1
10
6
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/936a902a073be326afdc466f53b7261a.jpg
2bfea5f92feb4f1db488e58f5b0b6ee4
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
Toby Hilman
Location
The location of the interview
Reno, NV (Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Senior Center)
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Transcription in progress
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.)
00:56:51
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
Toby Hilman - Oral history (08/11/2008)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history interview with Toby Hilman, Northern Paiute from Pyramid Lake Reservation, NV on 08/11/2008
Description
An account of the resource
Toby Hilman is a Northern Paiute from the Pyramid Lake Reservation where he grew up until he attended Stewart Indian School. He speaks about being at Stewart and the discipline that was practiced there. Although one thing that he did receive from Stewart was education in carpentry which he now uses to make traditional pipes. He relays the importance of the pipes and how they are used in traditional ceremonies such as sweat lodge and sun dance. He also speaks about having Tuberculosis (TB) and being sent to Fort Bidwell in California and afterwards sent to an Indian sanatorium in Winslow, AZ. Later in life he recalls working for the Civilian Conservation Corp and surveying parts of Wadsworth, Pyramid Lake, and Walker River reservation. He also advices the youth to stay away from drugs and alcohol as well as to partake in outdoor activities and eating healthy.
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 020
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
08/11/2008 [11 August 2008]; 2008 August 11
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):
Language
A language of the resource
English; some Paiute
carpentry
CCC
Community
Conservation Corps
Crossroads
GBIA
Paiute
Pyramid Lake
Stewart Indian School
Story
TB
traditional ceremony
Tuberculosis
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/1f9ce51c40c6a0edc4bc71ce485b1a94.pdf
d585d5e174e07e6815b0c2993ddad2bb
PDF Text
Text
Clilt~r ustN -COLUHJ!
Great Basin College ;·:<.
Native American Club
�
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/360013f8b08b350d31a3410347f0f966.jpg
767470e37444493a91afbc5a81aa4c9a
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
misc
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
01:38:00
Event Type
Great Basin College's Native American Club - Social Exhibition Pow-wow
Participants
Names of individuals or groups participating in the event
Great Basin College's Native American Club
Te-moak Tribal members
Duckvalley Tribal members
Duckwater Tribal members
Drummers: Sweet Sage, Painted Horse, & Eagle Bear Clan
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
Great Basin College Native American Club - Social Exhibition Pow-wow (01/30/2009)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Social Exhibition Pow-wow at Great Basin College presented by Great Basin College's Native American Club on 01/30/2009
Description
An account of the resource
This video gives an overall outlook of the Social Exhibition Pow-wow at Great Basin College's Fitness Center. Marty Leyva was Master of Ceremonies. Sweet Sage, Painted Horse, and Eagle Bear Clan were the drummer groups. The event also included various vendors and contest.
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 021
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
01/30/2009 [01 January 2009]; 2009 January 01
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Norm Cavanaugh [Native American Club Adviser]; 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/id/387
Language
A language of the resource
English; Shoshone
Community
Crossroads
GBIA
Great Basin College
Native American Club
Powwow
Shoshone
traditional ceremony
traditional foods
traditional songs
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/98f423be21ec0728342bc7a8926ba0bb.jpg
04de61d9668de5a83279898614a59079
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/cc71cefaafddeea7b0dfcb83d2bc679c.pdf
4ebe28c5ce483e86445e14bba041709c
PDF Text
Text
Alvin
&
Lorraine
Sims
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
023
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
November
30,
2009
Owyhee,
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 023
Interviewee: Alvin and Lorraine Sims
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: November 30, 2009
C:
Today we have Alvin and Lorraine Sims. And Alvin, can you give us your full name and
tell us about where your family came from?
AS:
Yeah. My family came from in Paradise Valley. Came this way from there. And then, my
dad and my mom, they all came—no, my mom came in from Ruby Valley. And then, my
dad came from Paradise. My grandfather came this way, saikkih [1:16] Owyhee. And
then they stayed in Owyhee, and that’s where I grow up. Pu’unkh’a [1:21] But I grow
over here. That’s where I’m living right now. Hok’ patanke [1:26]. Right there, on this
side of my house, in the sagebrush, that’s where I was born. I was born the Indian way,
not in the hospital, huh? Sokkuh nemmen tsoo’pa naha nap’an [1:40]. Yeah. [Shoshone
from 1:44-1:48] Yeah. [Shoshone from 1:50-1:51] my parents. Yeah.
C:
Who was your parents? Hagan nanihande?
AS:
Edna Charles and Jack Sims. They’re my parents, my dad and my mom.
C:
Uh-huh. What tribe were they from?
AS:
My mother’s from Shoshone. From Te-Moak side. And then, my dad came in from
Paradise. Paiute. Yeah. Soteweh newene [2:25], I’m kind of half and half. Put me half and
half. [Shoshone at 2:31] Sikkih mia ______ kimmake. They came this way. And then,
found a place where to build their home. And that’s where I was raised from.
C:
So what kind of house did they—did they build a house, or did they live in a tent, or…?
AS:
Well, they live in a tent from the beginning. Tent huup’a. Then, later on, they build a
house. And then, that’s when my dad was working with the CC. CC crew, they call them
that. I’d come and I’d put up the boundary fence. All the way around the reservation.
That’s who we worked with. Down from us. That’s our place. And then we stayed in
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
2
Owyhee. Yeah. [Shoshone at 3:20] Yeah. All my grandparents [__inaudible at 3:26__].
And then on Te-Moak side, [Shoshone at 3:30], they came in from that side.
C:
So, are you related to Frank Temoke?
AS:
No, not really. I’m related to Captain Sam. The main guy. That was my great-great-greatgrandfather, tsoo. He was there with ones [Shoshone at 3:55]. Came down here, and
checked this over [Shoshone at 3:59]. Checked this land to see which one you like. You
want this one? Or you want Wild Horse? [Shoshone at 4:07]. My old man didn’t go for
that! So, he don’t like that. They’re too small. So, [Shoshone at 4:18] sopai wahatte,
taibo na sembe niikwen, “Go ahead and check this one out. [Shoshone? at 4:22]
Owyhee. See how you like it.” So he checked everything. Went up in the mountain, up
there. They got deer up there. They got groundhog up there. Then he checked all the
river. And then, it’s got squirrels, it’s got fish, it’s got everything here. So that old man,
he’s choose this one, so that’s why the people came in. Later on, a bunch of them came
in. The first five families that came down was, that Captain Sam, and then Captain
George, Big Dick family, and then Washington. That’s the only four I know. But there
was five, they said. I don’t know who was the other one. So they came down and they
stayed over here. And that, on the place they chose is right there by Sam Curtis’s place.
Down here? There’s a rock building that was sitting there, that was sitting down toward
the west. It’s all fallen down now. That’s where Washington used to live. And then that
Big Dick, he used to go way down, down below. [Shoshone at 5:46]. First one that came
down. Yeah. That’s how the old man checked it. He said, it’s got everything here. And
that’s the reservation he had. [Shoshone at 6:05]. And put him over here. Yeah. That’s
how it went.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
3
C:
So are there any relatives of Washington left on the reservation?
S:
Uh, no, I don’t really know them. But that’s what my grandfather—and he used to tell me
about that. But I don’t really know. The only one I really know was that Big Dick.
Taskey. That’s only one I know. But the rest… I know where they live, he showed me
the places where they live. But… That’s just about all I know on that.
C:
So, was there like a Indian agent that lived here with them, or…?
S:
Huh?
C:
[Shoshone at 6:54]?
AS:
I think so. I think that something like that way. [Shoshone at 7:00]. Because that—he
was the superintendant, we had that long time ago. He goes around in through here. Visit
them places on horseback. And then, that’s when them—I guess, he went down, he was
looking for Dick Caskey. So he went down out [Shoshone at 7:23], and he went down to
my grandmother’s place over there. Asked her—he asked her, “Where does Mr. Big Dick
live?” And then the old lady, right, she can’t hardly talk English too good. So, she said,
“Way down there,” her pointing that way. And he lives way down there. [Laughter] So
you can understand [Shoshone at 7:55] semme yekwite. Yeah, that’s only thing. That’s
the only thing she said! She says, “He lives way down there.” [Laughter] Yeah.
[Shoshone at 8:07]
C:
So, did the other Shoshones move up here later, then?
AS:
Yeah, lately. [Shoshone at 8:18] Then them coming in, keep coming in. That’s when the
Captain Sam was here already. So he invited them in. And then, later on, Captain Sam,
well, he said that—he was talking about Paddy Cap. He’s fighting, fighting the soldiers
all the time. That’s Paddy Cap bunch. And then, Captain Sam, well, he told them two
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
4
runners of his, he said, “I want to really talk with that Captain Paddy.” So, he sent a
couple guys down that way. I don’t know where they got ahold of that moonshine, long
time ago, but I guess they had all kind of liquor long time ago, it sound like. So, he gave
them some. “Take this along. And then, give him two drinks. And when you get done,
you bring him this way.” So, they went down, looking for him. They finally found him,
where he’s at. They talked with him, and then they keep pouring him the drink. And the
old man, he liked that drink, boy! [Laughter] Keep on drinking and drinking, and then
pretty soon he got so drunk where he can’t hardly stand up there. Really, he about ready
to pass out. So, he really got drunk, and then them guys said, “Let’s go for a ride.” They
put him on horse some way, and brought him up. And then they had brought him right to
Captain Sam, over to his house. So—and then Captain, in next morning, I guess Captain
talk with him, with Paddy Cap. And then told him that he better quit this fighting. “I
don’t want you be doing that” [Shoshone? at 10:29] “I don’t want you to fight no more.
