Blog of my Book: Sky Woman Lives in Me

October 14, 2019

Dear Family, Friends and Everyone else reading this blog, Happy Indigenous People’s Day.    I am very thankful that this day is a recognition of all Indigenous People here in our country.  We are still here! Below is a photo of my grandson learning about his indigenous self. e8fc5202-96af-4de5-8612-a73bffd9badf-o (1)

I wish to say “Thank you” to Art Demblinski for posting information about videos taken at the Carlisle Journeys-2018 by the Cumberland Country Historical Society.  If you type in the search engine for Google:  2018-youtube.com, Carlisle Journeys 2018; you will be able to view 7 videos from the Carlisle Journeys Conference. One of the videos shows me talking about my book:  Sky Woman Lives in Me.

To all of you reading this, “HAPPY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY!”

BLOG OF MY BOOK: SKY WOMAN LIVES IN ME

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.

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/…/carlisle-indian-school…/ 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 North 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, Sky Woman Lives in Me.

BLOG OF MY BOOK: SKY WOMAN LIVES IN ME

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.
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Blog of my Book, Sky Woman Lives in Me

August 10, 2019

Dear Family, Friends and Everyone Else reading this blog,

Summer is ending soon and school will be open again for a new year for our children. I hope all had a wonderful Summer.

I continue to share my story, Sky Woman Lives in Me, to honor my Grandmothers: Grandma Millie Elm, Great Grandmother Sophia Huff-Powless and Great great Grandmother Elizabeth Hill-Huff-Denny. Below is a photo of the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School Student Body, posing on the school grounds in March of 1892. a head photo of Sophia is in the lower left hand corner. She was forced to attend this school to become assimilated Euro white. These Carlisle students were surrounded by a 7 foot fence, gating all of these children inside. Basically, they were imprisoned by the government. All were separated from their parents and family. The second photo stands by the school cemetery and shares that Carlisle Indian School was a model (experiment) for a nationwide system (US Government) to assimilate indigenous children as Euro-white. No indigenous cultures/languages or children’s Indian names, as well as native clothing were allowed.

The third photo is of a young female immigrant crying at her school in Mississippi last week, August, 2019. Why? She learned that her father waw taken away to be sent back to Mexico. She is sobbing because she is afraid and doesn’t know what to do living without her Dad. This is so heartbreaking and wrong. This is not who we are!

The next fourth photo shows immigrants behind fences, locked in by our government. This photo is from this year, 2019. The immigrants being locked up, separated from their children, reminds me of my great grandmother, Sophia way back in 1891. She was forced to attend Carlisle to be assimilated…so she would fit in with the mainstream culture at that time (Euro-white). She too, was placed behind a 7 foot fence! Then she was sent out to be a servant for a Quaker Family for ten years!

The fifth photo is a Japanese family interned during WWII by our government. Since the United States was fighting Japan, well, Japanese Americans in this country were rounded up and put in internment camps. They also were put behind fences. The US Government didn’t trust Japanese at this time.

The sixth photo shows Jewish people fenced in imprisoned by the Nazis’. The Nazis hated Jews and felt Jews were inferior and inhuman! Even though this happened in the 1940’s, this is still happening today. Nothing’s changed, just the date.

I pray for all immigrants and their children. They have done nothing wrong. They just want a better life for themselves and their children.

The seventh photo is of Leonard Peltier. He has been in prison for over 40 years now. Can someone with a conscience in D.C. please free Leonard. Why the hell is he still in prison?

I show two different flags. The first flag was from the late Russell Means. The flag speaks a lot of truth in our country. Sadly, it is still going on in 2019. If true history were taught, we Americans would learn a lot of hidden history that was kept from us in school and life.
The last photo, another flag, I feel, describes what Our Country stands for: “We the people, Of the People, For the People, By the People.  This flag makes me feel American in Our Country.
As the kids head to school, I hope they all have a good year. I pray there are no more shootings, that kids can feel free to learn and not fear going to school for fear of being shot!
May Our Creator, God, watch over all of us. Thank you for reading my blog. Face Book isn’t allowing me to share this blog to everyone. Please share this blog, if you wish. Sincerely, Roberta Capasso, Proud Oneida and Author of Sky Woman Lives in Me.

