Wetyétmes Tileylekéepit

—Swan Facing the Sunset —

July 29, 1889 - July 2, 1987

Pendleton Round-Up Chief 1936-1987
Clarence T. Burke was the eldest son of Chief Porker Jim, the first Pendleton Round-Up Chief. Chief Burke was born at Cayuse and resided near there his entire life. Following his father's death in 1936, he became the co-chief with Willie Wocatsie in 1936 and served in that capacity for 51 years.
Chief Burke was often cited as "the most photographed Indian in North America." A local tribal woman once said that the most important thing Burke taught her was to build no barriers between yourself and others. Whether serving as an ambassador of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla, or a representative of the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon, the Pendleton Woolen Mills, or the City of Pendleton, he was a popular figure wherever he traveled.
Chief Burke was inducted into the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame in 1969.
An Eastern Oregonian editorial from July, 9 1987, noted that Burke "was impressive both on the outside ad on the inside." In his obituary, the EO wrote: "Clarence Burke's death ends a chapter in Indian-White relations in this area and in the success of the Round-Up and Happy Canyon. He was a tremendous person."

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