1
10
1
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/98f56e6d5bc8fb5158b1b9835e363958.jpg
a44adada5c7b5c9bab1b8ca2af602e58
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/78f41864118130645a9e999fdce39237.pdf
3a14b89510b59ed169c5ce8df6951b4d
PDF Text
Text
Anthony
Tom
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
039
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
June
5,
2014
Lamoille
Canyon,
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 039
Interviewee: Anthony Tom
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: June 5, 2014
T:
Morning. My name’s Anthony Tom. I come from the Te-Moak Western Shoshone band.
I live out in South Fork. Back then it was known as “Lee,” the Lee community. But yeah,
I was raised out there since I was a little kid. My dad and mom, they got assignment out
there in, what—1948, I believe. And that’s the year I was born. So we had that
assignment out there all these years, and I lived there. I don’t remember for sure, I think
they lived in Elko way back then, and then they moved out here. We weren’t, they
weren’t the original South Fork assignees, I don’t know what they call them. Anyway,
they didn’t have assignment out there. They got, it was little later after that. When they
got their assignment, and we’ve been there ever since. We’re still there today. My mom
and dad, they’re both gone now, but, yeah. Been out there as a little kid. And back in
those days, South Fork was more like a country community, you know? Like, it was—I
remember going from, there was no road by our house. There was no road. We had to get
our wagon and horses and go up to my grandma’s house to get our car, then we’d come
in to Elko. I remember that, riding on back of the wagon. Makes it sound like a long time
ago. [Laughter] But, yeah. And to go visit people around there, yeah, we’d be traveling
on wagons to go visit to houses and whatnot, because there was that much road out there
back then. And actually, back in those days, South Fork was a really nice, peaceful
community. The people were, you know, they worked together back in those days.
Because there was no—you had to. Because there wasn’t the money, the job like it is
now. Even the government money wasn’t there, the 638 contracts or whatnot. It wasn’t
there. And so they kind of depended on each other to live out there, putting up our hay. I
remember we used to help each other put up our hay in summertime. Cattle. Everything
�GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
2
was all done together. I remember going out in the mountains to gather the cattle in the
falltime. Everybody was together. Everybody went out and got their cattle. And the
wives, the ladies, they’d all come out with food, to meet us out there and we’d have a big
old lunch. You know, coming back, bringing our cattle back. I remember those days.
Those were pretty cool days. Even what they call Association Field. That’s where all the
people got together, and they had a big feed, down right near where the administration
building is now. They had a big feed there, and we’d all get together and put up the hay.
And it would take about day or so to put the hay up. But I remember those days. We
don’t do that no more. That’s all kind of gone. Now, I think the equipment, I think, is
what really ruined it for us—that kind of lifestyle, anyway. Because everybody put up
their hay with horses. Horses and the buckrakes, and wagons and buckrake—or, raking
the fields with a team of horses. There was tractors out there that were just for mowing.
That’s all they used them for, was mowing. But that’s how they put up their hay. And it
was all summertime. Summertime job. It was like, lasted the whole summer, putting up
the hay. Nowadays, you know, they put it up within a week or so because of all the
equipment they have there now. It’s not like a whole summer like it used to be. And—
C:
So what type of hay did they produce out there?
T:
Just wild hay. Just wild hay. In those days, too, the people had gardens that they relied on
for their food and whatnot. And I remember Grandpa John, he used to have a—man, his
garden was fantastic. It was all kind of vegetables, and we sit down for lunch after being
out there all morning, putting up hay, and the home table would be filled with just lettuce
and onions, all kind of stuff, you know? And it was good. It was just like—it’s hard to
explain, because it was such a good time, actually. You know, just—and the hunting. I
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
3
remember mom used to tell me about the old days, when me and my grandma, we used to
go out and go hunt. We’d be out there all day, and they never worried about us. Because
we’d be out there, and we’d hunt and shoot squirrels, rabbits, or whatever’s out there.
