Script Building on Tainted Soil

Full length = 25:21:23

 

SUBTITLE: [1] TIMEIN: 10:00:02:18  DURATION: 01:05      TIMEOUT: 10:00:03:23

Here.

 

SUBTITLE: [2] TIMEIN: 10:00:04:13   DURATION: 03:18      TIMEOUT: 10:00:08:06

Kindly pull this up if you can.

If you can’t, it's all right.

 

SUBTITLE: [3] TIMEIN: 10:00:08:19   DURATION: 01:06      TIMEOUT: 10:00:10:00

Watch out.

 

SUBTITLE: [4] TIMEIN: 10:00:12:09   DURATION: 01:04      TIMEOUT: 10:00:13:13

Careful, grandma

 

SUBTITLE: [5] TIMEIN: 10:00:15:00   DURATION: 04:24      TIMEOUT: 10:00:19:24

Okay, you see where all those trees are standing there?

I think that's where the water well is.

 

SUBTITLE: [6] TIMEIN: 10:00:20:11   DURATION: 03:14      TIMEOUT: 10:00:24:00

Oh, about here maybe was before the house was.

 

SUBTITLE: [7] TIMEIN: 10:00:24:02   DURATION: 05:13      TIMEOUT: 10:00:29:15

I was living in this house when Miss Walkingstick came to visit.

That was in 1948.

 

SUBTITLE: [8] TIMEIN: 10:00:29:17   DURATION: 02:24      TIMEOUT: 10:00:32:16

She had pointed at me, I didn't know what she was saying.

 

SUBTITLE: [9] TIMEIN: 10:00:32:18   DURATION: 02:06      TIMEOUT: 10:00:34:24

So I ran into the house and I hid.

 

SUBTITLE: [10]           TIMEIN: 10:00:35:01   DURATION: 05:19      TIMEOUT: 10:00:40:22

And she told my parents that I was going to be going to Carter Seminary in the fall.

 

SUBTITLE: [12]           TIMEIN: 10:00:40:24   DURATION: 01:12      TIMEOUT: 10:00:42:11

And they took us.

 

SUBTITLE: [13]           TIMEIN: 10:00:43:10   DURATION: 04:03      TIMEOUT: 10:00:47:13

Wondering about what was going to happen, my body was tensed up.

 

Voice-over 1 00:48

Augustine is one of the hundreds of thousands of Native American children placed in residential schools since the 1870s.

 

Back then, the United States government waged a costly war with most indigenous tribes and founded over 360 boarding schools which systematically destroyed native cultures and communities. The philosophy was brutal: “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.”

 

To discover how the policy still affects the lives of Native American people today, I travel to Oklahoma, the state that once housed no less than 83 boarding schools—the highest number in the country.

 

SUBTITLE: [14]               TIMEIN: 10:01:47:09    DURATION: 06:19          TIMEOUT: 10:01:54:03

Chilocco was just one of those schools across the United States that opened in that era.

 

SUBTITLE: [15]           TIMEIN: 10:01:54:05   DURATION: 03:22      TIMEOUT: 10:01:58:02

The students were brought in against their will

 

SUBTITLE: [16]           TIMEIN: 10:01:58:04   DURATION: 05:15      TIMEOUT: 10:02:03:19

and introduced to a foreign culture.

 

SUBTITLE: [17]           TIMEIN: 10:02:04:08   DURATION: 05:02      TIMEOUT: 10:02:09:10

As the enrollment increased, this became literally a military school.

 

SUBTITLE: [18]           TIMEIN: 10:02:09:23   DURATION: 04:03      TIMEOUT: 10:02:14:01

We have pictures and pictures of Chilocco students wearing uniforms

 

SUBTITLE: [19]           TIMEIN: 10:02:14:03   DURATION: 02:20      TIMEOUT: 10:02:16:23

and standing in formation.

 

SUBTITLE: [20]           TIMEIN: 10:02:17:00   DURATION: 04:09      TIMEOUT: 10:02:21:09

And then some of the documents that we have access to,

 

SUBTITLE: [21]           TIMEIN: 10:02:21:11   DURATION: 07:02      TIMEOUT: 10:02:28:13

talk about the 27 bugle calls daily that the students learned.

 

SUBTITLE: [22]           TIMEIN: 10:02:28:15   DURATION: 02:17      TIMEOUT: 10:02:31:07

And students had to know what each beep meant.

 

Voice-over 2 02:34

 

Charmain is a third-generation Chilocco school alumni. Both of her grandmothers and mother went to boarding schools when they were little. So did she.

 

 

SUBTITLE: [23]           TIMEIN: 10:02:42:17   DURATION: 02:09      TIMEOUT: 10:02:45:01

That first year I got so much detention.

 

SUBTITLE: [24]           TIMEIN: 10:02:45:03   DURATION: 04:09      TIMEOUT: 10:02:49:12

Every minute that you were late, you got an hour of work to do.

 

SUBTITLE: [25]           TIMEIN: 10:02:49:14   DURATION: 05:16      TIMEOUT: 10:02:55:05

If you did it twice, you got twice as much.

I had so many hours to work off.

 

SUBTITLE: [26]           TIMEIN: 10:02:55:07   DURATION: 03:09      TIMEOUT: 10:02:58:16

And that is why I never got to go anywhere or do anything.

 

 

Voice-over 3 03:00

Students who arrived at their new schools were stripped of any traditional belongings and got a forced haircut. Their clothing was replaced by skirts, suits or uniforms.

Many were baptised against their wishes and made to attend mass.

 

Native traditions or beliefs became taboo within the school’s walls. And even though most of the young children didn’t know a single word of English when leaving their communities, they were physically abused for speaking in their native tongue.

 

 

SUBTITLE: [27]           TIMEIN: 10:03:49:14   DURATION: 01:19      TIMEOUT: 10:03:51:08

These look pretty nice

 

SUBTITLE: [28]           TIMEIN: 10:03:52:03   DURATION: 03:03      TIMEOUT: 10:03:55:06

These are really beautiful when they’re fixed up.