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Blog of my Book: Sky Woman Lives in Me

July 9, 2019
Dear Family, Friends and Everyone else reading this blog,
Hello! I hope all are enjoying this summer!
When I first toured the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School grounds in 2003, the first thing I saw was the school cemetery, right at the entrance gate. The original cemetery was back by the athletic fields. To make room for a new road, in 1927 the cemetery was moved to an isolated patch by the rear gate. I show a photo of the cemetery at Carlisle below.  It is rumored that not all the graves were moved to the new area. After 9/11 terrorist attacks, security changes turned this back gate into the main entrance, giving the public full view of this cemetery, and the children buried in it. None of the schools I attended had cemeteries at their entrances! As I mention in my book, Sky Woman Lives in Me, I was really shocked that Indigenous children who attended Carlisle, died at Carlisle and were buried at Carlisle.
Well, I do believe things come and go around full circle. On June 22, 2019, three Oneida students remains were returned to the Oneida Nation, here in Wisconsin. The three students were Jemima Metoxan, Ophelia Powless and Sophia Conlon.
These students had died between 1893 and 1904 at the school. I have shared in my book how mistreated my Great -Grandmother, Sophia Huff-Powless was, when she attended the school from 1891 until 1892. How lucky, how fortunate she was to survive her boarding school experience at Carlisle.
On June 28th, the Oneida’s 47th Pow Wow had an honor song and dance in tribute for these three Oneida students. The dancing was phenomenal, the singing was wonderful. The descendants walked around the pow wow grounds during the honor song. It was very moving. Below is a photo of the descendants walking during the honor song.
I feel grateful to have attended the burial ceremony June 30th at the Holy Apostles Episcopal Church. Yes, my great grandmother survived but my heart goes out to these three deceased girls and their descendants. I wanted to pay my respects. The Oneida singers did an awesome job singing at the ceremony. It was a beautiful, respectful church service. I am grateful to God, Our Creator, these three deceased girls are now home in Oneida.  The Holy Apostles Episcopal Church mentions the 10:30 am service for the Carlisle Students outside on it’s announcement board.
I just want to express my sincerest sympathies to the descendants of these three girls, Henry(Hank)Huff, Helen Huff, Julie Thomas, Lisa Huff and Violet Blake.
I, as a member of the Oneida Nation, sincerely thank all who helped make this repatriation possible: Kirby Metoxan, Rosa Laster, US Army Corps of Engineers, Forensic Doctors Michael Trimble and Elizabeth DiGangi, Sonny Hill and Father Rodger Patience, and everyone else who I may have missed thanking here.
Please say a prayer for all those immigrants at the border. My heart is so heavy with sadness, seeing these children taken away from their parents and put into cages! Hum… this is the year 2019, but nothing has changed in this country. See my photo below.
For the 4th of July, I honor all those men and women who fought for our freedom. I truly cannot honor Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Yes, he said,”Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But, further down this Declaration he says, “…the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” A partial section of the Declaration of Independence is shown below.   I, being of the Indigenous Oneida Tribe, am not a savage.  None of us Indigenous People are savages! I think back to when my great grandmother was forced to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School to become a better citizen, become assimilated into the euro-white culture and to rid her of her Oneida self, her savageness! Here are her favorite flowers, the Gladiolas, she loved to grow each year. How much ‘savage’ does this make her?!
Well, I hope that someone in Washington D.C. has morals and a good conscience to free Leonard Peltier!  He has been imprisoned for over 40 years! Why can’t he be freed now?
Thank you for reading this blog. Please share if you wish. Sincerely, Roberta Capasso (Bobbie) Author of Sky Woman Lives in Me
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Blog of my Book: Sky Woman Lives in Me

June 9, 2019

Dear Family, Friends and Everyone else reading this blog,
Hi! Summer is here and I hope all are enjoying it. Another month has gone by since I last blogged. Time flies!
My book, Sky Woman Lives in Me, is still for sale, even though it was self published in 2016. Because of the subject matter of my book, I felt it would never be published by a big publishing company. My book talks about how my great-grandmother and her sister were forced to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania to become assimilated white. Even though my book isn’t selling, I will continue to share my story so people know what really happened to my grandmothers and myself!  I am sharing true history that wasn’t shared in school.