Fish. And cook it out there, just me and her. And she’d be cooking, making bread right
out there on the land. Like the old days, I guess, you know? [Laughter] But yeah, I
remember that. And we used to even travel all the way down to Battle Mountain, or up
towards on the other side of Wells, I don’t remember those places up there. But I
remember going up there. Yeah, we’d spend days up there. And mom—not days, but a
whole day out there, just messing around, hunting, doing different things. And those were
good days. And back in those days, we never really had cars, either, to go around. We
were always playing with, riding horses, you know, going, just riding all over, raising
heck with—on the community. [Laughter] First, I was talking about the good days in
South Fork. I wish it was always that way, but you know, as you grow up, things change.
But my dad had passed away, probably when I was—right in the summer when I was
seventh and eighth grade, right in between there. He passed away. And I think back about
it now, he was always the one that was kind of kept me in line, because I was afraid of
him. Even though he never hit me or nothing, it just, the way he’d talk to me. It always
kept me in line, I was afraid to do anything. I remember one time, he told me, you know,
like, “If you want to drink, bring it home.” He said, “I’ll drink with you.” See, my dad, he
used to drink until he got married, so I never knew him as a person that drank or nothing
like that. But he said, “I’ll sit down and drink with you if you want to drink. You know,
find out how it is.” But I was so afraid, I never did that. I was always afraid. But after he
passed away, it kind of opened doors for me to do all these bad things, and that, and I was
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
4
kind of going down the wrong road for a while. And I went to eighth grade here in Elko.
And I was kind of, like I said, I was kind of like going down the wrong roads, drinking,
doing all these bad stuff that we all do. Well, not all, but a lot of the Indian kids, you
know, I was just following along with them. Going along, doing things that they were
doing. So after I finished eighth grade, we start talking about sending me away to school.
And my mom, she says, she told me one day, she says, “I don’t want you to go nearby,
because that’s where all your friends are. You might end up doing the same thing.” And
so I ended up going down to Phoenix Indian School. And I think about it now, that was
probably the best move in my whole life, is to get, just get away from here. And not
being around my friends. But that was kind of bad, because it’s like, they’re your friends,
you grew up with them, you know? But I had that opportunity of being away from them,
and going to a school that was just far away, and you didn’t know anybody. It was a good
thing for me. I think about it, my freshman year was a tough year, because, like, down
there, I was the only Shoshone down there. There was Indians from all over the country
down there. And so, you almost had to—not almost, you had to—prove yourself. You
know, I was always in fights, and doing all kind of stuff. And eventually, it got to where I
got to know people, and then the school start—it was a good experience for me. Like,
there was, I did things down there in Phoenix that I know I would have never done here. I
was involved in the sports, I sang at a Nativity scene, you know, for Christmas? I was
involved in speech contests, you know, down there, won awards in the city of Phoenix
itself, in the Indian school. That kind of stuff I would have never done here in Elko. It
was like—it was like opening the doors for me. Getting involved, doing different things.
But that’s what the Indian school did for me. And you know, there’s a lot of people that
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
5
talk about how bad the Indian school was, and I think back about it, and I say that wasn’t
me, you know? Indian school, for me, was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
Because like I said, I did things down there that I would have never done up here. Or
probably anywhere else. And then the friends you made down there, they’re like forever.