 

SUBTITLE: [29]           TIMEIN: 10:03:55:08   DURATION: 04:10      TIMEOUT: 10:03:59:18

I don’t know if you can imagine it with all the decay now.

 

SUBTITLE: [30]           TIMEIN: 10:04:04:03   DURATION: 04:22      TIMEOUT: 10:04:09:00

Those days were brutal.

And they had belt lines that they would punish the guys at.

 

SUBTITLE: [31]           TIMEIN: 10:04:09:02   DURATION: 02:05      TIMEOUT: 10:04:11:07

My aunt got beaten,

 

SUBTITLE: [32]           TIMEIN: 10:04:11:09   DURATION: 03:20      TIMEOUT: 10:04:15:04

the skin taken off her back from being whipped so bad.

 

SUBTITLE: [33]           TIMEIN: 10:04:16:19   DURATION: 02:11      TIMEOUT: 10:04:19:05

Grandma came and heard her screaming

 

SUBTITLE: [34]           TIMEIN: 10:04:19:07   DURATION: 04:19      TIMEOUT: 10:04:24:01

and she went down to the basement and saw them putting salve on her back.

 

SUBTITLE: [35]           TIMEIN: 10:04:24:22   DURATION: 02:18      TIMEOUT: 10:04:27:15

So those things happened.

 

SUBTITLE: [36]           TIMEIN: 10:04:27:17   DURATION: 03:03      TIMEOUT: 10:04:30:20

I saw a shadow one time going up the steps.

 

SUBTITLE: [37]           TIMEIN: 10:04:31:09   DURATION: 03:10      TIMEOUT: 10:04:34:19

Nobody lived on the third floor, they said it was haunted.

 

SUBTITLE: [38]           TIMEIN: 10:04:34:21   DURATION: 02:16      TIMEOUT: 10:04:37:12

Students killed themselves on the stairwell.

 

SUBTITLE: [39]           TIMEIN: 10:04:46:02   DURATION: 04:04      TIMEOUT: 10:04:50:06

Now that I'm older, I can see how the Europeans came

 

SUBTITLE: [40]           TIMEIN: 10:04:50:08   DURATION: 03:08      TIMEOUT: 10:04:53:16

with their mindset about what civilization was.

 

SUBTITLE: [41]           TIMEIN: 10:04:53:18   DURATION: 02:24      TIMEOUT: 10:04:56:17

They had to have a reason,

 

SUBTITLE: [42]           TIMEIN: 10:04:56:19   DURATION: 03:10      TIMEOUT: 10:05:00:04

a justification for taking all the land

 

SUBTITLE: [43]           TIMEIN: 10:05:00:06   DURATION: 03:06      TIMEOUT: 10:05:03:12

and that had to be that we were inferior.

 

SUBTITLE: [44]           TIMEIN: 10:05:03:14   DURATION: 02:23      TIMEOUT: 10:05:06:12

Now that all of this has happened.

 

SUBTITLE: [45]           TIMEIN: 10:05:06:14   DURATION: 03:08      TIMEOUT: 10:05:09:22

Now, they made schools and killed the kids.

 

SUBTITLE: [46]           TIMEIN: 10:05:13:16   DURATION: 02:24      TIMEOUT: 10:05:16:15

I did a lot of research on the cemetery and

 

SUBTITLE: [47]           TIMEIN: 10:05:16:17   DURATION: 03:10      TIMEOUT: 10:05:20:02

there were only ten names that had a cause of death.

 

SUBTITLE: [48]           TIMEIN: 10:05:20:04   DURATION: 02:04      TIMEOUT: 10:05:22:08

The other 50 don't have a cause of death

 

SUBTITLE: [49]           TIMEIN: 10:05:22:10   DURATION: 02:15      TIMEOUT: 10:05:25:00

Imagine how they might have died.

 

SUBTITLE: [50]           TIMEIN: 10:05:25:02   DURATION: 02:17      TIMEOUT: 10:05:27:19

Starvation, beatings, cold…

 

SUBTITLE: [51]           TIMEIN: 10:05:27:21   DURATION: 03:14      TIMEOUT: 10:05:31:10

They couldn't put it down they just put: unknown, unknown, unknown.

 

SUBTITLE: [52]           TIMEIN: 10:05:31:12   DURATION: 03:03      TIMEOUT: 10:05:34:15

And that's what makes you sick

 

Voice-over 4 05:41

Charmain and Jim now take care of the cemetery of Chilocco, where some students found a final resting place.

 

SUBTITLE: [53]           TIMEIN: 10:05:52:23   DURATION: 06:24      TIMEOUT: 10:05:59:22

One of the hardest things to do is to not to get emotional

 

SUBTITLE: [54]           TIMEIN: 10:05:59:24   DURATION: 05:24      TIMEOUT: 10:06:05:23

when you know that many of these children did not have the opportunity

 

SUBTITLE: [55]           TIMEIN: 10:06:06:00   DURATION: 05:20      TIMEOUT: 10:06:11:20

to visit home prior to their death.

 

SUBTITLE: [56]               TIMEIN: 10:06:12:17    DURATION: 07:17          TIMEOUT: 10:06:20:09

Indians take death as something that they need to

get done through a ceremony

 

SUBTITLE: [57]           TIMEIN: 10:06:20:11   DURATION: 03:18      TIMEOUT: 10:06:24:04

and they did not  have that opportunity to do so.

 

SUBTITLE: [58]           TIMEIN: 10:06:24:15   DURATION: 03:20      TIMEOUT: 10:06:28:10

So anytime that I come to the cemetery,

 

SUBTITLE: [59]           TIMEIN: 10:06:28:12   DURATION: 05:10      TIMEOUT: 10:06:33:22

I do take time to talk to those who are interred here.

 

 

Voice-over 5 06:36

 

Based on clippings and testimonies, the alumni association at Chilocco drew up a list of 67 names, all children who are known to be buried here. But ground-penetrating radar identified 125 anomalies in the surface, which are now marked gravesites.

