September 11, 2019
Dear Family, Friends and Everyone Else reading this blog,
Hello! Time waits for no one and seems to be really flying fast these days.
It has been eighteen years since 9/11! I show a photo of mixed Roses to remember all during that terrorist strike on our country on September 11, 2001. We must never forget that this happened in America.
My book, Sky Woman Lives in Me, which I researched and wrote for fifteen years, is still available for anyone wanting to read true history of our Indigenous people in our country. No, this book will never be on the Best Seller List! But, I continue to share my grandmothers’ and my story till the day I die. My book is available at 25% discount through http://www.lulu.com
The third photo is of a white house that is actually still standing. This is the Farmhouse at the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School, now the grounds of the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of the few remaining buildings which was used to teach Indian School Students how to farm. Please consider donating to the GOFundMe Site, Carlisle Farmhouse on Facebook. Your donations will help to rennovate the Farmhouse and make it into a heritage center. The International Sites of Conscience at https://www.sitesofconscience.org/en/membership/carlisle-indian-school-farmhouse-coaltion/ and the Pennsylvania at Risk-Preservation PA at http://preservationpa.org/page.asp?id=8 can provide information about the Farmhouse.
The fourth photo is of my Great-Grandmother, Sophia Huff-Powless and her sister (my Great Aunt) Lily Huff. They were forced to attend Carlisle to be civilized and assimilated Euro-white. This photo was taken in July, 1891, the two girls posing in their Carlisle uniforms and required hairdos. Their Oneida clothes and moccasins were burned.
I never really knew much about my Oneida self. And, when I was told I was half Oneida, I was very prejudiced of my Oneida self. Why? Because I associated my indigenous self to be the savage Indians I saw on television in TV Westerns, etc. When I first met my great grandmother in the 1960’s, I was surprised she wasn’t dressed like the Indian Women I saw on television. So, my fifth photo teaches me “To remember who you are, you will need to FORGET what society has tried to teach you to be…Culture Matters, Be Proud.
The sixth photo is of Leonard Peltier. Why isn’t this man free? Why is he still behind bars? He has been in jail for over 40 years! How would people in our government like it if they were put in prison for over 40 years? Where is our government’s moral conscience? FREE LEONARD!
The seventh photo is of a pass that Native Americans had to obtain to leave the reservation during the Jim Crow Era. I think of my Great Grandfather Hyson Powless. The Oneida Reservation was very poor when he and Sophia settled after marriage in 1903. He was actually trained as a printer at Houghton-Mifflin Riverside Press for five years. Yet, he needed permission to go off the Oneida Reservation to look for printing work to support his family. There were no printing jobs on the reservation. And, Hyson was refused employment off the reservation, because he was Indian! Many Oneidas moved off the reservation to Milwaukee, Chicago or big cities to find employment.
The next photo says “Every Native Vote Counts.” Please vote! I pray South Dakota will allow indigenous people to vote again.
The 9th photo shows the wall near the Mexican Border. Names are written on this wall. The names are of veterans of our military forces who were deported out of the United States, after having fought for our country! They were deported because they were not considered citizens, just immigrants. Yet, our government has the gall to use these veterans to fight for our country…and then, deport them!
Mascots of Indigenous people are still being used in this country. This continues to push the stereotype of indigenous people as savages. This continues to show gross disrespect to indigenous people as human beings. Photo 10 shows this disrespect!
Fall will be upon us by September 23. I hope all the children have a wonderful school year. My last photo is a picture of 4 ears of Gem Corn I grew this summer. Gem corn was developed by a man named Carl Barnes. He was an Oklahoma farmer,who was half Cherokee. He grew this corn as a way to reconnect with his heritage. I grew these four ears of corn to get closer to my Oneida roots. Thank you for reading this blog. Please share if you wish as I am not sure Facebook is sharing my blog.
Sincerely, Roberta Capasso, Proud Oneida and Author of the book below.
Sky Woman Lives in Me 