November 1977: Life and Midwinter Fair
- Sandy Siegel
- May 17
- 64 min read
Updated: May 24
St. Paul’s Mission
2-1-77
I had lunch with Sister Giswalda. She told me that she and Sister Claire went to the University of Montana to get their master’s degrees. They took four summers to complete it. They were the only high school teachers. “We tried to be diversified. I received my degree in education. My major was English, and my minor was math and history.”
There was a girl in my fifth-grade class that I really enjoyed. She was a sweet kid, she worked hard, and she was very respectful. There was a boy who was sitting behind her and bothering her. She turned around and called him a ‘fucker.’ It was loud enough for me to hear. I was too much of a professional to ever call this boy a fucker. But I often wanted to tell him that he was a jackass.
Sister Giswalda told me that both Irma and Ray graduated from high school and that they were good kids. “Ray was so cute. He had a good voice. Sometimes he would be the only kid at mass, and he would sing at mass alone. Irma was also a nice and quiet girl. She still is. Jim has worked at the mission all his life. The fathers never put money away for him, no pension. He will have to work till the day he dies. When the school burned, he cried for 3 days.”
There was bingo at the mission. Sister Laura, Brian and Mike went home so only three of us were there to run it. John Doney volunteered to call the numbers for us. The mission made $180 (one card 10 cents, 3 for 25 cents). The prize is one third of what is taken in for each game. Carletta and Ruth helped Susie with the concessions. During the bingo, a little boy set off the fire alarm. It rang for five minutes before we could shut it off. Bazoo came up to help.
Margaret June goes to the Missionary Christian Alliance. It’s some kind of Methodist religion. I asked her who went there. There are just a few families. Margaret June is a teacher’s aid at the mission grade school.
Father Retzel said that in the Great Falls diocese there is a new ruling that for a couple to get married in the church, they must go through a four month course.
I will get these couples together with other couples here and with some couples from Havre. I will introduce them and then let them get together on their own. I think that it will be a good thing. I had a young man and his mother come up to the mission to talk to me a few weeks ago. They wanted me to marry this young man and his wife the following week. I told them I couldn't do it, and I explained to them that it is because of the diocese ruling, and I'll explain to them why the diocese wants people to go through this four-month course. People should not rush into marriage. They should know what they're getting into and maybe there wouldn't be so many divorces if people waited for a while. (Aren't people going to go rush to the Justice of the Peace?) That may happen. It's not my decision, it's the diocese. If people are married by the Justice of the Peace, they have to wait for one year before they can have their marriage blessed in the church.
(Father Retzel, I have a question - how do you think people here are able to rationalize the predominant behavior with the ideal that the church teaches, specifically the high rate of premarital sex and illegitimacy).
Well, Sandy, that's a good question. It has a lot to do with attitude. I think that we have to start with the family. If we can get the problems solved in the family, it will go a long way toward solving these other problems.
(Why do you think that these things are still going on if the church has been here for almost 100 years.)
Well, if you think that the existence of the church has been for such a long time, 100 years has not been that long. When a woman comes to me and she’s single and is going to have a baby, I tell her that one of her options is to not get married right away. She can wait and think it over for a while and have the baby. And decide about marriage when she's not so rushed by a baby on the way.
Father Retzel:
We're having 40 hours of devotion in the church. It goes from mission to mission around the country, and it's our turn at the mission now. The eucharist remains on the altar and there is a vigilance of pray with the Eucharist for 40 straight hours. It started on Sunday, and we are having the prayer vigilance from 12-7 pm. Last year we had the vigilance for 40 hours straight, both day and night. This is the way it is supposed to be done. But there were only a few people who came at night, and only a few people stayed through the night. It was good. This year we decided to do it for 40 hours but only from 12-7 pm. It took more days this way. Each of the grade school classes came over during the day at different times and kept their vigilance.
There’s going to be school on Saturday (February 19th) to make up for the day that we missed because of the blizzard. I joked about it and said I wasn’t going. Mary said, “if I’m working, you’re going to work. We only have to be there half a day, but we’re serving the kids lunch.”
2-8-77
This afternoon (about 2:00) the 5th and 6th grade girls knocked at the door. I was in my room and Robert was in the kitchen, copying my notes. He let them into the trailer. I came in and asked them what they wanted. They asked if Susie was in and I said no. They walked onto the porch and Sister Bartholemew rang the bell for the end of recess. I walked out and told them to go to class. Ten minutes later Sister came over. She was very mad and told me that the kids were not allowed in this trailer. She said that the girls told her that Susie asked the girls to come over to the trailer. Susie did not ask them; they lied to Sister. Sister said that these girls get really bold. “They ask Nade to do something and if she says no, they go to ask Susie. These girls are not allowed into the trailer. Last year one of the teachers let the girls in the trailer. She had pajama parties for them, and they used to walk into the trailer all the time. They stole some things in there.”
Sister Giswalda came to talk to the girls and yelled at them. Susie talked to them in class and told the girls that they put her in the middle of it, lied and got her involved to get themselves out of trouble. Sister Bartholemew punished them by taking away their recess for a couple of days.
2-9-77
In the lunch room, Vivian and Reva called Susie over and said, “Susie, we’re sorry.” They had called me a tattle tale in class. Nade told them to apologize.
2-10-77
Susie went into the 5th and 6th grade class today and talked to the girls during the time that was supposed to be their recess. She told them that the trailer was off-bounds during the school hours, and she said that she was mad that they got her in the middle of this thing with Sister Bartholemew. Later in the day she received apologies from Laura, April, Noreen, Vivian, Sheila and Reva. They also asked Susie to apologize to me for calling me a tattle tale during my class the day before.
The mission grade school team played in their tournament in Dodson. They played St. Mary’s, and they lost the game and are out of the tournament. The boys do not have a very good team although they showed tremendous improvement over the season. They did not take the games seriously; not as seriously as the teams that they played. The boys did not take the practices seriously at all, and there were times when Mike was going to call off the season for the mission team. There were only 7 or 8 boys in the 7th and 8th grade and all the boys played on the team.
2-12-77
Father Retzel told me that on Saturday there was a rummage sale put on by the mission on the second floor of the food farm at the Milk River Shopping Center. The money went for the Catholic Indian Congress, and they made about $100. Nade said that Mike sent up a bunch of new shirts and coats. She was selling the coats for 25 cents and the shirts for 15 cents. Another friend of Mike from home also sent up 150 t-shirts and these were also new.
2-13-77
Ray and Irma came over to visit after mass.
Ray:
Irma has a good idea about how to make some money for the Catholic Indian Congress. We'll have it in a couple of weeks on March 6th. We'll have a pancake breakfast and a pinochle party after mass. We'll charge $2 for the breakfast and $1 charge for playing pinochle at the tables. All this money will go for the CIC. We'll have prizes for a floating double pinochle and a prize for the highest individual score. Then we'll have a booby prize for anyone who gets no score.
They invited us to come over and practice after 2001 Space Odyssey was on tv.
2-14-77
Today was Valentine’s Day. There were parties in all the classes. Some of the parents sent cakes into the classes with their children. The 7th and 8th graders baked heart shaped cookies in their home economics class and the girls passed them out to the cooks, teachers and volunteers at the mission. A few of the kids gave out Valentine’s cards. Susie got cards from some of the 1st and 2nd grade girls. And I received a few from the 5th and 6th grade girls.
Sister Giswalda said that she sold $30 of cookies at the Midwinter Fair and sold $40 after mass. The 7th and 8th grade girls baked the cookies, and the money will be used for the class trip. She said that last year they went to Havre, but they'll never go back there again. Store clerks followed the kids around the stores like they were going to steal everything. It was horrible. The kids went shopping, and they went to a show and roller skating. We don't get any government money for the school, because it’s a Catholic school. Only the public school gets federal money. Once there was a Catholic principal at the public school and he helped us a lot, sharing materials. But it depends on their inclination. To some, "Catholic" is a dirty word, and they won't help us out.
The kids in my 5th and 6th grade class are very competitive. We play a game in history. They hate to lose. Boys do not like to play with the girls. Same with the 7th and 8th grades. They call each other names but generally avoid each other. The boys and girls never play together.
There was basket social yesterday to make money for the Catholic Indian Congress. It lasted from 8-10 and it was in the old gym. They made $100. There were about 65 people there. Ray Helgeson auctioned off the baskets. There were about 12 baskets. They were decorated beautifully. We were supposed to have music, but they didn’t show up. Since there was no music people did not eat the baskets there.
2-18-77
There is school at the Hays public school tomorrow, but the mission will stay closed. A lot of the families are going to a basketball tournament. Father Simoneau decided not to have school, because he said that only half of the kids would show up. He said that he could do whatever he wanted because it is a private school, and the state can’t tell him what to do. Mike has to run the bus for them in the morning and afternoon because the arrangement is that we pick up the kids between the mission and the school.
The mission faculty and staff are going to play the grade school basketball team on Tuesday at 2:00. We’ve been practicing and tonight we played a game against BJ, Ben, Kenny and Frank. Everyone had a good time, and everyone complained about how sore they were.
