carrying on the tradition of storytelling. He preserves the storytelling tradition by sharing Native tales with children and adults alike. Many of his stories are of Coyote, the trickster who often outsmarts all other living beings; he also shares creation stories of the great Columbia River—how it was formed and why it sparkles. Edmo has also been a traditional sites tour guide, a consultant for the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, a poet, a short story writer, a recording artist, and a playwright. He received first place at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center for his acclaimed one-act play, “Grandma Choke Cherry.”
APPRENTICE BIOGRAPHY
 | Siale Edmo Traditional Skill/Art: Native American Storytelling Years Won: 2026 |
Siale Edmo is Ed Edmo’s eldest granddaughter. During the evenings of her childhood, she and her siblings would sit in the front room of their grandfather’s home and listen to him tell stories. These stories (which are also called legends) have lived many generations, passed down from member to member in her family. Siale has told stories at community gatherings alongside her grandfather, Ed Edmo. She also is an active member at NAYA (Native American Youth and Family Center). She looks forward to learning the 8-10 stories that are told annually in her family. Siale shares, “I need to learn these legends so that they flow off my tongue like Grandpa Ed’s. He’s been doing this for 50 years, and it’s my responsibility to carry this tradition.”
Q&A WITH THE MENTOR ARTIST
I’ve been storytelling for over 50 years. A formative teacher for my storytelling was my father Edward Edmo Sr. He worked on the railroad down by Celilo Falls and fished during the fishing season. My father taught me legends. He was enrolled in government school. He did not pass down his legends in the Shoshone language; he passed his legends onto me in English.
It’s important to pass down old traditions through story; teach lessons of life, teach children how to act, and to teach others about the world we live in. Passing down legends within the family is innate to our Native culture, it’s been happening for thousands of years. For example, Trickster legends are told during the wintertime; creation legends are shared all year round. I share stories with my family and community in “casual” situations such as in the living room or while driving the car, as well as more “formal” situations where I perform on stage in many different contexts and at many different community events.
It’s crucial to my community that elders such as myself pass on knowledge, legends, and learnings. Nowadays, it’s important to keep this tradition alive.
Excellence in storytelling is memorizing legends, engaging with the students/audience, and knowing how to read the audience (which is like a sixth sense; a great storyteller knows when to share a short jumpy story to excite an audience and when to share a long winded one to wear them out). A great teacher of storytelling is an active listener. I told my granddaughter, Siale, “I’ll teach you story word by word, but listen. Listening is important.”
I'm a published short story writer, poet, award winning playwright, performer, traditional storyteller, tour guide, lecturer on Northwest tribal culture, and I serve as a consultant to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. Since 1981, I have traveled to colleges, pre-schools, trade shows, pow-wows, and more as a Native Consultant. My travels as a storyteller have taken me as far as India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South America, and New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia.