Tent of Many Voices: 08270401F

I've been sick lately so I have to have the oxygen with me that didn't stop me from coming to be with you when I heard that my armor partner Stan was here Stella it made me doubly happy to be here tonight I wish that the artch world and every other world would know the talent the spirit the nobility of the people who are pleas for pictured in these slides which we will show you like so many other wonderful wonderful things of the reservation are hidden in the hearts and the minds and in the hands and the skills of people these photos also lay hidden for many years and it was my good fortune to be the one who not only found them but was on hand to show them to a young man from AOS data center I wish John hman was here tonight to accept my thanks but the other laborers qu people with him from arrol data center are here without their skill without their dedication these riches would still be deep in Mystery in about 1888 one of our men father Ambrose madingley by the way his name was ok was that Stan his name says what he was like PES he was sharp he was alert he was killed he was diligent and above all he was persistent he heard that there was such a thing as photographs being made he learned how to make these photographs and slowly slowly over about 25 years he captured The Marvelous faces of the deed people all the way from Standing Rock to Yankton he was up and down the river he had a small dark room and Studio at San I knew father Ambrose but I didn't didn't know all the things he could do I knew him when he was old and talking he was still sharp still sharp he spoke the Dakota language perfectly and he was one of my teachers at this point I'd like to tell you a story about my first teacher though my first teacher they had sent me to Rome in 193 37 to get two degrees in those days they didn't say now try hard work hard we hope you get those degrees they said you will get two degrees you will get a doctorate in theology you'll get a master's degree in scripture you will get your degrees so tell your folks that you're going to be leaving it might not be back for 8 years those were in the days folks when there was no Oceanic flights of airplanes those were the day days of playing boats my dad was not Catholic I've often wondered lately what my dad was but he was a generous generous generous man whatever was good for his kids he was behind it a th% but I watched my dad he did something very remarkable the day that I left we didn't have a car so he hired two taxis so that the kids could in and they were jumping up and down as children do of course by death that my boy Comm here he took me alone back into the house mom was nursing a baby out in the car and he made me kneel down and here I am the one who's going to be a Catholic priest you know and dad was saying to me kneel down my boy kneel down in front of you and my dad gave me a blessing I'm still walking in the power of that blessing so to you Elders to any of you don't ever ever ever that any of your children or grandchildren who off into a way of life without giving them your blessing they need that to know that they have come from a family that is sacred a family that is generous a family that is loyal let them feel that well anyway I went to Rome I hardly ever say this but I'm going to say it and please take it in the right way now I was 1937 I'm no teacher but they wanted me to be a teacher so listen now thanks be to God for I'll tell you why because I got a note from the American Embassy get out of here get back home get back home in a hurry water is coming so I arrived back in Indiana St Min Abby Monastery in late Jan January early February in those days there was not ENT there was not you know break up of school during the winter so they took one look at me and said my God you're no good around here why don't you go out to the deoras to Crow Creek it's calving time well I didn't know what that meant but it sound like C stuff so I said sure I'll go I'll go so I arrived on the old train used to go through Chamberlain here in middle of March of 39 and I've been here since thanks be to God folks that I did not get those degrees I would have missed you I would have missed St I would have missed everybody whom I know and love well the priest then was father Finton remember father Finton Stella father Finton and then father mother Justin two they said GE you must be smart eh I said sure they said there's a bunch of men down at cro down at the Fort Thompson studying the Bible why don't you go down there and help them learn now here I'm 23 years old now say at that time so in my dumbness when you're 23 years old you don't know much do you so I walked down there you know swaging a little bit because I smart you know D but smart and I sit in this little tiny one room log house maybe 12 by 12 there eight or 10 men sitting there their Dusty faces melting into the L walls two lights letic of course two kerosene lamps burning in the corner and here I am a 23y old go guy laying God on me my elders I broke the first rule of Dakota politeness by by a junior like me standing up and daring to talk to my seniors but they're polite to see these Elders are they're polite they don't want to show you up they don't want to unveil your ignorance they don't want to expose you so they kept their heads down and I thought they were asleep you know how old people