“I
guess the biggest thing is that our people weren’t educated,
eh? You had to understand what you were signing and we didn’t.
My grandparents didn’t know how to read and write.
Potlatch - it’s still here even though it was taken away
from us for so long.
“Yeah, there was people that tried to help us. We did have
a lot of friends that tried to help that were non-Native.
DeBeck, he really tried to help our people.
“I notice that with even our grannies, both grannies, once
you paid attention to them they were so alive. It’s so interesting
to hear them talk about what they Grew up witnessing.
“I don’t have jewelry or anything expensive in the safe.
I got my grannie’s records with my tapes. That’s my treasures,
you know? And I’ve got one of my daughters that I’ll pass
it on to. She’ll be the caretaker for the family.
“We have to tell our own story. We’ll do our own talking.
Nobody can tell us that we’re not telling the truth. That’s
my grannie’s voice that’s telling us our history.
DeBeck: “With my own cooperation they (federal government)
finally dug in and found out what the potlatch was…their
(Native People) only method of putting things on record.
DeBeck: “Actually, to take from them (Native People)
material things is just the same as letting violence without
law.”
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