While Gordon and Edith were over, at 1:00 am, Susie stuck her head out of the door and called Gahanab. While she was calling him, 6 boys ran away and jumped in their car and rode off. Susie said it was too dark to see who they were. They were siphoning gas out of Bill’s truck. Edith said that Dory was with them earlier in the evening and he was supposed to be home at 10:00. He’d better not be in that car.
Mike told Irma that Tom Doney had come to their prayer meeting on Wednesday night. He had come in from Poplar (Fort Peck). Irma said that he was her cousin. He is Richard’s, Clifford’s brother. He lives on Fort Peck because he married a woman there.
Ray and Irma and Gordon and Edith came over to play pinochle. They wanted to teach us how to play (Susie, Mike and I) so that we could play at the pinochle party on March 6th for the CIC. There will be a breakfast after mass for $2 a plate, eggs, sausage, and pancakes. The pinochle party will follow the breakfast. Ray said that he had another idea for how to make money for the CIC. He said that we should get people to donate all kinds of things and then have someone auction it all off. He called this a "bash."
2-19-77
Ruth and Shannon came in from Butte. Ruth and Lyle are going to enroll Shannon at the mission school. (I asked Edith how she thought Shannon was going to make out there – being white). She said she’ll be better there than at the public school. “The kids will really try her out.”
Gordon:
None of the priests ever used to come out and visit the people. It wasn’t until five years ago when the volunteers came that people would spend any time at all in the rectory. They would go in to use the phone and then leave. Now people spend time in there, and they're getting to know Father Simoneau. He used to say mass on Sunday and then stay back behind the altar till everyone left. Now he leaves with everyone and says goodbye. Father Retzel goes out to visit people now. There was an old father, Father Fusie who was real nice, he used to visit people.
Brother Ryan was sent away from here a few times for inappropriate behavior. But he came running back. Father Retzel asked me to put up fence posts because he was going to extend the cemetery out there. Brother got mad. He started yelling at Father Retzel. He cut alfalfa on that land, and he was mad because he said the land was given to him. Father Retzel told him it wasn't for the mission to decide. It was tribal land (the deed was turned over to the mission).
Gordon said the senior citizens are going to have a feed for Father Simoneau. People have heard that he may have to leave here because of his health. They heard that he will be sent to a place where priests retire and where he can get medical care. He would be going to a warmer climate. I don’t know if this is true though, because he's told me that he will stay here in Hays. I think that he's just going to spend his days out here, and he'll be buried here in Hays. They are going to feed him on Wednesday and Gordon said that they asked him to be the mc. I asked them if they were sure they wanted me to do it. I asked them if they wanted Ray because he talks so much better and would do a better job. Ray is going back to Denver though. So, I told them that I'll do it. They want to get him something that's he'll use. He's very simple, so they don’t know what to get him. They thought about a belt or moccasins or a blanket. They would like the sisters to be there. They are keeping it a secret from Father because they know if he hears about this feed for him, he'll be going the other way. That's just the way he is. So, they’re depending on Father Retzel to help get him out there. They want to serve all his favorite foods so they're having chicken, french fries, and asparagus.
2-21-77
Mike:
I went over to Coffee and Jig’s. They had a prayer meeting at their house. They have joined the Pentecostal church. There was a Pentecostal preacher there. He was really anti-Catholic. He made fun of the rosary and criticized it. He said that Jesus never said anything about fingering a bunch of beads. He really made me mad. I try to take it seriously but some of it is just too strange.
Mike said that while he was at the prayer meeting, they tried to get his gas. “They couldn’t get it because the neck on the tank is too long. I figured that they were going to try to get my gas. Whenever there’s a group of cars and trucks, they’ll go after the gas.” During the service, the kids were throwing pebbles at the roof of the house.
2-22-77
Sister Bartholemew said that the kids are taking dirty books out or books that are too hard for them from the bookmobile.
Joyce is a Community Health Representative. She brings the kids to the dentist. She has a list for their regular checkups or problems. The kids get a fluoride treatment in school. They rinse with fluoride, and they are not allowed to drink for one hour. Sister Giswalda said that it is messy, but it helps the kids.
The mission basketball team: Chester, Eric, Martin, David, Kenny, Bud and Richard played the teachers and volunteers today: Mike, Brian, Bill, Sister Laura, Susie and I. We had a game at 2:00. We beat them by ten points. We tried as hard as we could. It was a close game. The ref was Tom Doney. Mary kept score and Socksy and Margaret-June kept the clock. The kids complained about us cheating. All the grades cheered for the mission team and booed when we made a shot.
Sister Giswalda said that the girls are baking in home economics in the House of Loretto. They study breakfast first, the foods and the importance. Then lunch, then dinner. At lunchtime, girls bring in biscuits, waffles, pancakes and they give them to sister to test and grade them. Then they give some to the other teachers. Sometimes they can take things home. The girls enjoy it. They stay after school almost every day.
2-23-77
Today was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of lent. Father Retzel gave the kids ashes at the end of the school day. There is a mass at 7:30 this evening. Father Simoneau will have the mass in Hays and Father Retzel will have the mass in Lodge Pole.
Michelle Lee told Susie that she is living with and being raised by her grandfather. She is in the first grade in the mission school. Her grandfather is Paul Stiffarm and he is teaching her how to speak Gros Ventre.
The kids are giving Doug a hard time in school because he’s new. His father is just back from the army. He is a policeman in Lodge Pole. He lives in the police station there. It makes me angry, but it isn’t something I can control. They spend too much time with Doug when I am not around.
Edith said that she had just come back from the mass at the church for Ash Wednesday and she said that the church was really packed. Edith asked me not to smoke in front of her. She was joking but she did say that she gave up smoking for lent.
Father Retzel asked Gordon and Edith to go to the Catholic Indian Congress meeting in Lodge Pole. Gordon said that since their car still isn't running, he drove us over there.
First, he only wanted us to have an honor song each day and a giveaway at the CIC. Now he wants us to put on a small pow wow on either Saturday or Sunday. We won't be able to collect all that money by then. We have so much trouble collecting money. If the pow wow went on until after dinner we'd have to feed, and we'd never get the money for that. Father Retzel also wants us to get in touch with the other dance committees. It's his idea, he should do it.
Mike said that mass was packed for Ash Wednesday.
It was all filled except for the two front pews. Father Simoneau was so out of breath, he asked Richard Doney to do the bible readings. Richard went up and said he couldn't (bashful and quiet). Richard usually does the collection. Greg Harbreck went up and did the readings. All they came for was the ashes. Everyone went up too. Father Simoneau was so out of breath he could hardly talk. He puts ashes on the forehead and says "Remember that man comes from dust, and to dust you will return." He could hardly say it. Everyone went up from Matilda to babies. It took almost 1/2 hour to do. And people came who never go to church. People here are too traditional. They were never taught what Catholicism is all about, and Vatican II really confused them. Father Retzel never explained to them why there were changes.
2-24-77
Father Simoneau has been sick for about two weeks. He has a lot of trouble breathing, but he won't go to a doctor. He makes excuses. Sister Giswalda caught a bad cold and could hardly breathe. She said that she caught the cold because they didn't have any heat in the convent for two days. At lunch time I suggested to her that she should go home. She told me that she was pretty strong and that she wasn't going to give up that easily. Then at 12:40 when I went into class, she said I'm going to take your advice and go home. So, I walked her back to the convent. Later in the day, Father Retzel wanted to go in and pray for her, but she told him that she didn't want anyone to make a fuss over her. She finally asked Sister Germaine to drive her to the hospital in the afternoon, because she has a heart condition and she started to worry that her heart might give her trouble.
All the kids in school were given small boxes to collect money for needy children all over the world. Instead of buying candy or pop, they are supposed to put that money in the box. It’s part of lent. Sister Giswalda has divided the class into two groups, and they are involved in a competition to see what group can collect more money during lent. Socksey said that Kenny brought it home and was collecting money at home from everyone after dinner. Mary had a box, and she said that she was putting money in it instead of buying candy.
One of the boys was playing with a balloon and Sister Laura (3/4th grade) couldn’t get him to stop playing with it. She went up to yell at him and he wouldn’t look at her. So, she took his head in her hands and moved it so that he was forced to look at her while she was yelling at him to stop playing and listen to her. When she was walking away, he called her a fucking bitch. (Yikes).
2-25-77
At 8:00 Charles and Roseann had a surprise party for Mike. Froggy, Sandy Norquay, Roseann, Charles, Bill, Father Retzel, Gordon, Edith, Matt, Carletta and Susie and I were there. They served sandwiches, potato chips, potato salad, baked beans, pop, coffee, and birthday cake and ice cream. Everyone sang happy birthday, and Mike blew out the candles. Edith gave him a blanket and Gordon gave him a choker that he made today. Roseann and Charles got him a flannel shirt. After we ate everyone listened to the Box Elder basketball game. Then we played pinochle. There were five teams, and the winners kept switching tables.
There was mass at 7:30. Father Retzel said a prayer at each of the stations. About 25 people were there. Some people have given up smoking, drinking and eating certain foods (especially candy) for lent. There is mass on Wednesday and Friday each week of lent.