listen when their heads are down there listening intently so I said to myself gist L listen G wi when I come back next week I'm going to have to talk slow use little sentences and words repeat so next week I come back same way I'm laying God on them once more and here they are I knew I wasn't going over too good see ES one bony leg over the other he was there knocking the ashes off his bulm cigarette like as if he was saying oh God help this side there was Mr Clen W did KN now these are people whom I learn to love see because they were polite to me I said Mr wounded me see he was like the Deacon if you needed anything in church Mr W took care of it a wedding a funeral a baptism anything at all it was like a deacon little mind I thought he'd stand up there listen this boy knows everything look listen listen listen but no slowly slowly he turned away from me away from me Mr nice warm face looked up at me the dark brown eyes looked at me and he searched me and he found my weakness he said one word folks one word I wish that in your life somebody some event some person some word would touch you and lift you out of the r that you're in and that one word and changed my life right there he was my first teacher see I'm the product of a father who was very strict in his religion about a block and a half from church there were 11 kids in the house we had to two families had to move together on account of hard times you know how that was 11 kids I'm the oldest so Mom would make us all do our chores and Saturday morning now you're going to go to confession I said her mom I didn't do nothing think of something think of something or think of something so I had to go I told more stories to that priest anyway whenever she talked about God it was Lord Master King and judge whatever you do God will see you he was always the the boogeyman I went to Seminary us to same word Lord Master King judge when I went to Rome those Italians were better they weren't quite they still said Lord Master King judge so I kind of grew up with that idea that God was fearful scary until Mr wed he liberated me that's the only word I can think of to describe what he did he looked at me very slowly slowly and said father don't you know that God is nice nice mom never told me that and they never told me that they never said that in Rong God is nice wow we were in a cabin down or house down near where uh big ban is now as I came out of the river bottom up on top it was March clear sky no moon just Stars I stopped the car I got out and I looked up if he's nice I'm going to pray ech of a lot different from now on he's not going to throw me out of the house for every darn little thing that I do that's wrong he's going to say oh my god there goes that father's stand again I'll have to go down and clean up after one more time it's nice I wish you would remember that word I don't care if you're older than me I'm 88 years old but I don't care what you say or do remember that word and take it from Mr CL wounded me he knows but he knew what he's talking about so from that minute on I did two more things I began to respect the elders see I have that disease that young people have of not respecting those who are older well that broke that disease out of the inner Hur and I learned the next thing is to shut up and listen listen listen it's only when you listen that you hear God talking to you in the wind in the rain and the trees and the seasons and the Animals listen you see why I so Happ happy that we have these photos I know the place where that photo was taken it was estan it's the old own post office it was blown down later by um tornado so I now I'd like to I don't want to keep you here very on I'm so full of this see I can go on and on I want to give you four words take the one I said listen the next one is whenever we pray whenever we address the people in Dakota we call them weu wouldn't it be wonderful if this in this world everybody would call each other relative the Jews and the Arabs wouldn't be fighting the Irish of North and South Ireland where my folks come from wouldn't be fighting here in South Dakota we would be listening to each other an I think I think so when when Dakota people talk seriously every word is sacred so they mean that word okay I have a relationship with you the strongest force in all of creation the strongest force in all creation is that which keeps things in Balance we call it the power of attraction or what's the other word I can't think it right now see I'm so fast I forget to say one things are drawn to each other whatever that is among humans say tell me out somebody say the word falls down falls down what do you call that gravity gravity gra thank you gravity everything has touches the gravity that's why the the the universe mooves so gracefully and these men from USGS United States Geological Service they're are the ones who watch that and who from it get a message of we're all related we're all related in our personal language maybe we say we're in love with each other we should be don't you think be better than be at war with each other I think so that word meop is one I hope that we never never forget in Thea language I wrote down a couple more them up well the next one respect if I listen if I listen sooner or later I'm going to discover beautiful things in you if I listen if I put you down I want hear nothing you know young