So this, that I am telling, when I
thought about it,
I think it is from three hundred snows ago
to four hundred snows ago, and even
beyond that time.
And it's the end, like of what is known.
What I am going to tell is what was
passed on to me by my paternal
grandmothers, my maternal grandfathers,
and my paternal grandfathers, by their
great-great-grandparents,
their great-grandparents...
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Then from there, time passed until it was
closer to our time now,
and the Indians saw the whiteman.
They felt pity for the white people,
because they were white,
and they had beards.
The white men looked as if they were
cold because their faces were white and
red. Then, when the Indian people were
met by the whitemen (because they had
already landed), the Indian people then
spread out their fur blankets and
motioned to the white men to sit on the
blankets. Their chief told them, “Spread
out the fur blankets
so that the white men can sit on them.
Maybe they are cold.” The Indians
thought the white men were cold because
they were white-faced.
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From that time on, it became known
that the white people had laws.
Right then, when the white men were to
come across the ocean for the first time,
they had already taken ownership of our
land for their king or leader. The
whiteman told their leader,
“You give me a ship to go across to look
for some land.
There is land. I will see land."
He told his leader, his king,
“It will be your land.”
They hadn’t even seen our land yet, and
they had already taken ownership of it.
_________________________

The whiteman crossed and landed, and he
stuck a flag and pole in the ground. And
then it's like they already won our land.
_________________________

The first Indians they saw,
the whites showed them necklaces,
that had been strung.
The people liked them and were glad to
get them. Then from that
we believed and trusted them.
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Today, this land a-a-a-all over,
our land, this island —
had been tied it up for us.
They chased us from our homes.
And the whiteman told us,
“This is to be your land.
It is where you will live.”
Then they set it up, surveyed it
in 80 acres, to be our land, for each of us
to possess what was left over.
We were told, “Here, you can have
what's left for your land.”
It was a vast area of land, and there was a
lot left over after they gave us those
pieces, and the white people arranged it
so that we sold the land;
we sold it, and it was bought by the
whiteman, and they came in
and crowded us out.
It is the truth, all we got was that eighty
acres, for our place to live.
That’s when the whiteman began buying
it, all the lands — we so-o-o-old it, and
now it is almost all gone...

Then that’s when people said
the first whiteman here came
from what you call Columbus.
When he came across and saw this
land, when he got off his ship,
he put his flag in the ground.
I guess same as saying he was glad,
glad to have and own some land.
He did see the Indians
standing in groups
all staring at him,
but I’m not going to say
what was on their minds —
I mean, about the white people.
________________________

Then, just as soon as he was on the
ground, just like he put a brand on this
land. He found the land,
but I don’t think he carried
any kind of important papers about
laws. And to come here
and take away and claim our Indian
land — he didn’t even have permission
from anyone to take our land,
but I guess they thought they’d just
go ahead and use their own laws.

Of course, long ago
the Indian people
who were living
were happy all the time…
You know, that’s how Indians
were a long time ago.
All these animals —
there were many animals.
Plenty of everything,
and this land was good.
And the air here was clean.

Many of the ways of our people of long
ago, it is like they are being forgotten. . . .
Those ways have, like, like separated
from us as time went on. It is like our
ways is going the wrong way.
________________________

Not all of us are like that. There are still
some of us who still hold on to the real
ways of the people. . . . That is how our
culture will become strong again.
________________________

A long time ago, when we were met by
the white people, from there on, our
culture changed. We were chased until
we came here. Here, in this area, is where
we stopped. Our land is no longer big. A
long time ago, when the white people
came across the water, all of this land
was ours, from island to island, from the
south to the north.
It was all Indian land.
________________________

Then, we knew how to do all of our own
ways. We were not without food. We did
not go without anything. Whatever we
needed, we had it all…
________________________

All of our stories were told; when the
white people came they called it
“History”; we call it “Sm̓im̓iʔ” (our news).
Everything they wrote is not right.
That is why now we are working, making
a book. The words of the Indian people are
written in it; the Indian people’s thoughts.
________________________

This is how the people will learn about
our land, by reading this book.
They will learn the real history from a
long time ago to the present.
The people will learn that the books that
were written by others were lies; what
they wrote was not the truth. Now, in
our book, everything that is taught is
straight.
________________________

The book would be even thicker if
everything was written in it.
Then if my fellow elders
older than fifty years old,
sixty years old,
seventy years old, if they
would tell what they remember about the
land, it would all be really nice, and it
would be the true stories about that.
________________________

That is why we are teaching our
language—because our language has
strength. It is strong and it has value. We
do not say many words, but much is said.
We do not say many words and already
what we want to say is known.
________________________

That is why our language has
strength. That is why at the present time
we are teaching our children to take back
our language…
________________________

That is why now we say, “I hope
somehow all our fellow tribesmen will turn
around and take back our ways. It will be
put back in the middle. We would become
strong again. We would be able to make
our living again. Nothing would bother us
if only we could take back all of our
ways.”
________________________

Now this that I am telling about, this
news, a while ago I said “History”, it is
not right. I was already in school when I
looked at the writing of the white people,
it was wrong. Maybe it was dreams or
maybe someone’s thoughts that was
written. . . .
________________________

When our people spoke,
told the stories
that we knew of long ago, the stories
were right. If someone listens to these
stories, when someone looks at this
book; they will say, “That is the truth.”
That is why now we are doing our best to
write this book. It is our peoples history,
our stories that we are going to put in
writing. That will be first. Then the white
people will learn. “Yes, that is how it was.
That is right.”
________________________

The people of long ago were abused. It
is like they were being pushed around.
Then they would write history and it
would turn out wrong. At the present
time we will straighten it out. I hope, I
hope the stories will all get straightened
out, so that everyone will know that the
white people’s writing is wrong. They are
going in the wrong direction.
The people still know the stories.
________________________

Myself, when I was growing up I listened
to the story telling. What was told to me
I will give to my children. All of it to
my daughters’ children, my sons’ children,
my great-grandchildren. I will give it all
to them so they may learn all of our
ways, our medicines…
________________________

We are straightening the history, the
people’s history from a long time ago to
the present. I hope that all of our elders
of our people would tell their history and
how it was, the real truth. At the present
time, we are doing our best with this
book, so that everyone will learn what is
right, the truth. Not the white people’s
history…
________________________

So today, thank you that I have
something to say. I hope, hope that my
fellow tribesmen will listen to what I
have said. When we went to sweat I
have prayed that if my road is good, my
sweats were good and my prayers and
ways were good, it will go-o-o and
someday I will look around and see —
hayo! The people are lined up, doing the
good things of this earth. We hope it will
go in a real good way. That is my prayer.
________________________

I hope that it will be that way.
I hope all my fellow tribesmen will turn
back to our ways.