Sister Giswalda has been sick and had to go to the hospital for a few days. I was substituting for her class. The kids were very well behaved and were helpful in filling me in on the different things they were doing in their subjects. About 1/3 of the kids have problems in reading and arithmetic and are considerably behind for their grade and age level. Several of the girls were having trouble adding and subtracting. The following is the 7/8 grade schedule in Sister’s class:
9-9:10 opening exercises. Prayer that the kids do standing.
9:10 – 9:40 religion Sister Bartholwew (Sister Giswalda has office duty)
9:40 – 10:10 math
10:10 – 10:40 English for the boys. PE for girls (Nade)
10:40 – 10:50 recess
10:50 – 11:30 homecraft for the girls in the House of Loretto, shop for boys (Mike)
11:30 – 12 English for girls, PE for boys (Mike)
12:00 – 12:30 lunch
12:30 – 12:40 opening exercise – prayer
12:40 – 1:10 social studies (Sandy)
1:10 – 1:40 Science (Sister Claire)
1:40 – 1:50 recess
1:50 – 2:30 drama, music, art
2:30 – 3:15 reading and library
At 12:30 I had Mike come in and lead the kids in a prayer for Sister Giswalda. He told the kids that she had an attack. Bill said “A Big Mac Attack” from the commercial. His joke was a big hit in the class – lots of laughter.
Sister Bartholemew came into my room at 12:30 and asked to talk to my kids. I was substituting for Sister Giswalda while she was in the hospital. She said to the kids, “remember how you prayed for Sister Giswalda, well, she’s better. If you want her back here in school, you pray for her. It’s all up to you. Do you see how powerful prayer is now. (All of the kids were very quiet, but some of the boys were making faces and rolling their eyes). Some of you have such weak faith. Don’t you believe in the power of prayer. Well, it’s all up to you. You pray for her.” Then she walked out of the room.
2-26-77
We were planning the breakfast and card party for next Sunday. We were thinking of people who could donate food for the breakfast. Irma said that you had to think hard about people who would do their part. She said no one just volunteers. You have to go ask them. Even I wouldn't volunteer. Then some people won’t do what they say either. She said she would go around this week and ask people to donate food - pancakes, syrup, butter, sausage, eggs, milk, coffee. Afternoon - hamburgers, buns, pop, chips. They were only going to ask people who were working.
Irma: “Did Tennison Doney ask you about a family planning course at the mission? He was supposed to.” (No).
Ray: “I quit the school board. Caroline Smith took my place at the mission school.”
2-27-77
Mike told me that there was a half hour of prayer at 3:00, and there were about 25 people there. Jay Willie, Mary, Howard, JJ, Bernice, Jim and Beatrice were there. The Eucharist was placed out on the altar and they said prayer before the Eucharist silently for the half hour. Then they all went over to the school for coffee.
Medical and Health
2-1-77
I drove Dory and Edith down to the clinic (the doctor is there on Tuesdays and Thursdays). Dory had a throat culture in the clinic because the doctor was pretty sure that he had strep throat. There were quite a few cases among the kids in the schools. Margaret Flying was also there with Marvin, Martin, and Monty. They also had throat cultures for strep throat.
Beatrice said that John was feeling much better. He had a heart attack in January. He was still in intensive care. Beatrice said, “he was just like a brother-in-law, he had to make jokes with me. He was sure teasing me.” Lenore (John’s daughter) has been staying with him. She’s from Boston. I believe she teaches at Harvard.
A PHS doctor and his assistants came to school and after lunch gave the TB test to all the kids. It took about 15 minutes; they used a spray gun. It was the same doctor who had given the Swine flu vaccination. When I walked into the 7th and 8th grade class for history after they had the TB test, all the boys were spread out all over the floor pretending they had passed out. They got a big laugh out of this. A few of the boys took red magic markers and drew big bleed marks on their arms. Then they spent the whole class asking me if they could go to the bathroom to wash the blood off their arms from the shot. Irma and Joyce, the Community Health Representatives in Hays, are going to come to the school on Friday to read the TB tests for the kids.
Susie had a sore throat. We were up at the PHS Hospital visiting Mary (Gone-Talks Different) and we thought she should get a culture because a lot of the kids in school were being diagnosed with strep. The nurses at the hospital said that they couldn’t do it for Susie because she wasn’t an Indian. Bertha heard what Susie was told. When we were with Mary, Bertha came in with the materials and cultured Susie. She put the culture in as ‘Madam X.’ We were so grateful for Bertha. Susie was negative.
Ray said that he would be going back to Denver to the VA hospital on either Sunday or Monday.
My arm and head are still bothering me, and I want them to finish the nerve tests. The doctor told me that if it's nerves, they wouldn’t be able to help much. They gave me a round-trip plane ticket, because of my mother. While in there they are also going to take care of my teeth. I keep making appointments with Dr. Baker, but I can't make them because I’m always gone. (Dr. Baker is leaving in March). They'll get a new dentist. The doctors are coming and going all the time.
Irma said that he really thought that the physical and occupational therapists helped him. Hays should get an OT and PT. Ray said that when they build the new hospital, they should build a special room for OT and PT.
When the PHS was giving the TB test, Beatrice asked Jim if he was going to get the test. Jim laughed and said no, and walked away. I asked Mary if she was going to get the test and she said that she couldn’t get the TB skin test. The doctors told her that she had TB and that it was there in her lungs but was dormant. “I guess I am a carrier of TB. The doctors gave me these pills to take for the TB, but they made me so sick that I stopped taking them. I still don’t take them.” Beatrice said that they told her that she had dormant TB too, but they told her that she was too old, and they couldn’t do anything for her. She laughed about the too old part.
2-5-77
Dory had strep throat. A lot of people, mostly kids, have had it around here for the past few weeks. Dory went for a throat culture at the clinic. Edith said that he got a penicillin shot in the rump.
2-7-77
Gordon:
Those vitamins are really something. We took Dion off those vitamins for a while. He was just so active. He never walks anywhere. He’s always running everywhere. So we took him off the vitamins for a while so he would slow down a little bit. Dion was always getting ear infections and earaches. He was living on medicine for his ears, and the doctor told us to give him vitamins. The ear problems have stopped since he started taking the vitamins.
Gordon was telling me that once he had a tooth pulled, and the dentist had a hard time getting it out. "So, he took a hammer and chisel, and he broke the tooth into four pieces, and he took it out that way. They gave me codeine for the pain, and I was sure floating."
We need a doctor here in Hays. A lot of these doctors that we get here, (PHS at Agency and part-time clinic, outpatient at Hays) are just biding their time. And some of them get pretty snotty. We’d like to get a doctor in Hays but a lot of them don’t like it here. They're used to the cities and the neon lights. They could get used to it here.
I had my tonsils out, and I wouldn’t let them put me to sleep. I was awake and they gave me a shot for the operation. I could feel them in there. They wouldn't let me see the tonsils after they took them out. I wanted to see them.
Mary said that Karen, Jubal, and Jacob all had chicken pox this month. Karen really itched and she suffered. All I could do was keep putting calamine lotion on her. The kids have all been immunized for measles.
2-10-77
We went up to the PHS hospital to see how Mary was doing, and we saw Bertha upstairs and were talking to her:
Mary’s kidneys failed last night. We're going to keep her at this hospital because I can watch her. At Havre hospital, the nurses are horrible. I've been there as a patient, and I know. At least here I can keep an eye on her. I told the other nurses, if they get too busy, they should call me, and I would come to stay with her.
Bertha is a nurse’s aide.
I called everyone and told them about mom. Would you stop by the house and tell Edith but don’t get her all upset. The doctors told us that for the next 24 hours her condition is critical. Thanks for your help.
2-11-77
I was in the hallway at the PHS hospital talking to Ray and Bertha. Bertha was collecting supplies to give to Mary Agnes for her son, Angy. Bertha was complaining that they (hospital) can’t keep up with all the supplies they need. Angy has to be fed everything intravenously and he has tubes out of his chest.
He also had a colostomy because his small intestines don’t work. He is going to have another operation this summer to reconnect his small intestines, but if it doesn’t work, he'll have the colostomy all his life. His parents are keeping him out of school.
Ray: "I don't blame them for not sending him to school. The kids would be rough with him. They'd probably pull out those tubes."
(How did Angy get those problems?)
Bertha: "He had his appendix out at the Havre hospital, and during the operation, he was infected with something."
Ray: "The PHS gets on kicks - once they decided to take out everyone’s tonsils. So, they lined everyone up and took out their tonsils."
Bertha: "This hospital has the best nursing care. Our head nurse works hard and keeps everything in order. I’d match the nursing care in this hospital against any hospital (Cecilia – Frank’s sister is a nurse at the PHS hospital)."
Ray: "I’ve been to a lot of hospitals and that’s true."
2-13-77
Ray:
My arm and my head are still bothering me. I've already had three cortisone shots this year, and you're not supposed to have more than three a year, so that's all I can get. My arm hurts again, and the nerves on the side of my head are very sensitive and it’s like a burning sensation. I hate to go to Denver with my mother sick, but I have to have this taken care of, and while I'm there, I want them to work on my teeth. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to my mother while I was gone. She's really in tough shape now. She has a bladder infection, kidney failure, heart problems, and pneumonia. They can't give her much IV because her kidneys and bladder aren't working right. They're giving her just enough to maintain her. The doctors told us she's holding on just by her will alone.