 

SUBTITLE: [60]           TIMEIN: 10:06:55:16   DURATION: 05:12      TIMEOUT: 10:07:01:03

Despite having that information we still do not know

 

SUBTITLE: [61]           TIMEIN: 10:07:01:05   DURATION: 05:06      TIMEOUT: 10:07:06:11

which graves belong to the 67 names that we have

 

SUBTITLE: [62]           TIMEIN: 10:07:07:00   DURATION: 03:00      TIMEOUT: 10:07:10:00

Hopefully, in the future, that will come out.

 

Voice-over 6 07:11

It’s a mystery how many children have lost their lives while living at Native American boarding schools. But Jim warns us against mass hysteria, as he believes sickness and accidents were part of life at the schools.

 

Voice-over 7 07:38

Very few school cemeteries have been charted in Oklahoma. Communities often struggle to gain access to the grounds or fund investigations.

 

I’m invited to watch a land survey in real-time in Seminole Nation. This is the family cemetery of Koley Cochary, where a group of activists has set up camp.

 

SUBTITLE: [63]           TIMEIN: 10:07:59:10   DURATION: 02:04      TIMEOUT: 10:08:01:14

Koley Concharty is my great-grandma.

 

SUBTITLE: [64]           TIMEIN: 10:08:01:16   DURATION: 04:10      TIMEOUT: 10:08:06:01

She and my grandpa Jimpsy

were both survivors of the Trail of Tears.

 

SUBTITLE: [65]           TIMEIN: 10:08:06:03   DURATION: 05:12      TIMEOUT: 10:08:11:15

They were allotted this land and their own homestead is right on that hill.

 

Voice-over 8 08:12

During an oil boom in the region, Koley Cochary and her husband were murdered.

The children were adopted by a white family and their land rights were fraudulently sold to the adoptive father.

Decades later, the family hears about the desecration of the cemetery by the new owners.

 

 

SUBTITLE: [66]           TIMEIN: 10:08:32:00   DURATION: 07:13      TIMEOUT: 10:08:39:13

I'm having a hard time believing how anybody with any kind of common

decency or heart

 

SUBTITLE: [67]           TIMEIN: 10:08:39:15   DURATION: 02:22      TIMEOUT: 10:08:42:12

would even mess with anybody's resting place.

 

SUBTITLE: [68]           TIMEIN: 10:08:44:11   DURATION: 03:06      TIMEOUT: 10:08:47:17

One of the steps we’re taking is to get this preserved federally,

 

SUBTITLE: [69]           TIMEIN: 10:08:47:19   DURATION: 03:03      TIMEOUT: 10:08:50:22

because if you don't have it on paper, they don't believe it.

 

That's like history. If it's not written down in a book,

it didn't happen.

 

Voice-over 9 08:54

A specialised team is now mapping out the cemetery with meters, ground-penetrating radar, and sniffer dogs.

Some 30 people have shown up to make sure the work isn’t disturbed by the angry landowners.

Around the fire, the activists share their own stories.

 

SUBTITLE: [70] TIMEIN: 10:09:11:07      DURATION: 04:16         TIMEOUT: 10:09:15:23

All Native American families have been affected

by boarding schools

 

SUBTITLE: [71]           TIMEIN: 10:09:16:00   DURATION: 02:16      TIMEOUT: 10:09:18:16

because we didn't spank.

 

SUBTITLE: [72]           TIMEIN: 10:09:19:06   DURATION: 02:21      TIMEOUT: 10:09:22:02

We didn't hit.

We had chores to do.

 

SUBTITLE: [73]           TIMEIN: 10:09:22:04   DURATION: 04:17      TIMEOUT: 10:09:26:21

If you got in trouble because you stole somebody's rick of wood.

Well, you're gonna go cut wood all day.

 

SUBTITLE: [74]           TIMEIN: 10:09:26:23   DURATION: 04:16      TIMEOUT: 10:09:31:14

If you took off with somebody's horse.

Well, you're going to go around horses and do horse shit all day.

 

SUBTITLE: [75]           TIMEIN: 10:09:31:16   DURATION: 02:05      TIMEOUT: 10:09:33:21

You didn’t hit a child anywhere.

 

SUBTITLE: [76]           TIMEIN: 10:09:34:16   DURATION: 03:11      TIMEOUT: 10:09:38:02

if they've ever been abused, that is through the boarding schools.

 

SUBTITLE: [77]           TIMEIN: 10:09:38:04   DURATION: 02:14      TIMEOUT: 10:09:40:18

All of us have been affected by that.

-       Yeah.

 

SUBTITLE: [78]           TIMEIN: 10:09:42:19   DURATION: 03:12      TIMEOUT: 10:09:46:06

My mom went to Eufaula. I love my mom. She passed away

some years ago but on my eighth birthday,

 

SUBTITLE: [79]           TIMEIN: 10:09:46:08   DURATION: 06:06      TIMEOUT: 10:09:52:14

She had called me into the front room and my dad was there.

She said: we didn't want you.

 

SUBTITLE: [80]           TIMEIN: 10:09:52:16   DURATION: 01:10      TIMEOUT: 10:09:54:01

She said: I was trying to get rid of you.

 

SUBTITLE: [81]           TIMEIN: 10:09:54:03   DURATION: 05:20      TIMEOUT: 10:09:59:23

I was never mad at them, unlike my brother.

He passed away, he killed himself.

 

SUBTITLE: [82]           TIMEIN: 10:10:00:00   DURATION: 04:03      TIMEOUT: 10:10:04:03

All he could think about was how he was raised.

 

SUBTITLE: [83]           TIMEIN: 10:10:05:01   DURATION: 04:15      TIMEOUT: 10:10:09:16

How can you raise the next generation when you're suffering on the inside?

 

SUBTITLE: [84]           TIMEIN: 10:10:10:03   DURATION: 03:20      TIMEOUT: 10:10:13:23

The people of this land were hurt for centuries.

