Tag: assimilation

Sky Woman Lives in Me

Reissue Of blog from July 5, 2016, with updates

July 22, 2021

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Elizabeth Hill-Huff-Denny

In early l960,  when I was around 7 years old, I saw this photo of this old lady displayed in the Milwaukee Public Museum.  She was walking outdoors in the winter, wearing just a shawl and scarf over her head.  I wanted to give her my winter coat to warm her. 

Fast forward to the year 2000, thirty-seven years later I come across this very same photo!  Lo and behold, the picture is hanging on a wall at my sister, Sherry’s home!  I was just totally surprised to see this picture again. As mentioned in my book, I asked my sister where she got this picture from?  Why was it hanging on her wall?  It is so ironic that for many years I thought about this old lady in this photo.  Her image never escaped my mind. Well, Sherry told me the lady was our Great-great grandmother, Elizabeth Hill-Huff-Denny. Sherry was surprised I didn’t know this. I was surprised to see this photo again!  I can’t say it’s spooky that this photo appeared in my life again. I feel it was spiritual and meant to be.  I sometimes feel like the picture was there to tell me something.  After I learned I was a great great grand-daughter of this elder Oneida lady, I needed to find out more about her.  I began to research Elizabeth.  She could only speak Oneida. Wow! I would’ve loved to have met her and learned some Oneida from her.  I would have given her a hug to let her know I love her. Though I can’t speak Oneida, I know hugs are universal.  We all understand what a hug means no matter what languages we speak, no matter what ethnicity.   Elizabeth was a very feisty, independent woman.  She was proud of her Oneida background.  I realize that because she had her Oneida culture and language,  she knew exactly who she was. Elizabeth would have learned English, if she were allowed to continue to speak Oneida and to be herself, Oneida.  The U.S. government wouldn’t allow her to be anything but assimilated white. 

Today is July 22, 2021.  Things have changed since I first wrote the blog above.  But,  I am still blogging about my book, Sky Woman Lives in Me.  If you want to visit my blog site, here is where you can go to find it   https://skywomanlivesinme.blog  To write to me for questions go to    bobbie@skywomanlivesinme.blog  

Being 2021, we have a new President of our country, President Biden.  There is also an Indigenous woman in charge of the Department of Interior, Deb Haaland.  Canadian Residential Indian Boarding Schools are finding unmarked graves of Indigenous Children buried on school grounds! The United States is conducting research on the Indian Industrial Boarding Schools, to see if missing Indigenous children may be buried on Indian Boarding Schools grounds here in America.  This is long overdue.  Genocide of Indigenous people and their children is a hidden stain, a holocaust that happened right here in our country.  I continue to share my story.  It is my hope that everyone reading this blog, will help share their stories of their experiences with the Indian Industrial Boarding Schools that were here around the turn of the century and on.  Yes, it is very painful talking about the mistreatment of relatives or our ancestors attending Boarding Schools.  To date, there are over 367  Indian Boarding Schools in the US.  If you had a relative attend an Indian Boarding School here in the US, please share your story! Share to the National Native American Boarding School (NABS); Barb Landis at Carlisle, Pa; Marsha Small; Denise Lajimodiere; Lu White;  your tribe! Thank you for reading this blog! Sincerely, Roberta (Bobbie) Capasso, Author of  Sky Woman Lives in Me and a proud member of the Oneida of Wisconsin.

 

 

Sky Woman Lives in Me

June 27, 2016

Last week I mentioned that after 15 years of research of my great-grandmother and her mother, that I became aware of my colonization into the European-white culture.  I also mentioned I knew nothing of my Oneida culture and language. I learned how my grandmothers’ survived attempts by the U.S. Government to assimilate them white. Their courage inspired me to tell their story in my book, Sky Woman Lives in Me.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would write a book, let alone a story about my relatives and me! I didn’t have the best grades in English class. I was always wondering why I looked Indian, but acted white. I always wondered why my great-grandmother had to go to the Carlisle Indian School and then, had to live with a Quaker family in New Jersey.  I was told that this Quaker family was Sophia’s family now. Why? I learned that my great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth, had her children taken from her. Elizabeth spoke Oneida and the government tried to force her to just learn and speak English.  Why?  How come I never met my great grandmother Sophia until she was in her eighty’s?  And, how come I didn’t know Elizabeth and I were related, after seeing a photo of her displayed in a museum when I was seven years old?  Nothing Native American Indian, nothing Oneida was taught to me. Elder Oneida relatives weren’t discussed, let alone introduced to me growing up, until they were very old! Realizing I have been colonized (raised Euro-White) has been a real eye-opener to me. Not knowing anything about my Oneida culture and language has left me feeling half a person. There’s a part of me, my Oneida self, missing.  I was not allowed to learn my Oneida culture or language. Why?

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Sky Woman Lives in Me

I am blogging to let you know about my book, Sky Woman Lives in Me. Here is what the cover looks like.  Click here robertacapasso.com to learn more about my book and to learn more about me. This book is available at lulu.com and amazon.com  Since this is my first time ever blogging, anyone reading this blog, please let know. Thank You! Sincerely, Roberta Capasso

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