people who taught me that they used to go to both in Stan and in and one time there I was so young then so I was dumb anyway anyway this one kid he was a good basketball really good his dad or mother never came to watch him ATT TR cu the other fathers and used to come watch the boys and so one day I said to him beef I said why don't you invite your dad to come up and watch you he started to cry he said I ain't got no Dad she in Christmas you see I touched a a sore spot with that P if I would have listened enough I might have heard that before that he had go that I would have heard it was bad beef tooto is in my mind all the time we made up afterwards I mean he I don't think he ever was took it as an insult but it hurt him of course so folks listen if somebody say say bad about somebody listen there's a good side to it too next is is I'm you I'm going to skip through these now hurry this time of the year I'm asked there sever always several Dakota Boys who come to me to help they want me to help them in their H it's not not the old way you know it's not the old way we help it in our own modern way I have two who will come again next Wednesday we get only two this I know amadia means this that you go out to where the only you and the Creator are there and you're listening you're listening to the Creator don't ever abandon that great ceremony because without the one the Creator without the almighty without one our higher power we can't do nothing you can't even make one grass grow and the Creator makes a 100 million of them grow every day so don't think that this organization or any other organization can ever have a blossom to it without every time calling on the Creator to make it grow I learned this by going to many tribal meetings and we always stop or start with a prayer don't lose that memory another word is thei it means you're my cousin that's closer than being a relative I had two tahashi in my lifetime both died rather young and Sergeant no one say the other man's name I know he doesn't want me to say it Andy Sergeant was one maybe we're all together friends Bobby touch he followed me up to for to those those men meant a lot to me because they we were just at that young age where we needed somebody to help us and find him because I know you have things to do I want to give you one more word it's a very important word it's the M of our Monastery I'm a it's the the M of you but use it the word is w w means this when things work together when your motor runs well things are working just right it just hums along nothing knocks there's no knocking so let me go through those words again please AB keep the Creator always in your meetings always in your heart respect everybody there's always something sacred in everybody because the Creator put it there we related even some of us are tahashi to each other there's always that unity and then from all of that will come for here now let's go through these let me just think okay our police I respect men like them who put their Li their lives on the line go ahead I this this unfortunately somebody wanted to paint this color slide and kind of destroy the natural color of these headdresses and these men here's an old MAA we look at the face of that lady that Grandma these are noble people and that's what I say these are hidden I wish we could see these Elders again what's okay next okay drifting Goose one of the great leaders years and years ago glad we have this picture it it was hidden but it came out excuse me just the bottom CIA I I don't know what that means what it say CIA see oh I don't I'll have to look that and find okay next these are non-indian people who were at the high school the the hospital and what else oh the B office I want to show that that's the picnic place we all went to right now Big Ben dam is at that site Noble person in i a noble face okay young couple how proud they look how marvelous they are I wish that I could have found these photos 25 years ago 50 years ago then there' be still be living someone who say oh I know who that is but those names are lost just the personality is over oh here's this is on their way wedding day and Maza on their wedding day I didn't know whether they threw rice in those days or I don't know this name this D's name is Shields he was a medicine man I knew his family I knew his son rather and the other family but is and this is in the days when it was when it was a criminal to pray in the indan way we had to hide some of that so the police would catch up to open there's another one I'm sorry was painted was supposed to be adding to the beauty of the picture but I think that little guy would look better if we could see his face see some of these last plates were broken and these gentlemen over here we want to thank them again they're the ones who could put the glass back together and recreate recreate the picture this makes me say then let's keep this in mind let's work together on these things we have here trial leaders trial prayer leaders government officials elected officials and maybe I represent that part of our society that talks about the Creator and R so I i' I'll add my let's work together not priest over here government over here tribe over here we belong with each other let me talk at okay look at the nobility in that face a sistant one of the men up there saw this he was one of the ones who who started the college