I still keep in contact with lot of my friends that I have down there. Or I’d meet them on
the road somewhere at a meeting or something. And we always talked about the good old
PI days, you know, Phoenix Indian days. And it’s like a fraternity, you know, like, it was
pretty cool. Yeah. And the teachers and everybody was just really nice. It was a boarding
school, I don’t know if you guys know what an Indian school’s like, but it was a boarding
school, and you just learn how to survive. You know, you ironed your own clothes, you
did your laundry and whatnot. So, that was pretty cool. And when I went to the service,
all these people that was in the service, they’re all homesick, and I was already gone from
home. So that was like great training for me, when I went into the service. So that was
pretty cool. [Laughter] And, yeah, I graduated, and that was probably one of my saddest
days of my life, when I graduated. Because I knew I probably would never see them
again, the students down there. I remember sitting there, waiting for all these people
loading up on the buses, they were crying and whatnot. So everybody had a good, you
know, same kind of reaction; you know, we probably never see each other again. But we
did. Eventually, I went back down to Phoenix, and they were still hanging around down
there. [Laughter] And it was pretty cool. It was like, I don’t know. It’s… And they come
back up home, it was—home was never the same. Once you leave home, it’s never the
same. It’s always, people grow up, it’s just never the same. And I remember coming
home back in the summer, like I was talking about earlier, about haying. I was out haying
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
6
one summer, one day, and of course I was in town partying that night before. And I’m
talking about this because it was kind of like something that, one of those events that’s in
your life that you realize something’s changing, you know? And anyway, I was home,
and we were bucking bales, and it was right before lunchtime. And I was sitting there
sweating. All that dust, the hay dust, was all over me. And I’m sitting there thinking,
“I’m not going to do this all my life. I’ve got to start doing something else. This life is not
for me.” Even though, you know, yeah, when I was younger, riding horses and all that,
but things change. As you get older, you get more responsibility. Like, in the young days,
you didn’t have no care in the world, because your parents are always taking care of you,
you didn’t have to worry about where you’re going to get your money to keep going, to
live and whatnot. So, those kind of things kind of start, I guess you kind of start growing
up. Start thinking about, “I’d better do something.” Because those days, I didn’t even
think about what I was going to do. Or I hadn’t even thought about it. But, yeah. And it
was—after my dad had passed away, he was the one that, like I was saying, he’s the one
that taught me drawing, and got me interested in drawing. But once he left, all that was
gone. I never picked up a pencil or anything after he passed away. I was just, I guess just
wandering. Didn’t know what I was going to do with myself, or anything. And even in
high school, and I never really, you know, my friends that I have now, that I talk to, they
didn’t never realize that I even drew. Or that I was an artist. Because I never did nothing
like that. I was just doing different things. But once I graduated, I think it took a year
after I graduated, I ended up in the service. I was in the Air Force for four years. And
when I was about ready to get out, I started wandering—by that time, I was married. And
then I start really thinking about, what am I going to do? Because, like, in the Air Force,
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
7
again, they provide everything for you. Your food, your lodging, everything. You don’t
have to worry about nothing, you’re just in the service, doing what you have to do. And
when I was going to get out, I start thinking, “What the heck? I’ve got wife, and I’ve got
couple kids already.” And I didn’t know what I was going to do. And I was in bed, I was
sleeping one day, or just laying there thinking about it, and I fell asleep. And I had this
dream. I had this dream, it was an eagle flying over the mountains. And it just kept
coming back to me, kept coming back to me. And I started thinking about, “You know,
maybe I should just draw this eagle.” And so I did. And I haven’t done anything like that
for years, by that time. And I went down to the store and bought me a big old paper, and
pencil and pen. And I started drawing this eagle. And I don’t remember how long it took
me, but by the time I got out of the service, I had it done. I was done. And I started
thinking about, you know, maybe I should start doing something along those lines.
Getting back into my art. And maybe art school. That’s what I was thinking. And so
when I got out of the service—I was living in the Bay Area then—I went to a junior
college for a couple years. And I was about ready to get out of there, and these
representatives from the art school, California College of Arts and Crafts, they came up.
And they were, I guess they were recruiting. And the art teacher, he told them about me,
so I was up there, and they were looking. And I showed them the eagle. And they thought
that was pretty cool. And they said, “You know, one thing unique about this eagle is,
you’re not just drawing the eagle, you’re looking right at him. So you’re up in the air.”
Because the trees and everything was like you were up in the air, looking down on the
mountains, with the eagle flying up. You know, like. And I never thought of it that way. I
was just drawing the dream. And so, say, “Yeah, you know what? Fill out your
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
8
application, we’ll ship you down there to the drawing school.” And that’s how I ended up
over there. And that was probably a pretty good move, for me anyway, to do that. And I
was there for couple years. And I remember walking in there the first week, thinking I
was the best artist in the world, you know? [Laughter] And I walked in there, almost left.