Your people going to be gone pretty soon, you keep on fighting.” I guess he understood
what he meant. “I want you to bring—go down back home, and bring the whole tribe,
your tribe. Bring ‘em up. And then we’ll give you a place over here to stay.” [Shoshone
at 10:58]. Right up here by Meadow Creek. You know, from Eleanor’s house. That fence
line that goes west. He’ll give you that piece right there. Six mile this way, and then 22
mile this way. “You could raise your people, your kids, right there on [__inaudible at
11:23__].” So, he settled down. He settled down right there, raised his families. There
used to be lot of people right there in Meadow Creek. There was families clear from—
you know where Lena Black used to live? Yeah, from on all over this way, clear up in
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
5
here, and then, on the side hill, on this side. And then down here, there’s some more.
There’s, I don’t know how many families. There were quite a few families there.
LS:
Yakama-ne.
AS:
Yeah, Yakamas…
LS:
Damons.
AS:
Damon, Littles. Yeah, there was bunch of them. Yeah, finally, they all went. They’re all
gone.
LS:
[Shoshone at 12:11]
AS:
Huh?
LS:
Oh, shoot, now I can’t remember.
C:
So where did Paddy Cap’s, where was he before? Where did he roam?
AS:
Well, he was right in Umatilla there someplace. That way.
LS:
Thataway.
AS:
Yeah, Oregon. Oregon. Yeah. So anyway, that’s where he was raising problems. So, they
finally got him over here. They had a picture of him over there at the tribal office.
Captain Paddy Cap. He had a big war bonnet on. He was sitting this way. Yeah, this way.
Picture up on the wall of him facing this way. That’s where he was from. He just want to
fight all the time. Yeah, that’s the story about that one, there.
C:
So, how did—was the Boneys, was there a family here named Boneys at one time?
LS:
Yeah, Boney.
AS:
Yeah.
C:
Were they Paddy Cap’s band, or were they Shoshone, or…?
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
6
AS:
No, they Shoshone. Bonny, Boney, Barney… They call themselves “Barney” now. They
used to call him “Boney.”
LS:
[Shoshone at 13:36]
AS:
Yeah, right there, you know, where that bridge—
LS:
Boney Bridge.
AS:
—by this side of the Rock Gym, the house over there? Right there. Right in that corner
there. This side the bridge right there. They used to live right there. The only one that’s
left out of them, the Barney—no, not—what’s his name? Kenneth. Kenneth Boney. He’s
only one that’s around. That’s left, probably. The only one. I don’t know if there’s any
girls or anything. That’s only one I know.
C:
How about the Priddy? Was there a family named—
AS:
Priddy?
LS:
Priddy, yeah.
AS:
Yeah, they used to live way down there by Pleasant Valley. Up that way.
C:
Where did his family come from?
AS:
From the Paddy Cap side.
C:
Oh, he was a Paddy Cap.
AS:
Yeah. Must have moved to them up there in Pleasant Valley, that came in from Paddy
Cap side.
LS:
The Dodges, too. The Thomas.
AS:
Yeah, Dodge, Thomas.
LS:
Roy Thomas. And then… What was Tupa and them’s name?
AS:
Adam.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
7
LS:
Adam. Tom Adams.
AS:
Tom Adams.
LS:
And his wife.
AS:
Yeah, all them people that used to live down there. Pleasant Valley.
LS:
But I don’t know that lady’s taibo name. Just Tupa. [Shoshone? at 15:05]
C:
[Shoshone at 15:07]? What ever happened to them?
AS:
They all died.
LS:
They all passed on, yeah.
AS:
They all passed away.
LS:
Had a lot of people here, no’himpaishen [15:16].
AS:
Mmhm. Lot of people over there. There’s not very much left. Nobody in Pleasant Valley
now.
LS:
Not good, but, you know, if it wasn’t for the liquors, there’d be lot of people. Lot of
elders would be still here.
AS:
Yeah, that Priddy—
LS:
Alcohol got them all.
AS:
That, what’s his name, that… Priddy, what their dad’s name?
LS:
Willie? Willie Priddy?
AS:
Yeah, Willie. He used to be a big family, that one. Lot of boys. No girls, innit?
LS:
No, mm-mm. No.
AS:
Nothing but boys. They used to get drunk, get sick, and then most of them got died with
alcohol.
LS:
Everyone.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
8
AS:
Drinking too much.
LS:
We’d have lots of elders. Now, right today, but…
AS:
Yeah.
C:
How about tuberculosis? Was tuberculosis, did people die from that, too?
AS:
Well, long time ago, people don’t know about the disease. They don’t know what they
have.
LS:
Because they never go to hospital, never.
AS:
Never have no hospital.
LS:
[Shoshone at 16:24]. I don’t know how they treats theirself. They cured with herbs.
AS:
Yeah, tuberculosis—well, all this sickness that they, they don’t know what they have.
LS:
[Shoshone at 16:40]
AS:
Yeah, the taibo forgot.
C:
So what did they use for medicine? [Shoshone at 16:48] Hawaki newe nattahsua’na?
AS:
I don’t know what kind. I don’t know what kind of Indian medicine—they used nothing
but Indian medicine then. The only one I know is sagebrush. I don’t know what’s that
others.
LS:
Uteweh daha newe tea, Indian tea, that antapittseh kwana. You probably—
C:
Yeah.
AS:
Yeah, I don’t know, I don’t know what the name of that one. [Shoshone at 17:15]
LS:
And then they used to have a lot of—
C:
[Shoshone at 17:17] Yeah. Osen kwa’i sembanai newe nanihan. Yeah.
LS:
Lot of cabbage, and then wild carrots they eat. [Shoshone at 17:24] Not really that much,
though, huh?
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
9
AS:
No, unh-uh.
LS:
No. Not like today.
C:
So, when did the Native American Church—[Shoshone at 17:39] sick?
AS:
In the [19]50s, I think.
LS:
No. Then, they just [Shoshone at 17:48] ondat newe nanishundahai. Himpaishe.
AS:
I know. That’s when Raymond Warren came down. He’s the one that brought them down
this way.
LS:
Long time ago, though. Not in the [19]50s. Before. [Shoshone at 18:02]
C:
So who was Raymond Warren? Was he—
AS:
He’s from Fort Hall. Yeah, he came down there, and then they started with that. Start
healing people with that. That’s one thing, only thing I know about that, Indian American
Church.
LS:
And then the sagebrush, I still sagebrush for cough.
AS:
I don’t know—I know antapittseh kwana, but I don’t know the name of it.
LS:
The taibo name.
AS:
Yeah. That’s a white name for it, someplace. [Laughter] Because I don’t know.
LS:
Totsa.
AS:
Yeah. [Shoshone at 18:57] Sekke nanihante, I don’t know how you would pronounce it.
[Laughter]
LS:
[Shoshone at 19:00] taibo nanihade. But there is lots—herbs. Mmhm.
C:
So, when did the—when was the old hospital built? Or, do you guys remember when that
was built?
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
10
AS:
[Shoshone at 19:17]. When I was going to school, it was already up. See, when I was in
school. I was, I don’t know, about seventeen?
LS:
Before.
AS:
Yeah. And it was up already. So, it must be around about, when I was around about
thirteen, fourteen? That’s when the hospital—this old hospital down here.
C:
Yeah.
LS:
[Shoshone at 19:48]
AS:
Yeah, long time ago.
C:
So was this the first hospital that was built, or was there one before?
AS:
Yeah, that was the first one.
C:
First one.
AS:
Yeah. And then this one here, not too long ago.
LS:
There was a, [Shoshone at 20:09], a church over here on this side.
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
No, [Shoshone at 20:16]. I know there was a—the Pursleys used to live over here, too.
Himbaishe.
C:
Uh-huh. So, when you guys were growing up, [Shoshone at 20:29], your grandparents,
[Shoshone at 20:32] hakainuhi teniwaa? What did they teach you, or what did they say
to—what were some of their teachings?
AS:
Yeah. [Shoshone 20:38] She’d been taught a lot, about Indian ways and what.
C:
Can you share some of that with us today?
LS:
[Shoshone(?) at 20:49]
C:
Yeah.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
11
LS:
Okay. [Shoshone at 20:52] Himbaishen ______ newe napuiten ne. Tsoon newe teniwate,
you know? [Shoshone at 20:58]. You know, the bad things, all the bad things. Itsappe
[Shoshone at 21:08]. The scary! Mmhm.
C:
So they taught you to watch out for things, and not to do certain things. Did they give you
a reason as to why not to do those things?
LS:
But, you know, when you [Shoshone at 21:30] Itsanai, like, you go to jail for that. And
then, [Shoshone at 21:34]. That’s some ones, there’s lot of things. Good things, but I
can’t remember them. Tsaante newe teniwaken.
C:
So, it was the facts of life.
LS:
Mmhm. [Shoshone at 21:54] Don’t be laughing at people. Don’t be laughing when
you—they might put a curse on you with this. [Shoshone at 22:05] Mmhm. There’s lot
of things, lot of—go the good way. That’s how come I don’t really care about this booze
business. This liquor? I don’t really care for it. [Shoshone at 22:20].
