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Dave
McKinney
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
014
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
November
30,
2006
Owyhee,
NV
Great
Basin
College
•
Great
Basin
Indian
Archives
1500
College
Parkway
Elko,
Nevada
89801
hCp://www.gbcnv.edu/gbia/
775.738.8493
Produced
in
partnership
with
Barrick
Gold
of
North
America
�GBIA 014
Interviewee: Dave McKinney
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: November 30, 2006
C:
And today our guest is Dave McKinney. He presently resides in Duck Valley, which is
called Owyhee, Nevada. And Dave is going to be sharing with us his childhood, and what
he recollects of the years he has been living and residing in Nevada and northeastern
Nevada. Dave is a member of the Western Shoshone, and he will share that with you, and
other stories that he feels are important to preserve and to share with the students. And
the stories that he shares here will be recorded and shared with his grandchildren and
family members in the future. So, good morning, Dave! To our recording this morning,
and you may go ahead and begin. [1:42] E naniha nanike’here ne taikwatse. [Your
name, tell about yourself.]
M:
I’m Dave McKinney.
C:
Where were you born, Dave?
M:
At Gold Creek.
C:
And what year was that?
M:
1907.
C:
Who was your mother and father?
M:
My father was Bill McKinney, and my mother was Sadie. Sadie, I guess in Owyhee, you
know, don’t quite remember that. [2:15]
C:
What tribe were they from?
M:
The Shoshones.
C:
They’re both Shoshones?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Was there a colony or a reservation there in Gold Creek, or…?
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M:
No, they were just working over there.
C:
Oh.
M:
You know, mining, I guess. Jobs. Lots of mining over there.
C:
What kind of mineral did they mine?
M:
Gold.
C:
Gold? In Gold Creek, huh?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Was it, the mine, by the stream, or were they digging, or what were they doing?
M:
It, what do you call that?
C:
Panning?
M:
Yeah. With the Chinese. Were Chinamen over there.
C:
They were the miners, huh?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Was it a big operation?
M:
Yeah, I think so. [__Phone rings; inaudible at 3:20__] Some of them went back, some of
them died over there.
C:
Was there many Indians there that mined?
M:
Yeah. I didn’t quite remember that well, I was about four years old, I guess. Anyway. We
moved out, out of there. To Mountain City.
C:
Oh. How big of a place was Mountain City then?
M:
Well it was, kind of… Little, little more than it is now, I think.
C:
Was there any stores there in Mountain City at that time?
M:
Yeah. One of them stores. I can remember that one. Two of them, I guess.
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C:
Uh-huh. About what year was that?
M:
Well, that’s when I was about six years old, or four years, I don’t know.
C:
And so, was there a school there in Mountain City?
M:
Yeah. One. One year. Didn’t learn nothing. [Laughter]
C:
Oh. What was the name of the school?
M:
It was up that gulch. Well, what they call way up that mountain at Mountain City, east.
C:
How many students were there?
M:
I don’t know. There was me, and my sister, and Frank Keefe, someone else. About…
maybe about eight of them or so.
C:
What was the school like? Was it a big, just a big room?
M:
Yeah. Not a very big room, I guess.
C:
But it was one room?
M:
Yeah.
C:
So it was like a one-room schoolhouse?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Oh. And do you remember who the teacher was?
M:
I think it whats her name. Majorie Sherman. That his sister, what’s name? Jalbert’s
wife. One of them.
C:
Oh. What did she teach?
M:
[Laughter] Oh I don’t—couldn’t quite remember that!
C:
So how long were you there?
M:
One year. Went to school one year, then we moved to, down to Devil’s Gates Ranch. We
stayed there about three years.
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C:
Where’s Devil’s Gate?
M:
It’s on the Humboldt River. This side of Fort Halleck. There’s a ranch over there.
C:
Was it a big ranch?
M:
No. Well, it’s cattle ranch, you know. Yeah.
C:
Who owned the ranch, then, at that time?
M:
That time, I guess… I think the Clayton brothers. We stayed over there three years. Same
ranch there. Rancho Grande, that’s where we moved. We stayed in a white man’s house
first year. We stayed over there about ten years.
C:
So was that you and your family? How many brothers and sisters did you have?
M:
About four, I think.
C:
Four brothers?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Were they older than you, or younger, or…?
M:
Yeah, younger. They’re younger than me.
C:
They were younger than you?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Oh. You were the oldest.
M:
Yeah.
C:
How about, did you have any sisters?
M:
Yeah, one of them. The oldest one. Her name’s Bessie.
C:
So what’d they do?
M:
They don’t do anything, just… Just stayed over there. It was wartime, I think. What’s
the—World War I?
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C:
Oh, World War I.
M:
My mother and my grandmother working in the fields. There’s no man in that ranch.
C:
So all the men were at war.
M:
Yeah, uh-huh.
C:
How about your dad? Did he go to war?
M:
Yeah, he did go to war. No man over there. That’s because all of them went to war.
C:
So how long were you guys there? Was this that Rancho Grande?
M:
Yeah. Ten years, we were over there.
C:
Ten years. Then did the war end after that?
M:
Yeah.
C:
And did the men return?
M:
Yeah.
C:
And then what’d you guys do from there? What’d you do from there?
M:
When I grew up?
C:
Yeah, after you grew up and left Rancho Grande.
M:
I was quit school, and start trapping. Coyote. Coyote furs, worth about thirty dollars.
C:
Was there a school there in Rancho Grande?
M:
That’s the one place I ever went to school.
C:
What was that like? Was that a one-room schoolhouse, too?
M:
Yeah. One building.
C:
Who all went to school there?
M:
I guess Frank Keefe, and Joe Yates, and Ed Hammond… I guess that’s… and we, we
schooled there.
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C:
How many grades did they have?
M:
Up to eight, it went to.
C:
Up to eighth grade? Oh. Who was the teacher there at Rancho Grande?
M:
First one’s name was Jerrilene… Jerrilene Clayton, I guess.
C:
That was the first one? And then there was another teacher after that?
M:
After that, yeah.
C:
Do you remember who that was?
M:
That was one of them. Uh, let’s think… Laura Hammond was another one. That’s the
last one I went through.
C:
So after that, you started trapping, and begin to work and do your…
M:
Yeah.
C:
Were you still with your family, or—
M:
Yeah. Had me start working when I was fifteen years old. Hay field. Rake. After that, I
would work in the summertime, you know. There’s no jobs for kids, you know, at that
time.
C:
So where did you work at that time? Rancho Grande, or…?
M:
Yeah.
C:
How long did you work there?
M:
Oh, I don’t know, let’s… Worked there about three or four years, I guess. Then work at
another ranch over there. Hibben’s [11:31] Ranch. I work over there, and Chester
Lang’s. Work over there, too. Stacking hay.
C:
Did they stack the hay loose then?
M:
Yeah. You have to cut them. With a team. Mule team. Mule always run.
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C:
So did you run, did you work with horses? Was it horse rake? Was it horses that were
used?
M:
Yeah.
C:
There was no tractors then, huh?
M:
No.
C:
It was all horse?
M:
Yeah, mule. And horses too.
C:
How were the mules to work with? Were they ornery?
M:
[Laughter] Heyyah, they were mean! About noontime, they want to come home. Every
time I turn around, one come home… You can’t let them go ahead; run away. [Laughter]
They were smart! I stack hay over there, too. With the Jenkins stack, it went over there
like [pantomimes motion].
C:
What was the Jenkins like, how did that work?
M:
They got a buck rake put on top of it. She goes like that, pull them over, then pull them
up like this, and dump it. Pretty hard to stack with.
C:
Huh. How many stackers were there?
M:
About two. Two man up from that.
C:
Two stackers?
M:
How it works, two. One team just keep running around, fast. Didn’t give you a time,
sometimes.
C:
How high was the hay stacked?
M:
Oh, about, put out about sixty ton or seventy ton.
C:
Uh-huh, but how high did you stack the hay?
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M:
Oh… I don’t know, about, what, fourteen feet. Eighteen feet, sometimes.
C:
Did anybody ever fall off?
M:
Some of them get hurt. Yeah.
C:
So, do you remember… So what did, then what’d you do after that? How long did you
work there after, uh…?
M:
I think that we… Before we went there, though, we were—there was a bunch of sheep
that died over there between Deeth and that ranch. They died over there, and then whole
bunch of Indians from Deeth pulled the skins, put them in a sack, sell them. They got lots
of money, doing that.
C:
So was there a lot of sheep, over—
M:
Yeah. I don’t know why, but they had all died. We went clear back to, way up on, close
to Charleston, from Deeth. That way.
C:
So was that all open range? There was no fences, and…
M:
No, no fence.
C:
How many sheep did they run in that country?
M:
I don’t know. There was a lot of them. We look for them in a sagebrush, or the musk or
whatever you call it.
C:
Did you ever shear sheep? Were you a sheepshearer at any time?
M:
What do you mean?
C:
Cut the sheeps’ hair?
M:
Sheepshear?
C:
Sheepshear, yeah.
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M:
Yeah, one year I sheepshear for what, Fernando Bruishi, in North Fork. I sheared about
forty-five or fifty. That’s first time I shear sheep. Never tried it after that.
C:
So what was the pay, back then? Did you get paid on a daily basis, or by the hour, or how
did you get paid?
M:
By the head.
C:
Oh, by the head.
M:
Twenty cents, or fifty cents, a head.
C:
For shearing the sheep.
M:
Yeah.
C:
How about with ranch work? How much did you get paid per day for ranch work?
M:
When you worked on the ranch, you get $45. That’s the wintertime when you’re feeding.
But in the summertime, you’re haying. You get about two and a half, day.
C:
Two dollars and fifty cents a day?
M:
Yeah. Stacker get three dollars. Fifty cents more.
C:
So you worked on the ranches almost all your earlier years when you was a young man?
M:
Yeah. Then we come here to the reservation. 1927 or [19]28.
C:
You came to the Duck Valley reservation? So it was already a reservation then.
M:
Nice reservation then.
C:
How many Indian people were here then?
M:
I’d own that’s quite a few.
C:
Was there any work here at that time?
M:
Not that I know of. Only in 1932, or ’31, lot of time I worked wranglers. Then CC
[Conservation Corps], they’d pay dollar and half a day.
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C:
Dollar and a half a day?
M:
Forty-five a month.
C:
What kind of work did you do?
M:
[Laughter] We were building this road here. With pick and shovel, whole bunch of ‘em.
We get all this road cleared to Mountain City.
C:
Oh, you mean the highway that’s between Mountain City and here today.
M:
When they get machinery, then they [audio cuts out at 18:36]
C:
Uh-huh. So when you guys first built the road, what did you use besides pick and shovel?
Was it horse-drawn equipment?
M:
No, they had a Cat. Little Cat. Pull that grader. But I didn’t run that grader. But some of
them, had some white guys running it.
C:
This was part of that, the Conservation Corps?
M:
Yeah.
C:
How much did they pay then? Did you say they paid $45 a month?
M:
Yeah.
C:
How long was that available, the Conservation Corps?
M:
I don’t know! Can’t quite remember that. Then they start clearing roads. I help, all this
road here, on pick and shovel work.
C:
There was a lot of people working on that, huh?
M:
Yeah. That’s only job they got. Yeah, they was tough.
C:
How long did it take to build these roads?
M:
Part of them CC, they build it then after that. And road departments start milling with
machines.
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C:
But it was all dirt road?
M:
Yeah.
C:
So, about how old were you then?
M:
Well, not… Maybe about 25.
C:
Were you still single, or...
M:
Yeah.
C:
You were still single at that time.
M:
Yeah.
C:
So what was life like here on the reservation? Did people have houses they live in, or
they build their houses, what did they live in?
M:
You got to build your own house. Anything they could find.
C:
And that’s how they built it?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Where did they get their water?
M:
They drink out of this river.
C:
The river water?
M:
Yeah. Big well. Some of them was was drinking the canal water, any water.
C:
Where did the water come from? Was it just from the river, or was the dam built then?
M:
No, 19… when’d they build that dam? I didn’t quite remember. I work over there, but I
didn’t quite remember.
C:
What was there before the dam? Was there anything there before the dam?
M:
Yeah. There’s ranch up there.
C:
Ah. Where the dam is now.
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M:
Yeah
C:
Oh. Who owned the ranch?
M:
Forget their name now… Geez, what’s their name? Johntree’s their last name. Then…
Cuvery bought that ranch. That time, they build that.
C:
But that was all a ranch before they built the dam?
M:
Yeah. Yeah, I help on them, that surveying too.
C:
With the—
M:
Rod, mounting, chain.
C:
So you worked as a surveyor?
M:
Yeah, with a surveyor.
C:
Oh, you worked with him. So about when did you get married? Do you remember?
M:
[Laughter] You know, I don’t quite remember that! No, I don’t remember that.
C:
So what did you do after working with the roads and so forth? When did you get into
ranching?
M:
Yeah, I been working for when this road goes, when [__inaudible at 23:24__] comes in.
When road department was active, I work for that.
C:
Oh, is that the state highway?
M:
Yeah, that’s what it is now. First time they was [__inaudible at 23:41__].
C:
Oh. How long was the Conservation Corps? How long did they exist, or how long were
they here?
M:
Oh, I don’t know. About maybe ten years or fifteen years?
C:
When they phased out, was there another program that replaced them, or…?
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M:
Yeah, when they put up that dam up there, there’s lot of work here. Digging them boxes
for the turnouts. Yeah it worked like, I dunno, same model mind you.
C:
So what was that dam—what was the intent of the dam? Was that dam to provide
irrigation for the valley here, or what…?
M:
Supposedly for that, was Shoshone Dam.
C:
Were people farming then, or were they…
M:
Yeah, they start farming.
C:
What did they grow when they first started?
M:
Well, they raise hay.
C:
Raise hay?
M:
Yeah. Bundle it. That’s the way I worked in them days. Would carry them. All
throughout here. Stop at the [__inaudible at 25:06__] ranch.
C:
So was it all sagebrush and willows, or what was—
M:
Yeah, it was all willows. Has to work always, running. [__inaudible at 25:21__]. We
was going to rake them in. Jim… What’s his name? Now I forgot the name. [Laughter]
Wait until they dry, burn ‘em up. Then, see that’s the Newes. Then the contractor,
contractors, all worked all this, all this tribal land.
C:
What kind of machinery or equipment did you run?
M:
They had the Carryo. Carryo, and bulldozers.
C:
So you learned to operate the bulldozer, huh?
M:
Yeah. I learned the Carryo. I helped them spray all this canal, back to that high land.
C:
So, all this land was level then? About what year was that?
M:
Somewhere around 1960, I guess.
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C:
Did you go to the World War II, in the [19]40s?
M:
No, they didn’t take me. I’ve got a bum arm here, a broken arm. All broke. That’s why
they didn’t take me. I want to go that time. I tried it once. After that, they told me, “give
you six months.” They gave me [__inaudible at 27:26__] over six months. Because the
war keep on going, then they’ll take me. But I sure like to go over there. Can’t make it.
C:
Did many of your friends go? Or people you knew?
M:
Yeah. Two of my brothers went. Yep. A lot of them boys here.
C:
Did they make it back safely?
M:
Yeah. Most of them. Only two of them here that are killed over there. Yep, they come
back. In that war, the World War II. I don’t know about this other war. Lot of young
guys, they go in that.
C:
Where’d you meet your first wife?
M:
I don’t remember!
C:
Was she a Shoshone, too? Same tribe? Or…
M:
Yeah.
C:
Was she from this area, Duck Valley? Or where was she from?
M:
From Austin, I guess.
C:
She was from Austin?
M:
Austin somewhere. What they call that, on the other side? On the other side. What they
call that ranch? They’re from over there.
C:
Where did you meet her? Did they have gatherings like Fandangos, or get-togethers for
Indian people back then?
M:
Yeah. They had Fandango. Sometimes, they had a white dance, too.
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C:
Where was that at? Where did you meet her?
M:
Down here, down where the celebration go on.
C:
Oh, here in Duck Valley?
M:
Yeah.
C:
So what did they do during the celebrations?
M:
They play a hand game, card game, race, foot race, rodeo…
C:
Can you share with us about the hand game? How the hand game works? Or how’s that
game played?
M:
You got to have a bone, what they call it, one of them white, one of them black.
C:
Were they real bones, or what did they use?
M:
They used a willows, or them deer bone, some kind of bone. Had about twelve sticks, I
guess. When you take all them sticks, then you win.
