Part 8 – Visitors to the Potawatomi Reservation

Don Bartlette: All lessons in life are not bad—but close to it at times

Don Bartlette, an unassuming man from Canton, Ohio, and a Chippewa tribal member from North Dakota, talked to a small group of forty Potawatomis recently about his painful life and how he overcame extreme odds to become a success in life.

His expression easily betrayed the uncountable hours he has spent looking back at that period. Bartlette grew up in an alcoholic home. In addition to that, a facial deformity increased his hardship. He lacked a lower lip, part of a nose, and had a hole in the top of his mouth.

His father, a proud man, didn’t want a handicapped son; he refused to hold him, look at him, and could not find it in his heart to give him any love. Bartlette said his father ran into a world of alcoholism and came close to never returning.

On the other hand, his mother was a polar opposite of her husband. She held onto him and gave him unconditional love. Bartlette would need all the help he could obtain in the coming years. People in the surrounding area did not value handicapped children. The local doctor urged his parents to give him up. He further stated they did not want Bartlette in their town. His mother refused these suggestions because she valued life. Local townspeople came, took him away from his parents, and sent him to a hospital, but a doctor with some compassion sent him home to his parents.

For the next nine years, Bartlette was not allowed into the community. His parents raised him in a one room cabin far from the eyes of the white community. His problems compounded when he acquired rheumatic fever and a hole in his heart. Since he was unable to get the right medicine, Bartlette became more handicapped. Additionally, he grew aware of a constant pain in his stomach—a pain caused by hunger and malnutrition. The young Bartlette went to the outskirts of town where the dump was located and ate what food he could salvage. At the same place he found clothing, newspapers and comic books. As he pointed at the writing of the newspapers and comics, his mother knew he wanted to learn and realized he was not retarded.

She took him to a local parochial school but was refused admission because he was an Indian. The only recourse then was to leave him at the local public school. The school children there were cruel. They called him a filthy Indian, and one spit in his face and said, “You don’t belong in our school; you are an Indian.” One teacher said she would not have an Indian in her room and locked him in a closet. Other teachers refused to deal with him, calling him mentally retarded. His classmates took him to the nearby hills one day and tied him to a tree. They took turns hitting him, until the blood came down his shirt. No one came to look for him. Late that night, a hermit came by and untied him then Bartlette ran home.

His father, drunk again, became angry over the bloody school shirt, threw him down, kicked and hit him with an anger that Bartlette couldn’t understand. Who could under those circumstances? His mother tried to protect him, but she was tossed through a window for her futile attempt at protection. Scared and bloody, Bartlette ran into the night and ended up in the local white community where he broke into stores and the school. The principal found him the next day, underneath a desk clutching a book. Despite everything, he wanted to be in school and to learn.

For the break-ins, Bartlette was thrown into the local jail where a new education would begin on how the world really is. The local cops, who hated Indians, were overheard by Bartlette saying, “He’s nothing but an Indian, and no one will ever know.” Soon after, the two police entered his cell and sexually molested him. This, too, became part of his troubled childhood. At that moment, Bartlette said he hated his Native American heritage, hated his father, and hated white people. The next day, his father took him home from the jail where he gave him another beating in his drunken state. Bartlette made a vow during the beating to kill his father. He came close to doing that very thing after his father passed out, but his mother stopped him because she valued life.

Life changed for Bartlette after a white woman decided to help him and his mother. The woman gave Bartlette an opportunity to learn. She put her hand on him without hurting him, something Bartlette had little experience with in his first 12 years, and said, “I think you can learn. I will help you.” The woman taught him simple things in life like turning on a water faucet, to wash a car, and helped him to learn the value of an education. She encouraged him to believe in himself. She let Bartlette eat at her table where he would swallow food to quiet the ache in his stomach. He never wanted to be hungry again. The woman valued Indian people.

The white woman taught him to hold a fork, to chew food right and above all else, to move his tongue to make sounds. She worked with Bartlette to talk and encouraged him, empowered him, challenged him, and motivated him to learn. She told him to go home. His mother had macaroni at midnight ready for him, and he picked up his fork and ate. Later, he made sounds. His father started to believe in him, and his mother said to the white woman, “help him learn more.” So the white woman took him to Minnesota where Bartlette had reconstructive surgery, received new teeth and had a plate placed in the roof of his mouth. Over the next six years, he learned to speak in the manner he speaks today. Life changed slowly for Bartlette. His father went back to work. His mother got involved in the community, and Bartlette became a leader in the school, ending up as valedictorian of his class. The white woman would subsequently pay for his higher education and lend added encouragement along the way. She touched him. For the next 23 years, Bartlette worked for minority students at risk to repay that woman in a small way.

It was not easy to forget those early days though. For a time, Bartlette tried to hide his disability and his Indian descent. He used alcohol to bury the pain inside, but soon came to terms with the past when he discovered religion. The healing process began then, in earnest, for Bartlette.

Bartlette said, “You are never alone when God is with you.” He thanked God for his education, for changing his father, for his strong mother, for changing his head and most of all, for the white woman who changed his life. Today, Bartlette takes his message across the country to adult and children’s groups “to share his journey.” For this Potawatomi group who came out on a Saturday morning in November, it was well worth the time to listen.

Billy Mills visits rez

Over 300 members of the Potawatomi community gathered on tax day, April 15, to hear Billy Mills deliver a presentation on his life, athletic accomplishments and some hurdles along the way. His message of never quitting on life or sports produced a positive reaction among the crowd.

Mills had an emotional, absorbing story to tell. First some history must be told. Mills is the man responsible for one of the greatest Olympic upsets ever. In the 1964 Games, Mills won the 10,000 meter gold medal in an Olympic record time of 28:24:4. This was 46 seconds faster than his previous best.

