Donald Hines Preserved Indian Lore And History

Donald M. Hines, through his dozen books about inland Northwest tribal cultures before white settlement, performed in a small way a service not unlike that of Edward S. Curtis, famous photographer of North American Indian culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Mr. Hines not only gathered early, obscure stories illuminating the ways of noncoastal Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, but he also founded Great Eagle Publishing of Issaquah to make the works publicly accessible.

"He was trying to get a lot of material from the last century before there was much white influence," said his wife of 37 years, Linda Hines of Issaquah. "A lot was fading, handwritten in pencil by a doctor named George Kuykendall and by another man, Lucullus Virgil McWhorter."

There were accounts of wars and hunting forays, and creation myths passed down orally for centuries but largely forgotten. Mr. Hines used Curtis' photographs, the rights to which he purchased, to illustrate some books.

"When we presented copies to Indians along the Columbia River, one couple said, `We didn't even know we had this literature in our past,' " Linda Hines said. "They were very excited to read it."

Mr. Hines died of cancer Tuesday (Dec. 15). He was 67.

Born in St. Paul, Minn., he grew up exploring the natural world and books. He moved with his family to Portland, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English at Lewis and Clark College in 1953. He

served in Army intelligence in Japan and then taught school in Oregon and Washington. He earned a master's degree at Reed College in 1960.

While teaching English at Yakima Valley College in the early 1960s, he attended Yakama Indian ceremonies at the invitation of a student.

"He decided to go back and get his Ph.D. in folklore and American studies," said his wife. "He went to grad school at Indiana University."

While teaching at Washington State University from 1968 to 1977, Mr. Hines searched the university's archives for information about the Yakama, Warm Springs and other tribal people. He found a dearth of information on inland cultures, and he was determined to rectify that by using scribbled notebooks from early eyewitnesses. He won a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to pursue the work.

"He was a man of strong conviction and strong opinions," said his son Warren Hines of Shreveport, La. "He took it as his Christian obligation to contribute in this way . . . and give those with little or no voice a chance to speak out about a part of history most people know nothing about."

When he taught English at a university in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, he took along boxes of research material and wrote his books.

In 1983 the family moved to Issaquah, where Mr. Hines spent summers. He moved there full time after he retired from teaching in 1990 and founded the publishing company.

"The work he did filled a specialized niche," his son said. "He made a real contribution to the corpus of American knowledge. He was a very determined person, and that determination kept him going when others might give up for lack of feedback."

Also surviving are his sons Eric Hines of Tacoma and Alan Hines of Bellevue; brother, Kenneth Hines, Fontana, Calif.; sister, June Foulkes, La Conner; and three grandchildren.

Services are at 1:30 p.m. today at Sammamish Hills Lutheran Church, 22818 S.E. Eighth St., Redmond. The public is invited; guests will receive copies of Mr. Hines' books. Titles include "The Forgotten Tribes: Oral Tales of the Teninos and Adjacent Mid-Columbia River Indian Nations" and "Ghost Voices: Yakima Indian Myths, Legends, Humor, and Hunting."

Remembrances may go to the Donald M. Hines Memorial Fund, Great Eagle Publishing, 3020 Issaquah-Pine Lake Road S.E., Suite 481, Issaquah, WA 98029. Proceeds will help provide books for schools.