C:
So they had, did you have two teams? Or how many teams played?
M:
Two.
C:
Two teams.
M:
So you got to get somebody over there.
C:
How did you pick your teams?
M:
You just speak it up, “Anybody want to play?” And they would stand up.
C:
And how many sets of bones did you have?
M:
That’s two and four.
C:
So there was four bones all together?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Two sets. Were they marked? The bones?
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M:
Yeah. One of them’s white one. The other one’s, with the tape, I guess. Black ones. You
got to guess them with that white one.
C:
So you guess for the white one.
M:
Yeah. That’s the way they play.
C:
So the person hides the bones?
M:
Yeah. You got to hide them bones.
C:
How do you pick who’s going to hide it?
M:
Well you’ve got to get, well, anybody wanted to.
C:
So how many people do you usually have on a team?
M:
In a match, there are about six or so. I guess, they got to give me them bones, which one
he holds. Get the right one, get sticks.
C:
How many sticks do you have, when you start out?
M:
Twelve altogether.
C:
Oh, is that twelve? So do you divide the twelve sticks between the two teams?
M:
Yeah.
C:
So does each team have six?
M:
Yeah. That’s what they used first. Now they’re using only ten. Change that.
C:
So it used to be twelve sticks altogether, guessing sticks. And each team had six.
M:
Yeah.
C:
So how did you determine who started with the bones? Who started with hiding them?
M:
Well, anybody. And the money, bet money.
C:
So what did you bet back then? Was it money, or was it other things?
M:
Yeah. Money.
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C:
How much was the pot? Did you match each side, or how did that work?
M:
Yeah. The other guys, and maybe put out fifty dollars at least, you guys call it. And that
inni mase [33:14].
C:
But it’s always even?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Each side puts up a even amount of money?
M:
Yeah, even [__inaudible at 33:22__].
C:
And then they, where did they put it?
M:
Right in that center.
C:
Right in the center, where everybody can see it?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Uh-huh. So how did you determine who was going to begin with the bones? Did you flip
a coin to decide who’s going to start with hiding or guessing first?
M:
There’s a way that they start, I think. Whoever bet first money, some them other guys
could take the bones and start.
C:
What type of songs did they sing?
M:
They had a stick, log up front, and they hit on it. Handgame song. Not the dance song.
C:
Uh-huh. So what was the reason for hitting on the stick?
M:
Make your team go, I guess. [Laughter]
C:
Do you know any of those songs?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Do you? What did they sing about? Was it about anything? Did the songs have words,
or…
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M:
Yeah, some of them have got words, some of them don’t.
C:
Did you have a favorite one?
M:
Yeah.
C:
That’s a favorite song you sung?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Is it a favorite because it helped you win, or how did it become your favorite?
M:
Yeah. Hide it, try and fool the other guys that play with you.
C:
How long did those games usually last?
M:
Sometimes, they go all day long and night. Depends on how much money you got. Yeah.
C:
So the team that starts playing and hiding the bones, they have the other team betting—or
guessing—with their sticks?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Who usually does the guessing for the other team?
M:
One of them’s special man.
C:
Do they have like a team leader?
M:
Yeah. Yep.
C:
So, do they guess one stick at a time, or two sticks at a time, or how does that work?
M:
Well, depends on how many you guess right. Maybe you guess both of them. Maybe you
lose. Maybe you never guess both of them. Then, throw, two sticks.
C:
So each time you guess, you have to give up a stick.
M:
Yeah.
C:
So these songs that you talk about, do you need a drum? Do you sing with a drum, or do
you just beat on the stick?
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M:
Nowadays, they usually got drum now. Most of them never did. Long time ago, they
never did.
C:
They just sung without a drum.
M:
Yeah. Now they use that drum. Because they’re playing that outside way, of that way in
Washington. They use drum. That’s why these people use it now.
C:
So these, so the favorite song that you have; what’s it about, your song?
M:
Not anything, it’s just, that’s the song.
C:
Can you sing part of it for us?
M:
Now, you mean?
C:
Sure.
M:
Don’t remember! [Laughter]
C:
Okay! [Laughter]
M:
[Sings; sounds like a chant. No discernible words.]
C:
Okay. So that was your favorite song when you’re doing handgame.
M:
Yeah. Yeah.
C:
Did you win a lot of money in those games over the years, when you played?
M:
Sure. And then lose sometimes. It depends—I don’t know. You know. It’s the same like
any game. Sometime you’re lucky, you win.
C:
Uh-huh. But it was fun, though, huh?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Do you remember how that game came about, or where it first began?
M:
No. They already had it when I was born. Long time ago, I guess, they use that when
they—that’s only game they played, I guess.
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C:
When people got together at gatherings?
M:
Yeah.
C:
So what else? Was there any other games besides the handgame?
M:
Card game [__inaudible at 39:15__].
C:
Card games?
M:
Yeah. I don’t know what they use before. Before they used card game.
C:
With the hand game, was it both for men and women, or did they—
M:
When they first started, the ladies one side, ladies on the other side. Just the ladies. Now
they don’t. They just mix with the womans.
C:
So when it first started, it was just women and men?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Oh. Why was that?
M:
I don’t know. Just the ladies against one another. They don’t go with mens. That’s they
way they had it when first I seen. Now us Indians mix with ladies and men.
C:
Were kids allowed to play, or was it just for adults?
M:
Nowadays, they’re using kids. Yeah.
C:
But in the old days, it was just for adults?
M:
Yeah.
C:
So when these Fandangos, when people got together, what other kind of activities did
they do? Did they dance, and—
M:
Yeah, that’s what they doing. Dance, play handgame, any kind of race, I guess, footrace.
C:
How long did they run, or how far was the footraces?
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M:
Well, some of them were here in Owyhee. There’s one man, name Race Harney, he run
long ways. Run over there at Cornwall [Pass? 41:17], what they call. He run with a
horses, saddle horse. That butte over there? You make one round. Them horsemen, you
got make two rounds.
C:
He raced a horse?
M:
Yeah.
C:
His name was Race Harney?
M:
Yeah.
C:
How did he become…?
M:
He was just born that way.
C:
He was a good runner?
M:
Good runner, yeah. Horses [__inaudible at 41:46__]. My old man was with him, and he
told us that always had it galloping fast. Because it gets slowed down, doesn’t go fast.
That’s why there’s no fence over there.
C:
So he had a race here in the valley?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Where did they start?
[Phone rings]
M:
They’d start from over there, when they had a Fourth July going over there.
C:
The Fourth July run was over…
M:
Yeah, over there in, uh, where the—what they call Honopah.
C:
Oh, over there.
M:
You know that David?
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C:
By David Premo’s house?
M:
Yeah. Right from there, out to that butte.
C:
Is that by Sheep Creek?
M:
Yeah, this side of it.
C:
This side of that.
M:
Tisi Goei. [42:33] [“Just a bare mountain,” south of Owyhee on the Sheep Creek Road]
C:
Tisi Goei, uh-huh. And so they raced to there and back?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Oh. How many times did they race? Or was that just a one time?
M:
They race on the road. Here, I guess.
C:
So who won that race?
M:
Race Harney was the best runner here.
C:
He beat the horse?
M:
Well, I don’t know. He just doggone try to beat ‘em, I guess, want to show them what he
can do.
C:
So he raced the horse.
M:
Yeah.
C:
Who was the rider? Do you remember who was the rider?
M:
Yeah, my old man was one of them. There was whole bunch of ‘em.
C:
Oh, your old man—
M:
My dad was.
C:
Uh-huh. What was his name?
M:
Bill.
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C:
Bill McKinney?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Oh. He was riding the horse?
M:
Yeah.
C:
So he raced the horse, huh? This Race Harney?
M:
Yeah, that’s what Race was doing.
C:
How old was he?
M:
I guess he was young back then.
C:
Race Harney was young?
M:
Yeah.
C:
How did he get his name Race?
M:
I don’t know.
C:
But that’s what people called him?
M:
Yep. Race Harney.
C:
Okay, Dave. To finish up on Race Harney, did you know him, or did you meet him? Or
what was he like?
M:
Yeah, I met him when he was old.
C:
Oh, when he was really old.
M:
Yeah.
C:
When he was young, in that race against the horse, was there people betting on him, or
what was…?
M:
No, I guess it was just run.
C:
It was just—
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M:
Just he want to show them what he can do.
C:
But he was a runner, huh? Did he go to other reservations and race?
M:
I don’t know. He did race with one of them over there, one of them Paiutes. They bet
money on it.
C:
Oh, they raced for money?
M:
Yeah, bet money. And that man race with him. They started from here, I guess. Where
the hospital is. The road was different then. Went to race down to the salvation yard.
They put out money, least that Paiute put out money. Shoshone. They run race. Then
Race hadn’t beat him. [__inaudible at 45:22__] Before he get down through the base, to
the salvation, he said he hurt his leg. And he sat down, halfway over there. Then the
people know he don’t win. They just, they lost money.
C:
Who was it he raced? Do you remember?
M:
They called him, Washikanpiku [45:54]. That’s his Indian name. I guess he was runner,
too.
C:
How far was that? How many miles, would you say?
M:
I don’t know how many miles from here to that. About a mile. More than a mile, I guess.
C:
Yeah. About four miles.
M:
Yeah. And he says he hurt his leg. His leg here.
C:
Who said that?
M:
That guy.
C:
Oh, the Paiute guy?
M:
Yeah. That’s what I heard. But I never did see it.
C:
Oh. So, but Race was a good runner, then.
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M:
Yeah.
C:
What are some of the other things you did in your life?
M:
Yeah, I worked for a Bureau’s first. When they come here. Cutting brush, when Tom
Premo was my boss. Canal over there. Cutting willows over there, for two and a half a
day. Then I work for road department here. Drive a truck first. First time, I was helping
surveyors. Rod, and them chains.
C:
Was that with the BIA, or who was that with?
M:
Yeah. Then, later on, I catch on and grader, run grader, blade this road here. That was a
dirt road, all this. That’s what I do.
C:
How did you learn how to run the grader?
M:
Well, on the cement grader. See, and even the BIA doesn’t let you run it, try it.
C:
Oh. So you learned on your own.
M:
[Laughter] Yeah. I just try on my own. Let you work that. And work on that dam, too. I
don’t know what year.
C:
The Wild Horse Dam?
M:
Yeah.
C:
Were you a grader operator then, or…
M:
No, with a pick and shovel. They shoot ‘em with a dynamite. You got a shovel with a
short handle, round handle. But they didn’t fit over there, they got [__inaudible at
48:38__]. Boss watching you whole time. Sixty-two and a half cents an hour, that’s what
he give you over there.
C:
That was hard work, huh?
M:
Yeah. Then I work on this diversion dam, too. That was hard work, too. Nine hours.
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C:
A day?
M:
Yeah. Run the wheelbarrow. Going with big rocks about that large. And down the engine
with that mixer. Yeah, that was hard work.
C:
So you hand-mixed the cement?
M:
No, with machine. Big one. Different sizes. Have four different size, I think. I don’t know
where they put it. Small ones. Sand. Yeah, that was hard.
C:
How many of you worked on that? Was there other people that you know of? Your
brothers, or…? Family, or…?
M:
Yeah, me and my dad, and… Allie Gilbert. Jimmy Leach, Junior. We’re the one that
finished that one. Other of ‘em couldn’t stand it, they quit. Shelly tried to get on there, he
went only half a day. He come home time for dinner. Never go back.
C:
So it was hard work.
M:
Yeah, that is. He told me his hands hurt. Yeah, that, it was hard work.
C:
Oh. So when did you get into ranching? Did you start your ranching business?
M:
Yeah, I was still working then, over here at road. Trying to run my cattle, make the
loan. Couldn’t make it. The cattle price was way low!
C:
How many cattle did you run?
M:
Well, we started out with about sixty head. Cattle price went way down then. Couldn’t
make your loan, you had to pay it. They finally settled me. Sell me out.
C:
Sell your cows out.
M:
Yeah. When I get home, try and tell me. Raymond Thacker? He got money, he say, “I
know how it is when one man trying to run ranch.” He says, “I help you.” I told him,
“Oh, I give up.” So I quit. Sell all my cattle.
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C:
Do you remember what year that was?
M:
No! [Laughter] I don’t even think about that!
C:
So how old are you today?
M:
I was younger then.
C:
No, I mean today. How old are you today?
M:
I’m 98.
C:
You’re 98 years old. Oh! When was your birthday?
M:
My birthday July 28th.
C:
Oh, so you just had a birthday this, not too long ago.
M:
Yeah.
C:
Well, you do well for 98. Okay, well, I know it’s time for you to eat, so we’d better let
you go. And I want to thank you for today.
M:
Okay.
C:
Okay.
[End of recording]
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Western Shoshone Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral histories of Western Shoshone elders collected by the Great Basin Indian Archive.
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories compiled
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Basin Indian Archive, in partnership with Barrick Gold of North America
Source
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GBIA Oral History Collections
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Great Basin Indian Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
2006-2015
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Norm Cavanaugh
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Dave McKinney
Location
The location of the interview
Duck Valley Reservation (Owyhee, NV-ID: Senior Center)
Original Format
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DVD and VOB format
Duration
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00:53:20
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/539
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Dave McKinney - Oral history (11/30/2006)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history interview with Dave McKinney, Western Shoshone from Duck Valley Reservation (Owyhee, NV-ID), on 11/30/2006
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Dave McKinney is a Western Shoshone and was born in Gold Creek, NV in 1907, and currently resides at the Duck Valley Reservation (Owyhee). His parents were Bill and Sadie McKinney. He was one of six children: 1 older sister and 4 younger brothers. He begins his oral presentation by describing how the Chinese emigrants living in Gold Creek use to pan mine gold. He also speaks about how he used to trap coyotes and sell their fur, stack hay for 2 dollars and fifty cents a day, and then how he worked for the Conservation Corps building roads. Dave also tells us about how he worked on many community projects around Duck Valley Reservation such as the Wild Horse Dam and the canal within the reservation as well as becoming a cattle rancher. He also speaks about the Fandango and the accompanying hand games and foot races – particularly about Race Harney.</p>
<a title="Video of Dave McKinney" href="https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/670542/sp/67054200/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/20370692/partner_id/670542?iframeembed=true&playerId=kaltura_player_1464993962&entry_id=0_d7f7cxa2&flashvars[streamerType]=auto">Video link [opens in separate window]</a> <br /> <a title="Dave McKinney Oral History Transcript" href="/omeka/files/original/da58f56540b1b641d9cf9e5db2c5275e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read Dave McKinney Oral History Transcript [pdf file]</a>
Creator
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Great Basin Indian Archives
Source
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Great Basin Indian Archives - GBIA 014
Publisher
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Great Basin Indian Archives
Date
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11/30/2016 [30 November 2006]; 2006 November 30
Contributor
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Norm Cavanaugh [interviewer]; James Hedrick [GBIA/VHC]; University of Utah SYLAP [streaming video]; Great Basin College; BARRICK Gold of North America
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Non-commercial scholarly and educational use only. Not to be reproduced or published without express permission. All rights reserved. Great Basin Indian Archives © 2017.
Consent form on file (administrator access only): http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/items/show/358
Language
A language of the resource
English; some Shoshoni
Community
Crossroads
Duck Valley Reservation
Fandango
GBIA
handgames
mining
Owyhee
ranching
Shoshone
Story
traditions
Wild Horse Reservoir
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/82e608e6e4d0c6b24fbc3b064675aca8.jpg
595aedfe98fb48f41fd399d4124ea587
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/90464b5a0a4119cfb22d242bdcdb1531.pdf
94d5d870c85ea5361685d4b29499fb23
PDF Text
Text
Elizabeth
Brady
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
013
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
November
29,
2006
Elko,
NV
Great
Basin
College
•
Great
Basin
Indian
Archives
1500
College
Parkway
Elko,
Nevada
89801
hCp://www.gbcnv.edu/gbia/
775.738.8493
Produced
in
partnership
with
Barrick
Gold
of
North
America
�GBIA 013
Interviewee: Elizabeth Brady
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: November 29, 2006
C:
Hello? Today we’re going to be doing an oral history interview with one of the elders
from the Elko Colony. Her name is Elizabeth Brady, and this is part of the Great Basin
Indian Archives program, which is sponsored by the Great Basin College here in Elko,
Nevada. And my name is Norm Cavanaugh. I’m the director of the Great Basin Indian
Archives program. So, welcome to the first series of the oral histories that will be
conducted as this program continues for this year. Thank you.