 

SUBTITLE: [85]           TIMEIN: 10:10:14:00   DURATION: 04:09      TIMEOUT: 10:10:18:09

And it began with wars with adults

 

SUBTITLE: [86]           TIMEIN: 10:10:18:11   DURATION: 03:17      TIMEOUT: 10:10:22:03

them with firearms, and us with bows and arrows.

 

SUBTITLE: [87]           TIMEIN: 10:10:22:05   DURATION: 07:01      TIMEOUT: 10:10:29:06

And then, after fighting with them for years and years,

that transitioned into the boarding schools

 

SUBTITLE: [88]           TIMEIN: 10:10:29:08   DURATION: 03:08      TIMEOUT: 10:10:32:16

and them focusing their attention on the children

 

SUBTITLE: [89]           TIMEIN: 10:10:32:18   DURATION: 02:15      TIMEOUT: 10:10:35:08

to erase us from the ground up.

 

SUBTITLE: [90]           TIMEIN: 10:10:35:10   DURATION: 05:00      TIMEOUT: 10:10:40:10

No long hair, no language, song, no ceremony

 

SUBTITLE: [91]           TIMEIN: 10:10:40:12   DURATION: 05:03      TIMEOUT: 10:10:45:15

to get rid of us, at a cellular level, basically.

 

Voice-over 10 10:48

I hit the road to discover one piece of contemporary Native American culture. In Cherokee Nation, there’s a powwow.

 

11:08

At this intertribal dance, people honour their traditions and loved ones.

Even children and teenagers show their regalia and dance in competitions, in which you can win prize money and annual titles.

 

SUBTITLE: [92]           TIMEIN: 10:11:20:10   DURATION: 02:10      TIMEOUT: 10:11:22:20

Having people who have the same struggles as you

 

SUBTITLE: [93]           TIMEIN: 10:11:22:22   DURATION: 04:21      TIMEOUT: 10:11:27:18

and being able to deal with them in the same cultural way

is just something very special to me.

 

SUBTITLE: [94]           TIMEIN: 10:11:28:01   DURATION: 02:24      TIMEOUT: 10:11:31:00

Personally, I struggle severely with anxiety

 

SUBTITLE: [95]           TIMEIN: 10:11:31:02   DURATION: 05:10      TIMEOUT: 10:11:36:12

and my mom told me this traditional story.

I hold it very dear to my heart.

 

SUBTITLE: [96]           TIMEIN: 10:11:37:02   DURATION: 05:10      TIMEOUT: 10:11:42:12

People who are not Native American don't really

fully understand the removal of our home grounds

 

SUBTITLE: [97]           TIMEIN: 10:11:42:14   DURATION: 02:03      TIMEOUT: 10:11:44:17

because those grounds are very sacred to us.

 

​​SUBTITLE: [98]           TIMEIN: 10:11:44:19   DURATION: 04:12      TIMEOUT: 10:11:49:06

There's so much medicine and history there

that we will never be able to get back.

 

SUBTITLE: [99]           TIMEIN: 10:11:49:08   DURATION: 03:15      TIMEOUT: 10:11:52:23

Every sort of beadwork that we have on us and around us

is always messed up in one certain way.

SUBTITLE: [100]         TIMEIN: 10:11:53:00   DURATION: 03:13      TIMEOUT: 10:11:56:13

That's to reflect nature and that we are not perfect in every single way.

 

SUBTITLE: [101]         TIMEIN: 10:11:56:15   DURATION: 04:17      TIMEOUT: 10:12:01:07

That really helps me connect my anxiety

 

SUBTITLE: [102]         TIMEIN: 10:12:01:09   DURATION: 01:21      TIMEOUT: 10:12:03:05

with my culture my heritage.

 

SUBTITLE: [103]         TIMEIN: 10:12:06:10   DURATION: 03:01      TIMEOUT: 10:12:09:11

Every single time I put my jingle dress on and I dance to the drum,

 

SUBTITLE: [104]         TIMEIN: 10:12:09:13   DURATION: 05:15      TIMEOUT: 10:12:15:03

I try to give off as much medicine as I can to the people who are struggling in their day to day lives.

 

SUBTITLE: [105]         TIMEIN: 10:12:15:05   DURATION: 05:01      TIMEOUT: 10:12:20:06

It just makes me feel good as I tried to make other people feel good.

 

 

Voice-over 11 12:30

I visit Casey in the house where she lives with her mom and stepdad and where they try to live life as traditionally as possible again.

 

 

SUBTITLE: [106]         TIMEIN: 10:12:37:12   DURATION: 02:01      TIMEOUT: 10:12:39:13

Were on Delaware land.

 

SUBTITLE: [107]         TIMEIN: 10:12:39:15   DURATION: 04:10      TIMEOUT: 10:12:44:00

It’s a housing community residence only for native people.

 

SUBTITLE: [108]         TIMEIN: 10:12:45:11   DURATION: 06:14      TIMEOUT: 10:12:52:00

My mom is native. My dad is also native, but he does not do anything cultural.

 

SUBTITLE: [109]         TIMEIN: 10:12:53:10   DURATION: 03:10      TIMEOUT: 10:12:56:20

Growing up when I was really, really young,

 

SUBTITLE: [110]         TIMEIN: 10:12:56:22   DURATION: 06:09      TIMEOUT: 10:13:03:06

we didn't go to any pow wows,

we didn't do any storm dances, we didn't go to any sweats.

 

SUBTITLE: [111]         TIMEIN: 10:13:03:08   DURATION: 02:03      TIMEOUT: 10:13:05:11

I'm almost thankful that they got a divorce because if they didn't,

 

SUBTITLE: [112]         TIMEIN: 10:13:05:13   DURATION: 04:15      TIMEOUT: 10:13:10:03

then I would have missed out on being a part of my heritage

 

SUBTITLE: [113]         TIMEIN: 10:13:10:05   DURATION: 02:11      TIMEOUT: 10:13:12:16

and being able to pass it on.