Because, oh, the things they were talking about, and the students there that, you know,
their drawings was just… I don’t know, for me, walking in thinking I was the best, and
walking into the art school and finding out I had a lot to learn. And so I really kind of
buckled down and start learning about art. So that was pretty—and there were some
Indian students there. You know, so that was pretty cool. And I graduated from there, and
went to school, or went to work, over in the Bay Area. This Indian program over there is
called the OSIDA program. It was, they were looking for someone that has, well, they
were looking for Indian, anyway. They were looking for Indian. And what that job was to
do is go out and find jobs for Indian people. And they hired me, even though I never had
the experience, or even the education to do that. But I learned as I went along, and ended
up working there for years. And that was pretty cool. And I got to learn, there was
actually a lot of Indian people there in the Bay Area. And just the hardships that they
were going through, just to survive there. Because at that time, it was the Indian
Relocation Program, where the Indians, they were pulling Indians off the reservation and
sending them to the cities to get a trade, and get them away from the reservation. And
they ended up, a lot of people just ended up gathering at Indian bars, you know, and
that’s where they kind of hung out together, and that’s just the way life was, I guess, back
then. Just hanging around the Indian bars and partying it up. And gradually, I got
involved in that, too! [Laughter] I was there, you know—because, by that time, my
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
9
marriage life was coming to an end. you know, we were breaking up, so… So that was
kind of a, I guess a bad point. But yeah, that was pretty—but it was all, everything I did
down there was always involved with Indian people. And it is always a learning
experience for me. Because when I moved back up here to Elko, I had that urban Indian
life background behind me. And when I was working up here, it really helped me out,
because it was kind of, you know, just kind of learn how to live off the reservation. And
that’s a whole different ballgame than it is here on the reservation. You know, that
experience I had in California was—working with Indian people—that was good
experience for me. But I’ve always, always, all my jobs always been working with Indian
people. And it wasn’t until I came back here, I started working with our own Indian
people, I guess. You know, like, the people around here. And what a difference it was
from the urban setting to reservation life. I got a job as a administrator out in South Fork,
and I think, you know, to me now, I look back at it: those were good times. I really
enjoyed working for the Tribe, and getting the projects—we had irrigation projects going,
and agriculture, and the whole bit. And it was cool. Because I knew that these projects
were for our people. You know, our own people. And hopefully, it was the betterment of
the South Fork reservation. You know, because I think back now, when I first looked at
all the irrigation ditches and whatnot, and the structures, there are some structures that
was there when I went away to school. You know, they’re old, old structures. And so we
had all them changed. And just different things. Seeding the agricultural land, where they
put the cattle out, just doing all these kind of things. And to me, it was a challenge.
Because I had no idea of what the heck, what agriculture—well, I had an idea what
agriculture was, but as far as putting it into planning, and putting into a project, and
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
10
actually getting done? Never done that before. And it was cool. It was, like I said, it was
for our people. And I enjoyed the heck out of that. That was pretty cool. In those days,
too, I was drinking, so it was kind of—you know, I’ve been drinking since I was, what?
Before I went to high school, I started drinking. And so I guess I just kind of went along
with everybody, you know. And we go to meetings, and we’re partying, and all these
Indian things that they do, back then. [Laughter] You don’t see that as much anymore.
But, back then it was. I laugh about it now, but… All that time I wasted. All the moneys
that I, all the checks that I wrote in the bar, you couldn’t even read the dang checks,
because it was, you know, I just—they cashed it for me so I had money to drink with, you
know that? That was life then. I enjoyed my job, but partying and drinking was a lot, part
of the whole thing, too. And then, eventually I got into politics. I was a tribal chairman.
Te-Moak Tribal Chairman. And to me, even though that was a position of high standing,
you know, I didn’t really enjoy it as much. Because I felt like I wasn’t really doing
anything, because it was all the bickering that we were doing in back in those—you
know, they still do it today. But you just can’t really do anything, because everybody’s
fighting with each other. It’s not like the old days in South Fork, where, yeah, there was
fighting back then, but not like it is now. You just can’t seem to go anywhere, because
everybody’s too busy fighting with themselves. Or with each other. And so I served one,
what, four years? I think it was a four-year term, as Te-Moak chairman. I went right back
into tribal administration and did that. And I enjoyed that. More than being chairman.