[Some brief interchange about setting up the recording]
C:
Okay, we’ll go ahead and start this.
EB:
All right.
C:
Okay. Welcome to the Great Basin Indian Archives oral history recordings, the first
series of oral histories that we’re going to be beginning here for the college. Our guest
here today is Elizabeth Brady, and her daughter, Leah. And Liz will be sharing with us
what her recollections are of growing up as a child, and how things used to be, and of
what her grandmothers and elders shared with her, and told her about how things used to
be in this area before the changes have come about that are in existence today. So, she
will share with us what tribe she’s from, and what band she’s from, and a little bit about
her family to begin with. And then, from there, she’ll tell us what she recalls as she grew
up as a child, and her memory recollections. Okay, Liz. Go ahead.
LB:
You can start now.
EB:
Is he running it? My name is Elizabeth Brady, and I’m a Western Shoshone from Elk
Mountain. The Tekatekka [3:17] clan. And my parents are from Austin; my dad is from
Austin. My grandparents on my dad’s side’s from Austin. And my mother is from
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Beowawe. And she belonged to the Tosawihi band. It’s where my mother was raised.
And as we were small, we moved up in Antelope Valley. And I remember, I was around
four or five years old, when I was still standing in a cradle, and my tsoo, my greatgrandmother, she was babysitting me. We lived there. I don’t think we had a house. I
think it was like a shed that we lived in. But Grandma would take care of me there, while
dad and them would run mustangs. My mother rode horses. My Aunt Ida and Uncle
Harlan, and a couple of my uncles, Walter Jackson, their names, they were from Austin
area. They run horses—mustangs there. And we had lot of horses. That was in the
evening, when the corral was full of horses, when they’d bring them in. One day, a man
came over there, a white man came over there, and we—you know, Gram and I—we
didn’t know what he was talking about. My grandmother was mad. And she was bawling
him out, in her language. I guess he was telling us that we didn’t belong there, that we
would have to move. We were on his land. That’s why Grandmother’s mad. That’s when
we found out that that place where we stayed wasn’t ours. And so we moved to town,
which is Battle Mountain. None of us know how to talk English. There was a family
name, Jim Horton, that had a store there. And they took my grandmother away from
me—my great-grandmother away from us. And she went to work for them. She never
had a name. So they gave her name, Evelyn. Years, she worked there for them. And I
remember my parents going from one ranch to another. Then my grandfather, they asked
him what his name was, and he said, “My name is Something-Something.” And the guy
said that, “You can’t have two names. We’re going to give you a name.” So they gave my
grandfather a name. Something Jackson. Then I remember we went from place to place.
We didn’t know. We thought maybe we were just helping the people, but I guess that’s
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what they were doing was helping the ranchers. So, my dad joined—well, as we were
growing up, he joined the CC. And that’s why we were going to school here and there,
we never stayed in one place. But we had hardship, too, we had to go through.
NC:
Can you remember what CC stood for?
LB:
Conservation Corps.
EB:
And that’s all I can remember about my dad. We started go through Utah—later on, I
found out we were in Utah and Idaho. I know that when we got to Idaho, that they put us
in a boarding school. But we didn’t stay at the boarding school too long. Because my
brother told my folks that we were hungry, and they got us out of there. And then, my
dad went wherever they were sent. And so, I don’t know how, whether we came back to
Battle Mountain, but, I went to live in Beowawe with my grandparents. And Grandpa
died in 1931. He died. I never knew what death was. I was younger, and my grandma was
crying. She tried to explain to me what death was. I didn’t know. But then, after that, my
parents took me and we went to Owyhee. That’s where we lived, in Owyhee, until I went
to Stewart. Went to Grandma and them, they told us that they weren’t hungry, there was
always plenty out there for them to eat. Good food. I guess it’s by seasons that they
would be in there, getting food. And I think mainly, pinenuts was their main food. But we
ate. But I could remember that, it was [skip in recording] Grandma told me. When the
first white men first came, she said how scared they were. They didn’t know where they
were. And her father went down to the river—that’s the Humboldt River—and told his
family, “If I don’t come back, you know they killed me.” So they seen their father
running off at moonlight, until they couldn’t see him anymore. And all night, they waited
and waited. It was a clear moon that night, and they heard footsteps, and it was their
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father. He said, after he got them out of the cave, he told them, “They were friendly. I
don’t think they going to hurt us. But they look like us, only they”—he picked up a white
rock, and he said, “That’s the color of their skin. That’s how their duku look,” he said,
“like that rock, white rock.” And he was telling the family what he had seen. “The men
had funny—they had hair on their face!” [Laughter] The Indians never seen the hair. And
they didn’t know what cooking pots were, and they interpreted it as something black
hanging out above their fire. Then the wagon, they went on I guess. He said that the
black snake started in a straight line. He explained to them, that was the only way he
could explain to them that it was a wagon. And, “They had a foot just like us, with a hole
at the back.” That was their wooden heel. And he said that they were making “funny
noises.” That they were pounding on something—I guess that’s their music instrument.
He said, “They won’t hurt us.” We had—Grandma had never seen them. When she said
that, she was already a young woman, that’s when the Mormons were trapping along the
Humboldt, I guess. I don’t know what year that is. But seems like they were out there,
she said, “We had plenty to eat, we didn’t know what sickness was. If we slipped on
something, we would put pitch on it so to heal it up.” She said, “We lived a wonderful
life. Soon as the white man comes,” she says, “they change our way of living.” That’s
only one that Grandma that ever told me about. About living up in the caves. I said,
“Grandma, how do you keep warm?” “Well, during the day, my dad would build fire, and
heat up the rocks. And then at night, he’d put it in like a trench, like they’d fix for them to
lay in, and he’d put branches on it. We never had no blankets. Lucky if we had a skin to
cover our bodies.” So you see, it’s, that’s—I don’t know what year that’d be. I don’t
know the year. But she said, “If we had a deer skin, we had something. But we used
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rabbit skins, mostly, to cover ourself up with.” She had rabbit blankets made of rabbit
skin. I don’t know whatever happened to them.
LB:
Did she show you how to make them?
EB:
Yeah. I remember Uncle Herman trapping the coyotes, selling them for dollar a hide.
You imagine how much money they made with that. At that time, it was a lot of money!
But we lived there. We call them tsewakkate [13:05], that’s the name of the place where
we lived. We had artesian well there. Well, it was just real nice. That’s where we lived,
until that white man told us to move off of his land.
LB:
Was that wagon Beowawe?
EB:
No, no.
LB:
Where at?
EB:
Antelope Valley.
LB:
Oh, in Antelope.
EB:
In Antelope Valley there. That’s where Grandma—on my dad’s side, that’s where they
lived.
LB:
Mary Horton. She was like 120 when she died?
EB:
Hundred and fifteen. We figured a hundred and fifteen. Battle Mountain. Figured from
the time that the Hortons picked her up, and went to work for them.
C:
And were the Hortons—
EB:
Even your granddad, your grandfathers was there, too. They lived in Battle Mountain. I
remember them. Grandfathers were really a good group. Then we went to Juniper
Basin and my grandfather was still strong. He’d get up two o’clock in the morning, have
his coffee. He would be having his coffee at two in the morning. And my dad said, “Does
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he ever sleep?” But he’d go to bed early, when he’d get through. I never knew him. I
mean, I never did know the color of people, either. We were all just kids. Because we
were raised in Battle Mountain. We played with everybody. We didn’t say, “You’re
Indian!” “You’re Mexican!” We didn’t use those words. No. There were things Grandma
told us about. She said, “The Paiute—“ My huttsi tell me that the Paiute people were the
meanest. They tortured some of our people. But I don’t want to go into that, I think it’s
just too sad. That they couldn’t get along.
C:
How big were the bands? The group of people together?
EB:
That’s all I know, is that our family was—well, we were quite large. But, there were
others, I guess. Later on, the people started coming to Battle Mountain. That’s when—
when I noticed there’s people there. But we went up in that mountains, and I don’t think
there was anybody out there but us. Probably in Austin and that area. But none in
Antelope Valley. There was just us. And it was so pretty looking over the valley. When
you get up in the morning, and you look over the valley. And here we thought it was our
land! [Laughter] And it was a white man’s land, and he told us to move off of there. My
God, Harlan was so mad, he said, “I’m going to fill up that well with rocks!” I don’t
know if he ever did or not. It was a wanakanu [16:15], just dug out like that. Like an
artesian well. It was an artesian well. But, natural. That’s what I remember. I was about
four or five years old when we moved away from there. And then we come to town. But
we weren’t treated very good, either. Our people went to work for the white man. They
feed you like dogs, outside. That’s all I could remember about it. Out there, sitting. And
we were scared. We didn’t run out and talk to a white man if they came to our house. We
went and hid. But nowadays, the kids will be the first one at the door.
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C:
When you say you moved to town, was town right here where the colony is today, or
where was it?
EB:
No colony. We just lived at the edge of town. Grandpa build a home. Like a longhouses.
Two or three families living in it. And then other people start to come. I think Willie
Joaquin and Johnny Lawson, they build their home. They had nice surrounding. Rest
of them, they build, you know, little rooms. And Jim Crum had, he had a house, and he
had a barn, and horses. That’s when we we were going to learn to fly. We got on top of
that, his barn. Because Grandma told us, “Soon, they’re going to be flying.” So Clara and
I, and a bunch of us, we said, “Let’s get on top of Jim Crum’s barn and fly.” We put our
arms out like this, and we were going to fly. And we got whipping for that, because we
didn’t mind.
LB:
That’s your cousin, Clara Woodson.
EB:
Mmhm. Clara just told me last week—last week? Couple weeks ago. She said, “Do you
remember that?” [Laughter] I said no. She said, “Do you remember that lady that flew in
here, and landed there, and we wouldn’t go to her?” I barely remembered it. But I do
remember her offering us candy. It was that Amelia Earhart? She was flying, and she
stopped in Battle Mountain. [Laughter] And she went and give us candy. After she read
about it in the book, and we were the little Indian kids that were watching her. But when
she showed us the candy, we ran to her. And Clara said, “Do you remember that?” I said,
“I barely remember it.”
LB:
Where were you born?
EB:
Here in Elko. Right where the old Senior’s Center was, the taibo center up here? Right
across from our smoke shop. That used to be an Indian colony there. First it started on
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Steniger Hill. Then they keep moving them back, moving them back. Until they got on
Walnut Street, where you live now. And then, through there. But that’s where the old
Indian camp was, up on that hill. But I don’t know—I know that Louie Tom and there
that, I remember them. I don’t know who all was up there, but we’d go and visit, and play
on that hill. There was also, back in there there was some Chinamens, too, lived there, my
dad said. Because at that time, the Chinamens did the work around here, in the mines.
C:
What kind of mines did they have back then?
EB:
Silver.
C:
Silver.
EB:
Yeah. Quicksilver, my dad used to—quicksilver in the one in Tuscarora. The other was
Midas. Midas, I think is the other one. Tuscarora and Midas. Of course, they were little
mines. Not like the big mines now. I know Dad worked in one. I guess my dad worked in
almost everything.
C:
So was there any businesses in this area at that time?
EB:
Yeah. Well, we don’t know because we’re small. But I do remember Reinhart. Reinhart
was the oldest store here. And Mayer. Mayer Hotel.
C:
And what did Reinhart’s sell?
EB:
Clothing.
C:
Clothing store?
EB:
Yeah. Yeah, Reinhart sold clothing. And who else? There was Stevens. There was
another store called Stevens. And then the Kenosha Hotel wasn’t there. Just the Mayer. I
remember the Mayer Hotel, which is now Stockman. That’s all I remember, that one big
hotel. And there was small ones, like the Overland. Overland was right across by the
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Kenosha. Right behind Henderson Bank. That used to be a hotel there. I think Henderson
Bank is the one where they always used to… But there was hardly any. Pioneer.
Pioneer’s were there a long time. I had a pictures where Pioneer has got trees all around
it.
C:
So was Pioneer always a bar, or was it a café, or a restaurant?
EB:
It was a—well, it was a café. And then later on, they put a bar to it. But it was run by a
Chinaman. Old Tom. His name was Tom, the cook. They start making it bigger and
bigger. Then Capriola’s. He’s been there a long time, too. And there was Hessen.
Hessen’s store. And it was right across from, let’s see… it’s on the same street as
Capriola’s. That next street there, at the theater. Yeah, that Hessen, it was called Hessen’s
store.
LB:
It was a hardware store.
EB:
Hardware store. Used to be a hardware store. That was all there, that I remember. And we
had old laundry, which was run by a Mexican couple. I forget the name of that. It was
right by, right alongside of Puccinelli’s, at their store here. And then the laundry was in
the back. That was there a long time, too. Puccinellis had their store a long time. But rest
of them—maybe Sam. Sam had a hotel. That was later on, though. Sam Heron. He had
that. He’s a tuutaibo guy that had a restaurant. Taxi driver. And he had that.
C:
Did the railroad run through here then?
EB:
Uh-huh. Used to run right through there.
LB:
You ride on the railroad?
EB:
[Laughter] Oh, when we’d ride in the railroad, can’t even sit in the coach side. We ride
free on the railroad. I remember from Battle Mountain to Beowawe, I go home with
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Grandma, and the conductor say, “Come on, Annie, here’s your seat!” I remember he was
calling her Annie. That’s when I found out my grandma’s name was Annie! [Laughter]
But we couldn’t sit in the coach. We had to sit with them off of the, train, what do you
call it, the…
LB:
Locomotive?
C:
The engine?
EB:
No. It’s before that, my dad said. The Indians used to sit out on the back, on the flat bed
of the train. They’d just load up on there. They didn’t have to pay anything, they just get
on and go. But Grandma rode kind of classy, like when they had trains with cabs on it.
But we’d get off, and she didn’t have to pay anything. But she always had that seat. Says,
“Annie, here’s your seat.”
C:
How old was your grandma then?
EB:
Oh, she must be in her—Grandma died when she was 88. Mom was 81. And her sister
was 11 years older.
LB:
How old were you when she died?
EB:
Who, Grandma?
LB:
No, how old were you?
EB:
Grandma died 50 years ago, when you was born. Grandma Annie.
LB:
Oh, same time as Mary? Her and Mary died the same year?
EB:
Maybe. Yeah. Yeah, you were young the year that Grandma died. You were a newborn.
LB:
Must have been in 1955.
C:
What did she die from? Old age, or…?
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EB:
No, she had pneumonia. Pneumonia, and she was transferring from Owyhee to Schurz.
That’s where they were sending the people, to Schurz. And she died in Schurz.
C:
What type of diseases were affecting Indian people back then?
EB:
Well, most of the people say the TB. But none of our people had TB. No one in Battle
Mountain. I think the only one that I know of was Frank Piffero, Jr. they sent away to a
sanatorium. But, that’s all I know. When we went to school, that was first thing. We had
to get tested for TB, and drink cod liver oil. Give to all the kids. Take us from everybody.
C:
What was the cod liver oil, what was that for? What was it supposed to do?
EB:
Vitamins, I guess. I don’t know.We just did what the white man tell us to do! [Laughter]
But we did. We’d have to drink one tablespoon. We all lined up, they would give us
tablespoon. Some would throw up, but they’d make them drink some more.
LB:
Was there smallpox?
EB:
No, I don’t think so. That’s before my time.
C:
How about polio? Was pol—
EB:
No.
C:
Not polio?
EB:
There’s hardly anybody that I know of that from Battle Mountain had polio. I don’t think
so. Of course, maybe they had it, but I don’t know. But I don’t think so. I think mostly
that… Pneumonia, I think is—the TB and pneumonia.
C:
What type of wild animals were there? Was it plenty of wild animals out here then? Like,
deer, and rabbit, and—
EB:
Oh, we had deer, rabbit… Battle Mountain had wild pigs.
C:
Really?
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EB:
They were out on 25 Ranch, out in there. We only, once in a while you see them, but
there was lot of wild pigs there. Where they come from, I don’t know. But they had wild
pigs.
C:
Did the people eat the wild pigs, or…?
EB:
Well, I think it’s a pigs that turn wild. I don’t think it’s a pigs, you know, like, way back.
But 25 Ranch had lot of wild pigs. Either they were left out there and just, got more and
more… I never seen no deer. Just rabbits. Squirrels. Well, not the kind of squirrel we
have in Owyhee. It’s called ku’umpe. I don’t know what they’d call it. What they call
that? It’s not squirrels that you see in Owyhee. They’re smaller. They’re more like a
rodent, I think.