C:
Oh, you had a house above the hospital up there?
LS:
Mmhm. Yeah.
C:
What kind of house did you have?
LS:
I think there was a log cabin.
C:
Oh, log cabin house?
LS:
Yeah, and then [Shoshone at 22:32]. It’s a building. That’s how I, you know, [Shoshone
at 22:36]. We used to eat in cans of whatever, you know? No spoons, we have to use our
fingers. Mmhm. Then, in the springtime, when they real itto—you know this little ditch
right here? The water [Shoshone at 22:55]. Then we carry water, run over there, and
rinse our, you know, whatever we eat in. Yeah. It’s a hard, hard life, yeah, what I came
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
12
through. [Shoshone at 23:11], you know, the people drink tease [more]. And then you
see a lot of it, and you don’t want to do that. Himpaishe.
C:
Osen suwain hakate hinna hipi [23:21], what did they drink?
LS:
I don’t know! That’s what I used to think, you know? Where did they get their liquor to
get—because I know I used to hear them say that, you know, somebody gets it for them.
Then I used to hear them—
AS:
Bootlegger ko’i.
LS:
Bootleggers like Boocher Jess, hagan tease? And Tiptoe George.
AS:
Tiptoe George. [Laughter]
LS:
Charlie the Barber. [Shoshone at 23:48]. But anyhow, a long time ago, [Shoshone
23:50].
AS:
Yeah. [Laughter] They’re the Mountain City bootleggers.
LS:
I guess so, I don’t know.
AS:
That’s where they get their drinks.
LS:
That’s what I always wonder about: where did they get their liquor—like, them folk?
[Shoshone at 23:59]. Yeah. [Shoshone at 24:05]
C:
So, when did Mountain City—do you guys remember how Mountain City came to be?
AS:
That’s long time ago. That was before my day. It was built before my day. It was long
time ago.
LS:
Did they used to have carnival, huh, way up there?
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
Or whatevers. Rodeos.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
13
AS:
I must been around about, maybe 14, 15 years old? But it was already up, Mountain City.
So, I…
LS:
We never go anywhere, you know. We don’t go anyplace. In 1971 was the first time I
was ever been on the highway.
AS:
And that’s when, your, the grandparents—Old man Cavanaugh? That’s when they were
kids, were riding them ponies up there to Mountain City, for that carnival. [Laughter] Old
man was drunk, he got on one of them ponies and riding around with them kids, ride!
[Laughter]
LS:
They were silly, though, them old people.
AS:
So many people laughing! [Laughter] Only big guy in a bunch of them little kids!
LS:
They were funny, though. Silly guys, himbaishe, older people. They make you laugh. It
wasn’t like this, you know. They don’t fight or anything. Not that I know of, you know?
But now when, there’s just, when they drink, there’s fighting. Long time ago, I never see
those things. Yeah.
C:
So, what did everybody do? Were they all ranchers then, or how did they survive?
Hakane [Shoshone at 26:07] or what kind of work did they do?
AS:
Well, they used to work with the CC. They call them “CC.” They built this whole
reservation. The fence line, up through north, east, south, west. That’s their job to do.
Took them quite a while to do that, finish that fencing. This, real big. Go a long ways. I
don’t know how many miles, it go from big dam on over, clear back there. And from
there, across. This way, and this way. That’s how they—they used to work for only a
dollar and a half a day. Yeah, that’s how my dad used to work, for the CC. Dollar and a
half a day.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
14
LS:
And some people have a wheat farm. Yeah, himpaishe. They trade with the—well, we
had to couple trade over here at Williams’ store. William [Shoshone at 27:18].
Maybe—who had it first time?
AS:
Sherman’s.
LS:
Sherman.
AS:
That old lady.
LS:
They trade with her wheat—you know, their flour. They had flour mill here, too. Yeah. I
know my grandpa and my grandma used to bring their flour here and trade for food.
Mmhm. [Shoshone at 27:36]. Yeah. And they kept garden. Now, we don’t even have
gardens. Because we have canned food. [Laughter] Yeah, that’s how I remember. They
get along real good, too. They help one another. Now come they don’t. It’s real strange.
Yeah. Sometimes, when I wake up in the nighttime, I always say, “I wonder why people
don’t get along,” you know? They should all get along. Then we used to have horse—you
know, wagon, [Shoshone at 28:14]. Then we’ll, somebody’s walking, and we’ll pick
them up. [Shoshone at 28:22] Some people have cattle. Not real lots, though, huh?
AS:
Mm-mm.
LS:
They used to have returned heifers, tsu ha. Remember?
AS:
Mmhm.
LS:
[Shoshone at 28:34] They sell their thing, and then they pay that back. [Shoshone? at
28:40]. And then they used to have a sheep in here, long time ago. [Shoshone at 28:47],
they use that money for something, I don’t know what. Mmhm, yeah. [Shoshone at
28:54] I don’t know. Everything’s really changed. And then I always think that, you
know, our elders, when they were in the council, [Shoshone at 29:07]. And then they,
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
15
[Shoshone at 29:12]. They all get along. And so, pass it on. [Shoshone at 29:18]. They
ask the tribe. And then they used to gather over here at the resource center. Sukkuna
gather, and then they tell the people what they went for—to Washington, D.C., or
whatever. Wherever they go. And they tell the people. [Shoshone at 29:34]
AS:
Well, they had them—they had maybe two, maybe three guys go for them outside. And
then, when they come back, that one guy will get up and tell the people what they went
for. [Shoshone at 29:49]. “That’s what we went for.” And then he’ll talk English, taibo
taikwanna. Tell them in English. Pretty soon, he’ll want to tell you in Shoshone.
[Shoshone at 30:05] Tell them in Shoshone. “I’m going to tell you guys in Paiute
[Paiute? at 30:11].” So, and then he’d tell them where they’d been to in Paiute, there.
And explain everything to them—to the people, to the tribe. They used to do that, long
time ago. But now, you can’t hear nothing about that. [Laughter] They won’t tell, no
matter where they’ve been to, they wouldn’t tell you. Nobody want tell you.
LS:
[Shoshone at 30:40]
AS:
Yeah, they tell you.
LS:
[Shoshone at 30:44]
C:
So, that’s when they had their moon houses?
LS:
Yeah. [Shoshone at 31:15].
C:
The women stayed away from the family when they were—during their period?
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
Mmhm. Then, they have to take a bath in a tub before they come to the house. That’s—
had to starve. [Laughter] They wash you. Then you feel clean when you come in the
house. But I never get to do that, but when I had my baby, [Shoshone 31:39]. I had to
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
16
stay out. For whole month. Mmhm. That’s what they’re supposed to do. [Shoshone at
31:50] They live in the houses. That’s a good way, though, you know? To keep that up.
Then you don’t [Shoshone at 32:01].
AS:
[Shoshone at 32:09], like people, they [Shoshone at 32:12]. Some of them are strong.
They can take what’s coming, and they can take it. But some others don’t. They get sick
with it, [Shoshone at 32:23].
LS:
[Shoshone at 32:25]
AS:
Yeah. [Shoshone at 32:26]. Yeah, and hurt them so bad that—
LS:
[Shoshone at 32:32]
C:
So, who were the spiritual healers? [Shoshone 32:51]?
AS:
There was, that [Shoshone at 32:56]. John Damon.
LS:
John Damon.
AS:
John Damon… What’s the other guy?
LS:
Willie Dorsey.
AS:
Willie Dorsey. Yeah, Willie Dorsey.
LS:
Hugh Thomas.
AS:
Hugh Thomas.
LS:
And Alex Cleveland.
AS:
Alex Cleveland. And then that, Nat Paddy.
LS:
Yeah, Nat. [Shoshone at 33:18]
AS:
Yeah, and those were five of them. There used to be five Indian healers here.
LS:
Mmhm. Spiritual healers.
AS:
Yeah.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
17
LS:
Not going, there’s nobody.
AS:
Nobody. Nobody here.
LS:
Mmhm.
AS:
Well, there—
LS:
We went to [Shoshone at 33:34].
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
[Shoshone at 33:43], nothing.
AS:
Yeah, no place. I don’t think there’s any Indian doctors. Something, maybe in the Navajo
tribes, there might be some there. But not over here. That guy from, there’s one over
there in Fort Hall that I know. But he comes down through here. And then, every time he
comes down through here, he says—it don’t look too good up this way, he said. One
time, he came around this way, he said. He came through Elko—to Wells, Elko, down
this other way. Soon as he came up here by Wild Horse, he said, been getting darker and
darker this way. The way he looked at it. Coming along by the canyon, got over here.
This whole thing was dark, he said. This whole valley. Real dark. “Don’t look to good to
me,” he said. He’s a faith healer, sort of. He’s called Indian doctor. But he try to get rid of
it some way, he said. Also, he doctored a lot of people over here [Shoshone at 34:54].
Comes around. He’s a Shoshone. Talks Shoshone with you. [Laughter] Yeah. Talk real
good.
C:
Hagan nanihante? What’s his name?
AS:
[Shoshone at 35:08] that guy that came down on the pickup?
LS:
I don’t know. Can’t remember.
AS:
Hii no naniha—I used to know his name. Can’t remember now.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
18
LS:
Some kind of Sweeney.
