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Katherine
Blossom
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
029B
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
August
28,
2014
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 029B
Interviewee: Katherine Blossom
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: August 28, 2014
B:
Good evening. I’m Katherine Blossom. Ne newe nanihan Piapenkwi. I’m from the
Tepatekkate Tribe from—my mother came from the Reese River area. I was born in
Schurz, Nevada, which was a Native hospital for the Native people. But I went to school
in Fallon, Nevada, and then I attended UNR for a while. I could not finish because of
illness in the family. And I returned to Fallon, and that’s where I raised my two older
children. I’ve been a very busy person. Always involved in activities, whatever activities
were around. But I’ve always tried to work with my people. I always had a feeling for my
people that they needed help. With that, I got married, and I eventually moved to Elko
where I’m residing now. And I worked for the Elko School District for thirty years,
retired, and then went to work for Corbin Harney at Puhampaa1, which was a healing
center, and he worked with the healing water, which is mineral water. And he was my
mentor in the spiritual realm, teaching me about the way our forefathers did things. Our
Native people, how they prayed, and what they did with their life—the daily working. At
that time, I was an office manager for Corbin, and I was also the maintenance person. I
didn’t do electrical, but I knew how to turn off the water, and fill the pool house, and the
swim pool that we had, and took care of the bookkeeping, and did housekeeping for
visitors that came for help with their healing. After I left there, I traveled to different
places. I attended ceremonies which became my life. I went to the Sun Dance, and
because I only have one kidney, I cannot Sun Dance, which I wished I could. But in that,
I would pray for the dancers, and would sing for them, and encourage them when I could,
if I was able to talk to them. But in all that, I—my life has been very full. I feel very
1
KB says this in Shoshone; the center is often known as PooHaBah
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honored that I have been able to do what I’ve been able to do. I mentioned that I only
have one kidney: in 1972, I donated a kidney to my youngest brother, William Streech,
which many of you probably know him by Bill. And because of that, I’m limited—or,
they told me I was very limited in what I could do. But except for the Sun Dancing, it has
never bothered me. And I have been truly blessed with that. Also, I have been taking care
of my son for the last five years, so I have not been really participating in the spiritual
ceremonies like I would like to. But that’s okay. I feel like I’m at the place where I need
to be. But my heart is, of course, with my people. And my work, I feel, is to pray for
everyone, to help when I can, to extend a helping hand if I can. But always, prayer is my
foundation. Because when I was little, that’s how I was given a second chance at my life.
At two years old, I ate quinine, and it almost took my life. My eyes set to one side, I lost
all my hair, I could not talk, and all my organs stopped. I could not eat, I could not
swallow—even water. And I could not urinate or any bowel movement. Everything
stopped, and my eyes started setting one way. And my mother, when I first got sick, she
took me to all the doctors that she could afford to take me to around Fallon and Schurz
area. But the last doctor that came in and looked at me just shook his head and turned
around and walked out, I’m told. But with that, my mother prayed, and she told the
Creator, she said, “You gave me my daughter. Don’t take her from me; I want her.” And
she begged. She pleaded that my life would be spared, which it had been. And there was
an interesting thing: my aunt at that time had married a chief, and his name was Chief
Grayhorse. And they were in Oklahoma, my aunt and Uncle Ben. And the Creator heard
my mother’s prayer, and they came from Oklahoma. And my mother told her sister what
had happened, and what little that they knew about my condition, and she said that she
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didn’t want me to leave. That I was a gift given to her, and she wanted to keep the gift
from the Creator. In that, my uncle said that he was going to go to California and get
singers, which they did. He went to California, and he brought back singers. And my
understanding is that, with the herbs that he brought back with him, they administered—
made tea out of the herbs, and told my mother to try and get me to drink it. And she said,
“Well, she can’t swallow.” And he says, “It’s all right. Don’t worry about it. What her
stomach needs, she’ll swallow it. So don’t worry about it, just give it to her.” And, so she
did the best she could. And evidently, I was able to swallow it. And it was about maybe
three, four hours later, my understanding is that I sat up for the first time in weeks, and
looked around, and I started vomiting. And they said that the poison that I vomited was
like that goopy-doo the women used to wear on their hair. It’s real thick green stuff.
Well, my uncle told me at that time that that’s what I had vomited from my stomach.
From that time, I started getting well, but I had to learn to talk again, learn how to eat,
learn how to walk, and do all those things that I was able to do before. So my life has
been very blessed. I’ve not noticed any weakness in my body. In fact, I’ve been very,
very fortunate that I’ve come all these years and not really being sick or sickly. I’m very
thankful. And I truly have been blessed. But I want to share that with you, because it’s so
important that we as Native people keep our prayers strong, because your old people
from way back—I’m sure you can remember if you would think, and have a feeling—
you can pray. And it is our job as Native people to pray for everything that our Mother
Earth—which we call our Mother Earth is, the earth because, we call her “mother”
because she gives us everything. There’s nothing that we wear, we eat, or drive;
everything we have—our homes, our clothing, everything has come from her. And in this
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way, we should take care of her, pray for her, and not be wasteful with the food she
provides for us, which she is still providing today even though she’s being traumatized
with what we as human are doing to her. We’re tearing her open, not returning anything.