2-13-77
Irma said that Lyle had a 103-fever last night and he got really sick. Ray and Ruth were home but they didn’t have a car.
Me and Cyndee were coming home from the Agency. I picked her up at work. We saw an ambulance pass us on the road. There was no car home, and I started to worry about Ray. They called the ambulance.
2-14-77
Beatrice said that Jim had a bad cold and that his chest hurt him. “He told me that he was going to work it off.” She said that she couldn't get him to see a doctor. Mary said to make him hot water, honey and whiskey. She's never had it, but she heard that it was good for a cold. Beatrice said that Jim was up coughing last night. “Tonight I'm going to make him take Nyquil. We have some of that stuff.”
(Did people here have as many colds and sickness like this before the white man came?)
Beatrice:
Well, you know I used to talk to my grandfather (Lamebull) and he would tell me stories. He told me that there wasn't much sickness here. There would be someone sick every once in a while, but not so much; not as much as now. Then there was the smallpox, and that got a lot of people. We lost a lot of people. The flu in 1918 and 1919 got a lot too. It started in 1918, and it lingered on into 1919. There was a doctor in Hays. I can remember going with my mother. The doctor was across the creek from here.
2-25-77
At 10:00, Anita Haakinson came over to Charles and Roseann’s. She is JJ Mount’s daughter. She asked if someone could go to the mission and light a candle for her sister Diana Mount. Mike went up to the mission and he lit a candle and prayed with Father Retzel. She said that Diana was very sick, (maybe appendicitis) and was in the Hospital in Havre. The whole family was up there. The doctors don’t know for sure what the problem was, but they said she's dying. Roseann said that Anita is very religious; they have prayer meeting, and they pray a lot. Edith said that she went up to the PHS hospital during the day for a physical exam and saw them bring in Diana in the afternoon. They rushed her to the Havre Hospital right away. Gordon said "we're sure losing a lot of GV. That's two this week. Deaths usually come in 3s.” After the party Roseann and Betty Jean came up to the rectory to call the hospital. It was 2:00 am. They talked to JJ and he asked them to pray for Diana. Mike asked JJ if there was anything he could do for him here at Hays. JJ told him that someone was already tending the cattle, but he asked Mike to pray for her. Mike told him he would double up on his prayers.
Carletta said that Frankie was in the PHS hospital since last Monday. He had pneumonia and strep throat. (Mike said he knew when he got it because last weekend, he played the whole day in a puddle). She said that Shane didn't miss him for a couple days but now he really misses him. She said that Matthew’s baby is in the hospital with pneumonia. She was up there and saw the baby. It was crying, and no one was with it. They went and got the nurses, and they fed it. It was hungry. "The nurses just don’t watch the babies close enough."
2-27-77
Bernice Mount told us that her niece had died from chocking. Her baby had died inside of her during pregnancy. After her baby died inside of her, there was a lot of infection. This infection just moved up and chocked her.
Her daughter Diana did not have an appendicitis. She had an infection that almost killed her. It was in her intestine, and it was so badly infected, it swelled up inside of her like a football. They were treating her at the PHS hospital, but the antibiotic wasn't doing enough. So, the same day they moved her up to the Havre hospital and they started to treat her with five different antibiotics. They were just supposed to have her in Havre long enough to have a check-up there and bring her back to the agency, but the doctor in Havre said that he wasn't going to be responsible for a death and ordered that she remain there at the hospital. Since they have been treating her with the antibiotics, she has been doing much better.
Community
2-1-77
Mary: “The day care at the Christian Missionary Alliance charges rent and utilities. Mr. Rolands is not easy to get along with. He gave us a bill for $225/month. He’s leaving for Alaska. His replacement may be better. Our staff may be put on manpower through the tribe (community council).”
2-2-77
Mike told me that Granville had 20 horses that got out of his field, and they were picked up by the stock inspector. He will be charged $25 a piece to get each of his horses back. This will cost him $500 to get his horses back for the rodeo arena at the Agency. There was some rumor that his horses got loose from the arena and that he was able to get them back without having to pay for them.
During the prayer meeting tonight at the mission, word was sent up to the mission that Granville ran off the road. The roads were covered with snow, and his truck was stuck in a ditch. Father Retzel took Mike out of the prayer meeting to help him pull out the truck. When they got there, Father drove Granville home, and Mike tried to pull the truck out of the ditch using his own truck and chains. Father came back, but they weren't able to get the truck out. A semi went by, and Father flagged it down. The semi hooked up chains, but when Father signaled to him to pull it out, he forgot to close his door and it got stuck on the side of the ditch. When the truck was pulled out, it tore the door off the truck. Father was very upset about it.
2-4-77
At the midwinter fair, Snuffy told me that on all reservations in the country the children are enrolled as determined by their father.
If their father is not enrolled in the tribe, then the children are not enrolled. If the father is white, they are not enrolled. They go wherever the father goes. This is the only reservation where it’s different. The children take their enrollment from either the mother or father. It shouldn't be this way.
People here don't understand the way enrollment works. They think if they are 1/8 Gros Ventre, they should be enrolled in the tribe and get in on the settlement money, but it doesn’t work this way. The 1/8 are considered members of the Ft. Belknap Community, but they are not enrolled in either the Assiniboine or Gros Ventre tribe. They have to be 1/4 to be enrolled in the tribe. This misunderstanding is why the 1/8 have put in their petition to get a share of the per capita payment (1972). They shouldn't get it, because they are not enrolled.
2-5-77
Jim got his license plates. They usually cost him $63 but Indians don’t have to pay state tax anymore, and his plates now only cost him $11.
I left the pow wow with Ray to pick up Cyndee at the café. While we were waiting for her, a truck pulled up to us with three young men. They sat in the truck and finished off a bottle of wine. Two of them got out and when the third jumped down out of the truck he fell to the ground. He finally staggered up and followed his friends into the bar. We drove Cyndee to Ona Bell’s where she was living while she works at the Agency. While Cyndee was changing her clothes, Ray and I talked in the car. I told Ray that Ona sure had a nice house – large, split level with an indoor garage. He said that Ona bought it with the insurance money. He said that Ona’s husband was a Gros Ventre, and he worked for the BIA. He was transferred to work on the Crow Reservation. Last Thanksgiving he was in a truck with another man. Another truck passed him, and they shot him in the cab trying to kill the other man., but they killed Ona’s husband by mistake. So, Ona moved back up here.
Ben stole his mother and fathers’ truck late last night, after BJ came home from Denver, and he went out with it. He stole it because he took it without their permission. They told him that he wasn’t allowed to take it after he had been stuck in the canyon all night last Friday. He had been drinking, and he was going down the road toward Lodge Pole past White Cow Canyon. He was going very fast, and he went off the road. He turned the wheel to try to get back on the road, and he hit a rock. The truck rolled over 5 times. He wasn’t injured. The truck was totaled and the camper on the back was also destroyed. The accident happened past Babe Allen’s place by the old fairgrounds.
2-6-77
Joyce Horvath from the College of Great Falls came up to the trailer. She teaches in the education department there, and she knew I was here, so she stopped in to see me. She also taught at Urban Rural for a while. When Granville was put in office (voted), he gave the teachers there the order not to go into the community to mix with the people. He used the rationale that he didn't want to have the teachers exploit the people in the community by collecting information from them. If you collect information and publish it, then you are stealing from these people. If you take their stories and publish, they no longer belong to them. We sent people from the school out to collect genealogies from the community. We did it for them, and not for us. We did this as part of the education program, because we know that this is a fun thing for the kids to do. “George Horse Capture and I are working on collecting a dictionary of Gros Ventre. We are working from the original which was started by Father Sifton. We are getting help from Elmer Main, but we need help from a woman. George also wants to do the museum work. He is completing a new calendar, and it has great pictures. George has only a BA, but there are many colleges that would like to have him come to teach there. I think he will stay at the College of Great Falls.”
2-7-77
After my dentist appointment in Chinook, I was talking to the dentist’s wife. She is the desk receptionist. She was talking about the reservation and said that she didn’t understand why the Indians don’t farm their own land and have cattle. “The Indians are lazy and they don’t want to work. They’re used to just getting everything from the government. They’ve had so much help from the government for such a long time that you’d think that they could start doing something for themselves.”
This was the prevailing conception of the reservation communities all over the state of Montana. I avoided getting into discussions at that time, because I was there as an observer (doing my research) and not as an advocate. Life has changed dramatically for me as I am no longer involved in any way in academia. I haven’t been for many years. If I had it available to me, I might have suggested that she read these blogs:
Mary came into the trailer with Kay. They were at arts and crafts with Susie, and they came over to visit. Edith was also visiting with me. Edith and Mary started talking about their bowling team. They both agreed that they wouldn't be in the league next year. It’s too long a drive (Harlem) to do at night just for bowling. Then they talked about the basketball tournament in Havre. Mary said that her and BJ got free passes to the games because he was on the school board. Edith said that she and Gordon did too because he sang at the games. The tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for students, for passes to the whole tournament. The first game was Wednesday night. Hays Lodge Pole vs. Kremlin-Gildford. If they win, they play Box Elder on Thursday. It’s a double elimination tournament.