LB:
Is it the chipmunk?
EB:
They look like chipmunk, but they’re not.
LB:
Did they have that stripe on them?
EB:
Gee, I don’t know.
LB:
They’ve got little short tail?
EB:
Yeah. Yeah, like around Battle Mountain, they’ve got a lot of those. That’s what people
catch.
LB:
That’s what Melissa says.
EB:
And they weren’t fat like the squirrels. But they were longer. But Battle Mountain had a
lot of pokottsi—you know what pokottsi is. Lizard. They had lot of lizard, Battle
Mountain. But I never did see no rattlesnakes or anything, just lizard.
LB:
What’d they eat then?
EB:
I don’t know. Mice, I guess.
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LB:
Did they really live there in Battle Mountain, or is that just where they ended up at?
EB:
Who?
LB:
The people.
EB:
I think they came there.
LB:
Because of the town?
EB:
Yeah, they come to town. I think mostly, was in Austin, I believe the people that lived in
Austin when the mines closed up, I think they came to Battle Mountain. Because that’s—
I know all the old people that’s in Battle Mountain, there’s nothing but new people now.
LB:
And they all came from the Austin area.
EB:
Yeah, Austin area and Yomba.
LB:
And it’s like Beowawe.
EB:
To Beowawe. But I think most of them have just all died off. Did that for Lois and
Murphy. But Beowawe didn’t have as many people as Battle Mountain did. And then
later on, people start to move away from Battle Mountain. Guess the only ones that’s left
is Ida and them. And their kids is still there.
C:
What type of businesses was there in Battle Mountain at that time? Or—
EB:
Mining.
C:
Mining?
EB:
Mining. Yeah, the O’Neil was the biggest. And small mines. And of course there’s
ranchers. And then the mines. Mines close down. Now Battle Mountain’s gotten big. I
don’t know nobody there no more. The oldest one died here last year, that’s hundred.
Eleanor Lemaire. She was our schoolteacher. And she was hundred.
C:
She was a school teacher in Battle Mountain?
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EB:
Mmhm.
LB:
Where’d you go to school in Battle Mountain?
EB:
Next door to the white ones. We had a school of our own. We couldn’t mix up with the
white kids. We had boundary line, like this. Like this. ‘Round this side, and all our kids
on that side.
LB:
So you had Indian school?
EB:
No. They had a public school, it was a public school, but that’s how they had restricting.
We couldn’t go to school with the other kids.
C:
Were you in the same classroom, or different buildings?
EB:
Just one big whole classroom. [Laughter] Then I remember, I was eating the rice and
milk. Every day, we eat that. Nothing else but rice and milk for lunch.
C:
What did the teachers teach?
EB:
Arithmetic it was, mostly. But we couldn’t talk Indian, when the teachers talk English.
And that Marianne Glaser, Marianne Wells, she used to deliver milk from Lincoln Ranch
every morning. She’d come on horseback with a little jug hanging. Brought some milk
for our rice. She remembers that!
C:
How many students was in the classroom?
EB:
Oh, there was lot of kids. There was, oh, Bessie and Charlie Hall’s kids, and the Woods
family, and the Williams, and the Holleys. It was a big family. I don’t know when they
start going to school with the white kids. I guess after we left. But yeah, we had a
boundary line that we couldn’t step outside. If they catch us on this side, we’d be
punished.
C:
What kind of punishment did you receive?
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EB:
Stand in the corner. [Laughter] That’s the punishment. Stand in the corner with our back
towards—facing the wall, stand there. We couldn’t sit down.
C:
How long was the class day? Or, how long was each day to go to school?
EB:
Well, we just like—we go in the morning, and play in afternoon, and go back to class,
and then come home. And later on, I remember we used to run clear down to the Indian
camp, which is a mile, to go to eat lunch. That’s when it was getting better. But before
that, that’s what they used to eat: rice and milk. With little cinnamon on it. That was the
biggest meal.
C:
When you ran to the Indian camp, what did you guys go eat?
EB:
Whatever our parents got us, we would just go eat. Bread. Just, whatever’s left over. And
we didn’t say, “We don’t want to eat it.” “I don’t like this,” we didn’t say. But we were
lucky, because my dad worked at the ranch, and he always brought home some meat for
us.
LB:
What ranch did he work at?
EB:
25. 25 Ranch, it belongs to that E. R. Marvel. And my whole family worked for them,
until my Uncle Harlan retired from sheepherding.
C:
So what kind of transportation was used back then? Was it wagons? Horses? Was there
any cars?
EB:
You know, that I can’t say, because my dad had little Model T, and Uncle Harlan had one
too. I don’t remember us riding on wagons and stuff. I don’t remember that far—but I do
remember, when we got to Owyhee, we were riding a wagon. But my dad had a car, and
Guy Manning had a car. Was the only car in Owyhee, in the old quadrant. Uncle
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Ralph’s uncle, what they call him—Tuuttsupainte [37:26]. Yeah. He had a car. My
Uncle Tracy did nothing there but go and ride it.
C:
So was there gas stations for these cars, or where did they get gas? What did they use to
run on?
EB:
Gee, I think maybe Sherman Store, they owned a store that’s there yet, still sitting
there—she might’ve had some gas. I don’t remember. But I know my dad had this Model
T, or Model A, whatever it is. But Uncle Harlan had a little better one. I think he had a
kind of closed-in one.
C:
So did you guys travel from Battle Mountain to Owyhee on the car, on the Model T?
EB:
Uh-huh.
C:
How long did it take?
EB:
[Laughter] All day! My dad took all day. It takes all day from Owyhee to Elko. And
Mom used to say, “[Shoshone at 38:38]” I don’t know how you can seem this slow!
David used to run alongside of dad’s truck! But I… I lived in Owyhee until Owyhee
changed. Now, you don’t know no one.
C:
What was in Owyhee at that time? Did they have a store, or…?
EB:
You know, I remember, when we first got there, we lived up there by Jim Anay, you
know where Jim Anay used to live. Right across from that place there, on that hill.
C:
Roshtrand.
EB:
Jack Sims, and Charles lived there, Charlie McKinney. And then he even had a little
store there. The Rowan. Pete Rowan had a store there. But, I remember when we got
there, we went to a commissary, and they were giving out ration. That old commissary
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that used to sit there in Owyhee—I don’t think you remember it either. That was before
your time, I think. But they had a little commissary.
LB:
Where was it at?
EB:
You know, up here at the agency.
LB:
In that agency area?
EB:
Yeah, in that area, uh-huh. The people all gathered there to get their ration. Wasn’t much;
give you flour, sugar. That’s what they were getting. I never knew what death was, either.
When our people pass away there. I got scared, when I see them cooking groundhog, ate
it! [Laughter] I didn’t think it was that good!
C:
That commissary, was it run by the Indian agency?
EB:
Uh-huh. That’s to give them that ration. Yep.
C:
What type of food did they give out for ration?
EB:
Mostly flour, and beans. And nothing fancy. But to them, it was, you know, good. No
meat or anything, it was just—I remember Edith saying that “Have a little beans,” you
know, and like that. She’d get some beans. Nowadays, people don’t realize what the other
people have gone through to live.
C:
Do you remember from when the war started, when America went to war in World War
I?
EB:
No.
C:
Or, World War II?
EB:
Yeah, II. Yeah, II. Now, Dad went to World War I. But they just boarded the train when
the war ended. So he never got to fight. But he was drafted. Yeah, I remember World
War II. Because it was [19]62? [19]63, huh? [19]63? Yeah. I was pregnant with Maggie
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during World War II. I was in Battle Mountain, I was that sly kind of girl, I used to have
a taipo girlfriend. She always, “Come on Liz, we’ll just go to show.” I’m always getting
bigger and bigger, and she say, “Oh, I’ll help you if something happens to you!” And we
were sitting there, and she come running out of the house. “Elizabeth, we can’t go to
show! Pearl Harbor’s been attacked!” “Where’s Pearl Harbor?” I said. [Laughter] “Oh,
you dummy!” she said. And she told us then. She said, “My brothers are going to join.”
And that’s when they start shooting on that little tsappanni, Tom Tomocho.
LB:
Oh, that lived in Battle Mountain?
EB:
Yeah. Uh-huh. They were shooting up his laundry.
LB:
He was a Japanese man.
EB:
Jackie Woods’s father.
LB:
She knows a lot of the really bad stories. [Laughter]
EB:
But that was his father. Tom Tomocho, his name. His name supposed to be Jackie
Tomocho. But anyway, they shot up his place, and poor thing, his boys went to service.
And they took him to a concentration camp someplace. And he moved, I think. That’s the
last I seen of old Tom. He was a nice old man. All the Indian ladies worked for him, in
his laundry. And he’d go, “You want to eat some lice?” [Laughter] I would see him in
Battle Mountain, and come up, and I’d see him, but a lot of the people that was there is
gone. I hope to see a little longer. Try to hit 85. But I have seen lot.
C:
How old are you now, Liz?
EB:
82.
C:
82. When is your birthday?
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EB:
October 3rd. 1923, I was born. There was twelve of us in the family, six boys and six
girls. My oldest brother was killed in a snowslide in J.P. Jones. That’s when I found out
what death was. Out of the twelve, there’s only five of us left.
C:
How old are the ones that are left? Are they older than you, or younger than you?
EB:
Younger. Alfred is same age as Maggie, 63. And how old is Geraldine?
LB:
She’s younger, isn’t she? Two years? So she’s got to be 61?
EB:
And Dolores.
LB:
I think Dolores is 61.
EB:
Leonard. I don’t know.
LB:
Leonard’s the same age as Jackie [__inaudible at 45:25__].
EB:
All of us, we’re almost the same age as Charlie Hall’s kids. My brother Leo is same age
as me. And—no. No, Ivy. And then me and Martha are day apart. I was on the 3rd, and
then she was on the 4th. I don’t know how many of them are left now. I don’t know,
maybe two girls? There were three, with Lawrence. Lawrence still alive, huh? There’s
Lawrence, and Angie, and Marjorie, and Eva Neal. I think there, yeah, there three of
them left. That was a big family.
LB:
Mom’s brothers and sisters are all two years apart. Starting from 1921, so [__inaudible at
46:31__].
C:
So, how did you learn to speak English? Or how, do you remember—
EB:
[Laughter] I went to Stewart! I went to Stewart. That matron had a stick. If she hear us
talking, wham on my head! Only thing we know how to say was “Yes,” “No,” “Yes,”
“No.”
LB:
How old were you?
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EB:
I don’t know, thirteen? Twelve, thirteen.
C:
Did you know the students that went to Stewart, or was there many—many of the
students you knew, were they Shoshone, or were they from other tribes?
EB:
There were just only two tribes—three. Washoes, Paiute, and Shoshone. Then later on, I
guess, different tribe came in. But we didn’t get along with the Paiutes. And we fought
with the Washoes.
LB:
[Laughter] You didn’t get along with anybody, it sounds like!
EB:
You see? Nowadays, nobody gets along! That’s right. And I first got with Webb. She
says, “Is this your boyfriend? Do you know this fellow?” I went to school with kids in
Stewart. That’s how I know them all. I know everybody in Nixon. I said, they were my
classmate, and we used to teach each other about Stubb Frank, who is from Schurz.
Stanton Frank was his name, but somebody called him Stubb Frank. They had all crazy
names! [Laughter]
LB:
Everybody had nicknames.
EB:
Yeah.
C:
Did they have sports back then in Stewart? Did they play football? What type of sports
did they have?
EB:
They had football. And all the Jackson boys and Murphy boys were top stars over there.
Stewart was at one time hard to beat. I remember growing up, being there, going to
University of Nevada. And you could hear plenty about what those boys were playing.
And Frank Murphy was drinking when he was playing ball. He couldn’t play unless he
drank—that’s what he says. But anyway, they were tied, they went overtime. And few
seconds left, and Frank Murphy was on one end of the—the floor? Made a basket, and
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you should hear the people roar, when he made that basket! And it was ticking. That’s
Reno. Reno always wanted to beat Stewart, but it could never beat Stewart.
LB:
What did you play when you were a little girl?
EB:
Hockey and basketball. Grass hockey, we played.
LB:
What was that like?
EB:
Hurt if you get hit with it. You get hit on the leg. I got scarred up from hockey, when
those disk would hit you. You couldn’t go on ice! [Laughter] It was grass. Sherman
played the grass hockey.
C:
Was there any other games you played?
EB:
Yeah, basketball game. Baseball. Well, everything, I guess.
LB:
How about the Indian kids? Did they play different games?
EB:
No, they didn’t have no Indian games. It was already whiteman games that they know.
But back in Oklahoma, they still play Indian games, huh? We seen that when we went to
the reunion. So, they played.
LB:
You never played shinny?
EB:
Mm-mm.
LB:
You never saw them play shinny?
EB:
Mm-mm.
LB:
How about the men? Did they play any games?
EB:
I don’t know.
LB:
You don’t recall seeing any of them?
EB:
Mm-mm.
LB:
When the people got together, what did they do? Because you guys lived by yourselves.
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EB:
We never went anywhere. Our parents went, and we stayed home.
LB:
Oh. Where did they go?
EB:
To a Fandango.
LB:
Where?
EB:
Around different places in Nevada.
LB:
Was it always the same places?
EB:
Mm-mm.
LB:
Different places?
EB:
They’d have one at Ruby Valley… In fact, my dad used to say that they would ride miles
to go to Fandango, on horseback. But we never got to see that.
C:
What was the Fandango about? What did they do at the Fandangos?
EB:
They eat and dance. I don’t know why—why is it called “Fandango?”
LB:
Why is it called Fandango? It was a nayada.
EB:
They did their handgame, at night they dance.
LB:
What was the nayada?
C:
Nayaha? Nayahuu?
EB:
Naaiyawi?
C:
Naaiyawi is hand games.
EB:
Naaiyawi is hand game.
LB:
No, it’s not hand game—
EB:
Nataya’a.
LB:
Nataya’a.
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EB:
Oh, the nataya’a dances. We did that a lot, where somebody would start that—if they
want to start a dance, they would get up and start the dance. Nataya’a, they’d call it,
when everybody gets into a circle. And dances nataya’a.
LB:
And why did they do that?
EB:
Just to start dancing.
LB:
Just to start dancing? That’s why they have the dances?
EB:
Mm-hm. But just anyone could go, and—I seen them doing the Bear Dance. And… that’s
about all I guess I’ve seen, is the Bear Dance. But we never got to go to big doings.
That’s all I could remember.
C:
Okay, Liz. We have about four or five minutes left. If you were to tell your
grandchildren—your grandchildren that maybe are here, or still to come—what would
you say to them about yourself? What would you want them to remember about you?
EB:
I have tapes. [Laughter] I have tapes that my grandchildren have. Got stories. And we
sing a lot, too. We sing.
C:
What kind of songs do you sing?
EB:
Round dance songs. And night songs, and nursery rhymes.
LB:
How did you learn to sing?
C:
I hear it from my dad, and my grandfather. I could hear somebody singing, and I could
pick up that song—as long as you know what they’re singing about, you could pick it up.
But if you don’t know, like, the language—if you don’t know what they’re saying,
because they hi-yi-yi-ya. [Laughter] But Shoshones, they’ve got words. So you know. I
used to even sing in Paiute when I was going to school down in Stewart. I learned that
�GBIA
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Paiute songs. We used to challenge the Paiute kids to sing. We’d out-sing them, Theresa
and I.
LB:
Theresa who?
EB:
Theresa Jackson. Theresa Thomas.
LB:
Theresa Thomas?
EB:
That’s part of his foot clan. That was your mother’s sister’s daughter, huh?
C:
Yeah, Theresa.
EB:
Patsy and their mother.
LB:
I just wanted you to tell the tape that.
EB:
Oh, yeah. Her and I were the best friends. We would be in trouble in school together.
We’d run away together. That part, I don’t want to tell! [Laughter] Just, get our matrons
mad. We’d leave the building, stand around the corner, and peek at her. See which
direction she’s going to look for us. [Laughter] Harriet Packer was our matron. Yeah.
C:
Was this in Stewart?
EB:
Yeah.
C:
How did you guys get to Stewart? Did you ride on the train, or what was…?