But our Native way is we must always remember: if you’re going to go and harvest, you
must pray first, and get yourself ready. Clean up; clean your body, take a bath. And then
go out with a clean body and a good mind, and take water with you, our precious water,
and offer it to the plant or whatever you’re going to harvest. And pray for it. Thank it for
being there. And just take what you need and leave the rest. Don’t tear up and leave scars.
But as much as you can, just take what you need and leave the rest so others coming
behind you—the animal life, the bird life, whatever—will also have plenty to eat. And in
that way, we’ll always have food to eat, and our water is so precious. We cannot live
without water. And because our water is being contaminated, we all know that, we need
to pray for our water every day. Every morning, we should pray for it. That first cup of
water you take, we should pray, and be thankful, and ask it to bless our bodies. And that
we can have a good, sound body, and a good, sound mind, and a kind heart toward each
and every one. And that only comes by prayer. And we need to take care of what we have
in a good way. And by our prayers, it gives us a good foundation. It will help you to have
a clear mind, and to have good thoughts for everyone. And that’s what our Native people
have taught us from way back when. And we’re not to continue to be negative. We need
to be positive. And yes, there are always hardships to go through, but this is part of life.
And how we go through the hard things is what makes you and I a stronger person, that
we can face the next mountain that we need to climb, or whatever the situation comes in
our lives that we can overcome. We can go through it. But you can’t do it alone: you need
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prayer. You need our Creator to hear and answer your prayer. And you’re never alone.
And that’s a real blessing, to realize that, and to know that. So, I encourage all of our
young people, and grandpas and grandmas, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, all people:
start praying. Pick up your prayers. And for our young people, our Native young people,
learn your language. Because this is our culture. This is our foundation. And it’s only in
speaking our language that things become very clear to you, and you have a deeper
understanding than just speaking English—at least, that’s what I’ve found in my life. And
I didn’t know how to speak English when I was a young girl. I was not taught it, because
my mother went to a boarding school. And the trauma she went through, she didn’t want
me to go through that, and to suffer as she did, because when she spoke her language she
was abused in all the ways that you can think of and imagine. But she never talked about
it. I never realized what went on in the boarding schools, and why some of our old people
never talked about it. But I learned about what happened in the boarding school when I
went to work for the school district. I used to attend the National Indian Education
Conference. And back in Minnesota, I remember an elder man got up, and he was talking
about what he went through in a boarding school at Carlisle. And this elderly Native man
just stood and cried, because he could remember all the horrible things that happened to
him. And then, it came home to me: that’s why my mother would not let me go to a
boarding school. She was very adamant: “No, you’re not going. You’re staying in a
public school.” And little did I know what she had to go through—and all our old people.
And that’s why many of our young people today do not speak our language, because of
the shame that our older people have to carry in their hearts and in their lives. And I
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believe that’s about all I have to say. But I encourage you to live your life in a good way,
the best you can.
I would like to share with you—when I worked in the school district, I worked with the
Native students. Our children were really having a hard time, because some of them
didn’t even know who they were. And some were very angry; they didn’t know why. But
you know, it’s things that happen to you as a youngster that you don’t really remember
why you’re angry, but you’re angry. And if someone should ask you, you wouldn’t know
what to tell them. But it’s good to find somebody that you can trust and tell them what is
bothering you. Because there is no person that’s in this world that’s perfect. We all make
mistakes. But hopefully, we learn our mistakes. And when we do wrong—own up to it.
Own up to what you did, what I did. Because that’s part of your healing, is to say, “Yes, I
did that, and I’m so sorry.” And be sorry for it, if that’s how you feel. But you need to
find someone—I would say to our young people—find someone you can trust, someone
you can talk to. And have them listen to you. And you know, like I say, there’s nothing
that you have done, or has been done to you, that hasn’t happened to someone else. And
so we’re all in the same boat. We all have come from our mothers and fathers, and some
of us have been abandoned by our loved ones; but, you know, find someone that will
care, and take care of you, and help you along your way. Sometimes, you have to search
and look for that one person. Sometimes, it just doesn’t happen. But other times, if you’re
willing to listen, you’ll find somebody that wants to really help you along your life path,
and that will help you to get a good start. I know when I was working with the young
people at Elko High School, I had a young Native girl that came from a reservation, a
large reservation. And she seemed a little timid, but she just seemed so eager to want to
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learn. And I encouraged her at that time to continue to—and I asked her what she wanted
to be, and at that time, she wanted to be an English teacher. I said, “Well, good for you!