I never made the connection until I started to read my fieldnotes for these blogs. I would have never remembered the town of Gildford. It is a very small community on the highline. Pauline died north of this town way up toward the Canadian border. Now, I’ll never forget about Guildford.
Mary told us that the day care center was going to have a rummage sale on February 20th. “We sure do need the money. I feel really bad that I don’t take my kids there. I haven’t been taking them lately, so they don’t get my $25. I would take my kids but when they’re at the day care they just scream and cry. So now I take them to Joey’s.”
Mary told me that Tall Chief said that he was going to quit at the last school board meeting. He was going to finish his contract. He is the superintendent of schools for school district #50.
2-8-77
Mary said that the Hays school has assemblies every month. Today there were some people from the Swiss Alps. They sang, danced and yodeled. Last month there were people from Mexico. They joined a program where these people travel all over to different schools.
Robert came up to the trailer to copy notes for my class he missed at Urban Rural. He said that he spent six years at Urban Rural.
I'll graduate next winter. When I graduate, I'd like to tutor at the school; I don’t want to teach. I don’t want any problems with parents. I taught at the Hays school for a while and the kids would misbehave. When I would talk to the parents they would tell me that I don’t know what I'm doing. In so many words they were telling me I'm stupid. I don’t want to get involved with it, so I'll tutor when I graduate, but I won’t teach.
I quit school after this for a while. I worked all around the Agency at different jobs. I was a jailer and dispatcher for a while. It was interesting and I knew what was going on around here. The police take a lot from the people but it's their fault. They have a small operating budget and it’s just not enough. Also no one wants to work in Hays, and they can’t be everywhere; there are just not enough police.
Once this past fall they brought a drunk into jail and they put him in one of the cells. I was at the desk filling out papers, and this guy was alone in his cell. He was a young man. He tried to commit suicide. He tied the army blankets together and attached them to a door knob and then he jumped. I got down there just in time, and I got him down. I had to go to court with him and to tell the judge what happened. The judge gave him a 10-day sentence and then for 3 months he had to go to see a psychiatrist. I had this job for 6 months and I was around 20 and 21 years old.
I graduated from high school when I was 16 and I made it to the age of being able to work. I was just of age and able to work. I had jobs all over the Agency. I was an office boy at the CAP (Community Action Programs) office. Then I worked at the PHS hospital, first in the lab and then in the supply room. While I was working at the hospital, they asked me if I wanted to start going to Urban Rural. I decided to go. So, they let me work at the hospital till noon and then I would go to my Urban Rural classes in the afternoon. I did this for three months, but it got too hard, so I made my decision, and I decided to go to school full-time.
2-9-77
The senior citizens’ lunches are on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Jim came back after lunch and said that there were a lot of people. Someone usually brings lunch to Father Simoneau on the senior citizens lunch days.
Lyle: “I sure wish we were living in the city. I’d go to AA meetings every night.” (Why can’t you go here?) “You go to these meetings to open up and to be honest. Here, by the time you wake up the next morning, everybody here would know what you said at the meeting. You couldn’t be open here.”
Lyle said that his job only lasted until the end of the month, and then he didn’t know what he was going to do.
Looking back at our time in Hays, I had very little memory of people smoking marijuana. Alcoholism was such a widespread and serious problem, that pretty much took over my brain while living in Hays. Reading back through my fieldnotes, I am reminded of way more use than I remembered. I can’t say that I ever saw anyone smoking it or even smelling it anywhere. I never saw anyone buying it or selling it. There were a lot of people in the community who were using it, both older teens and adults.
2-10-77
Lyle said that he and Mike Stiffarm were close friends.
I'm glad for him that he got out of here. We were both altar boys at the mission. We started in 3rd grade, and we learned all the Latin. Mike and I were altar boys all the time. We were supposed to share it with other boys, but we were the only ones who would show up. We would do it for both the 7:30 and 11:00 mass on Sunday.
People here like Father Retzel because he is the first priest who ever came out in the community.
I was teaching my class in Physical Anthropology and about 1 1/2 hours into the class someone threw a rock through the window of the Urban Rural trailer. It put a big hole in the window, shattering glass everywhere. I ran out to see who threw it, but I didn't see anyone. Nedra and Arlene were sitting next to the window, but no one was hurt. One of my students went over to tell Granville and he called the high school to complain that it was one of their kids. We never found out who did it.
Della dropped out of Urban Rural because Virgil got a job as a security guard in either Spokane or Seattle. She tried to take my course as a correspondence, and I told her it was alright with me. I guess the dean told her no.
2-11-77
Frank told us that he was glad we’re going to be here this summer, because there are a lot of pow wows you can go to. “There is no sun dance here because there isn’t anyone who can perform it. But they do have the sun dance at Rocky Boy, Crow and Cheyenne. They fast and dance for three days.”
2-12-77
Carletta came up to the trailer and asked Susie if she would bake a birthday cake for her. She brought over all the ingredients. It’s Froggy’s birthday and he’ll be 28 years old. She didn’t have time to bake it, because they were going to Chinook for Mark’s tournament game. He’s on the Chinook basketball team. They live in Chinook with Matt and Carletta. Carletta takes care of them; they are her brother’s – Mark and Lester, Matthew’s kids. Carletta and Matt live up in Chinook and spend their weekends in Hays at Matt’s old house. Matt and Carletta are going to college at Northern Montana College in Havre.
Edith said that she had an uncle, my mother’s brother, but he was killed. Two young boys beat him up and put him in a shack in town. Someone else found him. They both served time in jail but they’re both out now.
Gordon said that Box Elder beat Inverness 93-21. “They should do that. The state’s on their back about playing games that way. They could put in the second string. They did that to Hays once. It makes me mad that they do this.”
2-14-77
Whitecow Canyon is also being called ‘Sleepy Hollow’ and ‘Pine Grove.’
At Arts and Crafts, Roseann said that tomorrow is inspection day. “Someone from HUD is going to all the homes in Whitecow Canyon to inspect the houses. Even if you’re not home, they’ll come in and inspect them and they leave you a note. They’re interested in if you’re keeping the stove and refrigerator clean. That’s about all they’re interested in, so I’m going home to clean it. Since all these homes are low rent, except for the five that were there before, you have to be very careful because they cannot own them. You can only rent them.”
Hays Lodge Pole played Kremlin Gildford on Wednesday night and they lost. They played Inverness on Friday. School was called off on Friday so that everyone could go to the game in the afternoon in Havre. The school was held but students could bring in an excuse from their parents and they would be excluded for the day. The mission called off school, but Bill drove the bus for the public school, and he said that there were quite a few kids going to school anyway. The game was at 1:30 and Hays Lodge Pole won the game. They played Rudyard on Saturday at 11:30 am and they lost. This game put them out of the tournament. Box Elder won the Class C district 9 tournament. They are a school just off the Rocky Boy Reservation. It is an integrated white and Indian school. They are the only other team in the league with Indian players.
One of the people at Urban Rural was given about fifty marijuana seeds. One of the women said that her son had a big plant at home. They planted one of the seeds in a room at school where it would get a lot of light.
Pat asked us to donate $1 for the day care coop program. They are going to have a drawing on March 5th and the winner will get half of the money. So out of the dollar, 50 cents goes for the day care program, and 50 cents will be for the raffle. There is also a day care bingo at the mission this week, and a day care rummage sale at the mission on Sunday after the sisters have their rummage sale.
Granville and Mabel are going to a meeting in Helena tomorrow. The meeting concerns getting a state grant for the Urban Rural college for next year. The state started a program and funding for Indian education and teacher training two years ago. The academic director, who is also the history professor, gave me this information. He also said that the College of Great Falls may not want to carry out the program for next year. They may try Northern Montana College in Havre if Great Falls doesn't want to carry on the program. No one is sure of what's going to happen next year. Not much if any support for Indian Education and CTT (College Teacher Training) comes from the state.
2-15-77
John David Quincy has a radio program on Tuesdays at 1:30 from Havre. It’s a show about
the Indians of northcentral Montana. He usually advertises coming events and talks about past events. On this program he said that Pat Bear was going to Flandreau and if anyone wanted to get anything to their kids, they should contact her.
He also talked about the school boards and principals at the public schools. He said that Indians hardly had any representation on the school boards, and this causes a lot of trouble. The only way to get Indians on the school board is to get the Indians out to vote.
Gerald got on and talked about recreation on the reservation. He said that there was a stick (hand) game. He explained that some of the knowledgeable people explained the rules to the stick game, and a lot of people learned. He said that the stick game was a guessing game. He also said that at Lodge Pole he passed out a questionnaire about what kinds of recreation people want for the reservation and for their community. John David said that next week his guest would be Father Retzel, and they would be talking about the Catholic Indian Congress.
2-18-77
The tv transmitter was shut down on Thursday at 8:30. Gordon told us that the tv club shut it off because people did not pay their dues. The dues are $10 for the year, and the money is collected to pay for any repairs to the transmitter that come up during the year. Gootch is in charge of the TV Club.
