Attendance Down For Omak Stampede

Tue., Aug. 15, 2000

Smaller-than-usual crowds turned out for this year’s Omak Stampeded, which celebrated the return of participation by the Colville Confederated Tribes.

Only Saturday’s rodeo performance was sold out, and ticket sales at the other three performances during the event’s four-day run were below normal.

Last year, the Colvilles boycotted the Stampede, saying organizers were not giving them enough say in Okanogan County’s biggest annual event.

Because of the tribes’ boycott, the Stampede’s Indian encampment and Suicide Race were canceled last year, and the Stampede lost about $52,000.

The Suicide Race is a furious dash by riders on horseback down a steep hillside and across a river. The majority of entrants in most years have been tribal members. Animal-welfare activists criticize the race, calling it cruel.

After last year’s event, the Colvilles, Stampede organizers and the Omak City Council negotiated changes that gave the tribes a bigger role in planning.

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