EB:
No, big bus came and pick us up. And I forged my dad’s name on my application, and I
went. [Laughter] My dad didn’t want me to go to Stewart, because he said, “That’s no
place to go at.” He had gone there, and he ran away from there. And Theresa and I went
to Stewart. Yeah, wasn’t bad, I guess, after you get to thinking about it, like. We just, just
like daredevils, we always would cause something.
C:
Was Reno close by to Stewart then?
EB:
Huh?
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C:
How big was Reno at that time?
EB:
Oh, the university was open already. University of Nevada. Because that’s where we used
to go and play. But they used to, all different schools used to come to Stewart and play.
The boys would go out and play schools. But I didn’t go there when Earl Dunn and them
were going to school there. That’s when your dad was there. He was a top player.
C:
Okay, we got about a minute left. If there’s anything that, Leah, you would like to add to
the interview for today…
LB:
I don’t know. [Laughter] I was just going to say that, she sings a lot of songs. And she
learned because her dad would have them sing every night. And they all had to sing a
song before they could leave the table.
EB:
Oh, yeah. If we’re good, Dad would give us candy. And we’d do the dishes early, and
then we’d all get to bed while he sing. Half of us would be asleep, and my dad would still
be singing. And I’m listening, so I want to learn his songs. And I got to learn his songs.
The boys didn’t care to learn the songs.
LB:
But we’ve been recording a lot of what she’s been doing, I guess. She’s been spending
time with me, and my job, which is a lot of traveling. So she goes with me, and stays with
me on the road. And so as we’re going along, I’m having her taped, and singing. I’ve
learned that she has so many songs that I haven’t even heard them all. She’d come up
with a new one that I have no clue. And I just learned it from her. I’m a visual person,
I’ve got to see it or write it before I can learn it. Whereas, she can hear something. And
she can pick it up real easy. And she does that with other people’s songs.
EB:
I even know how explore [__inaudible at 59:00__]. I know those, but we can’t record
those.
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C:
Yeah.
LB:
So she knows a lot, and she can identify whose song something is. Just like when I keep
entering what I keep entering, when he’s singing, she knows—
EB:
You heard him singing?
C:
Uh-huh. Yeah.
EB:
I had to correct him. I have to correct him sometimes. And he’s pretty good. Sometimes,
he get on the phone. He’s singing over the phone. [Laughter]
LB:
But she’s got a lot of songs, and so I’ve been helping her record on tape. You know, at
home. I have a tape recorder. Just telling stories about things, because she’s told you very
little today. She’s got so much more to share. And so I told her if she gets it down on
tape, that we’ll always have that memory that’s she’s had. She’s got a lot of stories that
she tells. She looks at pictures, and she could tell you all about a person—who their
family is, where they came from, where they were living when she was younger. And
she’s got all that information just stored up there. So, my mother is here now. Because
sometimes when people—because she’s on enrollment, too. So she has to go through,
and, we can sit there with the Census, and she’ll look at the Census and I’ll tell her, I’ll
read it because now her eyesight’s getting worse. But she’ll be able to tell me all about
their family, who they are.
EB:
Well, I know their Indian names, too. Because a lot of them in Owyhee, they got Indian
names. I know it once I hear that name. But I couldn’t spell it out. [Laughter] I couldn’t
spell it out. But I know them.
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LB:
So that’s what we’ve been doing to help. And hopefully, we’ll keep track of all these
tapes that she’s got, because she has a bad habit of putting stuff in places we can’t find it,
so…
EB:
[Laughter] Yeah, we’re going to head for Phoenix tomorrow. So we’ll probably sing all
the way.
C:
Well, our tape’s out, so we’re out, so… Okay. Well, we probably wore you out.
LB:
Today’s her good day.
EB:
Huh?
LB:
Today’s our good day.
C:
Yeah, [Shoshone at 1:01:18]. Send one down here.
LB:
I wish we could have done the old people long time ago.
C:
Oh, I know! There was nobody doing it. We were all saying that we were going to do it.
When I was in high school, I wanted to do it, and I didn’t. And now, the old people are
gone.
LB:
I know, and that’s what’s real sad. Because we’ve lost so many, just in the last twenty
years. I just… there were people we’ve lost that had so much knowledge. And we’ve
been doing a lot of writing down, and documenting, and stuff. Trying to keep record of
everything.
C:
Yep. That’s what’s—
EB:
I never thought I’d live to see my great-great-grandmother, Meredith Adam, you know,
writing anything that she told us. But my tsoo’s mother, I seen her. She was in her second
childhood. Old Maggie used to put diapers on her. Little old lady. And when Tsoo got
sick, she told me, “[Shoshone at 1:02:35]”—
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[End of recording]
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Western Shoshone Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral histories of Western Shoshone elders collected by the Great Basin Indian Archive.
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories compiled
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Basin Indian Archive, in partnership with Barrick Gold of North America
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
GBIA Oral History Collections
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Great Basin Indian Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
2006-2015
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Norm Cavanaugh
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Elizabeth "Liz" Brady
Location
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Elko, NV (GBC - TV Station)
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
DVD and VOB format
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
01:02:40
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/536
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Elizabeth "Liz" Brady - Oral history (11/29/2006)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history interview with Elizabeth "Liz" Brady, Western Shoshone from Elko, NV on 11/29/2006
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Elizabeth “Liz” Brady was born in Elko, NV between the Elko Smoke Shop and I-80 where the old Elko Senior Citizens Center was located. Her father’s name was Sontag Jackson whose grandparents were from the Austin area and were part of the Dubba Diccada. Her mother was Mary Horton who belonged to the Dosa Wihi near Battle Mountain, NV. Liz talks about how she grew up around ranches while her father ran mustangs. She speaks about her experience going to Battle Mountain for grammar school, and her experience at Stewart Indian School where she was punished for speaking her language. She also speaks about how her grandfather partook in contact with the emigrants and their wagons. She also speaks about growing up in tzsogogotti (Antelope Valley) and how her family was ran out of the area. She also tells the audience about the history of Elko including the start-up of a lot of the old businesses including who ran them. She also speaks about living on the outskirts of Battle Mountain and the diseases impacting the Shoshone there.</p>
Video pending <br /> <a title="Elizabeth 'Liz' Brady Oral History Transcript" href="/omeka/files/original/90464b5a0a4119cfb22d242bdcdb1531.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read Elizabeth 'Liz' Brady Oral History Transcript [pdf file]</a>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Basin Indian Archives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Great Basin Indian Archives - GBIA 013
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Great Basin Indian Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
11/29/2006 [29 November 2006]; 2006 November 29
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Norm Cavanaugh [interviewer]; James Hedrick [GBIA/VHC]; University of Utah SYLAP [streaming video]; Great Basin College; BARRICK Gold of North America
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Non-commercial scholarly and educational use only. Not to be reproduced or published without express permission. All rights reserved. Great Basin Indian Archives © 2017.
Consent form on file (administrator access only): http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/items/show/356
Language
A language of the resource
English
Battle Mountain
Community
Conservation Corps
contact
Crossroads
Elko
Fandango
GBIA
mining
Owyhee
ranching
Shoshone
Stewart Indian School
Story
traditions
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/8b1f8a097978173250dffe209b684207.jpg
4061193ce63d255638b775acac7a2467
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/62878a2916b44d8491051b5f182dd73c.pdf
38bad93ea073bf2c1c5718514f120955
PDF Text
Text
Doris
Allison
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
049
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
April
22,
2016
Duckwater,
NV
Great
Basin
College
•
Great
Basin
Indian
Archives
1500
College
Parkway
Elko,
Nevada
89801
hCp://www.gbcnv.edu/gbia/
775.738.8493
Produced
in
partnership
with
Barrick
Gold
of
North
America
�GBIA 049
Interviewee: Doris Allison
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: April 22, 2016
A:
My name is Doris Millett Allison. I was born in Austin, Nevada. But basically, I lived in
Round Mountain, Nevada, where I grew up until I was eight years old—when we moved
to Duckwater. My family originally are from the, what they call the Ete Pah Newene [Hot
Water People/Shoshones] in Smoky Valley. That’s my grandfather’s birthplace. His land.
And on my maternal side, my grandparents were Mamie and Bill Birchum. They’re from
the Mahakua, they’re Mahakuatekka’a [Mahakua-eaters]. And my huttsi, my father’s
mother, is a Yampatekka’a [Wild Carrot-Eaters]. She’s from Yomba. Years ago, when
she was a little girl, she always said that the government were picking their little kids, and
they picked up her sister, and she never knew what became of her. I don’t know why; she
didn’t know why they were doing this. But I suppose it’s because they were—the
government were intending to educate, civilize, Christianize young Indian people. And
that went on here in Duckwater, also. After the reservation was established, 1940, we
moved here from Round Mountain. My dad had a good job in the Round Mountain
mines. He was a miner. He gave that up, and we moved here, supposedly to become
ranchers and farmers. And my—we left my great-great-grandfather, John Sunday. He
told my people that he was not leaving his homeland. That he was going to stay there.
And a week before we moved, he passed away. And his grave is the only grave that is
marked right now, today. He said he was not moving away from his homeland, because
that’s where his family were. And we moved. We moved here, where there was nothing. I
know for a fact my grandparents, my kunu and my huttsi, my dad, my mother, grieved for
their country. We were not really “homeless.” “Landless.” My grandfather and my dad
had a mine, which they worked. They had a ranch, which we called the Apple Ranch. We
�
GBIA
049;
Allison;
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had a home there on the ranch in Smoky Valley. Then they were—they supported
themselves by doing—hauling wood, and working in the mines. But we had to leave.
And we moved here to Duckwater. There was nothing here for us. We lived in a
makeshift tent. We had no drinking water, except the water that flowed. There was no
jobs. Eventually, the government came in and built homes, later. And we became
ranchers and farmers. They had a program where they gave each family members ten
head of cattle, and then—they were called “repays”: at the end of the year, they would
give back to the Repay Program one or two calves, so that some other family on another
reservation could start their cattle herd. That was our life in Duckwater. Then as the years
went by, we grew up and moved away. When my dad was killed in an automobile
accident when I was thirteen, we moved away. We moved to Austin, where we lived with
our grandparents. Our maternal grandparents. And we attended the school there. I quit
school when I was fourteen, because there’s no way that my mother could take care of all
of us. So I added on to the income by working. I worked, seeing those jobs for people as
a young adult. When I was eighteen, I came to Duckwater to visit my grandparents, and I
met my husband. He had a ranch—the ranch that we still live on now. He had a few head
of cattle. And my life as a mother started then. I’ve worked so hard all my life. Then,
after I raised my children—I had seven children—then both of us worked. We had to
support our children, help put them through school. And then, after they left, we were
foster parents for a long time. We had five foster children; not all at once, but as time
went on, we had one or two. Then, after they were grown up, after my last child left
home, I went back to school. I went back to—I attended White Pine High School. Got my
diploma there. Then, my husband allowed me to go to Great Basin for two semesters. I
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left him here. I thank him for that. Then, after I received my education, I became tribal
judge. And I attended the judicial college in Reno for three years. Then my youngest
daughter was killed in a car crash. We took her two younger children into our home and
raised them. They’re still here. And my granddaughter has a little girl. And she comes
and helps me a lot on weekends. But my granddaughter helps different—they call on her
to help them when they need help in daycare, or help them cook, or whatever. She’s
available to help around the reservation. And my grandson is a full-time student at Great
Basin. Years ago, when we were living in Smoky Valley, I remember they—Newene
used to get together, and they congregated at a ranch down on the valley. Newene all got
together, and they played handgames, and played cards, and us kids played together. And
they had a dinner that the ladies prepared. We did that every Sunday. We all got together
every Sunday, and visited with one another. And that way, we still communicated with
each other to see if anyone needed any help, or if they needed any assistance with
anything. I remember them coming to my kunu’s ranch, and helping. He had a big
bunkhouse where the people passing through would stop there and help him. Also at our
home in Round Mountain, where they had a big bunkhouse. We were never allowed to go
in there. But they had a woodcutting business, where they needed all these extra hands.
And then he paid them, and whenever they needed money, they would come and help. I
was told that my kunu was the first Indian to ever have a brand-new car. And people kind
of looked up to him, because he was kind of a—sort of like a leader. My kunu was a halfbreed. He had a white father, which he—because of that, he rejected that part of his life,
his family. And he rejected the English language. And he was instrumental in acquiring
these ranches. In fact, I have a picture. I have a picture of the times when they were
�
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049;
Allison;
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4
negotiating with the government. 1942, they had series of meetings in different places,
and they didn’t want to leave Smoky Valley, but they were told that the Smoky Valley
didn’t have enough water, and they couldn’t raise crops there, it wasn’t feasible for cattle.
And so, they were told they should go down to Beatty. They wanted all the Indians to go
down to Beatty. And they said no, they didn’t want to go to Beatty. But Duckwater at that
time was bankrupt to the bank, and it was purchased to become a reservation. That’s how
we arrived here. And on my grandfather’s side, on Bill Birchum’s side, Bill and Mamie,
my grandparents have lot of relatives all over. And my toko was a constable for the town
of Austin, where he was appointed to be overseeing the Native Americans there, the
Shoshone people. And he broke horses for the cavalry. But when I was growing up in
Austin, I used to see horses there. He had a corral, and he used to ride horses. I guess he
was still breaking horses at that time. And he was, he made rawhide ropes. He was
always making ropes. From morning ‘til night, he was up there with his rawhide. And my
grandma worked for people who were—throughout the town. When they work for
people, they don’t really work from eight to five. They work when they get home, too:
they bring their clothes home and mend it, or patch it, whatever. So, they’re constantly
work. And I don’t know how much they were paid, but I think they should’ve been paid
more for overtime. Because my grandmother was always darning socks, and sewing for
people, even after—at night. But she never said—she never complained about anything. I
liked to talk to the old people. I was always talking to the old people. I used to visit with
Harlan Jackson a lot. He was my huttsi’s family. He said that Newene really don’t
realize, nor do they appreciate, being who they are: Newene. He said he felt that came
from the taipos. That we really didn’t live up to our full potential. And we should. He
�GBIA
049;
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5
said we should. We should respect ourselves more. Because we’re God’s chosen people.
“Aishen [Shoshone at 19:15],” he said. Respect yourselves more, respect who you are,
and respect around you—whatever, probably environment. And he said that’s—he feels
that we have lost our battle. We have given up. And he said, “[Shoshone at 19:59]”
There’s so much advice out there. Now the young people have lost that. And it’s sad to
see that. A lot of them have rejected our—their Native background. Then, who are they? I
think it’s good to have an education. I think it’s good to be assimilated into this society. I
think it’s good to be your own self, too. Be proud of who you are. And we’ve lost that.
We’ve lost the old people who used to advise. I remember my toko. When you did
something, he looked at you: that was enough. He didn’t have to say anything. I grew up
in their home. I saw how they treated people. He had an old Model T Ford that we used
to drive down to Battle Mountain, and stay with his relatives. Go down to Battle
Mountain and stay with his relatives, and they talk way into the night. Tell stories, and—
so, I’m related to almost everybody in Battle Mountain. And he, the last words he said to
me was that not to forget what he had told me. He said, “We’re related to the Hall family,
up in Owyhee and Idaho.” He said, [22:22] “Kai sekke noose watsi. Aisen nanewene.”
And he said, “Kai naneweni nasuwatsih. Kai Newene sunni naat,” he said. And he said,
“You should be happy, whatever you do. You should be happy with—“[Shoshone at
22:50],” he said. “[Shoshone at 22:52],” he said, “[Shoshone at 23:02]” The humanness
in our Newe culture should be revived. That was their way of life. There was no material
things. We work so hard for material things, and it’s nothing. Because we worked so hard
to be human beings. And when we do these things now, it’s really basically for monetary
purposes, or for show.
�GBIA
049;
Allison;
Page
6
[Break in recording]
In conclusion with the latter part of my life, in addition to my getting an education,
raising my family, and becoming a foster parent, and getting involved with Tribal
programs, politics, I wished I had the foresight to see the problems as they had existed at
that time. And been more involved. I think that life is interesting. I think that life has to
be lived to its fullest. And that we have a world of gems, which are our children, our
families, and with the experiences that the Native American people—Native American
Shoshones—have experienced, is important to our well-being. Now that I have been
involved in all these things, I appreciate my Newe culture. I appreciate all my Newe
relatives. And also, I’m thankful that I was able to gain an education, and to learn the
non-Indian culture, and all that it had to offer. We live in this society, and this is now the
dominant society. But we should always remain who we are, and be true to our Newe
selves. I would like the young people to be more receptive to our Indian inheritance. I
would like the young Indian people to be proud of who they are, yet embrace the nonIndian culture. I want them to be in a society where they are educated in both cultures.