 

SUBTITLE: [114]         TIMEIN: 10:13:12:18   DURATION: 05:12      TIMEOUT: 10:13:18:05

it's so hard switching between being in a native environment

 

SUBTITLE: [115]         TIMEIN: 10:13:18:07   DURATION: 05:12      TIMEOUT: 10:13:23:19

and then being in a non-native environment.

It's so, so exhausting.

 

SUBTITLE: [116]         TIMEIN: 10:13:24:23   DURATION: 02:05      TIMEOUT: 10:13:27:03

I am white-passing and some people,

 

SUBTITLE: [117]         TIMEIN: 10:13:27:05   DURATION: 06:12      TIMEOUT: 10:13:33:17

I feel, made fun of me because I am not darker.

 

SUBTITLE: [118]         TIMEIN: 10:13:33:19   DURATION: 02:05      TIMEOUT: 10:13:35:24

And it's so heartbreaking.

 

SUBTITLE: [120]         TIMEIN: 10:13:38:21   DURATION: 03:10      TIMEOUT: 10:13:42:06

What I'm making right now is for my sister's birthday.

 

SUBTITLE: [121]         TIMEIN: 10:13:42:08   DURATION: 03:19      TIMEOUT: 10:13:46:02

It's gonna end up being a medallion, like a necklace.

 

SUBTITLE: [122]         TIMEIN: 10:13:46:04   DURATION: 04:13      TIMEOUT: 10:13:50:17

She always steals all of my medallions.

 

SUBTITLE: [123]         TIMEIN: 10:13:50:19   DURATION: 02:12      TIMEOUT: 10:13:53:06

So I figured she probably needed one for herself.

 

SUBTITLE: [124]         TIMEIN: 10:13:54:16   DURATION: 04:15      TIMEOUT: 10:13:59:06

My stepdad is a full-blood native.

He has helped me tremendously.

 

SUBTITLE: [125]         TIMEIN: 10:13:59:08   DURATION: 05:13      TIMEOUT: 10:14:04:21

His mom went to boarding school. And she

does not talk about it at all.

 

SUBTITLE: [126]         TIMEIN: 10:14:04:23   DURATION: 02:13      TIMEOUT: 10:14:07:11

She refuses to talk about it.

 

SUBTITLE: [127]         TIMEIN: 10:14:07:19   DURATION: 02:02      TIMEOUT: 10:14:09:21

Because of going to boarding school and not having

 

SUBTITLE: [128]         TIMEIN: 10:14:09:23   DURATION: 07:00      TIMEOUT: 10:14:16:23

the right teachings and cultural teachings whenever she was younger,

 

SUBTITLE: [129]         TIMEIN: 10:14:17:00   DURATION: 03:12      TIMEOUT: 10:14:20:12

now she abuses alcohol and abuses drugs.

 

SUBTITLE: [130]         TIMEIN: 10:14:20:14   DURATION: 02:12      TIMEOUT: 10:14:23:01

My stepdad struggles a lot with that.

 

SUBTITLE: [131]         TIMEIN: 10:14:23:03   DURATION: 05:02      TIMEOUT: 10:14:28:05

But he implements a lot of the teachings that he missed out on as a kid growing up.

 

SUBTITLE: [132]         TIMEIN: 10:14:30:01   DURATION: 04:04      TIMEOUT: 10:14:34:05

We always try to learn as much as we can about our tradition

 

SUBTITLE: [133]         TIMEIN: 10:14:34:07   DURATION: 01:10      TIMEOUT: 10:14:35:17

to try and keep it alive because

 

SUBTITLE: [134]         TIMEIN: 10:14:35:19   DURATION: 04:12      TIMEOUT: 10:14:40:06

so much of it was lost with that whole entire generation going to those residential schools

 

SUBTITLE: [135]         TIMEIN: 10:14:40:08   DURATION: 02:18      TIMEOUT: 10:14:43:01

and losing so much of that tradition.

 

Voice-over 12 14:57

Statistics today show the consequences of communities being ripped apart. 4 million Native Americans suffer from mental illness. Over 3% say they feel worthless and suicide is the second leading cause of death for native youth.

 

But many are paving a new way forward.

 

Vanessa and Augustine take me to Seminole Nation, a place they’re both proud to once again call home.

 

SUBTITLE: [136]         TIMEIN: 10:15:23:22   DURATION: 03:00      TIMEOUT: 10:15:26:22

I'm going to show you the places where I lived

 

SUBTITLE: [137]         TIMEIN: 10:15:28:02   DURATION: 02:02      TIMEOUT: 10:15:30:04

There is nothing there now.

 

SUBTITLE: [138]         TIMEIN: 10:15:30:06   DURATION: 04:01      TIMEOUT: 10:15:34:07

The reservation that everybody talks about, they say we're all grouped together.

 

SUBTITLE: [139]         TIMEIN: 10:15:34:09   DURATION: 03:06      TIMEOUT: 10:15:37:15

It's not like that at all. We're spread out.

 

SUBTITLE: [140]         TIMEIN: 10:15:38:08   DURATION: 05:06      TIMEOUT: 10:15:43:14

They took our land in Florida. And they brought us here to Indian territory.

 

SUBTITLE: [141]         TIMEIN: 10:15:43:16   DURATION: 03:10      TIMEOUT: 10:15:47:01

My grandmother, her name was Metetakee.

 

SUBTITLE: [142]         TIMEIN: 10:15:47:03   DURATION: 02:16      TIMEOUT: 10:15:49:19

But she told about the Trail of Tears.

 

SUBTITLE: [143]         TIMEIN: 10:15:50:10   DURATION: 05:16      TIMEOUT: 10:15:56:01

The elders died. babies died, women died men died.

 

SUBTITLE: [144]         TIMEIN: 10:15:56:03   DURATION: 06:16      TIMEOUT: 10:16:02:19

It affected the whole nation. And they were dying as they were coming on this long walk.