Evie was at the mission school this morning. She was working on a questionnaire for the recreation department and ONAP. The questionnaire is about what kind of recreation the kids want in Hays. Evie said that she was at the Hays school on Thursday and the kids went through it really fast and didn’t take it seriously. The 7th and 8th grade mission kids spent a long time answering the questions and they did a good job with it. She came in to my 5th and 6th grade at 11:00 and gave the questionnaire to my students. They had a difficult time with the questionnaire because some of the kids didn’t understand the questions. So, we had to explain a lot of the questions. Some of the kids have reading problems.
Evie said that the Hay's principal was not cooperative. He told her that she couldn’t come into the High School until February 24th, and she explained that the analysis had to be done by February 25th but he didn't say anything.
Evie said that Kenny Ryan was very much for Hays; he wants to do something for Hays, and he will help us get some recreation here. They have the money. They only have to decide how they are going to spend it. Evie said that there’s going to be a job open as a youth counsellor on the reservation and this is what she wants to do. “I'd like to get this job.”
Irma told me that people who have government, BIA or tribal jobs on the reservation are off for president’s day. All the schools on the reservation, however, will be in session.
2-19-77
After the boxing smoker there was a fight between some older boys. They had all been drinking. Mike broke up the fight and one of the boys said he was going to go home and get a gun. Mike told him he’d better get out of here. “I’m leading your horse out of here and you’d better be on it.” So, he and his friends left. Mike drove the other boys home.
Lindey told me that he doesn’t have any work, and it is really depressing him. He was building houses around here. Then someone with more Gros Ventre or Assiniboine blood needed work and he lost the job.
2-22-77
Mary said that Cecilia Ryan’s trailer was broken into. Someone took four cinder blocks and beat down the door of the trailer and stole stuff inside. She’s away a lot of the time, because she has children all over that she visits. She was visiting her boy in Boston when it happened. She also has kids in Chicago, Washington and California.
Ruby came into the kitchen to see Mary. She said that the senior citizens building at the Agency was broken into. They kept all their money in a plastic container and would lock it in the freezer. That night the freezer wasn’t locked and all they took was the money. They had to have known the freezer wasn’t locked and it must have been someone who worked there. They broke down the doors to get in. They have hollow doors, so it was easy to get into the building.
(Susie: Are the police looking for the person who stole the money?)
Ruby: The police don’t do anything. Our police force is pathetic.
Mary said if she ever stole anything she would have to stay home, because she couldn’t stand the guilt.
Ruby: I’d be sitting in jail because the guilt would be written all over my face.
2-24-77
Mary said that when Jubal was younger, he didn't think he was an Indian. He'd watch the cowboys and the Indians on the television, and he thought he was a cowboy.
It would be an easy matter for the kids here to identify with cowboys rather than Indians, particularly the way the Indians are portrayed in movies; even those movies that portray Indians in a positive manner. The Indians in most of the tv and movies are traditional in culture; clothes, housing, travel, livelihood, religion. These cultural elements are not often visible in the children's environment. What they observe in their environment more closely approximates the depiction of cowboys in the media, and therefore they identify themselves as cowboys, not Indians. The present style of clothes on the reservation, ranching, rodeos and many other elements of present reservation life here are similar if not identical in many ways to cowboys. Dion has also identified himself as a cowboy and not as much as an Indian. On several occasions Gordon and Edith have asked him "what are you” - and they prompt him on his answer, telling him that he's an Indian. Also, he likes the song "Rhinestone Cowboy" and he walks around the house singing the first line of this song ‘I'm a rhinestone cowboy.'
I asked Doug if he liked living in Lodge Pole with his family. Doug is one of my students at the mission school. They live in the police station there. His father is a policeman. He said it’s ok but it’s kinda lonely cause there aren’t that many kids to play with. “The kids there have been throwing rocks at the teacher’s houses and at the Catholic church, and I don’t play with them.”
2-25-77
Matt and Father Retzel were talking on the couch at Charles and Roseann’s surprise party for Mike. Matt said that he wanted Carletta to attend a school in New Mexico.
It's a school for the training and education of Indians for the medical professions. She gets no encouragement at all from the community. If they hear about it, they don’t think she can do it. I have to keep encouraging her to go. There are times when she just doesn't feel that she can or wants to go on, but I keep encouraging her to continue with it. There are so few people here who can be good examples for these kids.
Father Retzel said that there was an Indian medical program that be knew about. It is an Indian medical program designed to get kids interested in going into the medical professions.
Clarence drew pictures of Indians in the different medical professions, and they put these pictures together into a coloring book for the kids. It's a great way for them to get interested. We need full-time doctors here who are not just looking forward to leaving. Now they come in and spend six months here and they don’t know anyone. They need a doctor or doctors that can learn and know the medical histories of the people here. Now I think there are four doctors up at the hospital. Four and only one is a doctor; the other three are interns. I don’t know why they don’t just take the pay of these three interns and get one real doctor. We'd have two doctors. That's what we need around here.
Matt: “We need a full-time clinic and doctors in Hays. We used to have full-time doctors here. I don’t know why they stopped.”
Father Retzel: “It's really too late, because all the plans have been drawn up. They should have kept the Hays hospital the main hospital for the people instead of planning a new hospital at the Agency. They have all the specialists in Havre.”
Me: “But I've heard a lot of people complain about the Havre hospital and they don’t like the nursing care.”
Father: “I've heard that too, and I guess that the people have to trust the hospital. It's pretty important. It's also pretty far away.”
Matt:
After we get back from New Mexico when Carletta finishes her schooling, I'd like to come back to Old Hays and set up a quonset hut and start a shop for teaching men how to weld. Carletta will have her whole education paid for, and I should have some money left over on the GT bill. There are so many people here out of work, and a lot of young people have nothing to do. I'd like to teach them welding and find them a trade. I'll complete my advanced welding course at Northern Montana College. Maybe the tribe could help me out or could buy be all the equipment. There are a lot of good jobs for welders on the outside. I could go to Havre right now and get a good job. They are putting up all these metal buildings, and there are always good jobs for welders. A lot of guys around here want to be auto mechanics. I don’t know why. They’re a dime a dozen. This welding training would help a lot of men out here and it would give then something to do. I figure you can help people halfway, and then they have to go out and help themselves. They have to be willing to go out and find work, when it is off the reservation. You can only give people a training and a skill and then they have to do something to help themselves. This reservation is not always going to be here. Someday it's going to end. They terminated two reservations; one in Oregon and one in Wisconsin. These people are in bad shape. It's going to happen here someday, and the people need to be trained for jobs. I have no pity for those people who don’t do anything and don’t look for work. You can only help people so far, by training them for jobs, and then they have to do something for themselves. The people are so used to just getting everything from the government for nothing. They just want to just keep talking and not do anything for it.
Father: “Do you get the same medical benefits and care living off the reservation.”
Matt:
We can go to the Havre hospital or use the services here and the PHS will pay for everything even though we live off the reservation. It didn't used to be this way, but it is now. We’ve been living off the reservation for two years now and we’re making it pretty good. Living off the reservation I still get a lot of benefits, and we can still get things. I get money from the VA (GI Bill) and I also get money from the BIA. I make as much money from this in one month than a lot of guys make here in four months on the reservation.
Matt:
They need to offer courses here on the reservation to change the kid's attitudes about sniffing glue and alcohol and drugs. To begin with they think they have to do this stuff, cause the other kids are doing it. It's the way to get with the in group. There’s a lot of peer pressure to do it, use alcohol, sniff glue and gasoline. They should show films to these kids of people who have actually done this stuff and let them see for themselves what it can do to you. They should also have people come in here to talk to the kids, people that work with alcoholics and with kids who sniff glue. When I was going to boarding school, I was with a guy who would sniff glue and gasoline. Their brains just deteriorated until they were vegetables. If the kids saw this it might change their attitudes about using this stuff. There is too much drinking here, too. Alcohol causes so many problems. People fight all the time and there are also broken families. When these young kids drink, the parents are to blame. Alcohol is the same way as the other stuff. They think they have to do it to be in.
Father: “Didn't someone come into the school to talk to the kids about alcohol?”
Me: “He never showed up.”
Father: “There's a school board meeting next Saturday; the first Saturday of every month. We’re going to talk about having people come in to talk to the kids about these things. Some parents might complain though that we're putting ideas into the minds of kids who never thought or heard about it.”
Matt: “Even grade school age; the kids here have either seen it or have heard about it.”
Mary:
There are a lot of problems in this community. There is so much jealousy and so many people don’t get along with each other. That’s why I just stay home and mind my own business. I never go out to visit people. I just go to visit you guys, and I go to my mother’s.
Gordon said that the tv transmitter was off because some parts broke. It had nothing to do with an electric bill or tv dues. He said that they went after the parts, and they’d have it fixed soon.
Bill was telling me about stories he’d heard from the times just after contact with whites:
Jenny Gray’s grandfather went up to get his government rations, when they first started coming out. He was given wagon grease, but they never told him what to do with it; just go grease your wagon. He went home and was outside for a couple hours. He came in and told his wife that he would need more grease. He had literally covered his wagon with grease.
They were also given hard tack; a kind of bread. It was too hard, so they threw it out.
They were also given pig for bacon. They were given a whole pig with the outside skin on it. The skin was pink with hair. They thought it was dead whites, and they threw it out.