With that, I would like to thank everyone who made my life complete.
[End of recording]
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Western Shoshone Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral histories of Western Shoshone elders collected by the Great Basin Indian Archive.
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories compiled
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Basin Indian Archive, in partnership with Barrick Gold of North America
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
GBIA Oral History Collections
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Great Basin Indian Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
2006-2015
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Norm Cavanaugh
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Doris Allison
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
00:27:25
Location
The location of the interview
Duckwater Reservation (Allison residence)
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/525
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
DVD, MP4, and AVI Format
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Doris Millet Allison - Oral history (04/22/2016)
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Doris Millet Allison was born in Austin, NV and moved to Round Mountain, NV then eventually moved to Duckwater Reservation, NV when she was 8 years old. Her grandfather originated from Maahadaquada Ghana (Smoky Valley, NV) and her grandmother’s family was part of the Yomba dicca (Yomba reservation). She reminisces about her childhood and how the U.S. government used to come and take the Shoshone children including her sister which she never heard from again. She illuminates the history of her family and the events therein. She also speaks about her education from White Pine high school up to the judicial college in Reno, NV. Doris also speaks about how the Duckwater Reservation came into being with the 1942 Indian Reservation Act. She ends by saying, “We live in this society, a dominant society, but we should remember who we are (as Shoshone).”</p>
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JltMPUwZXuU" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Interviewed by Norm Cavanaugh</p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Basin Indian Archives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Great Basin Indian Archives - GBIA 049
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Great Basin Indian Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
04/22/2016 [22 April, 2016]; 2016 April 22
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Norm Cavanaugh [interviewer]; James Hedrick [VHC/GBIA]; Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]; University of Utah SYLAP [streaming video]; Great Basin College; BARRICK Gold of North America
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Non-commercial scholarly and educational use only. Not to be reproduced or published without express permission. All rights reserved. Great Basin Indian Archives © 2017.
Consent form on file (administrator access only): http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/items/show/344
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history interview with Doris Millet Allison, Western Shoshone from Duckwater reservation, NV on 04/22/2016
Language
A language of the resource
English; some Shoshoni
Community
Crossroads
Duckwater Reservation
GBIA
Indian Reorganization Act
mining
ranching
Shoshone
Smoky Valley
Story
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/cfb325c495befb9c286c9bb6d4fbbbb1.jpg
b5172b065d913d26a5c308458c3e0682
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/e8ebf1d5446494096e2c2d8373561fca.pdf
df462d9036f6bf23e974cf3a4a8ea012
PDF Text
Text
Johnny
Bobb
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
042
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
September
20,
2014
Yomba,
NV
Great
Basin
College
•
Great
Basin
Indian
Archives
1500
College
Parkway
Elko,
Nevada
89801
hDp://www.gbcnv.edu/gbia/
775.738.8493
Produced
in
partnership
with
Barrick
Gold
of
North
America
�GBIA 042
Interviewee: Johnny Bobb
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: September 20, 2014
B:
Hello. My name is Johnny Bobb, and I came from Yomba Indian reservation. I was born
and raised up the valley, south of Austin, Nevada. I was raised with my grandma,
grandpa. Everybody else out there worked hard for their living. Aishe wookkah po’i
[1:08]. From there, when I was growing up, I had a hard life. Because most of the time, I
didn’t have—parents didn’t have food. Because they couldn’t get to town sometimes, it
was hard to get to town. It was so isolated that town was too far for us to travel every
month. But we did it somehow. Because I don’t really remember, because I don’t really
travel with them to town because it was too far. So me and Grandma, and my sisters or
brothers, we stayed home, played, went up in the mountains. But I think the most
important thing was that we had to know the reason why we were brought up that way.
Because it was a hard life, and hard lecture from our parents, grandparents, to see—we
were to be safe. And get fed. That was the first thing that our parents always thought
about: us being fed, us being healthy, get the right kind of food in our system, so we
could grow up to be strong. My uncle—they came from different area. Most of the people
that came to Yomba, it wasn’t a reservation then. It was something where the BIA had us
put there to open up a reservation. Most of my people came from Smoky Valley, Monitor
Valley, Little Antelope Valley. And then, from there, you see Duckwater, and Ely, and
then wherever else. But for the wintertime, we always go down towards Yucca Mountain.
And that’s where, up in the mountains, they have caves. They have places for our people
to gather. They have places there for kids to run around, to be a man, and pick medicines
for the elders, and pick medicine to learn what it does when you use it in ceremonies. All
these thing about the medicine: we took care of it, with our prayers. We used the water;
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water was important. There was lots of water then. Now, there’s no water. Now, to come
to this place, people on the reservation—just drying up. Up in the mountains, mountains
are drying up. They’re not dying, they’re not dead. Because you don’t really use that dead
and dry it, dead this and dead that. We use it to, when we pass on or something. But you
know, when we look at the trees and everything else, we just dry up. But we use that for
good purposes: to make fire, chips, or use it for gardening. Or something like that. But in
our way, we have forgotten our languages, too. We’re not the ones that, out in Yomba,
know that things are going wrong for the people to know that everything is drying up. So
we keep trying to teach our kids, trying to let them know what’s happening. Nowadays,
more ceremonies we do, the more people we get, the more word we get out with our
prayers to look around and see what we’re talking about, for the kids to recognize
ourselves—themselves—to know what’s going on on this Mother Earth, and see things.
Right now, today, see clouds. It’s about wintertime. That winter is pretty—I think it’s
going to be long winter, but we’ll get that winter. Hopefully we’ll have good weather and
good rain. But this life goes on. You know, life goes on forever. Things that the Indians
used long time ago, we were studied by the white people. So, they learned from us. They
studied our medicine, they studied our ways, they studied our languages, they studied our
body, they studied our ways of standing on this Mother Earth. How we stand, how we use
our languages, what we use our languages for. How do we pray? They have that
knowledge now to go out and take a look at us in that way. The health clinic, you know?
They still experimenting on us. Nevada Test Site down there, and Mercury, down toward
that way. They’re still studying on us. We’re the pygmies of their country. We still stand
on our 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. When that Ruby Valley treaty was signed, it was for
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Peace and Friendship. And the white people came from California and back and forth to
Colorado, wherever they take that gold. They travel that route, northern route, over here
in Nevada. And what the Indian did was, they just took and slaughtered this wagon
train—for what? Not the gold. Maybe the scalp. They like scalp, they like wagon, they
like horses. Maybe that’s all they took. And left the gold somewhere. And then white
people come back and take the gold and carried on, with guns. But we never did care for
gold. It was part of our ceremonies, it was part of our ceremonies that we use with our
sick people and everything else that depend on us with our prayers.
[Break in recording at 8:16]
B:
So, to continuing on this film, telling people that, guess what? The Shoshone National
Council is still around. We want the council to continuing with our traditional people. But
the people have to be coming from different reservations, and different areas, tribes, and
different places like cities where Shoshones are at. Got to be Shoshone traditional person
to recognize our traditional ways through our own government, where we be of our own
government. We are all taking stand, and learn, and talk about our traditional ways, and
what’s happening on this Mother Earth, and what’s happening on our reservation and our
treaty land, and our Sokopia. [Shoshone at 9:16] to leave it alone [Shoshone at 9:50]
Geneva [Shoshone at 11:23] treaty [Shoshone at 11:27] do the studying. When they
studying, [Shoshone at 12:00] guinea pig [Shoshone at 12:34].
You know, where this water that comes from this cloud up here to water the plants and
the animals, and to drink—for the mountains to drink, and everything is good. But water
keep pumping up from the ground for the wells to benefit them there, their part. And their
mining. They using lot of water! This water is for the Mother Earth. It stays. [__inaudible
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at 13:29__]. Everything should be—shouldn’t be looking dry, like this tree right here.
Through winter, it should be protected from that water, should be to protect it from this
Mother Earth being damp. Everything. You know, back east, there’s lots of water over
there, so that’s why it still stays free. But they have lots of water. And the flood is going
on? That’s good. But there was a reason for that. People better look at Mother Earth and
how it rotates, how it moves, how the water works. Water’s the very important life of the
Mother Earth. Take that time to think, you Indians! Take that time to think about our
language, how it is spoke. Not how it is pronounced. Because sometimes, we send our
kids to school, they come back not knowing our grammar. Not knowing our way, how we
speak. It’s their way, of how white people want to interpret our language, how they want
to use our language, how they want to use and understand our ways. Because that’s how
we went to school, learning the ABC and the vowels and all that. So, something’s got to
be done. Something’s got to be standing with us kids. This life is short. This life don’t
continue. [Shoshone at 15:13] Everything’s a story. The music’s a story. Everything is
prayer. Everything is taking care of this, our Mother. Everything is taking care of her
ways, because Appe, everything is taking care of our grandma. Everything is taking care
of our elders. So, that’s all I have to say right now. There’s lot more to say, but to
understand our way, you know, keep on praying. Keep on using our language, knowing
our ways. But there’s lot of people that—kids—that forgotten our ways, that’s already
grown up. To take care of all that, we got to stick together and do more ceremonies, and
get together, know one another. And Grandma always say, “We’re all related one way or
another.” So take care of yourself, and be happy, and know what’s out there. Because we,
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the Newe people, we should know each other. We shouldn’t be far apart. Take care of
yourself. Ho’. Aishen kwai tsaa. Suntahaiken.
[End of recording]
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Western Shoshone Oral Histories
Subject
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Oral histories of Western Shoshone elders collected by the Great Basin Indian Archive.
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories compiled
Creator
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Great Basin Indian Archive, in partnership with Barrick Gold of North America
Source
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GBIA Oral History Collections
Publisher
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Great Basin Indian Archive
Contributor
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2006-2015
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
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James Hedrick
Interviewee
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Johnny Bobb
Location
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Yomba, NV [Yomba reservation]
Transcription
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http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/503
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DVD, MP4, and AVI Format
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00:17:34
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Johnny Bobb - Oral history (09/20/2014)
Subject
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Oral History Interview with Johnny Bobb, Western Shoshone from Yomba, NV, on 09/20/2014
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Johnny Bobb is a Western Shoshone from the Yomba reservation. He was born near Austin, Nevada and was raised by his grandma and grandpa. Johnny tells us of his up-bringing and how his grandparents were concerned with traditional practices being passed on. He explains how most of his relatives came from Smoky Valley, Monitor Valley, and Little Antelope Valley. Johnny describes how he learned to pick medicines for ceremonies and how they work together with prayer. He goes on to speak about Indian Health Services, the 1863 Ruby Valley Treaty, and the Nevada (Nuclear) Test Site down in Yucca, NV. Johnny also tells us about the pioneers coming through the Shoshone’s ancestral territories and how contact occurred. He goes on to speak about the importance of tradition, the water, the Shoshone language, and ceremonies and how they need to be carried on by younger generations.<br /> <br />Interviewed by Norm Cavanaugh</p>
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Great Basin Indian Archives
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Great Basin Indian Archives - GBIA 042
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Great Basin Indian Archives
Date
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09/20/2017 [ 20 September 2014]; 2014 September 20
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James Hedrick [interviewer]; Andrew Moore [GBIA]; Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]; James Hedrick {GBIA/VHC]; University of Utah SYLAP [streaming video]; Great Basin College; BARRICK Gold of North America
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Non-commercial scholarly and educational use only. Not to be reproduced or published without express permission. All rights reserved. Great Basin Indian Archives © 2017.
Consent form on file (administrator access only): http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/487
Format
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mp4
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English; Shoshone
1863 Ruby Valley Treaty
BIA
Community
Crossroads
GBIA
mining
Nevada Test Site
Shoshone
Shoshone Nation
Story
traditional medicines
traditions
water
Yomba
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/21bdde5fc5bd2b8b657af7184cbfc129.jpg
468b986c3712f7c3ca67f631d2762413
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/aff4ca802ba8f057e9f294ca28cc1a1e.pdf
3b36b8e4c9dee3a7e906043dc7df862a
Dublin Core
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Title
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Transcript of Oral History by Delaine Spilsbury [GBIA 036]
Subject
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Oral history interview with Delaine Spilsbury, Western Shoshone from Ely, NV
Description
An account of the resource
Delaine Spilsbury of Ely, NV discusses family hunting stories and experiences, as well as her work in engineering for Nevada Power.
Interviewed by Norm Cavanaugh, 28 May 2014, in Duck Creek, NV
Creator
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Great Basin Indian Archive, in partnership with Barrick Gold of North America
Source
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Great Basin Indian Archive - Western Shoshone Oral Histories - GBIA 036
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Great Basin Indian Archive
Date
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28 May 2014
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Norm Cavanaugh (interviewer)
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Great Basin Indian Archives
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http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/77
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pdf file
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English
PDF Text
Text
Delaine
Spilsbury
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
036
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
May
28,
2014
Duck
Creek,
NV
Great
Basin
College
•
Great
Basin
Indian
Archives
1500
College
Parkway
Elko,
Nevada
89801
hDp://www.gbcnv.edu/gbia/
775.738.8493
Produced
in
partnership
with
Barrick
Gold
of
North
America
�GBIA 036
Interviewee: Delaine Stark Spilsbury
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: May 28, 2014
S:
Hi. I’m Delaine Spilsbury. I’m Western Shoshone, Great Basin Shoshone as I choose to
call it, and I’m from Ely, Nevada. I was born in Ely during the Depression, and it was a
different type of life for the native people here in Ely than it was most anywhere else in
the West or in Nevada. We had no reservation, we had no place where all the families
lived. We had a tiny little colony that—I don’t know, what, it was federal, or state, or
even county—that some of the people lived, but not—just a very small. We still lived the
old ways with our families as we had when… We were hunting and gathering. We had,
our families lived separately in a different place, and it was just like we’d been out. Every
once in a while we would all get together, just like in the old days. And the primary place
that they migrated to for their ceremonies was now called the Shoshone Cedars in Spring
Valley. And there were, my mother was from Snake Valley, which is to the east. And my
dad, they’d go to Spring Valley, and—I think probably to marry off their people, and to,
there was a good place to harvest plants, and animals, and fish. It was a place of bounty,
with plenty of water. And then my dad wandered around and migrated. He was from two
valleys—three valleys west of where my mother was. And so, they eventually met
somewhere down the road, maybe even at Spring Valley at the Cedars, I don’t know. But
they compromised, and ended up living in Ely, Nevada, along with her sister and my
dad’s brother. And so they had quite a little family group, and all lived up on Seventh
Street Canyon, across the railroad tracks. When we were poor Indians. And I’d like to
interject that now that’s where all the rich people live! [Laughter] Not at that time. They
have four wheel drives and kick it up the hill. We had to walk in the wintertime. It was a
pretty hard life. I don’t remember a lot of being—I don’t remember being miserable or
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anything, because it seems like I was always kept warm, and I was pretty well fed. And
that’s lasted through my lifetime as you can see. [Laughter] We just… We had, dad
hunted. Dad and his brothers hunted all the time. And when, especially if they weren’t
working, during the summertime, the spring and the summer, they seemed to have plenty
of work. I went with them to the sheep, up at the sheep camps. And the men—my dad
and his brother, and—I’ll have to put a little more family information in here, now. My
mother’s two sisters, my mother and her sister were from Snake Valley. My dad and his
brother were from White River. And since my mother and her two sisters were from
Snake Valley, their brothers were also. Well, those two brothers married two other
sisters. [Laughter] So it was quite a small family there. I mean, a small few families for a
lot of kids. But—
C:
What was your father’s name? Of what family did he come from?
S:
My father was from, his mother was at Duckwater. And she had married a gentleman
who was half—he was from Salt Lake City, probably a white Mormon, I don’t know. But
I know he wasn’t a Mormon because I know he drank. [Laughter] But, and his name was
Stark. So we don’t have an Indian name. And my mother’s name, mother’s family name
was Joseph. And anyway, we, they always hunted as a group, and worked as a group.
And they went sheep-shearing when they could. They had, my dad was a very ambitious
and very intelligent man. And he soon became a private, I don’t know what you call it, a
contractor. Just a one-man kind of organization. And organized for all the brothers and
whatever to go to the north to work at logging during the summertimes. And they started
here, they started logging just around the corner from where I live now, on the Schell
Creek Range. And they expanded upon that for a few summers, and I guess they did quite
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well doing that. And my dad had only one eye, so he really didn’t work any jobs that
were where he could hire on in town. So he also got into prospecting, and mining, and
whatever kind of thing that he could make some money at it. He did very well doing that.