 

SUBTITLE: [145]         TIMEIN: 10:16:16:20   DURATION: 01:18      TIMEOUT: 10:16:18:13

New Dominion LLC.

 

SUBTITLE: [146]         TIMEIN: 10:16:18:15   DURATION: 03:04      TIMEOUT: 10:16:21:19

That's the oil company.

They're taking over everybody's land.

 

SUBTITLE: [147]         TIMEIN: 10:16:21:21   DURATION: 01:19      TIMEOUT: 10:16:23:15

Let me take their picture real quick.

 

SUBTITLE: [148]         TIMEIN: 10:16:24:04   DURATION: 03:10      TIMEOUT: 10:16:27:14

They got my grandma and them to sign over.

 

SUBTITLE: [149]         TIMEIN: 10:16:27:16   DURATION: 02:06      TIMEOUT: 10:16:29:22

Man, I was in Chicago. I knew nothing.

 

SUBTITLE: [150]         TIMEIN: 10:16:29:24   DURATION: 06:08      TIMEOUT: 10:16:36:07

My friends in Chicago are like:

Girl, you did a whole 360, or what is it, a 180?

 

SUBTITLE: [151]         TIMEIN: 10:16:36:09   DURATION: 05:07      TIMEOUT: 10:16:41:16

They just didn't think that I would ever take on something like this.

You know, I've never been about activism.

 

SUBTITLE: [152]         TIMEIN: 10:16:41:18   DURATION: 05:00      TIMEOUT: 10:16:46:18

I can't tuck my tail between my legs, you know and be run scared.

 

SUBTITLE: [153]         TIMEIN: 10:16:46:20   DURATION: 04:19      TIMEOUT: 10:16:51:14

My ancestors didn't have that choice. My grandma didn't have that choice.

 

SUBTITLE: [154]         TIMEIN: 10:16:54:17   DURATION: 03:21      TIMEOUT: 10:16:58:13

Where was the house grandma?

-       It was probably further up the road

 

SUBTITLE: [155]         TIMEIN: 10:17:01:16   DURATION: 04:18      TIMEOUT: 10:17:06:09

Abe Scott and Miller.

-       That was my dad’s nickname.

 

SUBTITLE: [156]         TIMEIN: 10:17:06:11   DURATION: 02:12      TIMEOUT: 10:17:08:23

This is your land!

 

SUBTITLE: [157]         TIMEIN: 10:17:09:00   DURATION: 02:01      TIMEOUT: 10:17:11:01

Abe Scott, grandma.

SUBTITLE: [158]         TIMEIN: 10:17:12:05   DURATION: 02:12      TIMEOUT: 10:17:14:17

No trespassing, no hunting or fishing.

 

SUBTITLE: [159]         TIMEIN: 10:17:14:19   DURATION: 01:19      TIMEOUT: 10:17:16:13

This is our land.

 

SUBTITLE: [160]         TIMEIN: 10:17:16:24   DURATION: 02:12      TIMEOUT: 10:17:19:11

I can't believe we've never come down here.

 

SUBTITLE: [161]         TIMEIN: 10:17:19:13   DURATION: 03:20      TIMEOUT: 10:17:23:08

When's the last time you've been here?

-       Dear God, more than 50 years.

 

SUBTITLE: [162]         TIMEIN: 10:17:23:10   DURATION: 01:12      TIMEOUT: 10:17:24:22

Really?

-       Yeah

 

SUBTITLE: [163]         TIMEIN: 10:17:24:24   DURATION: 03:14      TIMEOUT: 10:17:28:13

Let’s go see what’s still standing.

 

SUBTITLE: [164]         TIMEIN: 10:17:32:11   DURATION: 01:22      TIMEOUT: 10:17:34:08

Grandma, smile real quick.

 

SUBTITLE: [165]         TIMEIN: 10:17:34:22   DURATION: 01:13      TIMEOUT: 10:17:36:10

I can’t smile.

 

SUBTITLE: [166]         TIMEIN: 10:17:42:21   DURATION: 03:06      TIMEOUT: 10:17:46:02

Careful with the nails sticking out.

Oh my God.

 

SUBTITLE: [167]         TIMEIN: 10:17:46:04   DURATION: 02:12      TIMEOUT: 10:17:48:16

It just seems so small now.

 

SUBTITLE: [168]         TIMEIN: 10:17:49:00   DURATION: 02:15      TIMEOUT: 10:17:51:15

This was the living room?

-       I think so.

 

SUBTITLE: [169]         TIMEIN: 10:17:52:22   DURATION: 03:10      TIMEOUT: 10:17:56:07

I remember this was like a dining room here.

 

SUBTITLE: [170]         TIMEIN: 10:18:00:21   DURATION: 04:10      TIMEOUT: 10:18:05:06

This looks like medicine to me.

Like what the medicine man gives to us, they always put it in jars.

 

SUBTITLE: [171]         TIMEIN: 10:18:05:15   DURATION: 02:22      TIMEOUT: 10:18:08:12

This is where my childhood was spent.

 

SUBTITLE: [172]         TIMEIN: 10:18:16:02   DURATION: 02:12      TIMEOUT: 10:18:18:14

We would come over here and we would play.

 

SUBTITLE: [173]         TIMEIN: 10:18:18:16   DURATION: 05:18      TIMEOUT: 10:18:24:09

I was fresh out of school. And I had forgotten most of my language.

 

SUBTITLE: [174]         TIMEIN: 10:18:26:11   DURATION: 06:10      TIMEOUT: 10:18:32:21

And so she told me she said I was being like a white man because

I didn't want to speak Indian anymore.

 

SUBTITLE: [175]         TIMEIN: 10:18:32:23   DURATION: 05:22      TIMEOUT: 10:18:38:20

I was ashamed to speak my language until I was older,

probably in my 20s. Something like that.

 

SUBTITLE: [176]         TIMEIN: 10:18:38:22   DURATION: 03:00      TIMEOUT: 10:18:41:22

That's how long it took me.