AS:
Sweeney. Yeah, Sweeney something. Yeah, he comes down. He’s got his own truck
when he comes down this way. Said, “Every time I come here, everything don’t look to
good up this way.”
LS:
[Shoshone at 35:36]?
AS:
Yeah.
C:
Did he say why it didn’t look good, or how—
LS:
Black clouds going on.
AS:
Yeah, black clouds, he said, covering this valley.
C:
What’s it from? Did he ever say?
AS:
No. I don’t know, I don’t know.
LS:
He just didn’t say. He should have at least cleared it up for us. [Shoshone at 35:56]
AS:
That other one, too, that other Indian doctor that was here before, before him. They used
to—stays over there with us guys here. [Shoshone at 36:16], you know, the one that runs
that—that [Shoshone at 36:21].
LS:
Eagleheart, huh?
AS:
Eagleheart! Yeah. He said, he was telling me the same thing. He said it’s, don’t look
right.
LS:
I always wondered why they couldn’t do anything about it.
AS:
“I don’t know why it’s like that,” he said, “but it don’t look right to me.”
LS:
[Shoshone at 36:40]
AS:
Yeah, everything dark. He said everything’s not running right, he was telling me.
LS:
[Shoshone at 36:49]
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
19
AS:
He could see a person.
C:
[Shoshone at 36:53]
AS:
He had a black handkerchief about, like that. Just like a x-ray machine. He’ll just hold it
loosely, like that. Look at you, and he’ll tell you. See what’s wrong with you. [Laughter]
That’s how good he was! His handkerchief was x-ray! [Laughter] Yep. And then after,
when he get done there, he’ll run a sweat bath. ‘Course, he gets it real hot. I was in there
with him, once, in that sweat bath? He put too much water on that rock. I can’t hardly
breathe! [Laughter] I let him a holler, “I can’t stand this heat, so I’m going to stick my
head out!” He let me out then. Then them other guys, they took it. “Yeah. I don’t know
how you guys could stand that heat,” I said. It’s real tough in there! [Laughter]
LS:
[Shoshone at 37:57]
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
But now, go in and they’re mixed, I think. [Shoshone at 38:05].
AS:
Yeah, you’re not supposed to mix it with ladies. Just nothing but men. And if the ladies
want to do it, they can do it on their own, they said. Nothing but ladies.
LS:
But everything’s changed. Those’ll change it, yeah. It’s hard nowadays.
AS:
They’re still doing it with ladies, now. These young generation, they’re still doing it with
them girls and that. But they’re not supposed to do. But… I guess never been taught or
something.
C:
So when they did the sweats long time ago, it was just one for women and one for men,
huh?
AS:
Yeah.
C:
And was there a leader? Somebody that was in charge?
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
20
AS:
Yeah. This one person in there prays for you in there. He’s a main man. And the ladies
do the same thing. They get one lady to be praying, do the praying for them in there. But
no man is in there with them, just ladies.
C:
So they don’t—now, they do them both together, huh?
AS:
Yeah. Yeah, it’s this young generation. They—no matter what you tell them, they won’t
believe you. [Laughter] That’s the way we view the young kids, now.
LS:
[Shoshone at 39:37] No matter how you tell, you know, them not to be doing this and
that? They won’t listen to you. This long time ago, [Shoshone at 39:48]. I said, “It isn’t.
You’re supposed to carry it on to your kids” [Shoshone? at 39:55]. But, they don’t listen.
So I tell them, don’t be, don’t go out drinking, you know/ There’s a bad disease out there
nowadays, I told them. Better watch out. Be careful. Take care of your life. Mmhm. I
said, “I’m trying my best to take care of my life. I’m an older person now. I’m still
talking!” But they don’t listen to me. Mmhm. I don’t know about my grandson, I don’t
know if he’s listening to me or what. And I will tell him, “Don’t abuse girls. That’s not
nice.” Don’t abuse one another. [Shoshone 40:41] It’s hard, nowadays. Very hard. The
kids don’t listen to you. It’s upsetting.
AS:
Now, if you do tell them something, they said, “This is 1909!” That’s what—
LS:
[19]90?
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
[Shoshone at 41:04]
AS:
Yeah, that’s what they going to say. When you talking about it, it’s past already.
[Laughter]
LS:
They will say, “This isn’t the [19]50s, or”—
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
21
AS:
This is [20]09, they say! Not in the [19]50s, they going to say. I heard three, a few, kids
say that to me. Try to tell them something, yeah. “Well, you know, it’s [20]09, now. The
one you talking about is way past,” he said. [Laughter]
LS:
You know, if the parents, they have to stand together to raise kids. If one says no, the
other one let them have the cars. And if I say no, he’ll let them use the car. And that’s not
right at all. I told them, “You got to be together to raise kids nowadays.” Right? Mmhm.
That’s what I been saying, but they don’t listen to me at all. Of course, some of these
days, they’ll—they’ll learn I hope. Because I told my boy before he passed on, I said,
“You’re the leader. And the kids are going to follow your footsteps someday.” See, now,
doing—they’re drinking now.
C:
Okay, in summary, Alvin and Lorraine, if you were to give your words of wisdom—I
guess is, that’s what we could call it—to the young people of today, what would you like
to say to them?
AS:
[Shoshone at 42:40] like I was saying, about that drinking. First thing I would say, about
drinking. Them kids, don’t want them—I want them kids not to be doing that. And then
mixing it up with that dope. Smoking. Want them kids to stay away from that. I mean,
there’s lot of it going on around here now. Main thing—that’s the main thing I would say.
Stay away from it. Try to stay away from it. Because they might not live long doing that,
too. But they got to think about their life—ahead. If they don’t think about their life, they
might just pass on. That’s what I would say, is quit that stuff. They could quit, in their
own willpower, they’ll quit. That’s what I would say. Just like in smoking. See, if you
want to quit, you could quit. Like I did, I just quit. Been lot of offers, lot of drinks offered
to me, but I just, I told them no. I quit this stuff already. That’s passed on. Smoking, too. I
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
22
don’t smoke. That’s what them kids got to learn. Yeah, they got to quit that on their own.
Lot of that stuff. I don’t know what kind of pills they take, too. That’s another thing.
They mix it some way. Smoke that, and they they still gets into drugs. So that’s what I
would say to the kids. They’ll be all right. If they quit, they’ll be okay. The best thing is
to quit. Might be, some of it might be going in the school, too, I don’t know. Lot of them
kids there.
C:
Is there anything you’d like to add to that, Lorraine?
LS:
[Shoshone at 44:55] Aishen kwa’i, himpa’ha ______ some of these days, they might be
sitting in the leader place. That’s the way I look at it. [Shoshone at 45:07].
C:
So they should learn to work together as a team.
LS:
Yeah, mmhm. [Shoshone at 45:13] and don’t abuse one another. [Shoshone at 45:19].
But there’s more. [Shoshone at 45:26].
C:
And then how about education?
LS:
Yeah, [Shoshone at 45:32]. They need to [Shoshone at 45:34], I had to quit for my
younger ones, when I [Shoshone at 45:40]. And then I, in seventh grade, I went to school
in seventh grade, because I had to quit school for my younger kid, younger sisters.
[Shoshone at 45:56]. Yeah, Leah Manning used to tell me to come back to school.
[Shoshone at 46:03] Because, you know, [Shoshone at 46:10]. That’s the way I grew
up. Drinking. And I sure don’t care for that. [Shoshone at 46:17] You know? Come
home, and [Shoshone at 46:24]. I lived in fear the rest of my years. Yeah. [Shoshone at
46:34]. And then Ray Allen and Dawena over there were small, [Shoshone at 46:41]. I
was just afraid, [Shoshone at 46:46], for him to come in. You know, “Come in!” [46:51]
And I was real happy. [Shoshone at 47:15]
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
23
C:
So cedar is used for, a medicine, and praying, huh?
LS:
Mmhm.
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
[Shoshone at 47:28] That’s what I did, on my own. Yeah. [Shoshone at 47:33]. You
know? When life is, when you have no kids, it’s real lonesome. [Shoshone at 47:53].
That’s the way I got my girl. Cutting school [Shoshone at 47:59].
C:
So you guys adopted a girl, huh?
LS:
Yeah. We adopted a girl. [Shoshone at 48:24] Just kept on working and working.
[Shoshone at 48:28]. You know, go hay. Cut hay and whatever with him. [Shoshone at
48:40]. It’s just, you know—[Shoshone at 48:44] so you have to be careful. [Shoshone
at 48:49]. You got to be careful, take care of your life. Their lives. [Shoshone at 48:55]
You got to trust one another, when you’re married. You trust your woman, right? Mmhm.
[Shoshone at 49:08]. You supposed to trust one another. Don’t say you want to go see
this one, [Shoshone at 49:15]. Life was tough for us, himpaishe. [Shoshone at 49:36]
ration clothes hannikai. Ration shoes, ration, everything’s rationed. Your sugar,
whatever. You know? When it comes here, it got the [Shoshone at 49:47]. Long time
ago. Yeah.
AS:
Now, over here at Sherman’s store, there. [__inaudible at 49:57__]
LS:
You know where the courthouse is? [Shoshone at 50:01]
C:
So who was, who gave up the rations?
LS:
I don’t know. [Shoshone at 50:14] from somewhere.
AS:
Yeah, brought them in [Shoshone(?) at 50:18]. They brought it in a truck sometime.