We, so we had a childhood that wasn’t hungry and it wasn’t cold. I mentioned that
before, but that was quite an accomplishment when we were in abject poverty and really
had no place to live. He and his brothers, finally, he and his brother eventually built
homes for the families, adjacent to each other so the two sisters could be together.
Sometimes that was really good, but after they had kids, they did argue a lot. [Laughter]
C:
So were those homes built on the Ely Colony?
S:
No, they were not. They purchased some property up that canyon that I mentioned up
Seventh Street, and they built on their own property. And that property is now owned by
one of the rich people in town who’s building a beautiful home up there. We thought it
was a long way from town, and it was on the other side of the tracks, but I enjoyed the
train as a kid. Putting pennies on the rails, and just, kid things. And when we went sleigh
riding, we’re not supposed to go across the tracks. And so we’d sled just as fast as we
could so we’d think we couldn’t make the turn, and if we didn’t go over the turn, then we
could go over the tracks and down the hill even farther. [Laughter] But… with the wild
game they gathered, and harvested, anyway, they had my great-auntie, Lizzie—Lizzie
Lee—had a place in White River, which is where my dad was when, where he was born.
And she raised potatoes. So the boys would take her a leg from their venison, and she’d
give them a sack of potatoes. So we always had meat and potatoes, and even though it
was Depression, and it was in a very poverty area—poverty situation, we always
managed to have something to eat. And then, when the World War II started, the big
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thing for individuals to do, families, was to have a victory garden. So once we dug the
victory garden and found out how easy it was—for the kids, anyway! [Laughter] But, we
didn’t have any running water where my dad built. And eventually, the adults did dig a
water line down to the Ely water main, and brought water into the reserv—not the
reservation, into our homes. Reservation was not there. And so, we had a much easier life
once we had running water, because we had always hauled it prior to that. But the kids
got to help with that, too. Because they got to backfill the ditch. So, we worked pretty
hard. My dad and I had a—we were kind of a little bit separate from my mom and my
sister, because my sister’s four years younger than I am. And I used to go out into the
hills with him, to go prospecting, and mining. And I got a big thrill out of that when we’d
blast. [Laughter] It’s just one stick of dynamite, but to me it seemed really exciting. And
we’ve always, I gathered the, got the habit of carrying all the rocks home that I could.
And, because that’s what my dad did, take all his ore samples home. And at one time, we
mined turquoise over by Austin, Nevada. And we took a lot of samples home, but we had
investors and whatever that’d come in from LA and look at the rock, and say, “Well, I’m
going to take this home and have it analyzed.” But we never really sold much of it. But I
got in a real love for that turquoise from that period of time when we were mining. And
that extended into what I’m doing now, too. My dad and I were pretty much buddies. We
were hunting and fishing all the time, because that’s what fed us. And the rest of the
family fished, too, when it was summertime. But at that time, my younger, my sister was
too young to go with us, so they eventually became kind of two partnerships. My sister
stayed with my mother, and I went with my dad. And he hunted until, oh, until his death.
He took up bow hunting when Nevada determined they would have two hunting
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seasons—hunting with permits: one for bow, and one for rifle. And so, dad decided he’d
like to—and as did a lot of other guys—like to learn to shoot a bow, too, so we could get
more venison for our table. And I eventually took up bow hunting with him, too. That
was a lot of fun. And very, very tasty, I’d have to say. So I went to school in—
C:
So what kind of animals did you guys hunt—or your dad hunt, or you and your dad?
S:
Uh, primarily, we hunted venison. We hunted deer in season. However, there’s a little
story to tell about that, too. The, a lot of the locals convinced my dad and his cousin—
Bill McQueen, and my dad’s brother, Elmer Stark—convinced them that Indians could
hunt at any time of the year. So, they went out hunting, and ended up in jail. They had an
animal, and they went to jail for feeding their family. And found out that they, Indians
don’t have any special rights to hunt and fish. Not out here. They do on the reservations,
but not out here in the non-reservation world. And I guess I probably should say a little
bit more about my school life. I’ve been very fortunate all my life. My dad had a friend
who lived up in the canyon behind us—and he was very knowledgeable, very intelligent.
And he took to me, too. And I spent many, many hours with him. He taught me, he was
my—he taught me all the necessary things, like math and writing and, oh, just, spelling…
My alphabet, to begin with. But by the time that I went to public school, I wasn’t old
enough to actually go the year that I went. But, this friend of my dad’s took me in to
school to talk to the principal. And he said, “Okay now, Delaine. Write all this that I tell
you to write.” And—oh, first, the principal said, “Can she say her ABCs? Does she know
her ABCs?” Well, yeah! And he said, “Now write something for him.” And he said,
“Now, I’m going to ask you, I’m going to have some math questions.” And he said,
“How about reciting your times tables?” and things like that. So, I was able to get into
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school a year early. [Laughter] Which helped a lot later in life. But I just had mentors all
along the way. I don’t know if it’s luck, or what. But, it’s been a really good life because
of those mentors. Excuse me. [Crying] I forgot all about him until this! [Laughter] But,
let’s see, to go back to the school, I went to Ely Grade School, which was a really good
experience. I had a good friend that lived across the tracks from us, and we’d spend a lot
of time out in the hills together. And my cousins were near, and we’d go picnicking up in
the hills. And one time, there was a big fire in a bar downtown. And my cousins came
home with a lot of whiskey, we didn’t know what kind. And since we lived at the
railroad, I lived above the railroad cutoff, we went down in those cliffs and cut holes in
them and buried all our whiskey. And then we sold it to the drunks for about a year. That
was pretty good money! [Laughter] We were just little kids, so it meant a lot to us. The
school, Ely Grade School, was a very good school. I had a lot of really good teachers who
helped. And I had some who were, actually, probably I’d have to add them to my list of
mentors. I only had one school teacher that made life tough for me. I tried to be a grade-A
student all the way through grade school, and I was really proud of myself when I had
one year of spelling where I only missed one word in the entire year. And I still—now I
know how to spell “squirrel”: with two “l”s. [Laughter] But, I had some great help along
the way. And then, when we had our graduation, there were three of us students. They
couldn’t decide who was the valedictorian, and who could be the salutatorian. But since
these other two people were guys, one of them became the valedictorian, and we had a
dual salutatarian ceremony, which was pretty exciting for me. And I’d have to mention
that just about all my life, all of my friends except for that one girl that was my friend that
lived across the street, all my friends were boys. Because that was the kind of interest that
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I had. I went to a few birthday parties where I was the only girl there, and I usually had
fun with the mom. [Laughter] Along with the guys. So, it was a very special, very
different life for me, than the other kids. And I attended high school here in Ely part of
the time. By that time, my dad had moved to Vegas and become a building contractor.
And so, he would take contracts in Vegas in the wintertime, when the weather was nice,
and then when it got too hot he’d take contracts up north. And he built some, a few
buildings in Ely. The Armory that is no longer, now I think it’s the Jailhouse. There was a
grocery store in between, and a motel, and some other things around Ely. And then we
took contracts in Wyoming, and did some work for the mine people and their workers.
And that was an interesting life, too, because I made friends with the people who lived
there, and everything was provided for them. They had a swimming pool, and all sorts of
things that we didn’t have around here. But that’s because the mine did all that, and we
could go into the store and get whatever we wanted. All my friend had to do was sign.
Because the paychecks from the miners went directly to this company store, and nobody
ever had any money. And it was a pretty interesting thing to learn, and to experience.
And we did a lot of hunting in Wyoming. We went out every night after rabbits. And they
had rabbits and hares, and whatever. And because by that time, we had a really good taste
for that. Plus, we were always saving money. And that seemed to be a way of life for us.
We were very thrifty, because, when I went to Vegas, and went to high school there, my
mom always used to buy my clothes at—I guess they’d be called “flea markets” now, but
they would just have the, put their clothes out on Main Street, or whatever they had to
sell on the weekends, and we’d buy our clothes there. And they were always out of the
style. If it was a short skirt, mom sewed a strip of velvet—two inch or four inch,
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depending on what the styles were that year—velvet ribbon on the bottom, to make them
acceptable. I wouldn’t get slapped in school for having too much showing, I guess!
[Laughter]
C:
So where was your experience in going to school? Did you go to school here in Ely, or
was it a public school, or…?
S:
No, the—just, I went to Ely Grade School, and White Pine High School. Off and on. I
would start at White Pine, because we were—that’s what I was starting to tell you, and I
lost my train of thought there. That was when dad was moving back and forth with the
seasons. We would start in White Pine High School, and—wait a minute. I started doing
that when I was in third grade. And then we’d move to Vegas, and I’d spend the rest of
the year—or, part of the year, and then come back to Ely to finish the year. So, it was a, it
was—I think, I didn’t like it at the time, but I think I learned a lot more by doing that. So
I did that all the way through high school. I finally—I think it was the last two years in
high school, I did, stayed in Vegas. And I had an advantage there, also, by going to the
school later in the year. One year, I couldn’t have, they didn’t have any sophomore
classes. That was a required class. And so they put me in the junior class. And so it was a
little tougher, but I think that was good for me. And the other thing that helped, is when I
was in Vegas, and I tried to get a drafting class, they wouldn’t let me take drafting
because I was a girl, and they thought that I would be—I have to back up and say why I
wanted to take drafting. My dad by then was a building contractor. And he was having—
a lot of his expense was having drawings made for the building so he’d get a building
permit. And so he said, “Why don’t you learn to do this?” Because I kept working with
him in the building industry. And I no longer paint walls, because when I was such a little
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kid, and I was working with him, that was all I could do was paint the walls! [Laughter]
That and climb up on the roof and lay some sheathing. But I’d had enough painting for
the rest of my life. [Laughter] So, it was, I’m losing it again—I was, okay, so I went to,
tried to take my drafting classes, and they wouldn’t let me into the class because they felt
it would be too distracting to have a girl in the class. And so the next fall, when I came
back to Ely, I asked for drafting at White Pine High, and they said, “Sure.” So when I
went back, when I transferred back, and I need to transfer to a class, they, I guess they
felt they couldn’t refuse me. But they did put me in a back room where I had to work on
my own. The teacher had to come back, and then work—when he had everything else
done, if he had a little extra time, Mr. Portinier. He would come back, and see what, and
help me with what I was doing. But I took to it so well, and I did so well at it, that he
became a mentor also. And by the time I was a senior, which wasn’t—I’d only been in—
well, I’d gone to the Las Vegas all four years, but not full four years—I was hired. They
had a program that if you had a job, you could get credit for the job. And they gave us the
afternoon off. So I became a professional draftsman when I was a senior in high school.
[Laughter] And it paid well, too. So, that just kind of, all that kind of thing just carried
through, pretty much most of my life. And I attended Nevada Southern in Las Vegas for a
few years, but I was, always had such a good job and made so much money, and mentors
would take over and teach me all they could, I finally just felt that I was doing well
enough on my own—not my own, but the results were—that I did quit school. But it
didn’t seem to hinder anything that I did. They, at that time, they didn’t actually require a
degree just for an interview. I did get turned down on a lot of jobs because they said, “We
don’t hire women.” And that was it. You know, they wouldn’t even give me an interview.
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But so I started in, started off with government jobs. I worked for the county, and then I
was able to get a job with the city, and I found a really good mentor there. And from then
on, I had a reputation, so I didn’t need anything more. And that carried through. I
eventually—the one thing that did happen that I didn’t like so well is, somewhere along
that way I got married. And every time they had a layoff, because of a depression or a
recession or something, they would, everybody in the industry, I think—or even
everywhere else, but that’s the only, engineering is the only industry I know—they
would, if there were a couple working, the wife always got laid off, because they felt that
the man was the breadwinner and all that kind of thing. So I got laid off a couple times.
And the last time I got laid off, I said, “You know, I think I’ll do something I really want
to do.” Which, well—other than get laid off, I loved the work. So, I was kind of set back
a little bit, and that’s when I got my training in Indian arts and crafts. My mother tried to
teach me everything that she knew, and I eventually ended up with an Indian arts and
crafts business. And it just, everything has just been—I don’t know if kids have those
opportunities these days.
C:
So in those places you worked, you mentioned, where was it in part of the country?
S:
Oh, all my engineering life was around Las Vegas. I worked for the county, I worked for
the city, I worked for Nevada Power for a number of years, and long enough to get a few
promotions and a few raises and things like that. So each time I changed jobs, it was a
step up. And then, my final job was kind of by accident. I got laid off at Nevada Power—
or fired, or whatever in the heck it was. I think that time, I think that time was the time I
got dumped, and it was all, had a personal beef for—my chief engineer didn’t see things
the way I saw it, and so I got dumped there—and was collecting unemployment
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insurance. And at the time, my dad was alive and well, and very… I can’t think of a word
for it, he was, he was going fishing all the time, and he had a boat, and we’d go to all the
lakes around there—Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and, depending on what kind of fish we
were fishing for. And I said to him, I said, “Dad, I think I’m just going to go fishing with
you.” And we did that for—it was spring—for quite a long time. And then, at that time, at
the end of unemployment, you had to go in and talk to the man, and they would ask you
if you had been looking for work. And of course, I always said I was, because I always
had applications in places that I didn’t think would hire me—right off anyway. And I go
in one day, and this employment guy says, “They need someone like you at the telephone
company.” And he said, “Will you go for an interview?” And I said, “Sure!” Because I
had to. [Laughter] And doggone, when I went for that interview, if the supervisor, the
minor supervisor, which I was to work for there, was a guy that had worked for me
someplace. And when he saw me, he said, “Oh my God, Delaine! We need you! I’m so
glad you’re available.” And that put an end to my fishing. [Laughter] So I stayed with
them for a very short time. It was a good company, they had a good company policy, but
our senior supervisor was just a picky-picky-picky, and I couldn’t handle that. And that’s
when I went to the Test Site. And I stayed there for quite a number of years. The Nevada
Test Site, out of town. So all my engineering career was in the Vegas area.
C:
So you were a pioneer, as a woman, in that field, when there wasn’t very many women in
it.
S:
There were very few women in that field. I did work with one other woman who was a
right-of-way engineer. And she was, she had been at Stanford, and she was quite a bit
older, but… She was a good friend of mine. But I think that’s, those are—I don’t ever
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remember having another woman on the job anywhere I worked. Not in that line. We had
secretaries, and that sort of thing, but… I don’t remember any other women. Once I got
into the Indian arts and crafts business, I became really enchanted by all kinds of
handmade stuff. And a lot of stuff in my house is handmade, and, this particular chair, the
gentleman is still alive. And for one reason I can’t remember his name, and he is in Ely.
And they had these chairs in an art gallery in Ely, oh, probably 10 or 12, 10—oh, some
years ago. I’ve lived in this house now for over 10 years. And during that time, a friend
of mine from Vegas was visiting, and we went to the art gallery. And this chair looked
small enough and nice enough that I said, “Gee, that’s nice. I’d better try it out.” And I
really loved that chair. But I walked away from it and went on with what I was doing.
And on my following visit to Vegas, when I walked in to my friend John’s house, there
was my chair. Waiting for me. So, but I guess I stopped visiting him enough, because he
said the chair was getting lonesome, and he brought it up to here. And it gets used every
day up here. [Laughter] The only horse I’ve ever ridden is, well, the one that my dad had
that wasn’t very sound, we found out. Because he decided to sell it. And it was
“Helldorado,” which was a big rodeo time, big Western days in Las Vegas. And he
bought all the black, I guess it’s called “surge.” He looked like Roy Rogers all decked
out in his black pants and shirt, and black hat. He was showing off his horse. He had
advertised it as sound and gentle and all that sort of thing, and the guy was—there where
we lived in Vegas, there was, out on the edge of town, as usual, and it was all alkali dust,
alkali dirt, which is totally white. And for some reason, that horse stumbled, and my dad
rolled in the white alkali. [Laughter] So, we were never permitted to ride that horse again.
I think he had a bad back, I think that’s what it was. He said it stumbled, but I think it had
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a bad back. And a few stable horses or whatever, when I’ve gone up into the mountains.
I’ve ridden some really wonderful horses when I’ve gone on some packing trips for when
I’m hunting big game with my bow. And I’ve loved some of those animals. But that’s the
extent of my horsemanship.
C:
But the saddle—
S:
The saddle. Back to the saddle! [Laughter] Would you…?
