Ruby Sam was born at the Indian Hospital in Schurz, NV (Walker River Reservation) and had 9 siblings. Her father was Nelson Sam from Smoky Valley. Ruby lived and went to school in Duckwater, NV until the eighth grade then attended Stewart Indian School which eventually resulted in her attending school in Lund, NV at the behest of her father. As part of the 1956 Relocation Act, Ruby moved to Cleveland, OH and became a cosmologist. She eventually moved back to the Duckwater Reservation and had a variety of jobs within the tribe there. She ends her oral narrative by suggesting that the younger generation stay in and go to school.
Interviewed by Norm Cavanaugh.
]]>Oral History Interview with Ruby Sam, Western Shoshone from Duckwater Reservation, NV on 04/22/2016
This oral history contains significant Shoshone language conversation, and is recommended for usage by community language teachers.
Ruby Sam was born at the Indian Hospital in Schurz, NV (Walker River Reservation) and had 9 siblings. Her father was Nelson Sam from Smoky Valley. Ruby lived and went to school in Duckwater, NV until the eighth grade then attended Stewart Indian School which eventually resulted in her attending school in Lund, NV at the behest of her father. As part of the 1956 Relocation Act, Ruby moved to Cleveland, OH and became a cosmologist. She eventually moved back to the Duckwater Reservation and had a variety of jobs within the tribe there. She ends her oral narrative by suggesting that the younger generation stay in and go to school.
Interviewed by Norm Cavanaugh.
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Gracie Begay is a member of the Western Shoshone Te-Moak tribe in Wells, Nevada. She was seventy-eight when this video was recorded. Gracie speaks of her great-great-grandfather Captain Joe Gilbert and the people from Austin and Reese River (Yomba) who were moved by the Union Soldiers to the Battle Mountain colony in 1937. She also tells of the camp that was at the Ricksie station near Beowawe, and how she and her relatives went to school there. Gracie also goes on to tell about her involvement with the Danns, and how she went with them to the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. She goes on to tell of the history of her family, and how she was involved with Indian Health Service and the Health Board for the Western Shoshone. She ends by summarizing the importance of recording Shoshone history, and how it is a tool for future generations.
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