They give us so much sugar, coffee, all of that stuff.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
24
LS:
You get stamps for sugar, and you get pound, maybe a pound of it.
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
Pound of sugar. Have little cards for that. Mmhm. [Shoshone at 50:39]. It was for his
shoes, he had little stamp, and then, [Shoshone at 50:47]. [Laughter] Yeah. So he’d have
to wear boots.
AS:
What you’re not supposed to do, [Shoshone at 50:53]. [Laughter]
LS:
[Shoshone at 50:55]. Then later on, I’ll tell him, “[Shoshone at 50:59].” Mmhm, yeah.
Them grandparents so nice. You just [Shoshone at 51:07].
C:
So your grandparents were nice people, then.
LS:
Mmhm. Yeah, they were kind people. Then they always say, “You feed people, whoever
come visit you. Then, if you don’t have no food, if you have coffee, give them a coffee!”
[Shoshone at 51:38]. So I’m still like that, mmhm. [Shoshone at 51:43] Yeah.
[Laughter] [Shoshone at 51:50]. [Laughter] Yeah. [Shoshone at 52:01]. Mmhm, yep.
C:
Okay, well, I guess this concludes our interview for today, and I want to thank you, and
Lorraine, thank you, and Alvin, I want to thank you, for taking the time to share these
stories and your words of wisdom with us. So…
AS:
Yeah.
LS:
That’s what I really want, is the kids to, you know, be nice to one another, don’t abuse
one another. Leave this alcohol and leave the drugs out! Yeah. Just keep it out!
[Shoshone at 52:40]. Don’t let the enne’tsi [ghost; dangerous spirit] get ‘em, let the
Devil get ‘em. [Shoshone at 52:48].
C:
Yeah, aishen tsaa. [Shoshone at 52:55]
AS:
[Shoshone at 53:00] Told about everything.
�GBIA
023;
Sims
and
Sims;
Page
25
LS:
[Shoshone at 53:08] I just know the Itsappe. No, the Bear and the Deer [Shoshone at
53:18].
C:
Oh. Okay, [Shoshone at 53:23].
AS:
Yeah. [Laughter]
LS:
[Shoshone at 53:25]
AS:
Yeah, that’s what they say.
LS:
[Shoshone at 53:29]
C:
[Shoshone at 53:33]
AS:
[Laughter]
[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
Lorraine and Alvin Sims
Location
The location of the interview
Duck Valley Reservation (Owyhee, NV)
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.)
00:55:48
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/563
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
Lorraine & Alvin Sims - Oral history (11/30/2009)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history interview with Lorraine and Alvin Sims, members of the Duck Valley (Sho-Pai) tribe on 11/30/2009
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Lorrain and Alvin Sims are both members of the Duck Valley Sho-Pai tribe. Alvin speaks first about his parents Edna Charles and Jack Sims and where they came from before moving to the Duck Valley reservation. He also spoke about how his father worked for the Conservation Corps. Moreover he speaks about his relative Captain Sam and how Duck Valley became a reservation. Both Alvin and Lorrain talk about the usage of traditional medicines, and the medicine/spiritual leaders who were traditional doctors within the tribe. Lorrain also speaks about the traditions surrounding right-of-passage and pregnancy. They both recall the traditional way that sweat lodges were also used. They also tell us about how items such as sugar, clothes, and food were rationed when they were younger. They end by cautioning the youth to keep away from drugs and alcohol.</p>
Video pending <br /> <a title="Lorraine and Alvin Sims Oral History Transcript" href="/omeka/files/original/cc71cefaafddeea7b0dfcb83d2bc679c.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read Lorrain and Alvin Sims 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 023
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
11/30/2009 [11 November 2009]; 2009 November 11
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/id/371
Language
A language of the resource
English; Shoshoni
CCC
Community
Conservation Corps
Crossroads
Duck Valley Reservation
GBIA
medicine man
ranching
Shoshone
Story
traditional ceremony
traditional medicines
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/5a94fa8995185e4806f0bba05ae0a8a8.jpg
05f9b13f4ae2504a613adb671e3092f7
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/13bbb9a8db3b30863b1dfbaf48a07316.pdf
b472565d2602004505a6f3af6545989d
PDF Text
Text
Katherine
Blossom
Great
Basin
Indian
Archive
GBIA
029
Oral
History
Interview
by
Norm
Cavanaugh
March
27,
2012
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 029
Interviewee: Katherine Blossom
Interviewer: Norm Cavanaugh
Date: March 27, 2012
B:
—and we’ve lost a lot of our Native American plants. Our herbs. But we still have a lot.
We truly do. And you know, if we don’t use our herbs, they’re going to disappear.
Because it’s our way, the Native Americans were placed here as caretakers for the land.
For the plant life, for the animal life, and all that’s here. Our job was to pray. And that’s
the foundation of our lives, was prayer. We prayed early in the morning. The old people
would get up early in the morning, and even the children, when they had the camps, they
would get up early in the morning and they would pray, and thank the Creator for the
good night’s sleep. But thank him also for all that’s here, from the morning star, to the
sun coming up, and the mountains, and the rocks on the mountains, the water that runs,
and all the trees, the plant life, animal life, the creepy crawlers, four-legged, and they
prayed also then for their family. And that’s how they took care of things. They were
completely dependent upon our Creator. Our Father, our God, however you call Him.
He’s known by many names today, but I feel we still have the One. And He is the
Almighty, He’s the one that takes care of us. But we have walked away from that type of
life, because we have—times have changed. Our people, our elders, our ancestors, would
be your grandparents, or maybe your great-grandparents, were forced to go to the
boarding schools, where they were not allowed to speak their language. And so that’s
why many that came from the boarding schools did not teach their children the language.
Because they went through hardships. It was broken. Their language was taken from
them. They were not allowed to speak it. If they spoke their language, they were punished
for it—severely. I mean, the stories are just stories of horror. And people don’t like to talk
about that because it’s so ugly. But that’s what our people went through. You think about
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
2
the abuses; our people suffered all the abuses that ever was thought of. We have had our
Holocaust. But through that, and during that time, a lot of our ways, our old ways, were
taken from us. And I know many people say, “Well, it’s too bad your father and mother
didn’t teach you your language.” A lot of it was because they were ashamed. They
became ashamed of who they were. They walked with shame in their hearts. And yet,
they did nothing to deserve that. But it was so ingrained in them. The punishment was so
severe, they never forgot it. You think of all the horrible things that happen today,
happened to our people. And therefore, they quit. Many of them just quit going out and
gathering the precious herbs. And they started, because the prominent society said they
were the right ones, they had the right way, they had the answers for everything, and we
were savages, and you name it. You’ve heard all those names. I’m sure I don’t need to
repeat it. But, with that, then our people just kind of shunned away, because they were
taught it was wrong. They were taught it was wrong to pray in their own language. So
they had to learn to speak the—it was forced upon them to speak the English language.
They were forced to recite prayers. And many of the prayers didn’t mean anything to
them, because that was not our way of prayer. That’s not the native way of prayer. Our
prayer is different. Our prayer is—I don’t know how to say this, I never have been able
to, but it just seems like our prayers go deeper. Because we pray for everything. We pray
for our Mother Earth. Why do we call her our mother? Because she’s the one that gives
us everything. Without our Mother, the electricity would not be here. Without our
Mother, the glass would not be here, because it’s made with sand. And so, as you go on
to school, you’ll learn these things. But remember, where did it all come from? It came
from our Mother. The clothes you have on, the glasses we wear, our jewelry, whatever,
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
3
all has come from our Mother. And our Father, our Creator, has touched man in such a
way that they have gone beyond. I mean, now we’re flying in the air in aircrafts. That
never was. Our grandparents never saw that. I mean, it would just—they would just be
startled and really scared, because they didn’t see this type of living. And you’d come in,
and you’d turn on the switch—how does the light come on? You know? But it’s here.
You go and you turn on a dial, and the heat comes on. I mean, and that’s how far
technology—and now we’re flying, and with the computers, and your iPods—all of this
has all been created by man. But it was the Creator who gave that. But, you know, that’s
going beyond. And our people’s lives was very simple. Like, the outdoors were our
pharmacy. All the plants that you see here, in whatever form, it came from our Mother.
She has given us everything. Even today, our water comes from Her. And how many of
us stop to think how precious the water is? How many of us stop to pray when we take
that drink of water first thing in the morning? Because our body is made up, good portion
of it—how many know how many percentage of water is our body? Does anyone
remember?
U1:
It’s like 70%.
U2:
I was going to say 70-73[%].
B:
Mmhm. It’s in the 70 percent. That’s how much of our body is made of water. We cannot
live without water. And therefore, we need, all of us, need to start praying for our water.
That it’ll be pure. It’ll be good. And that when we drink it, it won’t harm us—because
look at the chemicals that we have put in there. The atomic bomb was the first thing that
started that off. It went into the ground. Where is our water? It’s in our Mother Earth. It’s
in Her veins. And they have contaminated our water. Some places, people cannot drink
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
4
the water. They have to have it shipped in. Or they have to boil it, or they have to put
something in it, to make it pure, that they can drink it. And so, man is literally destroying
what we have, what the Creator has given us. And so, I believe we need to go back to our
basics. Remember our prayers. We need to pick it up. And as we do that, and if you’re
really sincere in your heart, you’re going to learn. The Creator’s going to give you songs.