Assimilation, Indian Boarding Schools, reservations were not taught in history class. I, myself, had never seen a reservation until I attended the Lac du Flambeau Public Grade School in 1966. I was very shocked at the poor homes and poverty on this reservation back then. I grew up hearing my relatives mention how my great-grandmother, Sophia Huff Powless attended Carlisle with Jim Thorpe. she really did not attend with Jim Thorpe. My family ‘sugar-coated this story by stating that Sophia went to this school with the great Jim Thorpe.  He attended Carlisle long after Sophia had left the school. This far away school was supposed to make her a better person, teach her English and academics and change her clothes and shoes to European dress. Her hair was to be put into a bun, like white- Euro ladies. Braids and long hair were forbidden. Her Oneida clothes and moccasins were taken away and burned! Her name was changed by a reservation agent to Sophia. Sadly, to this day, I do not know what her Oneida name was. Her language, Oneida, also was forbidden. Only English was allowed to all tribes attending Carlisle. Sophia was caught speaking Oneida and had to eat lye soap! But, through her caginess, she practiced her Oneida in secret and never lost her language.
So even though time is flying by, like I have mentioned above, nothing really has changed much for indigenous people. There are still reservations, many of them very impoverished. Some of the poorer reservations have no YMCA, no malls, no movie theaters, no big grocery stores, no plumbing in their homes, no electricity, bad water, few gas stations. I could go on and on. The Oneida Reservation, that Sophia lived on as a child, was very poor then. Today it is much healthier. But, today, there are still reservations in this country that are third world, very poor! My heart goes out to the immigrants near the Mexican border. They, too are suffering, unjustly! Kids being separated from both of their parents is not right!  The child in the photo below is sleeping on the ground! His wall, a chain link fence!
June 6th would have been my Grandma Millie’s 119th birthday. She lived until 2010 to be 104 years old. I thank Our Creator, God, had her on Earth this long to help me with my book. She shared a lot. I am grateful. She is always in my heart. Here is a photo of Grandma Millie and I, taken a month before she died.
We celebrated D-Day recently. There were many indigenous men who fought for this country. I show a photo of my Uncle John, a Marine, who fought in the Korean War. He is standing with Sophia and my Great Grandfather, Hyson Powless. My Uncle Ed was in the Army and my Uncle Richard was in the Navy. Grandma Millie used to live in San Diego. She sewed parachutes for the soldiers at war.

Recently, I learned that there will be a Repatriation of 3 Oneidas buried at the Carlisle Indian Cemetery. I am glad these three will be finally laid to rest at home in Oneida, Wisconsin. Ophelia Powless, Sophia Caulon and Jemima Metoxen are the three whose remains will be disinterred. Information probably can be learned from Kirby Metoxen or Rosa Laster from the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.

Father’s Day is just around the corner. I wish all Fathers’ a wonderful day. I show photos of my sons, taking naps with their sons! And,since time is flying so fast, in my heart I hope Leonard Peltier is released from prison. It would be wonderful for him to celebrate Father’s Day with his children as well as his family. Can someone with a moral conscience, please free Leonard Peltier!
Thank you for reading this blog. Please feel free to share if you wish. May Our Creator, God, bless all of us.

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Blog of my Book: Sky Woman Lives in Me

May 6, 2019

Dear Family,Friends and Everyone else reading this,

Hello! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Spring. It has been over a month since I last blogged about my book,Sky Woman Lives in Me.
Though my book came out on February 8, 2016, things in this country haven’t changed much. It’s just a different date.
Below is a photo of the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School Farm House. I have talked about this in my other blogs. The original Farm House still stands on the Carlisle Indian School Grounds. This school Farm House was an integral role in the education of Carlisle’s Indian Students. It provided experience in farming to the students. Today there is a goal by Carlisle School Farm House Coalition of descendants and advocates, to fix up this Farmhouse. The goal is to reuse this Farmhouse as a safe place to meet up for descendants and visitors to Carlisle. It is hoped this Farmhouse will provide healing and the opportunity to share stories and honor former Carlisle Indian School Students. I have visited Carlisle three times. My Great-Grandmother, Sophia Huff, was forced to attend the Indian School in 1891, to become assimilated white. The government considered Sophia a savage because of her being Oneida! Thus, Sophia needed to be saved from her indigenous self! The only place to meet up today, is the cemetery. Few people in this country know about the true history and legacy of the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School. Even fewer people know about the broader, true legacy of Indian boarding schools here in the United States. It is a goal of the Coalition to educate and raise awareness of the true history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School and the other Indian Boarding Schools that sprouted up after Carlisle in 1879. The website for further information is https://www.gofundme.com/carlisle-indian-school-farmhouse Also you can go to https://www.sitesofconscience.org/

I am thrilled that there are cities and states in this country that are changing Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. It’s about time! Columbus was a murderer! In history class in school, I was taught he was the discoverer of America. The real history of Columbus is just starting to come out. I show a poster of Columbus below.