Fort Belknap Midwinter Fair and Pow Wow
2-1-77
Beatrice: “The midwinter fair used to be much better than it is now. This is the 12th or 13th year of the fair.”
2-2-77
Bill and I went up to the Agency to the tribal office to help Sisters Giswalda and Germaine take up the mission materials for their booth at the midwinter fair. All the sisters were outside and directed Bill and I in unloading the truck. The sisters organized their booth. Phyllis and Shirley Smith and their mom, Caroline, were there putting up the Hays booth. She teaches kindergarten there. The Hays Lodge Pole Grade School and High School were there organizing their booths.
Afterward, Sister Giswalda took us up to Wally’s café for dinner. She told us we could spend up to $5. She paid with all coins. She had saved up for it. These sisters were amazing in an exceptionally positive way.
2-4-77
The Midwinter Fair was held at the tribal office at the Agency. The school booths were set up on Wednesday and most of the other booths were set up by Thursday. There were still some booths that were empty at 8:00am this morning. One of the judges was Grace Miller, one of the extension agents on the reservation. The judging was supposed to start before 9:00 am but didn't until close to 11:00. The mission booth received a blue ribbon (first prize) of the school booths. (I can’t imagine that any of the judges would have had the guts to give the mission school anything else but the first prize). Individual students received ribbons for different items in the school booths. Sister Bartholemew had prayed the night before that they would win the first prize. Lodge Pole received the red ribbon and Hays the white ribbon.
For the mission arts and crafts, Beatrice won a blue ribbon for her "End of the Trail" platter. Susie's Indian boy and girl won blue ribbons. Sister Kathleen’s bowl and Tootsie’s dishes also won blue ribbons. There were small cash prizes for all these ribbons.
These were the different booths we saw at the fair: Ft. Belknap Warriors Basketball Team, Rodeo Club, Riding Club, Hank Chopwood stone art, Agency arts and crafts, Mission arts and crafts, Vernie Perry’s antiques, Gloria Buck, (art), PHS, Alcoholism, Navajo Hoop Dancer- Silver and turquoise jewelry, Harlem High School, Seed growers (commercial), Cattle Raising, Extension Agents (Don Addy and Grace Miller) HeadStart - Hays, Agency, Lodge Pole, Lodge Pole elementary school, Hays Lodge Pole elementary school, Hays elementary school, Agency, Agency Senior Citizens, White Cow Canyon (Sleepy Hollow), family planning, Encyclopedia - World Book (commercial), Arts and Crafts (Dodson), Mormons, Catholic Indian Congress, Lodge Pole Community, Lodge Pole Senior Citizens, 3 buttes 4H club carnival, Tribal office.
Ft. Belknap Warriors and Chief Joseph Memorial Dance Committee ran the concessions.
Sister Giswalda spent the whole weekend sitting in front of the mission school booth. She didn't want anyone to steal or damage the kids’ things. She was also at the booth selling cookies that the girls had baked in her 7/8th grade home economics class. She was selling a package of cookies for one dollar, and there were 20 packages. The money was going to be used for the class trip this spring. She would catch some of her old mission students that were walking by the booth, and she talked them into buying a package of the cookies.
The people who came to the fair spent a lot of time looking at the school booths and booths that had the crafts and the artwork. They did not pay much attention to the booths that were from the PHS, alcoholism, and the booths on religion – Catholic Indian Congress and the Mormons.
Hank Chopwood had a booth at the fair and it contained a saddle that his father had used and some of his stone sculpture. He said that he gets his stone from the Little Rockies - sandstone. He said that he uses a chisel and rubs the stone to shape it. He never used power tools. He said that he wanted to come to the mission to hold a workshop in sculpture with the kids. Most of his work concerns Indian themes and portraits.
Vernie also had a booth at the fair. She is 78 years old and lives in Lodge Pole. She is Gros Ventre but has an Assiniboine husband. She speaks Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, and Cree. She asked us if we were going to the pow wow and told us that she would see us tomorrow “with my bells on and really stepping it out.” She said that we should wave our hats at her when she dances by. She had many objects in her booth from the traditional culture and was very proud of them. Some of the items were handed down to her and some of them she made herself: bone scrapper, moccasins, bead work, floral design (Crow and Rocky Boy), chockers, breast plates, buckskin vest, mortar for making pemmican from dry meat and berries and cherries, medallions, shawls, and quilts. Most of the things in her booth had a ribbon on them and she also won a ribbon for her booth. She said that she had only one child but that she had 12 grandchildren. She also said that she was a great grandmother. She said that she was making a buckskin dress for one of her grandchildren and that this type of thing keeps her busy. She also makes many of the traditional items that many other people here have stopped making either out of disinterest or lack of knowledge. She promised us that she would make us a rattle.
Dora Helgeson ran the Lodge Pole community booth along with Jenny Gray. Dora is very involved in the Lodge Pole community, and Jenny is one of the most respected people on the reservation. Many people go to her for information about the traditional ways of life and information concerning the traditional religion and rituals.
Friday was children’s day at the fair and there were mostly kids at the fair Friday afternoon. The kids at the Hays Lodge Pole school were allowed to miss school that day if they had a written excuse from their parents, but the school was in session. The buses picked up the kids and there were quite a few kids in school. The mission called off school for the day. Some people complained that the Hays Lodge Pole schools wouldn't bus the kids up to the fair and said that the reason was that the teachers didn't want to supervise the buses. There were two bus-loads of kids from Havre. Most of the kids were Indian. John David Quincy said that he worked to get the Havre school system to take the kids up to the fair and he felt that the Hays Lodge Pole schools should have done the same. He said that he is on the Indian Education Board, and this is how he was able to get the buses for the kids. He also said that he was helping to get Indian culture classes started in the Havre schools.
Jack Plumage (tribal chairman) and Joe McConnel (secretary-treasurer) were helping at the fair. Frank didn't have a booth at the fair because he couldn't get enough paintings done. Sister Giswalda told him that he and Clarence should have had a booth there. Elmer Main was the mc for the program in the afternoon. The program on Friday was mostly for the kids. There was a dog show, a Navajo hoop dancer from Wolf Point, and there were demonstrations on how to prepare dry meat and fry bread and on how to set up a tipi. There was also a bingo all three days of the fair. The bingo was run by Charles and Roseann and the money from the bingo was all given to the Catholic Indian Congress.
I saw Snuffy at the fair and we spent a long time talking. We had lunch together at the concession stand. He said that his grandfather, Tom Main, had many heart attacks and he was still young. They never thought that he would live to be an old man. He was about 25 years old when he had his first heart attack. He had two kids and when his wife died, he gave the kids up because he thought that he was going to die young. But he lived until he was in his 60's. He did some great work for his people and the reservation. Once the superintendent, they call him an agent now, wanted to get my grandfather to stop working for his people, and he once said to him, "I'll give you 100 head of cattle and land for grazing. You can live out a good life." Tom Main answered that “you can give me a million dollars and I might settle back. You can't buy me off this cheap. I have to live with and face my people.”
Gerald Stiffarm was working at the concession stand. The money was going to be used for the Ft. Belknap Warrior basketball team and the Chief Joseph Memorial Pow Wow. They served Indian tacos, hamburgers, coffee, coke, and fry bread. Gerald told us that the fast break tournaments would be on March 11, 12, and 13. The concessions for the games would be run by the mission and the money would be used for the Catholic Indian Congress.
Gerald said that they had plans for a swimming pool and a roller-skating rink. The pool was going to be put at the Agency. Something might be built in Hays. He said that more things were put at the Agency than in Hays because there were more enrolled Indians at the agency. There might be as many people living in Hays as up at the Agency, but there are a lot of people in Hays that are not enrolled. There are about 1300 enrolled at the Agency and only about 600 that are enrolled in Hays. Snuffy said that a lot of people have a misunderstanding about enrollment. If you are 1/4 Assiniboine or Gros Ventre then you can be enrolled in one of these tribes. If you are 1/8th Indian, then you can be a community member on the reservation, but you can't be enrolled in either of these tribes. Gerald said that in most other tribes the children took the enrollment or their membership in their group through the father. If their father was an enrolled member, they became an enrolled member. But if the mother married a white or someone not in the tribe, then the children did not become enrolled in the tribe. At Ft. Belknap we do it differently from anywhere else that I know of. The children can take their enrollment from either the mother or the father.
Matilda was at the fair with her daughter Cecilia. She got out of the hospital today.
A woman approached me at the fair and asked me if I was the anthropologist on the reservation. She was belligerent. She said that she wanted to see me, and I told her that she could see me anytime that she wanted at the mission.
I told Irma about what happened, and she told me that she was the tribal consultant. She graduated from Harvard and Irma said that she sure lets everyone know about it. She is a non-Indian. She said that there are some complaints that she was hired and is non-Indian. Ray said that when they have someone qualified, they should hire one of their own. Irma said that she was a witch, and she said to be careful about what I say to her. She is always fighting with BJ, so we always call him by her last name to tease him.