And, but I know one thing, you got to travel, and when you’re traveling, you went down
to—I went down to Arizona, and the meetings and whatnot. And I ran into a lot of my
friends, from high school. They were there. And it was kind of neat, because you like to,
�GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
11
you got down there, got to share your experiences with each other, and where you’re at
today and whatnot, and how it was in high school, and just where you’re sitting at. And
everybody’s the same. The Indian people down there, they’re just like us; they’re all
fighting amongst each other and whatnot, and they’re trying to get projects going and
whatnot. So that was pretty cool.
C:
—of the leaders that you ran into in Phoenix. Were they from the other reservations in
Arizona?
T:
Yeah. Yeah, they were, yeah, their leaders also, their work administration and whatnot.
Because it seemed like the Indian school, the students that went there, they went on to
school. I guess it was kind of a good school, because a lot of the kids, they went on to
college. Well, they kind of prepared them for college, you know, college education and
whatnot. I know when the Indian school first started, it was all vocational. They taught
them a trade. But the Indian school, Phoenix Indian School itself, they prepared you for
college. Your courses and whatnot all prepared you for college. And it was kind of a, I
don’t want to say simple for me to get into college, but it helped out a lot. You know,
my—I had, of course, my confidence was real low, being Indian and whatnot, and getting
into the whiteman world and going to college, it was hard to adjust to that. But once it got
going, it wasn’t that bad.
When I finished up my term as a tribal chairman, I was really dissatisfied with what I did
or what I didn’t do. Because of all the bickering and fighting that we were having, I just
couldn’t seem to get anywhere. So I went back into administration again. And like I was
saying before, I really enjoyed that. Because you’re actually doing projects for the tribe,
or for South Fork. But that eventually came to an end. And… About that time, too, I had
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
12
a phone call from a friend of mine, down Arizona. And he was one of my partying
partners. You know, we always partied all the time, had a good old time down in
Phoenix, all over Arizona, whatever. We had a good time. And he calls me up one day—
or, he wrote to me. And he told me, he says, “You know, I got some bad news for you.”
He says, “Our partner, he was killed in a car accident.” He was one of our drinking
partners. And he said he was drinking one day, and he was going home, and he got in a
wreck, and he was gone. But—and he says, “And I haven’t drank for,” I think, three
months at that time. I think he said he hadn’t drank for three months. And I called him
up, and I told him, “Mike, you know what?” I said, “I been thinking about doing that, too.
Quit drinking.” But I didn’t know how to do it. And so we just start talking. And
eventually, I quit drinking, too. Because I looked at Mike, like saying, if he can do it, I
dang sure can. You know, like, because that’s all we ever did was we just partied all the
time. We’re partying and have a good old time. And I figure, if he can do it, I can do it.
So that kind of got me going there, and I just kind of quit cold turkey. Actually, sitting in
jail, I quit. Or I thought about it, and that was it. So after I quit drinking, I said, “Now
what?” And I start thinking, you know what? I went to school and all this, and think it’s
time for me to start getting back into my artwork again. So that’s what I was doing. I was
in town one day, and I saw the gallery there. So I walked in. Start talking to him, told him
my past, you know, went to school, blah blah blah, went to—and I didn’t know at that
time that the school I went to was probably one of the top schools in America. One of the
top art schools in America. And so they were all impressed, you know. And to me, it was
just an art school. [Laughter] So, I showed them my artwork, and they were all pretty
impressed by it, and so I got back into my artwork. And at that time, that’s what really
�GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
13
helped me along with, you know, quit drinking. Because I had something to do. I was
able to concentrate on my art, and not thinking about drinking all the time. Then I went to
the, what is that, CBC? The junior college here?
C:
Great Basin College.