C:
It says, “25th Annual Treaty Days.” Was that a rodeo, or…?
S:
That’s in Oregon. It’s a big rodeo. It’s an all-Indian rodeo. And my cousin Mel Joseph,
who is, was my, one of the uncles that lived in Snake Valley, his son. And he was a real
tough little kid. So he really excelled in what he was doing. He got his first job when he
was 12 years old, and moved to California. He was a horseman on one of those greenhorn
trips that I was mentioning that I took when I went hunting. And so, he became a pretty
good rodeo hand. He’s been a clown and everything all the way up, and he and his
brother just last year won a national championships at the Indian National Finals in
Vegas. So he went the full gamut in rodeo, and that ended up at my place. I let him visit it
once in a while. [Laughter] I mentioned earlier that I eventually ended up in the Indian
arts and crafts industry. And I have a very nice wholesale business going on now. I’ll
probably work until I can’t work anymore. And those items are some of the items that I
carried when I was in Vegas, and had a bigger clientele. And I sold pottery rugs. The—I
had all kinds of artists that I had access to. And I really enjoyed that. It was nice to really
be able to get to know them, and to know them well, and that’s been another, really fun
part of my life, is… and the beauty of the Indian work, the Indian handcrafts is just, it’s
still hard for me to believe how they manage to do these things. I did a lot of traveling,
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and went to a lot of shows and whatever with these people, and I became, I was on the
board of directors for the Indian Arts and Crafts Association, which is a national
organization that guarantees quality and authenticity. And the artists were just
unbelievably talented. They weren’t “talented,” they were inspired. It has been a great,
great experience.
C:
And that necklace you have on? What’s that?
S:
Well, that’s actually Shoshone. And it’s, it’s kind of a, real special, this is made with the
old number 13 cuts, which are the ones that the artists, the beadworkers that really like to
work with beads, and they’re almost impossible to acquire. The supply house that
everybody got them from in New York was—they were imported from Italy, the beads
themselves—is no longer there, and so, I treasure it. It’s got bone, and crystal beads. As I
mentioned before, my dad took up bow hunting when he could hunt for two seasons. And
when I finally got big enough to shoot a bow, they didn’t have all the kinds that they have
now. Had to be pretty strong to pull a bow back in those days, they were pretty much
longbows. There’s one behind me that—this one’s a Mongolian bow—that’s pretty much
along that design. And the new ones have all kinds of wheels and whatever to make them
much easier to pull, so now they even have really efficient children’s bows. But I had to
wait until I was old enough, big enough to actually be able to handle a bow. And we, that
ended up being a great, a real fun part of our life, too, because we—when we moved to
Vegas, we got into the Archery Club, and competition, and that sort of thing. And my son
was, had won a state championship or two. And I won the women’s division, the bow
hunting division, for a number of years. Dad did, was real pretty good with his bow, too,
and we just had a lot of fun in archery. We even had a range, an archery range, on some
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of the land that my dad had invested in, in addition—well, when he had, could no longer
be a contractor, I guess it just was too much pressure, because his doctor told him to go
fishing. [Laughter] And he started investing in land, and he always felt that land was a
good thing to have. So he had quite a lot of acreage on the outskirts of Vegas, and we
built an archery range on one of his properties, and everybody that was involved had a
great time. We organized and built our own targets, and would have our own
tournaments, and whatever. So anyway, along the way, of course, you know, dad was
always hunting, and I was always hunting with him. But I finally discovered that when I
did become pretty good at shooting a bow and hunting, I had to forget everything that he
had taught me. [Laughter] And start again! So I’ve been pretty much hunting, oh, most of
my life. I’ve always, well—small game, of course, is the most available. And a lot of fun.
And I love to eat it. Rabbits and that sort of thing. I was able to harvest a couple of birds,
too, which isn’t that easy with a bow. Especially when you cut their head off, let’s not
ruin anything—but that was a missed arrow. [Laughter] But I’ve been hunting around in
Nevada for a number of years, and I ended up, one of the guys that—oh, it’s, I decided
that I wanted to go javelina hunting. And over the years, I became acquainted with,
because of my business, I would always work the trade shows that were connected to
archery. I met people that—movers and shakers in the archery industries, manufacturers
all over the country—and got into some, got invited to some great things. I got invited to
go javelina hunting with Doug Walker, who published the National Bowhunter
Magazine. And he eventually asked me to write for the magazine. And a part of that, we
didn’t get paid much, but he took us on hunts. And he took us, I think the one that I had
the most fun, and had the most game was at Chudwayo [42:09] Ranch in Texas. And
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they have a lot of exotic game. It seems like the grandfather, the one that started the
whole hunting thing, had an opportunity to buy some game from one of those countries
that had a new sultan or whatever. And when they come in and take over the country,
they always just kill all of the animals that the prior ruler had. And put in their own. And
they had some animals down there that were extinct other than on that ranch. And that
was—the only fence it had was on the very out—the perimeter fence, and it was, I don’t
know. I can’t tell you how many square miles it was. It’s just a huge, huge ranch. And the
only fenced part they had, was inside, he had some really special animals. But they
weren’t, you couldn’t hunt those. There were a couple of giraffes, and all kinds of exotic
game. But the ones that were free-roaming, we could hunt. And we did. And we went
there for a number of years. And one year, I had a big thrill when rock star Ted Nugent
came hunting with us. I think I’ve been hunting with him about three times now. So that
was a highlight. [Laughter] Not that I think he’s so—I don’t agree with his politics, but I
sure like to hunt with him! So, and then, some years ago, I was lucky enough to draw one
of the rare elk tags—it was probably about thirteen or fifteen years ago—here in Nevada.
It’s a tremendous—some people apply all their lives and never get a tag. And I was able
to get a tag and hunt it just around the corner from here, for the elk that I have here, that
at the time was the largest elk in the record book—for one year. It isn’t my bow that does
it, it’s me! [Laughter] Actually, I’ve been shooting with a bow that probably a lot of
people would say doesn’t work, because I shoot forty pounds. But a well-placed arrow is
a lethal arrow.
C:
So is that the bow up there, that you have mounted?
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S:
Those are some of them that I’ve shot over the years. Actually, one of those is my dad’s,
and one’s my son’s. They’re sentimental, so they kept theirs. I sold all mine. Except for
the one I’m using now. And eventually, after I got too many years on me, too many
miles, years and miles, I did have to go to the compound bow that I shoot now. But I still
shoot it the same style that I shot the recurve and the long bow. And that’s with no sights,
and no mechanical release. Just Indian fashion. Ind’n fashion. [Laughter] And it’s, some
of these animals here are the animals that I harvested in Texas. There’s different kind of
deer: fallow deer, sika deer. All very tasty.
C:
So can we begin with the white-collared deer above your head, and then just move
around the room?
S:
Okay, that’s a white fallow.
C:
And that was harvested in Texas?
S:
Yes, the next—all four of these.
C:
And the one next to it?
S:
That is a sika. I can’t really remember what kind of sika it is. But it’s different in breed
from the other one. And the chocolate is the brown deer that has the moose paddle and
has the Ted Nugent signature on the paddle. That doesn’t show from here—it shows from
here. [Laughter] And then, the other, the next one down is also a sika. And that one, I
shot with other people present, and it just dropped. But that’s because I missed. I hit it in
the backbone, instead of the sweet spot. I was shooting uphill, and at a longer range than I
normally do. And the next one is a nice mule deer from Black Rock Desert, that my son
and I worked on. And the two antelope are from around here, and Spring Valley. Both of
them are from Spring Valley. That’s out by the Shoshone Cedars. And the little piggy
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over there is a javelina. And Ted Nugent was on that hunt. I have a little photo of him in
my trophies over there, of Ted and I. And this, the one on the floor, the full-body mount,
is an axis deer. First time I saw one, I thought it was the biggest fawn I’d ever seen,
because of the spots. [Laughter] And this is probably the tastiest one of all.
C:
So where was this deer harvested, in Texas?
S:
That one’s from Texas also. And all the taxidermy on those was done in Texas.
C:
And then, can you tell us about the mountain lion?
S:
The mountain lion is from an old friend of mine who’s no longer with us. He’s passed on.
And he was the best gardener in Ely. Had a huge garden. And everybody was welcome to
come in and take what they wanted, but his son was jealous, because I’m the only one
that his dad would harvest the vegetables, and even wash them, before I got them.
[Laughter] Everybody else had to dig their own. And the bear, on the floor, is from
Alberta, Canada. There’s a good picture behind it if you can catch the picture. That was, I
had a picture of the group of us who all got bears, and that one was the biggest of all.
C:
And you shot it with the bow?
S:
Oh, it’s all bow, yes.
C:
Ah.
S:
When I got—Rick, my son, was with me when I got the invitation to go along. And I
said, “Yeah, I’ll go bear hunting!” And when he got me alone, he said, “Mom! What
were you thinking? You’re going bear hunting?” [Laughter] And that was an exciting
trip, too. I had another bear fall in love with me, but that’s another story. That was not
fun.
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I forgot to tell you that when I was out mining and prospecting with my dad, that I
actually worked in those mines with a real shovel. Not like today, with a huge scoop
shovel and a big truck, but we actually got in there and dug holes to plant the dynamite,
and then we dug the muck out by hand. When I was a kid. And I think dad did it on
purpose so I would get an education. [Laughter]
This is a picture taken at Mount Moriah, which is just east of us here. Over—that’s by
Spring Valley, too. That’s why Spring Valley was so sacred to the Shoshone people,
because it was so full of, just, game, and fish, and food, and shade. On the bottom, where
the Shoshone Cedars are, it’s the bottom of the valley. And these cedars had been—
they’re actually Rocky Mountain junipers, and they’d been pushed in there by an ice age,
and it was the only place around where there was really good shade and grass, and all the
people that wandered around these valleys here all ended up there for their ceremonies, a
number of times a year.
The drum is just a part of my collection, it had an elk, and it was a Shoshone artist. And
it’s signed, but I don’t remember who it is. I’ve had it for so long. And I don’t even know
if it drums anymore, but it’s just something I like, so, that was—and it’s something I
acquired.
C:
And the baskets up on top?
S:
The baskets, the ones on each end are Mono baskets that were made by Julia, Julia—boy,
I can’t remember her name! She’s still alive, and I met her somewhere on the powwow
trail, and she had baskets for sale, and since my aunties are Mono, I thought that was a
great idea. I do have miniatures that my aunties gave me when I was a kid.
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Well, there came a time when we lived in Vegas when there were drive-by shootings and
that sort of thing, and the only time I could go anywhere was from 10 o’clock in the
morning until 2 in the afternoon, because the traffic was so bad that if you did go to the
freeway to get across town—which you’d almost have to because it’s so huge—there was
so much free parking out there in the middle of the summer. Free parking on that
freeway, in the 120 degree heat, that I decided it was time to go back home to die,
because that’s kind of what our people do. We, we’re so tied to the land that we want to
be back home when it’s time. And so I shopped around up here to get some property.
And in the interim, I was a partner at the Idaho Heritage Museum on Highway 93
between Hollis—no, it’s at Hollister, between Jackpot and Twin Falls. And my partner
there gave me a call, and he said, “These logs are available.” This mill—I guess they’re
called millers, the guy who owned the log mill, the saw mill, had some logs that he
wanted to get rid of. And it was a good price. And probably less than I’d have to pay for
material to build a house. But I didn’t realize there were so many, because I wasn’t
intending on a place this big. But when I did find this place, and saw the possibilities of
berming into the side of the hill for the insulation value, and the logs combined—because
this is cold country, here—that I decided to have a house the way I like to live. And that’s
why it’s all free and open with the kitchen island in the middle. And I was lucky enough
to find a contractor here in Ely who could do it. However, my partner, who was also a
cement—he was a contractor, also—started the place. He did all the groundwork, and he
put in all the foundations and that sort of thing. And he got arrested for supposedly
digging one arrowhead—I mean, that’s the conviction that they had on him, but I think it
was a trumped-up charge. Because the stuff he had, pretty much the museum all had
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certificates. But, I don’t know. Anyway, I had to hire another contractor along the way,
and I was lucky enough to get a local guy who’s honest and talented and worked for a
decent price. And we’re still good friends. Matter of fact, I—if you see the picture of the
fishing over here, under the sika deer, and those are salmon on the Kenai Peninsula in
Alaska. I’ve gone fishing with him up there twice now. And the 65-pounder is mine. And
the little fish on the end is my buddy’s fish. [Laughter] The little silver salmon. But
we’re—and we’re still friends, even after that. Even after that fishing trip.
So, I understand we’re going to be closing now, and from all you’ve heard, I’ve had just a
wonderful time, a great life. Everybody has just been absolutely great to me. If I do have
things that are, that I think are wrong for me and bad for me, I just remember all the good
things. And how lucky I have been. And I’d kind of like to talk directly to younger
people now. And I know it’s hard to get out in the outdoors now, when we have all this
electronic stuff, and screens, and whatever, that keep you all tied up, and keep you from
getting any activity. But I would encourage you, if you have somebody in your family or
something that goes for these outdoor things—maybe you can talk them into introducing
you to what is, what was our Newe way of life. Being on the land, living with the land,
and preserving the land. Right now, I’m in a big battle with a bunch of people to try to
keep the Great Basin water in the Great Basin, instead of being pumped away for where it
will never recycle into the system again, and that, the Great Basin Water Network, I’m on
their board of directors. And I would encourage you, our native people, our native kids,
to get to know the Earth Mother. She’s kind, she’s generous, and she needs protection.
And we can do it. I know we can. We’re having problems with climate change, and it’s a
good time to be able to extend, do something, learn about what’s out there, and always
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have faith in yourself, and always look at the bright side. There’s always something good
in everything. And ignore that other stuff.
[End of recording]
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Western Shoshone Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral histories of Western Shoshone elders collected by the Great Basin Indian Archive.
Description
An account of the resource
Oral histories compiled
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Basin Indian Archive, in partnership with Barrick Gold of North America
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
GBIA Oral History Collections
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Great Basin Indian Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
2006-2015
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Norm Cavanaugh
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Delaine Spilsbury
Location
The location of the interview
Duck Creek, NV [residence of Delaine Spilsbury]
Transcription
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<a href="/omeka/files/original/aff4ca802ba8f057e9f294ca28cc1a1e.pdf" target="blank">English transcript available as pdf file</a>
Original Format
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DVD, MP4, and AVI Format
Duration
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00:58:10
Dublin Core
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Title
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Delaine Stark Spilsbury - Oral History (05/28/2014)
Subject
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Oral history interview with Delaine Spilsbury, Western Shoshone from Ely, NV, on 05/28/2014
Description
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<p>Delaine Stark Spilsbury is a Western Shoshone, or as she says a Great Basin Shoshone, from Ely, Nevada. She was born in Ely, Nevada during the depression, and attended school there as well as Las Vegas. Delaine speaks about her ancestors and how the hunted and gathered within the area as well as their family groups. She gives us an account of her family’s lineage and their vocations. She also speaks of how she hunted, fished, and mined with her father. She then goes on to tell of her hunting adventures, including some with Ted Nugent, and how she got into drafting. She finishes her oral history by leaving a message for the youth.<br /> <br />Interviewed by Norm Cavanaugh</p>
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<a title="View Delaine Spilsbury Oral History streaming video in separate page" href="http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/3mvpe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View Oral History [streaming video] if above embedded player not working</a><br /><a title="View transcript of Delaine Spilsbury Oral History" href="/omeka/files/original/aff4ca802ba8f057e9f294ca28cc1a1e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View Transcript [pdf file]</a>
Creator
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Great Basin Indian Archives
Source
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Great Basin Indian Archives - GBIA 036
Publisher
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Great Basin Indian Archives
Date
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05/28/2014 [28 May 2014]; 2014 May 28
Contributor
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Norm Cavanaugh [interviewer]; Scott A. Gavorsky [GBC Virtual Humanities Center]; James Hedrick [GBIA/VHC]; University of Utah SYLAP [streaming video]; Great Basin College; BARRICK Gold of North America
Rights
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Non-commercial scholarly and educational use only. Not to be reproduced or published without express permission. All rights reserved. Great Basin Indian Archives © 2017
Consent form on file (administrator access only): http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/477
Format
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DVD, AVI, and MP4 format
Language
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English
arts
Community
crafts
Crossroads
depression
drafting
Ely
gathering
GBIA
hunting
mining
Shoshone
Story
White Pine High School
Women's History