It breaks my heart to see what is happening to the immigrants trying to come to this country. It is terrible children are being separated from their parents, given numbers for identity! This reminds me of my Great Grandmother being given a number at Carlisle Indian School to identify her. She was # 2646. Below is a photo of a Jewish boy with his number inscribed on his arm in 1938 in a Nazi Concentration Camp. The picture to his right is a photo taken recently of a little Mexican boy at a Detention Center here in our country! He has the #47 on his shirt. None of this is right. It is 2019 and people of different nationalities are still given numbers and treated inhuman!

I probably sound like a broken record mentioning topics I have already blogged about. Well, it is my sincere hope that Leonard Peltier is freed from prison. He has served over 40 years in prison. I pray someone with a conscience and morals, frees Leonard!

Since Mother’s Day is a few days away, Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. The last two photos are of me with my grandsons. I had to become a mom first to become a grandma today. I am crawling on the floor with Luke, knee pads on and all; Clyde is helping me with my gymnastics by sitting on my knees! I thank Our Creator, God, that I am now a grandma! Thank you for reading this blog. Feel free to share if you wish.

Sincerely, Roberta (Bobbie) Capasso, Author: Sky Woman Lives in Me

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Blog of my Book: Sky Woman Lives in Me

April 3, 2019

Dear Family, Friends and Everyone else reading this,

I recently changed the name of my blog to:  Blog of my Book:  Sky Woman Lives in Me.  Last month I accidentally deleted myself as manager of my original Facebook Page, Sky Woman Lives in Me.  Facebook will not allow me to put myself back on as manager.  I don’t know why.  So, I had to open a new page, Blog of my Book:  Sky Woman Lives in Me. This new blog page will continue as my original except for the name change.  So, if you are searching for my blog on Facebook, jus type in Blog of my Book:  Sky Woman Lives in Me.  I will also be sending this information out to the 700 people who had been following my original blog and to the groups I send this blog to every month.

I also have a new e-mail for this new blog:  bobbie@skywomanlivesinme.blog   If you have any comments or questions for me, feel free to send me an e-mail.

On the new blog page:  Blog of my Book:  Sky Woman Lives in Me, click on the link  m.me/1fortheturtle.  You will also be able to ask me a question or comment at this link. I am also on Twitter for my book blog.  Just type in Roberta Capasso@AuthorRCapasso and you should be able to go directly to the Twitter site.

For WordPress I also have my blog for anyone to read.  Here is the email address  https://blogofmybook:skywomanlives in me.wordpress.com

Even though my book, Sky Woman Lives in Me was self-published on February 8, 2016, I have learned that many, ‘many’ people are clueless about the government’s assimilation experiment that forced thousands of indigenous children into boarding schools at the turn of the century.  Below is a photo of my Great-Grandmother, Sophia Huff-Powless and her sister (my Great Aunt) Lily Huff.  These two young girls were forced to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School in July of 1891. Why? Because the government wanted to assimilate Sophia and Lily into the Euro-white culture.  The government wanted to save these two girls from their savagery.  Plus, it was cheaper to try to assimilate indigenous people than to pay for the calvery to kill them.  This was terrible to force these two girls away from their parents, siblings, friends and home.

My book will never be a famous book. It will never be on the New York Times Bestseller book list. It was self-published through my husband’s help.  But, my goal for the rest of my life is to continue to share my grandmothers’ story and mine.  This is why I wrote my book.  In my next life I will pay better attention in English class so I get an A instead of a B.   No matter my writing skill, I was going to share their story because they are dead. The more indigenous people share their boarding school stories as well as reservation and life stories, the better for sharing true history to the general public.