T:
Yeah, I took a drawing class there. It was a beginning drawing class, of all things. Well
you know, I figured I haven’t drew for years, so I’m going to start up again. And I took a
class over there with Sarah Sweetwater. And that got me going again into artwork, and I
got to know Sarah pretty good. We got to be good friends. And, so that got me back into
my artwork. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since, is doing artwork. And then I was
working little bit in administration off and on, you know, so I was doing a combination of
things, there. But I was getting back, getting back and getting pretty serious with my
artwork. And my artwork, I was introduced to colored pencil, in art school. And I always
painted. I was a painter. And I was dissatisfied with my art, with my painting, because I
could never get the detail that I wanted, and the color I wanted. And so when they
introduced me to colored pencil, that was it, you know. I could do all the detail, and the
color at the same time. And I never got away from that. I was always just doing, working
with colored pencil.
You know, I’m, after I quit drinking, I started thinking more seriously about my art, and
my future in art. But before that, when I was going to college, my sister in law, she was a
beader. She always beaded. And she told me one day, she said, “Try this. Try beading.”
And like when I was going to school, there was always that pressure on you to get your
assignments done, and all this, you know. And so I start picking up beading, and I found
that to be really relaxing. It was like, I was like in my own little world. It was like,
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
14
beading was, I really enjoyed that. And I still do that, still enjoy it today. To bead. Just
kind of takes me to another dimension, I guess. You just forget about time and all that.
Anyway, I started beading, and got to be pretty well known as a beader, actually. I’ve
sold things to people from New York, Oklahoma, all over United States. And all this
time, you know, my beading and my art, I start traveling to different powwows and
setting up. Got to meet lot of people. See how they’re running their arts and crafts, and
got to know a lot of people, and just the ideas and whatnot. And I always talked about a
store. Doing a, opening up a store. And that’s what I wanted to do, because I enjoyed that
so much. It was something that I really liked. And this opportunity came up. A friend of
mine, she—well, actually, the person I talked to when I first quit drinking and went to the
gallery. She was ready to retire, she wanted to get out, because she was getting sick and
she just didn’t want to do that no more. And so she calls me up one day, and she says,
“Are you interested in taking over the store?” And how much it would cost, and whatnot.
And that kind of floored me. I wasn’t really ready for that. Because it was pretty
expensive. But, and then she was so sick, she passed away. And so the, what do you call
that, the mall manager, she called me up and asked me if I wanted to—because I guess
my name was in the store. So she called me up. And made me an offer that, I just
couldn’t refuse, because the price had gone down. Because all she was looking for was
somebody to take over the store. So she didn’t have to move all that stuff out of there.
And that’s how I ended up getting the store. It was pretty cool. And that was, for me, that
was life. Because I didn’t have to worry about, you know, my boss looking over me. I’m
my own boss. If I mess up, that’s my fault. But if everything works good, hey, that’s
because of me. And that’s a completely different kind of feel. And I enjoyed the heck out
�
GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
15
of that. And then with my past experience hanging around with the craft people, I got to
know lot of craft people, and so I kept in contact with them. And then my art, the Indian
artists that was going to school, I contacted them, they bring their pictures up to the
gallery. It was really a good time. Good time for me. Everything seemed to just kind of
work together. But unfortunately, then I got sick. And I had to closeit, close that place
down because I couldn’t handle the time, or couldn’t keep it in operation. Because what I
was doing was, I was framing. Framing pictures and whatnot. And I never at the time
trained anybody. And so when I got sick, I couldn’t keep it open, and so of course you
start losing business because you’re not there. And there was nobody there to kind of take
over for me or not. So I just kind of lost the whole thing. You know. And that was kind of
bad, but… Hey, you know, you got to keep going. You got to keep going. And that’s, I
guess that’s where I’m at today, is, I sit back and think of all the things that I couldawoulda-shoulda done, and things that I did do, and that’s what I’m trying to talk about.
All the bad things that had happened to me, or the things that I did, that, man… the things
that I lost. Actually, you know, lost, talking about the checks that I used to write, you
couldn’t even read them. There was a lot of money gone there, that was just thrown
away. All because I was drinking. And it’s sad, really. But you know, if you get a chance,
just to keep going, keep going. Because there’s always, something will come up. And it
always seemed that, you know, no matter how bad your road is, something’s always there
to kind of pull you out of that. Somewhere. That’s all I was trying to talk about when I
got the store, everything kind of just seemed to fall in place. And it was a good time for
me. Because like I said, I really enjoyed the job, because I didn’t have to worry about
�GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
16
anybody watching over me or whatnot, you know? [Laughter] Yeah. And of course, I
was still doing my artwork.