When you go out and you pick the pinenuts, the pinenut songs will come to you. It’s just,
we haven’t been doing it, and that’s why it’s gone from us. We’ve lost it. Because we
have not been doing it. And so with that, if you really want to live a better life for
yourself—this is for you, not for me—however you live your life is how you’re going to
be. Like if, now with the drugs that’s coming on, with the drinking, the alcohol, the
smoking all of the different things that’s homemade, and manmade, it’s not good for your
body. Our people did smoke, but they smoked in their ceremonies. But they use the
natural herb. They used the natural tobacco that they gathered. They harvested. They
would mix it with a medicine called totsa. They would grind it, and they would put it into
their, when they’re rolling their cigarettes. But then, they didn’t just smoke it just to be
smoking. They smoked it so that, maybe they had lung problems. It would clear that lung
out. Or they would chew it, and swallow it, and that would help clear the lungs out.
You’ll be surprised how much stuff you can start spitting up when you start using this in
a good way. Pray for it. Pray, and ask it. Because everything that’s on our earth, on our
Mother Earth, has a spirit. And this is something you don’t learn in school. They say the
rocks don’t have a spirit. The rocks have spirit. Because in our ceremonies, we pray to all
the elements, because that’s what the Creator has given us. And so, our basics is—and
I’m not trying to preach at you, but that’s just the way it is. That’s the way it is. So, when
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
5
you go out—and we’re going out to go pick pinenuts. We’re getting ourselves ready,
we’ve gotten ourselves ready, we’re going out. And before you go and you pick the
pinenuts, you ask the Creator to bless the pinenuts, and that you will have a good harvest,
and you give it water. And you thank the pinenuts for being there for you, that you can
feed your family. And you can use it in a good way. You take what you need. You take
what you can use. And you take what maybe you’re going to give to your grandfather,
grandmother, or whoever. You take that much. You don’t take so much that you’re going
to throw it away and waste it. Because that’s not what the Creator have told us to do. He
told us, take care of everything. And so that’s why we walk—and you walk in your
prayer. You know. It isn’t a one-day thing like Sunday, you go to church and then you
forget about God and you forget to pray, and then next Sunday you go back to church
again. It’s not that. You walk your prayer, you walk in that, daily. You pray for the sun
that comes up, that it heats all of us, and it gives energy to us, to all of the plant life,
everything that’s on our Mother, and all that She gives us. And we should be thankful. Be
thankful that we still have clean air. Pray for the air, that it’ll be clean, and that when
you’re breathing, it’ll be clean for you. And for your family. And for your relatives. And
with that, so we’ll go to our medicines now. All of this was given to us. This is what is
called chaparral. Chaparral is good. It grows in southern Nevada and Arizona. And it
grows in a bush. And sometimes, if it’s really nice and healthy, then they grow up like
little trees. They don’t grow real tall, because it grows where it’s hot in the desert. And
the way you can tell—and this is, by knowing your plants, if you go out and you walk
among them—you pick your plants, there’s only a certain time of the year that you
harvest different plants. The chaparral is the best in the springtime, in April. You get up
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
6
early in the morning, you look at it. The sun is coming up, let’s say, from the east. I’m
not sure of which way east is in the building, but let’s say this way. Then you look
through it, and you see the sun has come up, and your chaparral, the plant that glistens
and shines, has a lot of healing property in it. Because it’s healthy, because of the oil
that’s in it. Our plants are oily. And that’s when you pick it, you harvest it. Again, you
don’t go out and just pick. You prepare yourself. You think about the plant you’re going
to go and gather. You go, and before you touch the plant, just like the pinenuts, you pray
for it. You offer it water. And same with all the medicines. That’s the process. You do
that before you harvest. And, now this plant, and this is a crown that came from the
Sundance. I don’t know if all of you have heard about the Sundance, but this is another
way of prayer that has been given to our people. Now, this is mugwort. It’s a little bit
different than our sagebrush, but this grows along the riverbanks in Oregon. And they use
it for a crown, because they’re going to go out, and they’re going to dance for four days,
without water or food. And when they gather this, they pray for it. Same thing. You pray,
you give an offering. Maybe you could take tobacco. Because this grows along the river.
You don’t need to give it water. But then, you give it tobacco, for an offering, thanking it
for being there. And that, when you pick it, it will go with you and help you. And it does.
Because this is full of water, and they wrap it with a red cloth, and then they put it on
when they go out and dance. And it helps. It helps them. And this, a crown would be
more out, but because I’ve had to pull it back so I could carry it, when it was gifted to
me—when I say “gifted,” it was given to me—the crown was out like this, and then that
gave them shade. That helped the dancers in that way. And this is a mixture. It’s got
cedar, it’s got tobacco, it’s got sage in it, and you can mix different kind of herbs with it.
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
7
And then you give this as an offering, when you go out, and you’re praying. Like, in the
morning. You go out, and you make a fire, and as you’re building the fire, you go
through the procedure with prayer. Thank the wood for being there. And thank it that it’s
going to take your prayer up. The smoke is going to take your prayer up, that our Creator
can hear you. And that you do stand in front of him in a pitiful way. But we’re asking for
help for ourselves, whatever the need is. And then you thank—also, never forget to be
thankful for all that Mother Earth has given us. And if you have time, you can name them
all. If you don’t have time, you can say, just, “Thank you for Mother Earth and all that
she has provided for us, and keep her strong.” Because we are literally destroying our
Mother. And it’s sad, when you stop to think about it. But all of this came from her. This
was given to me, and it’s like a wax. But people from the south use this, and when they
go in the sweat lodge, they put it on the rocks, on the hot rocks, and it gives a different
fragrance. It helps clear the mind. It helps you to clear out—like if you’re carrying a lot
of bad junk inside. You had bad feelings then. And now it’s getting overwhelming with
you. And this is what happens. You can get in that state of where you feel dark, and you
feel ugly, and you just have this heavy feeling, and you don’t want that. You want to be
able to walk upon our Mother in a good way. And so, you need to get rid of those, the
darkness, the heaviness. What else would we call it? Anything that keeps you from being
free. Rather it be our mind-thought. And sometimes, we have to watch what we think.
Because if we keep thinking bad thoughts, we’re going to start talking that way. It just
happens. And so, if you don’t want to be that way, and you want to be kind, you want to
be loving, you want to be helpful. You have to pray for that. Because we’re living in a
time when there’s a lot of ugliness around us. You take the drugs. That has a spirit in it.
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
8
You have all kinds of spirits. The alcohol has a spirit. And the drugs, and the, what,
wacky tobaccy? Whatever they call it. [Laughter] I’m not up with the term these days. I
think that’s an old saying. But, those things are things that will hinder us, from being the
person, and the potentials you’ll have. It will dampen that. And it’s wonderful when you
don’t have those hangups, and you don’t have to rely on a drug in the morning to help
you through the day, and don’t have to have a drug to keep you awake or put you to
sleep, or whatever they use those things for. You don’t need that! You need the good
medicine to keep you well and healthy. And it’s all out there. This is what they call
sweetgrass. And it has, they’re kind of old. I’ve had them for a while. But it has—go
ahead, pass that around—it has a sweet smell to it, and when you burn it, it has a
wonderful fragrance when it’s fresh. And they use that to smudge with. And when I say
“smudge,” you take, and you can, you know, put it around you, and ask that all that bad
feelings, whatever it is that’s bothering you, to leave. Now, this is white…?
X:
Sage.
B:
It’s white sage. She said she has some. And this has a different kind of fragrance. But it’s
the same, it’ll do the same thing. Because, the Creator has given us, wherever you live,
has given the people different kind of herbs, that will grow in that area. And that’s what
they use. And it has a different smell to it. Very fragrant. And it just help clears the mind,
it helps you to feel better. It does lift up your spirit. It works. And then, this has a little bit
of, this is what we call a prayer tie. Now, our people don’t do this as much as the Sioux
people do. But they take—and, like, if I was going to make a prayer tie, maybe I would
put some, I’d put a little, maybe cedar in it. Maybe would take some sage. Or maybe
would take, if we were in Oregon, we’d take mugwort. We’d take whatever herbs there
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
9
are, and mix it. And then, as we make our prayer ties—like, say you have a trauma in
your life, going on. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one, maybe someone has gotten terribly
sick. And you want help for them. This is another way our people have learned to help
themselves. They take and cut a piece of red material, and then they put tobacco and
whatever herbs that they have, and they wrap it, and they tie it. And while they do that,
they’re asking for help, for whoever, whatever’s going on, to give relief. Do a healing. To
maybe lead them to make a right decision. Maybe you’re at a point in your life you don’t
know what to do. You pray about it. And that helps clear your mind. And then you also
burn the different herbs, your cedar. This is a flat cedar, comes from Oregon. And then it
looks different than the cedar that we have here. But people use it the same way. They
use it in their ceremonies. And if you make a fire, and you put it in there, you’re going to
have a wonderful fragrance. And that is what will clear, and help you clear your mind.
And that’s what they do. And then, after they make this, maybe they can hang it in their
room, or however they feel like they need to do it—and then after so many days, then
they burn it. Or maybe it’d be the same day. I don’t know. It just depends on how you’re
led, however you’re taught. That’s what you do. And this is a protection. And it’s like a
chalk. You hear of people carrying bad medicine with them? That they can harm one
another? With our people, you have that. We don’t like to think of that. But you can rub
this on you, like that. And it’ll protect you. You can put it over your heart, you can put it
down on your breast, you can put it on top of your head, where your chakra is. And it
works like a protection. But also, then we have one, that can work that way, and also, this
is called—
X:
Aipin.