Mr Joe Williams thank joh Mr Joe Williams he wants us to try to enlarge this picture and put it up in the college corridors so that the young women can see this person as a kind of an image of what they like to be two Tri young ladies huh how much around their waist is it 20 in I don't know here's the fman I think I'm not sure see father Ambrose around Stan there are people moving in and out and so they would come to his studio and uh most of his pictures had to be taken outside because those cameras were very slow and so the the light was not good inside hard and if it was they'd have to burn gunpowder to flash like that so most of the pictures you'll see are outside big tobacco I don't know much about this gentleman I don't know where he's from maybe somebody will know I don't know man's wife I think you can you see in the back up there the American flag see that was the window to the post office and inside the flag was turned so it's backwards as you look at it now but that that lady with her old grandson maybe against the post office this is uh at can't oh yeah what's it say there Greenwood Greenwood down Greenwood Greenwood was once his great busing place too but then the traffic was moved there used to be a company of black soldiers in on an island in the middle of the Missouri when they were dis abandoned many of them stayed and lived and married in the area around well here somewhere so here's one of them is very flashy Pony here's a homesteader's house this gentleman I was told it was a Harrison from Brook but I I was just told with one piece of evidence so I'm not sure that he is Harrison family one of the girls near the school sit down the bead work can you look at that isn't that remarkable the Artistry that was evident in those folks in those days too I I don't know what that maybe you gentleman over here from did you research that what that what that is that a presidential citation or is that is that a presidential give that button that he has anybody know see we need to talk to each other and find out what those deorations were about I mean Tribal Police see somebody might from govern might have given him an award at some time it doesn't show here but this cut off a little bit but this is how the camera lens moved out about 1 second because in his hand looks like he has six fingers because in that second is one finger moved just a tiny bit and this shows how difficult it was to get a good good picture in those days here's one that a girl shows up on our publicity by the way these photos have been to Washington DC these folks over here wanted me to take to go to Washington DC to show the DC people about this so but with this oxygen I said I'll go but I need two people to go with me one to push my wheelchair and the other one to car the auction they said we'll take you they knew I'm pretty mouy so they we'll take you we got up there in the CATE office building great big room filled with people but most of them had to stand it wasn't room so I'm all ready to talk so this lady who's I guess our guest Master up there she came over said H Reverend we're glad to see you and we're happy that the pictures are here we had nice chance to view them all and so I suppose you'll give a little introduction to them I said ma'am I'm used to talking let me give my own introduction I can introduce my life as I go along I said but tell me how long should I talk to you thing she said well it's evening people are tired I would suggest 10 or 15 10 or 15 minutes man I came 1,000 miles out I would just talk I said I'm used to watching crowds if they get tiresome I'm I quit that's all well she said not too long I said no I won't be too long so I kept watching her she was giggling over there and clapping her hands and she was really enjoying she was one of those who had to stand up so after an hour I turned to gentleman he said this buch more okay so that girl was part of our publicity zuya with josua I think that word zuya is an old old Dakota word we I never hear much I hear a k joh but you don't hear the word zya is that right that's an old word I think Z man that's taken down also by the Big Bam picnic what she wants to can you see it can you see okay okay well we'll have to show okay we going that next one okay there's another painted one we're coming to the coast of ped one this I think is one of the earliest photos of a Sund death and I think it was taken out of shine River way to the West I think than two d h that's at shine River Cherry Creek a Cherry Creek yeah there's the church over there that's the place is still there Cherry Creek that's one of our Catholic Student congresses in those days there were hundreds of of tepes in Catholic St and from that year what's that say 19 1903 can you that year I can't see 1903 1903 yeah congresses were big in those days okay this is the last man this man looks like in a JY way from I may be wrong you know but he has the features of the person done live now at CH River but really struggled well thank you folks if there's anybody questions anybody i' be glad to answer but thank you I know you're you're listening to a lot of stuff today so I'm very glad that I was invited here or remember the words I gave you if you can let's work together not not any one of us can do it all we can we can as brothers and sisters we can do a lot thank you much well Peter H upia oi we you thank all of you