If ev er a woman fought to be intellectually free, it was Sarah. I discovered her in 1991.
Finally, a statue of her is in Washington and in Carson City...but...
Just came back from Carson City where the twin of
Sarah was installed inside the old State Capitol. I
learned something. The whole thing was immensely
political. Bruce, my husband, was so very sure that I
would be mentioned. Of course I wasn't. He was
furious because he was so sure they would not forget
how it all began. But that is not the tragedy to me.
The tragedy is that no one thanked the Piute people
for Sarah. Almost all of the Piute tribe was there
from elders on down, with kids from the Piute
Elementary School there, from the Rez. This is some
60 miles outside of Carson City. To me, to hold up
Sarah before them was the ultimate teachable moment.
Here are the most at-risk kids we have, the Native
Indian from the Reservation, and no one says: 'Thank
you, Piute people, for producing such a brilliant Word
Warrior as Sarah. She went from no such concept as a
written word, into the world of reading and writing
and speaking. And once she knew how to use those
words, she never stopped.'
We want these kids to read, we want them to succeed.
And no one said: "Look at Sarah! Look who she was and
what she did in her lifetime, and she is one of your
own! Think what Piute means because of Sarah!~" Oh, I
felt like going up on the Capitol steps, grabbing away
the mike, and giving the thanks. I didn't want to
embaress my husband. So, I went to the elders and
thanked them when it was over. I couldn't reach
everyone, just a few.
The speeches were about who gave the most money, who
worked to get the most money for the statue, who was
the PR person to spread the word for the Sarah
Project. How the governor helped, how his wife raised
money, etc. etc.
So much for caring about kids and education and
reading and writing on the part of the political
people. No child left behind, my ass-- the powers
that be couldn't care less!
I know what I am going to do: mail in my last piece of
research on another project I was doing for the Wms
History Group, and tell them they can continue on
their own. I am outta there. I quit. They are not
educators or people who care about people enough to
say thank you to anyone outside of themselves. They
are not who I thought they were.
All those Piute faces waiting to hear more about why
Sarah is there...I will not forget. The speakers
didn't even mention all of Sarah's accomplishments
which is the marvel of Sarah--so many accomplishments
by just one woman. She went from the stone age to the industrial age,
within a very short space of time. And then, she took who she was and
made everyone know the truth about the Indian 'problem'. And she never
stopped.
Sarah is where she should be, which is why I joined
the Wms History Project in 1994 anyway when they
began--to get Sarah to Washington. Sarah is there
now, and she is in Carson City as well.
I am not for political stuff. I'm for justice.
End of speech. gh
Comments
Me and Columbo: 'One more thing...'
Yesterday, out of the great no where, I got two separate calls from some people in NV Wms History Group. The morning one asked for details on how the project began, and how far back was this beginning. I told her. She said she was speaking to the Democratic Wms Group and she wanted to be accurate. I told her I was quitting the group for reasons bigger than what my husband thinks should have happened.
Time passes.
I get a call in the after noon. Another member of the NNWHP calls: now hyteria sets in: 'Oh, I just can't quit; they just didn't know my role (as if I were the total reason). They just didn't know, she said over and over and over.
I am thinking: you are a History Group and you don't know the very recent past in Nevada? Didn't you read the latest book on Sarah that is out by Sally Zanjani? I'm mentioned in it over and over. Don't you read.?????
Bigger than me was the reality of the injustice of how they treated the Piute tribe. They just don't get it. They are still living in the 'we are here' and 'they are over there' mentality, like it was in the South when I taught there in the late 60's.
They are going to earn some $182, 400 as their percentage of these 75 Sarah statues--they can't even think to give one to the Tribal Museum?
Wait till they get my letter...gh
sarah w ~ a diatribe against a NV WMs HISTORY GROUP
Take a byte out of life-a roaring lion of a byte~!
To the Northern Nevada Women’s History Group:
I’ve thought long and hard on this. I’ve concluded: the Nevada Women’s History Group is not something I want to be actively part of. I quit.
Why?
Any group that does not have the courage to spend the split second it takes to say ‘ thank you’ to the Piute people who produced a Sarah Winnemucca is no group for me. (I would have gone further and presented them with a small statue of Sarah for the Pyramid Lake Tribal Council Office, but that costs money.)
Make what excuses you will for never saying ‘thank you’, no excuse makes sense to me. The Piute people deserved that simple thank you. I never heard it on April 6th in any of the speeches praises the money-raising members, the statue-choosing members, the organizing members, and on and on.
The Piute Elders were not allowed the dignity of sitting on the stage, of speaking of Sarah, but only the job of prayer. None were allowed the dignity of being ‘on the list’ inside the Capitol when the statue was unveiled, not one. I know. I pushed my way in. No, I was told I was not on the list, too, but I wanted to see who was. I learned: you must be a person in power to be there. (No, no one threw me out; I am sure they saw fire burning inside me. No one messes with fire.)
Let me inform all of you: getting Sarah to Washington was a project begun long before the Women’s History Project Group was ever created in 1994. It was begun before I ever discovered her book on that library table in September of 1991. It was begun way back when Gae Canfield first researched and wrote her book and began the cause to get that book published. (It took her over 7 years to do so, in 1983.) It was begun with Louise Tannheimer going, as an elder, from Rez to Rez, talking positively about Sarah before 1991. She worked with me, when I began the ‘Sarah Cause’. Senator Richard Bryan was part of this effort, so was Governor Miller of those days, and directly so. There were so many efforts popping up after ’91, and before, ’94. I never heard even a reference to all this effort and a thank you.
A simple thank you costs nothing, and takes so little time, yet your group did not have the courage or just plain good sense to do so. How sad. How arrogant!
Sincerely,
Georgia Hedrick
p.s. I will mail to you the Book of Minutes of Nevada’s Native Daughters I still have. I spent more hours on that organization outside of the office than I care admit. I talked to Sen. Raggio, to Philip Earl, and worked at the Nevada Historical Society.
Now it is up to you to research.