Okay, I brought in a few pictures that, these were mostly done, probably after I’d quit
drinking. And like I was telling you, most of all of them were done with colored pencil.
Some of them were done with people around here. Some just done from books or
whatever, you know. I used to always like to add color to it. This one here was a white
man. He was a contractor. And he came up to me one day, and asked if I wanted to do a,
he wanted a portrait done for his kids. And I told him, I said—kind of joking with him—I
told him, “I never done a white man before. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out!”
[Laughter] Which was true, you know. I’ve always done just Indian people. And it’s, the
problems and complications of it, way different when doing a white person to an Indian
person. But it came out all right. And I think I named it, “For My Kids,” I think was the
name of that project. Yeah, and then these up here were pencil. This one here was the
first one I did when I got, when I started sobering up. Right here. And the owner of that
picture, I think, is one of the Gallaghers here in Elko. And then of course, the feather
drawing, I think that’s what most people know me by. The feather drawing, I think—let
me tell you a little story about that one. That one, although it’s just real simple feathers
coming down, that was done, or, the idea of it—when I was a little kid, my dad, we were
down near Smoky Valley visiting these old people down there. And I remember the old
man was telling my dad about his headaches. He had a lot of headaches. And he said he
came out the door one day, and there was a eagle flying above him. He prayed to the
eagle, and the eagle dropped a feather down to him. And that’s where that idea came by.
So I’ve always kept that in my mind, and just kind of put it into artwork. But that’s about
�GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
17
all I got here. I don’t really have that much stuff, but the time we have to sit here and talk,
it’s actually pretty short. You know, I didn’t—and I kind of sugarcoated a lot of stuff,
because, you know, the things that I went through, in drinking and whatnot, were tough
times. Were tough times. And when a person comes up to me and talk about drinking and
whatnot, I really don’t know what to tell them. Because I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it,
because I did. I liked my partying days and whatnot. But I just couldn’t—I don’t know
how to tell anybody, like, “That’s bad for you!” I don’t. I really don’t know how to tell
anybody that. But I can just relate to what I did. And all the time and the money that I
lost. I always think about that nowadays. Like, “Damn, you know what?” But, I have
grandkids. I have nine grandkids, and two great-grandkids. And one thing I can say is,
I’m proud to say they don’t know me as a drinker. They’ve never seen me drunk, or
never seen me touch drink, or anything like that. Because I had quit drinking before they
were all born, except for the oldest one. He was just a little baby. But they don’t know me
that way. And I can probably say that, like. They don’t know me that way. I’ve told them
stories about, you know, like, I was out partying, but they look at me like, “Yeah, right!”
You know? Because they just don’t. They just don’t know me. It was like my dad, you
know? I never knew him as a drinker, because he never drank—when I was around. He
had sobered up when he got married. Yeah. And that’s one thing in my whole life that I
feel real proud of, that I could do that.
C:
So how many grandchildren do you have, and where are they? Do you get a chance to
spend time with them?
T:
I have, what, nine grandkids, and two great-grandchildren. The two great-grandchildren
were just born not too long ago. One end of last year, one just about a month ago. And
�GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
18
the grandkids, they’re, they live in Reno. There’s two back East, their mom’s in the
service. She’s been in the service over 20-some years. And they’re, shoot, they’re going
to college now. And actually, she’s an officer in the Army. She went in as a nurse, and
ended up being a minister. But she’s an officer. That was so cool; I remember talking to
her when she was getting her bars, and she says—and I told her, I said, “You know, your
dad went to the service, and barely made it out of there with a stripe. And here you are
being an officer!” [Laughter] Which was really cool, I thought that was cool. And then
the others, they live in Denver. Other grandkids, they live in Denver. They were, most of
them were here when my last grandkids, great-grandchild was born. They were all here.