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
10
B:
[Laughter] All of the sudden! Thank you! Aipin. And aipin1 is red, and you gather this
from the mountain. There’re spots of it. And it’s very, very fine. And when you look for
it—and if you go about it in the right frame of mind, you’re praying for it, that you will
find it, if you don’t know where it is—it’ll show itself to you. And you get down and you
pick it. And it’s just like a little, round, little tiny round ball. Red. And you pick that, and
then you can later on mash it and then put it on. But we Shoshones don’t put it on our
faces, because invariably you end up with an argument or a fight or whatever. We don’t
do that, because that’s not our way. Other tribes do that. But you know, all different tribes
have different way of doing things. And we don’t make fun of other people, however
they believe, however they pray, it’s your own personal thing. It’s how you’ve been
taught. And we’re careful not to make fun of other people’s religion, or their beliefs, their
spirituality. With our native people, we don’t call it religion, we call it sprituality. It’s
how you walk and live. You can put it, also you can put it on the top of your head, and
that is your protection. You can put it on your wrist, around your ankle, and you can
walk. Especially when you’re going among a people that you don’t know, you don’t want
to get harmed. With the girls, it’s very important that you protect yourself. And this is a
good way. Ask it to go before you and protect you. And it—like I said, everything has a
spirit. Everything understands. It’s we humans, sometimes don’t have a good
understanding. And we just have lost our way. The birds know what to do. Certain birds
know when to go south. How did they know that? It’s, the Creator has made them that
way. And how do the bears know when to hibernate? You know, that’s a gift to that
animal. And so, all animals have a spirit, too. And when our young people used to—well,
1
It is clearer in the video, but KB was holding aipin, which is white and chalky, before moving on to the reddish
substance, which is most likely pisappe.
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
11
when our menfolk used to go hunting, they prayed. They cleaned their gun, and they took
care of their gun in a good way. And then they would pray. “Let the deer”—and they’d
pray to the deer—“give up your life, that my life can go on, and my family’s life can go
on.” And when they do that in a good way, they always came home with a kill. Because
the spirit heard them, and the animal gave up their life willingly, that we could go on.
And that’s the way it is. So be thankful for all that you have. And now, this is for the
head, and this is for the—this person’s hands are smaller than mine. [Laughter] I can’t get
it on. But they used to have, it used to have quite a bit of the mugwort sticking out. And
that’s how they danced. And then they had one on their ankle, on both ankle, and then
they would have a portion of it sticking out also. And that helped them through their
dance, and through their fasting and their prayer. Because dance was not for show, but to
help their people. They danced. Some maybe, someone in their family could have cancer,
and they would pray for that person while they’re dancing. Or maybe they’re just, maybe
there’s an, on a reservation, or a colony, maybe, say, there’s a lot of suicides coming
that’s happening. A man, or woman, whoever’s dancing, can take that, and pray that that
spirit would be lifted. And this is sweet sage. Got this down here by the college down—
well, where the—okay, help me out. The park down here.
X:
Peace Park.
B:
Peace Park, thank you. I’m having those moments. But that’s okay, I always have help—
thank you. This is what we call totsa. This you go out and you harvest it from under the
ground. And in the springtime, when they’re growing, they look like a celery. No, carrot.
They look just like a carrot. You know how they’re really, just plentiful little leaves?
Well, that’s what they look like. But then, in the fall, when we go gather them, then they
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
12
change. Because then, on top, they’re like flat, but they have little flowers around the
outside. And sometimes, some of those stems are still standing, and you can see them.
You’ll recognize them. But if you go out, like, in September, you can smell them. From
the ground. It’s interesting. Because you use it, and you’re familiar with it, it’s a familiar
medicine for you. And you can smell it. And you can—and many people, like if they’re
out in the country a lot, and they’re attached in a special way to the land, and they’ve kept
their prayers up, and they walk in that way—they can also smell the deer. You can smell
the plant life, there’s just… Because you’re keen, you’re open to that. But that’s
something that is acquired over time. And it’s the way you walk, with prayer, and
kindness. It’s the way you are as a person. And totsa is one of the many, many wonderful
medicines. You can boil this and drink it—it’s strong. You don’t want to boil it too long!
But you can drink it, and it’ll open up your esophagus. It’ll open up your bronchial tubes.
It’ll open your lungs. And many, many people have survived because of totsa. Because
when it was harvest, it was gotten in prayer. Most important element. It was prayed for, it
was taken care of in a good way. And we dry it, and it’s really hard. But then you can
shave it, and then you make a fine—it just comes out real fine. And you can put that on a
pan, in a pan, if you have a wood stove you can put it on the wood stove, and then you
get the, it cleanses the air, it helps you to breathe better. You smoke it, it goes down into
your lungs, to purify your lungs. And also, people have drank this, and they mix it. They
boil it with chaparral. People that have had cancer have done that, and it has—this2 is real
good medicine for cancer. Very, very strong. But, there was a woman that lived on the
Reese River reservation, and she was the oldest woman that I knew of. But I’m not quite
2
KB
is indicating the chapparal again as she makes this statement and those that follow.
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
13
sure how old she was. She was very, very old. But she would drink a cup of this every
day. And her nephew, her grand-nephew, would go down southern Nevada, and go and
pick it. And he went with a, he did what was expected of him to do. And he prayed that
that plant would go and help his grandmother. And she lived. And her, it helped with her
arthritis. Because she was still able to walk, and to get around. And she did
basketweaving. And her hands were nimble enough that she could continue to do her
basketweaving. Sagebrush is a very good medicine. Here again, you can make tea out of
it and drink it. It’s good for colds. I saw a woman one time that had fallen, and had
gashed her leg down to the bone. I could see it. And she was sitting in her little cabin, and
she was boiling the sage. And I said to her, “You’d better go see the doctor!” “Oh, no.”
And she said, “No, I’m not going. This is my doctor.” And she was boiling it up, and she
took it out of the pot—she didn’t wring it out or anything, but she just put the whole
thing, the plant and all the juice, and she put it right on top of that, and she wrapped it
with white material. And I saw her, I can’t remember now just how long. But I saw her a
while later. And she was up walking around. I never did ask to see—but I know she
didn’t go see the doctor, because she wasn’t going to go. But she just, when she wrapped
it, she just put the skin together, and then put this medicine right on top. And it healed.
And she could walk. I saw it with my own eyes. And I thought, “Whoa! That’s good
medicine!” So we do have good medicines out there. We have medicines that will help
you, to protect you. And that’s why I say, go to your grandparents, if you still have
grandparents. Go to them, talk to them. And they can tell you a whole lot more than what
I have here, because I just haven’t been out gathering the last year and a half. Well, it’ll
be a year and eight months now, because of, my son had cancer. But through prayer,
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
14
through the herb, he is cancer-free today. And right now, we’re in the process of getting
him up off the bed and helping him walk. But he needs help to walk. But that’s what our
medicine can do. But you have to believe in it. You have to take care of it in a good way.
And you must, of all things, live a good life. Can’t go out and get drunk, or go out and get
high, or whatever else is out there, I don’t know what’s all out there. But remember, all of
those things do have spirit in them. I will give you this one testimony that I, that was
revealed to me. One Sunday morning—or no, it was on a Saturday, I believe it was—I
had gotten up, and it just, I could see this black blackness that had come, and it was
hovering over the camp. The native camp up here on the hill. Way up on the hill, and
down below to the old camp. There was this blackness, this darkness. And I thought,
“What is that?” Because it just looks so weird. And it didn’t feel good. And I started
praying about it. I started asking questions: you know, why? Why? What is this, that has
settled? I didn’t see it over the town. The town was not revealed to me. But where we
lived, it was revealed to me. And I kept asking, “Well, what is this?” Because I knew
there was an answer. And the next morning, it came to me that that blackness, that
darkness, was a suicide spirit. And during that time, before that time, I believe we had six
suicides up among my people. And that spirit had come. And evidently, no one had
prayed about it. But I felt—I can’t tell you how I felt. It was scary. And I remember, they
have the Indian chapel up on the hill. I think it’s still the same name. But anyhow, I went
to church that morning, and I just had to tell somebody, because that was pretty scary, to
see that blackness. And I told the minister’s wife. And I told her what I felt that was
revealed to me. And she said, then she said, “What we need to do is pray.” She said,
whoever all was in the church. We all prayed that that blackness would be lifted, and that
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
15
spirit—this is the way she said, “it’s a spirit that has come to linger over your people.”