You can do it!” And that young lady went on, and she became even a superintendent of
schools. And she was Native. She is Native. And so, you know, nothing should stand in
your way of success. What is success to you? Success isn’t something that means the
same thing to all of us. It’s what you like to do, and what you can make a living at, and be
happy in your own self, what you’re doing. That’s your success. All our stories are
different. But in your own right, you become successful for you. Don’t do it for someone
else. What is it that makes you happy? This is your life. This is your walk. And you live it
in a good way, and it’ll help you to be healthy and strong, and if you work hard as a
young person now? Get your education, go on and pursue an education. We need that.
But don’t forget where you came from. Don’t forget. If you’re Native, don’t forget that’s
who you are. And if you can have a chance to talk to the old people—your grandpa, your
grandma, or whoever is available; your aunt, your uncle. Go to an older person and talk
to them. Ask them about your lineage, so you will know. Because that is your foundation.
Don’t forget it, because it’s so vitally important for all of us to know who we are. And
one thing I’d like to say to you, I’d encourage you, don’t try to be somebody else. Don’t
try to be somebody that you’re not. Because we all have—Native people have come from
a strong line of people, but yet we’ve been told so many times, and our older people—our
mothers, our fathers, our grandfathers, grandmothers—have been told that they’re stupid
and savages. But in your own heart, you know that you’re not that. So don’t believe what
people tell you, but search your own heart, search your own life, and pursue your own
happiness, whatever that is. What makes you happy? What makes you laugh? And you
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know, it’s a good thing to laugh. That’s what helps us to lift ourselves up. And sometimes
it’s hard to laugh when you’re all by yourself and things are not going right. But you
know what? There’s always those little things you can look for in life to make you feel
better about yourself. The other day—I have to share this with you, talking about
laughter—I was smelling the flowers in the grocery store. And they were roses, and I
came across these beautiful yellow roses, which happen to be my favorite. And I stooped
over, and I was smelling it. It smelt so fragrant, I was tempted to buy it, and I thought,
“No, I don’t think I can afford it, no, I don’t think so.” But I just kept that fragrance with
me, and I was thinking about it, and I went on. And then I came across—as I was going
to check out, I came across some more flowers they had in another area. And I stooped
over, and I was smelling the flowers, and a woman came up behind me, and she said,
“Oh, you’re smelling the roses!” But she said it with such laughter and glee. And she
says, “May I smell them, too?” And I looked at her—I was so surprised—and I said,
“Well, of course you can!” She says, “Well, this one don’t have much fragrance.” I says,
“You should go smell the yellow roses.” But she had the biggest smile on her face when
she stopped to smell the roses. And that’s what we need to do. We need to look for little
things that make you happy. And it’s okay. You’ll always find somebody that will laugh
with you. But sometimes it’s hard to find somebody that will cry with you. But it
happens. So I’d like to encourage you—all of you, whoever hears this, or sees this tape—
to be encouraged in your own heart, because you’re worthy of being happy, and be at
peace with your own self. And sometimes, that’s hard to find, when we have this dark,
black cloud hanging over us. But there is a way to reach out and get rid of that black
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cloud. And just, what I’d like to say to you is: keep your prayers strong. Know who you
are, keep your foundation, and pursue your own happiness.
[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
Katherine Blossom
Location
The location of the interview
Elko, NV [Blossom Residence]
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/470
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
DVD, MP4, and AVI Format
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
00:23:05
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
Katherine Blossom - Oral History (08/28/2014)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral History interview with Katherine Blossom, Western Shoshone from Fallon, NV, on 08/28/2014
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Katherine Blossom was born in Shurz, Nevada and was part of the <em>Dubadiccada </em>(Pine-nut eaters) Tribe from the Reese River area. She tells us about going to school in Fallon and then UNR, and also how she helped Corbin Harney at <em>Puhambaa </em>(healing water). She also speaks of her time with the Elko County School District where she retired from, and a story of a girl who she helped to achieve her dreams. She also gives us insight into her mother’s time at the Stewart Indian School, as well as, an instance of her getting sick and being helped with traditional ceremonies and medicine. She then goes on to give advice to the younger generations on ways they should carry themselves in life.</p>
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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 029B
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
08/28/2014 [28 August 2014]; 2014 August 28
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Norm Cavanaugh [interviewer]; Andrew Moore [GBIA]; James Hedrick [GBIA/VHC]; 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/327
Format
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DVD, AVI Format, and mp4
Language
A language of the resource
English
Community
Crossroads
Elko Country School District
Fallon
GBIA
Puha baa
Reese River
Shoshone
Stewart Indian School
Story
traditional medicines