We met Fred in 2013 at Tamkaliks Celebration in Wallowa (Oregon) and since then we have had several concerts together bridging music from two continents. He truly is a man with a lot of wisdom, has a great sense of humor and is a rare and important carrier and teacher of old tradition and culture of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Nation.


Frederick A.Hill Sr, born & raised on the Umatilla Reservation of East Oregon. 
Tribes like the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla were here long before there was an Oregon Trail and their lifes were never the same afterward.
 
Fred grew up with his tribal language taught to him by his grandmother and listening to coyotes tell things to come. Musically inclined as a child Fred was fortunate to have a piano in his home, and his maternal uncle was a band musician. He learned to harmonize with his voice at a young age and was in choir in school.
 
Fred gradually began sitting at the tribal drums & singing with his elder singers and they really relied on him in helping them carry old songs and not to forget them. Today, Fred teaches drumming & singing to high school age students and has three grown children and several grandchildren.