Yeah, so I see them every once in a while. But they’re, you know, they’re all, they’ve got
their own life. They’re moving out. You know, and doing different things. Yeah. But
that’s cool, it’s always good to see them. And the house is all noisy. [Laughter]
C:
Sounds like you’ve had a full life, Anthony. And so what do you do now, yourself, to
keep busy, or just for hobby? I noticed you have a championship jacket on there. Can you
tell us a little bit about the handgame jacket or where you won it? Is that something you
do nowadays? Something you like to do?
T:
I almost forgot about that. When, after I got sick, I was put on dialysis. And I’m thinking,
okay. I’m just sitting home, being all depressed and whatnot, angry with myself for
letting myself get that far and whatnot. Lot of time to think. And I said, you know what?
I’ve been, all these years, when I was messing around, going around, I was always sitting
behind Uncle Nathan, listening to his songs. His handgame—he was a handgame player.
And I never played handgame. I always just listened to him, watched the game, and
whatnot. And when they, my cousin and her husband, she says, “Come on, let’s go play,”
�GBIA
039;
Tom;
p.
19
I said, “I’ve never played,” you know. And all the excuses about never played, can’t sing,
and all this. Hey: when I got involved—I still can’t sing—but when I got involved in
handgames, I got hooked on it. And this jacket I’m wearing is probably one of my
proudest jackets, because it was my first jacket that we won. We won in Duckwater. But
they had a tournament down there, and we won. And I felt so good. It felt so cool to win.
You know, win the jacket, and have a jacket that you can remember this thing by. And
everybody’s always asking me, “What’s a handgame?” You know? [Laughter] And so
you have to explain to them what handgame is. But yeah, that’s what I do now, is go out
and just play handgames. And it’s so… It kind of makes me feel like a—a Indian.
[Laughter] It does, you know? Because, like, it’s an old Indian game, you know, and it
just feels good. I’ve been away from just Indian life all these years, and just drinking and
whatnot, and the handgame kind of seemed to kind of pull me in, and you get to meet
people, get into the handgame crowd, and it’s almost like the powwow crowd. Everybody
comes together once a year, and they just enjoy powwows. It’s the same thing with
handgame. You come in, you see people once a year or so, and just enjoy it. Just a
weekend activity. That’s what I do now. [Laughter] I’m not that good at it, don’t get me
wrong! [Laughter] I just enjoy it.
[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
Anthony Lee Tom
Location
The location of the interview
Lamoille Canyon, NV [South Fork Reservation]
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
DVD, AVI, and MP4 Format
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
00:50:18
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/462
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
Anthony Lee Tom - Oral History (06/05/2014)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral History Interview with Anthony Lee Tom, Western Shoshone from South Fork Reservation, NV, on 06/05/2014
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Anthony Tom is a member of the Te-Moak Western Shoshone and a veteran from the Air Force who lives at the South Fork Reservation, which he and others referred to as Lee, NV. He speaks about the South Fork community’s virtues, as well as, his experience growing up there and ranching. Anthony also talks about how and what he would hunt with his Grandpa John. He goes on to tell of his time at the Phoenix Indian School, and how it changed his life, an in fact led him to attend the California College of Arts and Crafts. He also informs his audience of the Indian Relocation Program, and the resulting aftermath. He also speaks about his time in Tribal administration, his time as an artist, and how he owned Picture This in Elko, NV. He ends his presentation by telling us about his time playing hand-games.</p>
<p>Anthony Tom Oral History Video pending<br /><a title="Anthony Lee Tom Oral History Transcript" href="/omeka/files/original/78f41864118130645a9e999fdce39237.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read Anthony Lee Tom Oral History Transcript [pdf file]</a></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 039
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
06/05/2014 [05, June, 2014]; 2014 June 05
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/files/show/463
Language
A language of the resource
English
artist
Community
Crossroads
GBIA
handgames
hunting
Indian Relocation
Phoenix Indian School
ranching
Shoshone
South Fork Reservation
Story
Te-Moak tribe
veteran