And so we prayed that that spirit be lifted. The whole congregation did. And do you
know, the suicides ceased. We did not have another suicide after that. So whatever you
want out of life, you can have. If you want to draw closer, and you want to walk in your
spirituality, you want to keep it strong, then you need to do the footwork. Which is, you
need to get up, and you need to pray. You need to be thankful for everything that you
have—good or bad, and who’s to say it’s bad? Through this cancer situation, I have
learned so much. Through my son. I’ve gone through experiences that I would have never
went through if it wasn’t for my son having cancer. How many times did I hear him say,
“I want to leave. Mom, I don’t want to be here no more. I want to go home.” And he
wasn’t talking about this home, because we were home at the time. And when we went to
Salt Lake, and we lived there for—well, a good year. I heard him say that again and
again. And he wasn’t. He was talking about the natural home. He was talking about going
home to his Father. And I told him—the first time he said that was, I was sitting across
the room from him on the couch. I was on one couch, he was on the other. All of the
sudden, I felt something shift in the room. And it was kind of weird. But I knew
something was going on. So I got up, and I went over, and I sat next to him. I said, “Ross,
what’s going on?” He says, “Mom, I want to leave. I don’t want to live here no more. I
want to go home.” And then he said, “Why do people pray for people to stay here when
they are suffering so bad? I don’t want to stay here. Why, mom, do people pray that
way?” And I looked at him, and it hit me that we are selfish. I’m selfish. I didn’t want
him to go. I wasn’t willing to share him. I wanted him, because he’s my only son. Any of
our children, we would feel the same. And, so through that, I’ve learned to pray
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
16
differently. And I told him, “I will not pray that way anymore. My prayer from now on,
Ross, is that our Father’s will be done. His will, not mine.” And I just let it go. But that
was the first time of just completely yielding in oneself. But the experiences from that has
been absolutely wonderful. And, so now we’re working real hard, and he’s rallying. He’s
cancer-free, and it’s because we relied—Ross said, “You know, I don’t know about this
Western medicine.” And I had, that came to me. And so we talked about that. And he
said, “You know, I just don’t trust this Western medicine. It’s not doing for me what it
needs to do.” And I says, “So you want to go to the native medicine? You want to go to
the herb?” He says, “Mom, I think that’s where my help is. I truly do.” I said, “Okay.
Then let’s do it.” And so we, I called my grandson from Oregon, my adopted grandson
from Oregon, to come, and we all had prayer, and with the herb, it—he just looked so
much better the next day. I was amazed. But then, when we went back to the doctor, I
think it was about a week later—I think it was the next week—and the doctor looked at
the results in awe, and he said, “There’s no cancer.” And I looked at him—it was so hard
for me to take that in. But we have accepted that. No cancer. And he’s doing better. So,
our herbs are alive and well. We just need to start picking it up and taking care of it. Pick
up our prayers and be strong. And with that, I would like to close with a song, if that’s all
right. When I started walking the spiritual path, picking up my prayers, praying in the
way that I felt I needed to pray, I had a desire that I wanted to sing in my own native
tongue. I wanted to sing a song. And so I started praying for that. I didn’t have a drum. I
didn’t have the drum stick. But that’s what I felt I wanted to do. Well, the drum came
first, but I was surprised that I was gifted a drum. I’ve never played a drum before in my
life. And my girlfriend, and our friend, went down to the river, and they picked a willow,
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
17
and made me a beater. So in that day, I got my drumstick and my beater, there’s no
reason now why I can’t go out and sing and do what I want. So I started praying. And it
was in the wintertime, because I remember sitting on the floor in the front room—may
sound really something, but that’s all right—I was sitting in the front room, and I burned
cedar in my smudge bowl, and I had it on the carpet, and I started praying and asking,
again, that I would be given a song in my native tongue. That was my heart’s desire. And
lo and behold, I was just beating the drum, and a song came. So I’m going to sing you the
song that was given to me. This is a healing song. I’m going to wrap it around each one
of you. Let your faith take hold. If you have something that’s bothering you, you have a
situation in your life, just feel this song coming to you. And there’s a healing in this song.
One day, one evening, I got a call, long-distance call from this young man. And he said,
“Auntie,” he said, “I just have a terrible craving. I want to go out and get drunk. But I
don’t want to do that. I put that behind me. I don’t want to go do that anymore.” And he
says, “Would you pray for me?” And I said, “Well, of course!” So I prayed for him. And
then I was reminded I had a drum, and I had been given a healing song. So I went, and I
said, “Do you mind if I sing for you?” He says, “That sounds wonderful.” So I went and
got the drum, and I started singing the healing song. And I wished him well. Next
morning at 8 o’clock, he called me, and he said, “Auntie, I could hear your song all night
long, and I didn’t go out. I am so glad. It really helped me.” And so, with that—and it has
helped others—I tell you that because I want you to let your faith go. Have faith that it
works. It works if you believe. But it’s up to you. It’ll happen if you want it.
[Sings from 47:33-49:05]
And with that, I thank you for listening, and I hope this all helps you. Thank you.
�GBIA
029;
Blossom;
Page
18
[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 (Great Basin College Campus)
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.)
00:49:40
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/admin/files/show/578
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 (03/27/2012)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history interview with Katherine Blossom, Western Shoshone from Elko, NV on 03/27/2012
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Katherine Blossom is a Western Shoshone from Elko, NV. She begins her presentation speaking about how Native Americans have adapted to the land, and that it was the Native Americans duty to pray for all things that exist within this universe. She also speaks about the hardships and horrors that the Western Shoshone people went through in boarding school which included losing their native language – usually by forceful means. As she continues she speaks about the importance of prayer. She also educated her audience about the type of natural plants, herbs, and other items that were used by the indigenous groups in and around the Great Basin region. Katherine also recalls some personal experiences that she has gone through which she shares with her audience.</p>
Video pending <br /> <a title="Katherine Blossom Oral History Transcript" href="/omeka/files/original/13bbb9a8db3b30863b1dfbaf48a07316.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read Katherine Blossom 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 029A
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
03/27/2012 [27 March 2012]; 2012 March 27
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/380
Language
A language of the resource
English; some Shoshoni
boarding school
Community
Crossroads
GBIA
language
Shoshone
Story
traditional ceremony
traditional medicines
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/8d2eb93328d1dfd9d888e1f2d8d77606.jpg
df14ae09ae5353c3a9ef4593f2376495
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
James Hedrick
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Elizabeth "Liz" Dann
Location
The location of the interview
Great Basin College (Elko, NV)
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Transcription in progress
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
MP4
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
01:40:17
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" Dann - Oral history (07/18/2017)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history interview with Elizabeth "Liz" Dann, Western Shoshone from Crescent Valley, NV, on 07/18/2017
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Elizabeth “Liz” Dann addresses students at the Shoshone Community Language Initiative (SCLI) program at Great Basin College. She starts her presentation by offering a prayer, and then speaks about the importance of our traditions. She also speaks about giving her grandson an eagle feather, medicine bag, and other items while he was in the war. She also gives advice to the women about women, especially during ceremonies. Her daughter Sandy Dann speaks about her experience with the Sundance and what it consist of. Liz then speaks about making cradle boards, preparing hides, and tells some of the traditional Shoshone stories.<br /> <br />Presented at the 2017 Shoshone Community Language Initiative summer youth program (SCLI 17).</p>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/p/2096981/sp/209698100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/39808892/partner_id/2096981?autoembed=true&entry_id=0_tlej0c55&playerId=kaltura_player_1501783265&cache_st=1501783265&width=560&height=395&flashvars[streamerType]=auto"></script>
<p><a title="Elizabeth Liz Dann 2017 Oral History video in separate page" href="http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/5gdrn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View Oral History in separate page if above player not working</a><br />Transcript pending</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 063
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
07/18/2017 [18 July 2017]; 2017 July 18
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
James Hedrick [interviewer]; James Hedrick [GBIA/VHC]; University of Utah SYLAP [streaming video]; Great Basin College; BARRICK
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/401
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
MP4
Language
A language of the resource
English; Shoshoni
Community
Crossroads
folktale
GBIA
hunting
Shoshone
Story
sundance
traditional ceremony
traditional foods
traditions
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/4d129572a7284f980f63abd7e2bbebdd.jpg
cbf121362e9b5b69359a614c63800f27
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
James Hedrick
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Janey Blackeye-Bryan and Shasta Blackeye-Adair
Location
The location of the interview
Great Basin College (Elko, NV)
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Transcription in progress
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
MP4
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
00:59:30
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
Janey Blackeye-Bryan and Shasta Blackeye-Adair - Oral history (08/01/2017)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history interview with Janey Blackeye-Bryan and Shasta Blackeye-Adair, Western Shoshone from Duckwater, NV, on 08/01/2017
Description
An account of the resource
<p>In Janey Blackeye-Bryan and Shasta Blackeye-Adair’s second presentation to the Shoshone Community Language Initiative (SCLI) program at Great Basin College they continue to talk about their history and the traditions of the Western Shoshone. They begin by singing a Shoshone Honor song that was created by their father/grandfather Willie Blackeye from Duckwater reservation, NV. Then they move onto express the importance of the language program and moreover how important it is to stay in school and stay strong like our ancestors use to.<br /> <br />Presented at the 2017 Shoshone Community Language Initiative summer youth program (SCLI 17).</p>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/p/2096981/sp/209698100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/39808892/partner_id/2096981?autoembed=true&entry_id=0_mazdmku1&playerId=kaltura_player_1502219206&cache_st=1502219206&width=560&height=395&flashvars[streamerType]=auto"></script>
<p><a href="http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/6wwsx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View oral history video in separate page if above player not working</a><br /> <br />Transcript pending</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 66
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
08/01/2017 [01 August 2017]; 2017 August 01
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
James Hedrick [interviewer]; James Hedrick [GBIA/VHC]; University of Utah SYLAP [streaming video]; Great Basin College; BARRICK
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/407
Language
A language of the resource
English; some Shoshoni
Community
Crossroads
Duckwater Reservation
GBIA
Shoshone
Story
traditional ceremony
traditional songs
traditions
veteran