I was an anthropologist on the reservation. I was not the anthropologist on the reservation. I was also a grade school teacher, college instructor, bus driver, janitor, Jesuit volunteer, hunting safety instructor … on the reservation. What I found most interesting over the two years that we lived and worked in Hays was that the only people who ever questioned the research I was doing with the Gros Ventre were white people. All the Gros Ventre who were anthropologists and historians supported what I was doing. The people who cared also supported my work. The vast majority of people in the community didn’t care one way or the other. Needless to say, she never came looking for me. I would not have been difficult to find. Susie and I were everywhere, all at once.
On Saturday night, as part of the Midwinter fair program there was a pow wow. It was held in the Agency gym. Gordon and Edith’s car was not working so we drove them up with us. Gordon, Edith, Susie and I were in the cab, and Ryan and Venetia rode in the back. Gordon brought his drum and put it in the back also. Edith put about 10 blankets in the back so the kids would be warm. We got to the gym at 7:45.
The parking lot was filled with people and cars. The stands were filled inside and there were chairs all around the dance floor (gym floor). People bring their own chairs. We did not bring chairs, but Ray and Irma brought a couple extra, and they offered those to us. We sat behind Jim and Beatrice, and Ray and Irma. We sat with Gordon and Edith, Seanna, Ruth and Lyle, and Nade.
We sat across from the stands. There was a drum on either side of us, and the announcer was in the center of the wall. There was an American Flag and Ft. Belknap Flag in front of the announcer’s stand. The place was packed, about 2,000 people. There were a lot of kids playing outside. It was very cold out. The kids were talking and throwing snowballs outside. Some people were smoking marijuana. Most of the kids outside were from the high school and older grade school kids.
Inside, most of the people remained in the stands and in their chairs. There were between 40 and 50 dancers. Most of them were in dancing outfits, but there were several occasions when people danced without a costume, i.e., an honor song.
The pow wow was put on by the Milk River Dance Committee. There were 12 drums playing. They would each take a turn going around the floor. Because there were so many drums, each played only a few times the whole night. There were about six drums in a line down the center of the floor. They couldn't have any more drums than that, because there wasn’t enough room to dance around the end drums. The other drums were spread along the walls on either side of the announcer’s table.
The dancers dance clockwise around the drums. Of the 12 drums, only a few were from the Ft. Belknap Reservation. There were drums from Browning, Ft. Peck, Rock Boy, Canaca (Chippewa Cree) and the Black Lodge singers from Ft. Belknap. Eddie and Super sang with the Black Lodge singers. There were also drums from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation (distinguished from the So. Cheyenne in Oklahoma where Gordon has some relatives).
There was an honor song for Ira. The Black Lodge Singers sang the honor song. They were his grandchildren. Eddie, Lilly and Adam led the honor dance. Jim and Beatrice danced behind them and there were others dancing. There was no give away and nothing was said after the song. As with the typical behavior for honor songs, those who were not dancing stood and removed their "head gear." Those that dance also remove their hats. (Except where they are wearing traditional gear like a roach; those they leave on.)
There was a concession stand in one of the corners of the gym. They were selling cotton candy, popcorn, and candy apples. The concession may have been run by the Milk River Dance Committee? It was busy all night with mostly kids.
Toward the end of the pow wow there was a gourd dance. One drum plays a song, and a man danced toward the drum. He was holding a gourd rattle, and he was dancing in side step to the rhythm of the drum and they also shook the rattle with the beat of the drum. When he got to the drum, he stopped and shook the rattle by the drum. Then two other men came down from the stands and walked onto the floor. They danced clockwise both side-step and forward and also shook their rattles with the rhythm of the drum. When these two men reached the drum that was singing, they also stopped and shook their rattles while the singers continued. Then they started dancing again clockwise around the floor.
The gourd dance started with the Gros Ventre. They used to call it the Star Dance. When the Gros Ventre were fighting against the Americans, they did the gourd dance. They danced and they would drag the flag along the floor. Then they would drop the flag to the floor and would dance on it. The Gros Ventre had the dance first. Then the southern Cheyenne got the dance from the Gros Ventre. The Gros Ventre got it back about six years ago. Gordon told us all of this in the truck on the way back to Hays.
During the dance Susie and I walked up to Lenore (Stiffarm). She remembered having lunch with us and Father Retzel. She asked how we were getting along here. We asked her how her father was. She was in from Boston to see her father, John. She said that he was doing better.
During the intertribal dances (not honor songs) almost all the men were wearing dancing costumes. Very few men come onto the floor with boots. They either wear moccasins or tennis shoes.
A typical men’s outfit includes colored handkerchiefs, roaches, breast plates, head dress, beads, moccasins, shorts, and colored shirts (ribbon shirts). Some will dance with feathers or a rattle. Most people buy their outfits and sometimes from other reservations.
Most children also wear dancing costumes. The woman usually do not wear dancing costumes. Gordon, Edith and Lilly told me that they are too expensive and too hard to make. A few of the teenage girls wear the buck skin dresses, beadwork, moccasins, braids, (fur, rabbit) ties, and feathers in their hair. Peggy, Caroline Smith, and Mrs. Chandler had on buckskin dresses. Most of the older women wear long dresses and either carry or more often wear a shawl (with fringe) around their shoulders and arms. They also often wear moccasins, some of them with fine bead work (floral designs, i.e., Crow, Rocky Boy). Some of the middle-aged women wear pant suits and they put on shawls or moccasins over their outfit. Some women wear blue jeans and shirt and sweater with a shawl. People in the stands wear casual western clothing. Men may also wear chockers and women beaded medallions, necklaces, and earrings. Some men wear bollo ties and some of them are beaded. People have beaded belt buckles, and some wear hand-made leather belts.
One of the drums played a grass dance and Toni Earthboy danced around the floor alone in an exhibition. After the song was over everyone gave him an applause and the drums beat hard, sharp beats on all the drums.
There was a feed at 11:00. The dance committee wheeled around a table with a large pot. It was a beef soup with vegetables and ground beef. They also served a plate of beef, potato salad, baked beans and bread.
The dance committee gave money to each of the drums.
Jack Plumage then had an honor song for his young boy. It was in the honor of his receiving his Indian name - Whiteshield. One of the drums played the honor song, and Jack danced around in front holding "White Shield" His brother danced next to him, and his wife and family danced behind with friends and other relatives. After the honor song, Jack Plumage had a giveaway in the honor of his son’s naming. He gave the drum that sang $20. He then gave $5 to every drum.
There were about 30-40 dancers on the floor at a time - men and women, teenagers and children. During the grass dances, if the dancers like the song, they would dance near the drum. After a while, the announcer would call out on the P.A. "pick it up" and the drummers would play faster.
There was an honor song played for the veterans. Two men in dancing costumes led the dance - one carried the American Flag, and the other the Fort Belknap Flag. There were 4-5 other veterans in dancing costumes directly behind them. More men started to come onto the floor.
There was also an honor song for Miss Ft. Belknap 1977-78, and she led the dance with friends and relatives dancing behind her.
There was a ringtail dance. There were two groups of 4 women each on the floor. They were middle age and older women. They danced with their arms around each other. One of the groups was dancing a side-step with each beat of the drum. The other group was dancing a cross-step, and faster than the first group. They danced in a row. No men danced during this song.
A few of the Princess Candidates were dancing: Peggy Doney, (she wore a buck skin dress with beadwork and moccasins).
Jan LaValley came with her daughter and a friend of hers who is Apache. I went out to the car with Lyle to wheel her into the gym. Jan has muscular dystrophy. She sat in front of Jim and Beatrice, and Ray and Irma.
During the dance we got up to say hello to Vernie Perry. On the way back we saw Frank. He said that he'd wait for us to leave because he wanted us to follow him home. (He had given Susie one of his sister’s shawls to borrow during the pow wow so she could get up and dance). Then Nade came up and said that she was driving home with Rosey Connors, and Frank said that he would leave with them, and follow them home.
During one of the grass dances, four girls from the reservation took a shawl and danced around the floor next to the seats. They each held a corner of the shawl and held it open. As they danced around the floor, people from their seats tossed in money. Most of it was change, but there were a few bills. Ray said that they were collecting money for someone who came here from a long distance and needed the money to get home.
2-6-77
There was a program at the Midwinter Fair. John David Quincy was the mc. There were several events. One of the main events was the princess contest. Peggy Doney was selected as the princess of the Mid-Winter Fair. All the girls had to dance and were judged on Indian dancing, and all were in dancing outfits. Other events were a Navajo hoop dancer (from Wolf Point), there was a dog show, a baby contest, and Sherman Cochran (a local Christian evangelist) sang a few songs. Charles and Roseann organized and ran a bingo. They made $60 which will be given to the Catholic Indian Congress. I took Venetia, Junior, and Dory up to the fair and they rode in the back of the truck. Ryan had spent the night up at the Agency at Bobby’s and he met us at the fair on Sunday.
There were raffles during the fair. A saddle and a live steer for the riding club; a quilt, handmade dolls, beaded buckle for the Camp Crier; a beaded necklace for the Catholic Indian Congress and a
turquoise necklace for the Navajo hoop dancer.
I was talking to Don Addy, the extension agent on the reservation. He was a vista volunteer here and married a local girl and settled here. He said that between 4,000 and 8,000 people come to the fair over the 3 days. He said that he has set up 4H clubs in all the communities on the reservation, but the people's creek has been the only one that was successful and lasted.
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