 

Voice-over 13 18:43

A year ago, Augustine and her granddaughter started doing research into their family’s history and reconnecting with their heritage.  

 

 

SUBTITLE: [177]         TIMEIN: 10:18:52:09   DURATION: 04:10      TIMEOUT: 10:18:56:19

I always try to do eyes, mouth, nose,

 

SUBTITLE: [178]         TIMEIN: 10:18:56:21   DURATION: 02:19      TIMEOUT: 10:18:59:15

so we could speak good, hear good.

 

SUBTITLE: [179]         TIMEIN: 10:19:02:16   DURATION: 01:15      TIMEOUT: 10:19:04:06

I wanted her to get her story out there because

 

SUBTITLE: [180]         TIMEIN: 10:19:04:08   DURATION: 05:24      TIMEOUT: 10:19:08:11

I know others probably held it in for as long as she did and are still holding in.

 

SUBTITLE: [182]         TIMEIN: 10:19:10:13   DURATION: 03:04      TIMEOUT: 10:19:13:17

There are so many that you know left this world

 

SUBTITLE: [183]         TIMEIN: 10:19:13:19   DURATION: 02:13      TIMEOUT: 10:19:16:07

without getting their story out.

 

SUBTITLE: [184]         TIMEIN: 10:19:16:09   DURATION: 03:02      TIMEOUT: 10:19:19:11

We just never talked about the boarding school, never did.

 

SUBTITLE: [185]         TIMEIN: 10:19:19:13   DURATION: 02:15      TIMEOUT: 10:19:22:03

We had to march to the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

 

SUBTITLE: [186]         TIMEIN: 10:19:22:05   DURATION: 03:16      TIMEOUT: 10:19:25:21

A matron would say: Pick your feet, Pick your feet up!

 

SUBTITLE: [187]         TIMEIN: 10:19:25:23   DURATION: 04:18      TIMEOUT: 10:19:30:16

So then we learned that we had to march, and there we went like little soldiers.

 

SUBTITLE: [188]         TIMEIN: 10:19:30:18   DURATION: 06:18      TIMEOUT: 10:19:37:11

One time, we were walking and there was a kid ahead of me.

 

SUBTITLE: [189]         TIMEIN: 10:19:40:20   DURATION: 05:16      TIMEOUT: 10:19:46:11

I don't know what she did, I don't know, maybe she got out of line or what happened.

 

SUBTITLE: [190]         TIMEIN: 10:19:46:13   DURATION: 06:04      TIMEOUT: 10:19:52:17

But all of a sudden I saw the matron jerk her from the back of her neck.

 

SUBTITLE: [191]         TIMEIN: 10:19:52:19   DURATION: 02:15      TIMEOUT: 10:19:55:09

She landed up near a doe tree.

 

SUBTITLE: [192]         TIMEIN: 10:19:56:12   DURATION: 02:08      TIMEOUT: 10:19:58:20

And after that, I didn't see her anymore.

 

SUBTITLE: [193]         TIMEIN: 10:20:00:05   DURATION: 02:16      TIMEOUT: 10:20:02:21

I always kind of wondered about it.

 

SUBTITLE: [194]         TIMEIN: 10:20:02:23   DURATION: 01:20      TIMEOUT: 10:20:04:18

You're watched like a hawk.

 

SUBTITLE: [195]         TIMEIN: 10:20:04:20   DURATION: 05:05      TIMEOUT: 10:20:10:00

And you have to go to and fro every day in a single file.

 

SUBTITLE: [196]         TIMEIN: 10:20:10:14   DURATION: 04:10      TIMEOUT: 10:20:14:24

And always know that you could get in trouble for something.

 

SUBTITLE: [197]         TIMEIN: 10:20:17:19   DURATION: 02:13      TIMEOUT: 10:20:20:07

And you just keep going.

 

SUBTITLE: [198]         TIMEIN: 10:20:21:23   DURATION: 03:02      TIMEOUT: 10:20:25:00

I never told my parents anything

 

SUBTITLE: [199]         TIMEIN: 10:20:30:13   DURATION: 05:00      TIMEOUT: 10:20:35:13

When you’re a child and you’re told that you are no good, and all this, 

 

SUBTITLE: [200]         TIMEIN: 10:20:35:15   DURATION: 01:23      TIMEOUT: 10:20:37:13

you're not going to be anything.

 

SUBTITLE: [201]         TIMEIN: 10:20:37:15   DURATION: 03:14      TIMEOUT: 10:20:41:04

I guess I believe that, even as an adult.

 

SUBTITLE: [202]         TIMEIN: 10:20:41:13   DURATION: 05:03      TIMEOUT: 10:20:46:16

A lot of them became abusive to their family,

 

SUBTITLE: [203]         TIMEIN: 10:20:46:18   DURATION: 01:24      TIMEOUT: 10:20:48:17

alcoholics or whatever

 

SUBTITLE: [204]         TIMEIN: 10:20:48:19   DURATION: 07:09      TIMEOUT: 10:20:56:03

because they didn't have that love that is needed so much at that age.

 

SUBTITLE: [205]         TIMEIN: 10:20:57:08   DURATION: 04:04      TIMEOUT: 10:21:01:12

Like myself, nobody ever told me that they love me.

 

SUBTITLE: [206]         TIMEIN: 10:21:02:03   DURATION: 04:08      TIMEOUT: 0:21:07:15

And as I got older, I never could say love.

 

SUBTITLE: [208]         TIMEIN: 10:21:08:18   DURATION: 01:23      TIMEOUT: 10:21:10:16

They took everything from us.

 

SUBTITLE: [209]         TIMEIN: 10:21:11:16   DURATION: 02:12      TIMEOUT: 10:21:14:03

Even our beings.

 

SUBTITLE: [210]         TIMEIN: 10:21:14:12   DURATION: 02:03      TIMEOUT: 10:21:16:15

No apologies will do.