Today, there are thousands of immigrants trying to come to this country for a better life.  Sadly, in El Paso, Texas, manh families are sleeping outdoors, under an overpass on the ground.  They are kept in a chain link fence like animals.  They are freezing at night because they are outside, in the elements! The photo below of the little boy sleeping outside, breaks my heart.  Here is another photo of El Paso’s outdoor immigrants.  This is so much like how indigenous people were treated by being put onto reservations in this country. Things haven’t change, just the dates!  Below is another photo of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  It is experiencing the worst flooding.  Another photo shows the Oneida Indian Reservation, Salt Pork Avenue, where Sophia lived with her mother, Aliskwat (Elizabeth) when she left Carlisle in 1902.  Thank  you for reading this blog.  Share if you wish.  Sincerely, Bobbie (Roberta Capasso, Author of Sky Woman Lives in Me), and a very proud member of the Oneidas of Wisconsin.

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March 3, 2019

Dear Friends, Family and Everyone else reading this blog,
Hello!

I hope everyone is surviving this snowy, cold winter. Today in Wisconsin it is 8 degrees and there are big piles of snow on the ground outside! I am thinking of Spring, Summer and warmth. My first photo is a picture of Gladiola Flowers. These flowers were my Great Grandmother’s favorite. She used to grow them on her farm in Oneida. She also grew them for her Outing Family in New Jersey. Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School sent her to be a servant for ten years there.  Great Grandma Sophia Huff-Powless was an excellent gardener.

The next photo is a picture of Cooner’s Dance Hall in Oneida, Wisconsin. Sophia and my Great-Grandfather, Hyson Powless, used to go to this dance hall for an adult’s night out. One of the relatives babysat their children. Sophia and Hyson loved to dance. To try to makes ends meet, Sophia sold her Gladiolas to the Dance Hall to pay for drinks/food for her and Hyson.

My heart goes out to the migrant children taken from their parents and put into large migrant tent camps by our government. Here it is 2019 and things are pretty much the same for minorities, except the year. This reminds me of when Sophia and her sister, Lily, were forced to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School in July, 1891. The government decided to punish my Great great Grandmother, Elizabeth Huff, by taking away her other eight children from her. Why? Well, they took the kids away because Elizabeth wanted to stay Oneida, speak Oneida, be Oneida. The government didn’t like this, hence, they punished Aliskwat (Elizabeth’s Oneida Name). She was called Elizabeth because the government said so. Anything indigenous of Oneidas or any indigenous tribe in our country was taboo and frowned on! Indians being themselves, indigenous, could result in punishment or death! The government wanted to save us from being the savages they thought we were. Here is a picture of Sophia and Lily in their Carlisle uniforms. Their Oneida clothes were burned and thrown away. Another photo shows Wounded Knee, 1890 compared to Standing Rock 2016, same racism, different year. To the government, Please free these migrant children. Where is your conscience and humanity? What if these kids were your children?

Congratulations to Lu White for having the Carlisle Indian School Farm House being put on Preservation PA. Preservation PA lists most endangered places in this country that need to be preserved. The Carlisle Indian School Farm House was also put on the list of Sites of Conscience, that lists places of historical significance. It is their goal to help preserve this farmhouse, to transform it into a place of healing and education for all. Here is a photo of the farmhouse and website.
https://www.gofundme.com/carlisle-indian-school-farmhouse
https://www.sitesofconscience.org/
Please consider donating to help save this Carlisle Farmhouse. Help to educate everyone about our true indigenous history, you weren’t taught in school.

I have never met Leonard Peltier. But, I have read that he has been imprisoned for 40 years. It is my hope that he will be free to go home soon. To me, 40 years in prison is more than enough time served for a case that has never really been resolved truthfully. Free Leonard Peltier!

I learned through researching my book, Sky Woman Lives in Me, that one of my relatives died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School. Carlisle said, “She committed suicide.” Relatives say, “No way would she kill herself.” Only Our Creator knows the truth. For Zachary Bearheels 2017 murder, I say #justiceforzacharybearheels. I can not put a hashtag for my relative who died at Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School, but I can for Zachary.

Lastly, Thank you for reading my blog. Feel free to share my blog if you wish. Here are two photos of my grandsons this past month. Hope these make you smile as much as it they do me!:)!

 

 

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