 

SUBTITLE: [211]         TIMEIN: 10:21:16:17   DURATION: 04:14      TIMEOUT: 10:21:21:06

It's the government that has to stand up and tell the world out there

 

SUBTITLE: [212]         TIMEIN: 10:21:21:08   DURATION: 04:17      TIMEOUT: 10:21:26:00

what they're really like here in this United States.

 

Voice-over 14 21:29

In the 20th century, the conditions at boarding schools slowly improved. The military regime was shed and students were encouraged to join the school band or become a cheerleader.

 

After her time at Carter Seminary, Augustine went to Chilocco, where the reins were a little looser

 

 

SUBTITLE: [213]         TIMEIN: 10:21:46:08   DURATION: 05:07      TIMEOUT: 10:21:51:17

Once in a while, we get naughty, with some of the kids.

 

SUBTITLE: [215]         TIMEIN: 10:21:52:18   DURATION: 02:08      TIMEOUT: 10:21:55:01

We would go what they call nighthawking.

 

SUBTITLE: [216]         TIMEIN: 10:21:55:17   DURATION: 02:00      TIMEOUT: 10:21:57:17

I haven't heard about this.

 

SUBTITLE: [217]         TIMEIN: 10:21:57:19   DURATION: 01:13      TIMEOUT: 10:21:59:07

We go nighthawking.

 

SUBTITLE: [218]         TIMEIN: 10:21:59:09   DURATION: 05:06      TIMEOUT: 10:22:04:15

What we'd do is sneak out of our dormitories at night after everybody went to bed.

 

SUBTITLE: [219]         TIMEIN: 10:22:04:17   DURATION: 05:18      TIMEOUT: 10:22:10:10

Sneaking through the apple orchards and there were boys out there.

 

SUBTITLE: [220]         TIMEIN: 10:22:10:12   DURATION: 03:00      TIMEOUT: 10:22:13:12

Poor me, I didn’t have a boyfriend back then.
- Grandma!

 

SUBTITLE: [221]         TIMEIN: 10:22:20:19   DURATION: 04:18      TIMEOUT: 10:22:25:12

But hey, you to have some fun sometimes.

 

Voice-over 15 22:32

Many alumni have good memories of intertribal friendships they made at school, but whiteAmerican culture still dominated everything. Today, most boardings have closed down and a young generation takes back control over their culture.

 

SUBTITLE: [222]         TIMEIN: 10:22:51:06   DURATION: 02:04      TIMEOUT: 10:22:53:10

We are at the Tahlequah community building and

 

SUBTITLE: [223]         TIMEIN: 10:22:53:12   DURATION: 05:11      TIMEOUT: 10:22:58:23

we are getting ready for the December 2021 Christmas pow wow.

 

SUBTITLE: [224]         TIMEIN: 10:23:00:13   DURATION: 02:16      TIMEOUT: 10:23:03:04

I'm going to be representing the Gourd Society today.

 

SUBTITLE: [225]         TIMEIN: 10:23:03:06   DURATION: 06:00      TIMEOUT: 10:23:09:06

It definitely makes me feel good that they like saw me fit to represent them.

 

SUBTITLE: [226]         TIMEIN: 10:23:09:08   DURATION: 02:14      TIMEOUT: 10:23:11:22

And that I was a good role model for kids.

 

SUBTITLE: [227]         TIMEIN: 10:23:11:24   DURATION: 02:11      TIMEOUT: 10:23:14:10

So I hope the kids learn for me

 

SUBTITLE: [228]         TIMEIN: 10:23:14:12   DURATION: 03:22      TIMEOUT: 10:23:18:09

that it's good to be respectful to your elders and it's good to have fun

 

SUBTITLE: [229]         TIMEIN: 10:23:18:11   DURATION: 04:09      TIMEOUT: 10:23:22:20

while you're enjoying your culture and you have fun with your community.

 

SUBTITLE: [230]         TIMEIN: 10:23:57:18   DURATION: 05:01      TIMEOUT: 10:24:02:19

Kids in my generation are reaching out to their elders and the people they surround themselves with and their families

 

SUBTITLE: [231]         TIMEIN: 10:24:02:21   DURATION: 04:15      TIMEOUT: 10:24:07:11

to learn about their culture.

 

SUBTITLE: [232]         TIMEIN: 10:24:07:13   DURATION: 04:10      TIMEOUT: 10:24:11:23

But as social media becomes more of a big thing in today's age, we are sharing our culture and our heritage and our experiences through social media.

 

SUBTITLE: [233]         TIMEIN: 10:24:12:00   DURATION: 05:24      TIMEOUT: 10:24:17:24

And that allows more kids to ask more questions about where they come from.

 

SUBTITLE: [234]         TIMEIN: 10:24:23:01   DURATION: 02:20      TIMEOUT: 10:24:25:21

Would your like pork or chicken?

-       Pork

 

SUBTITLE: [236]         TIMEIN: 10:24:32:04   DURATION: 02:14      TIMEOUT: 10:24:34:18

Whenever I'm at pow wows or other cultural events,

 

SUBTITLE: [237]         TIMEIN: 10:24:34:20   DURATION: 02:14      TIMEOUT: 10:24:37:09

I think about my family that's passed on recently.

 

SUBTITLE: [238]         TIMEIN: 10:24:37:11   DURATION: 05:07      TIMEOUT: 10:24:42:18

And I think about how proud they would be that I'm participating in my culture the same way that they did

 

SUBTITLE: [239]         TIMEIN: 10:24:42:20   DURATION: 02:02      TIMEOUT: 10:24:44:22

and I'm carrying on their legacy.

 

 

SUBTITLE: [240]         TIMEIN: 10:24:44:24   DURATION: 02:20      TIMEOUT: 10:24:47:19

So hopefully my kids will carry on mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

////

 

 

 

A documentary of Anneleen Ophoff

 

In acknowledgement of the 574 Native tribes in the United States of America who have all been affected by the boarding school policy.