During this presentation, Mills played a one minute taped broadcast and a film-clip of this magical moment. Mills had been able to keep with the favorite and world record holder, Ron Clarke. Toward the end of the race, Clarke seemed to be in excellent position since neither Mills nor Tunisian Mohamed Gammoudi, running with Clarke, had ever broken 29 minutes; at the pace they were all running, Mills and Gammoudi were likely to fade at any moment.

Some jostling and shoving at one point broke up the lead pack and Mills dropped back seemingly out of contention. While Clarke and Gammoudi dueled out in front, Mills made a spectacular, unexpected surge on the homestretch and nipped Gammoudi by three yards and Clarke by another second still. In that one glorious moment in front of 85,000 screaming spectators, history was made, and the name Billy Mills became famous world-wide. The next year, to prove he wasn’t a one-race runner, Mills broke Clarke’s world record for the 10,000 meters.

Since the Olympics, Mills has become a successful businessman and is in great demand as a speaker. In addition, he has received three honorary doctorates and is the recipient of the Distinguished Services Citation Award, the highest honor that the University of Kansas and Alumni Association can bestow upon an individual to acknowledge achievement for the betterment of mankind.

In this presentation, Mills retraced his humble beginnings on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota where he witnessed all the symptoms of Indian childhood—racism, low self-esteem, teenage pregnancy, suicide, alcoholism and extremely high drop-out rates in the school system, and sometimes those demons do not go away for some. Throughout the presentation, Mills interlaced examples of how he overcame those childhood obstacles. During the big race, he could have quit when he was thrown off stride, but Mills continued on and eventually won with dignity, character and pride.

Mills talked about how Indian people must constantly deal with outside perceptions and overcome obstacles. For instance, at Kansas University he was not allowed to join a fraternity because of his race. The fraternity brothers had the perception that Mills was unable to contribute anything to their organization. When one of his parents died during this timeframe, his family was denied a $500.00 loan from the local bank for burial expenses. The perception was that Indians could not repay a loan, and the dead person was inconsequential. Mills stressed that a perception is not right or wrong, but Indian people still need to deal with it.

He advocated for Indian people to use positive desires, in whatever field they go into, which translates into success, self-motivation, and victory. “Without positive desires,” Mills said, “Indian youth of today are susceptible to pressures to join gangs.” For example, he cited an area in East L.A. that has 615 Indian-related gangs. Mills called them “lost souls.”

As an alternative, Mills challenged the group to conduct themselves like warriors of old. He maintained that the concept revolved around self-responsibility, the power of humility, to give respect over oneself, and live life centering on spirituality. Mills stressed that we need to return to the values of the warrior in order to succeed in life.

Additionally, Mills said everyone should have a goal such as the “I have a dream” concept of Martin Luther King. Mills said the youth and their leaders should have such a dream. As for him, Crazy Horse was his idol, and he admired the efforts of activists who want to stop the Crazy Horse Malt Liquor beer from doing further business under that name. Mills said other ethnic races would not appreciate seeing their heroes used in this fashion.

Mills admired Charlene Teters, a Spokane Indian, who demonstrated against the Indian mascot at the University of Illinois. Mills said her message was that mascots do not honor the Indian people and is a form of institutional racism. During the question and answer portion of the presentation, a woman asked how he feels about Indians owning casinos.

“It is one of the few opportunities,” said Mills in response, “for entrepreneurship.” “Casinos are another perception Indians have to deal with. Some call it bad. Indian gaming can fulfill a dream for Indian tribes,” said Mills, “and can turn into an economic empowerment program.”

In conclusion, Mills said gaming money can do two other things for tribes. They can push for a constitutional amendment that allows for Indian representation in Congress, and it is also essential for tribes to contact the President about appointing an Indian judge to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court. “Only then can we say we have equal opportunity,” said Mills.

Mills left the Potawatomi Reservation shortly after, but not before making a lasting impact on the people present with his overall message.

Floyd Westerman

After seeing the signs on Highway 75 that denotes the Potawatomi Reservation, Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman decided to stop and visit the Potawatomi present at the Government Center.

Westerman, 63, a nationally known Indian activist, singer, actor, and producer-director, was on his way to a high school commencement in North Dakota. He is actively involved in promoting documentaries on Indian history.

A tape shown by Westerman showed the consequences of early day biological warfare. This is where white soldiers would give Indians blankets during peace negotiations. The catch was that the blankets were often infested with diseases such as small-pox. In most historical accounts this had more negative results to Indians then any shooting war.

The title of the film is called “The Immaculate Deception,” but don’t plan to find it on the best-selling list or film credits. The film described the systematic taking of the Indian lands.

These days Westerman is more into producing and writing stories than in acting. Of course, he is known nationally for appearing in the film “Dances with Wolves.”

His presence was known long before this film, a film that pioneered a better picture of early day Indian people and promoted actual Indians in films, because Westerman had a promising singing career and was a long time Indian activist. In fact, he asserts that it was the American Indian Movement in the 1970s that brought sovereignty to national attention.

Today, Westerman is still promoting those same concepts through the film medium. “It’s time for the Holocaust story to be told—to give the Indian point of view.” The message he has told for the last 30 years—biological warfare, the crippling effect of Christianity and how reservations are no more than concentration camps— is not accepted by white Americans, but yet still has to be told.

There is denial on some reservations about his message, a denial that includes not rocking the boat. Westerman says some have lost their names, identity, and language and have blended in well with the dominant culture; so acculturation did work in some locales.

Oren Lyons

World-renowned speaker on tribal ways and culture, Oren Lyons, was in Lawrence, Kansas, and shared his views with the people assembled there. He talked of the need to be respectful to the earth and each other because that is where our inner peace comes from.

Lyons warned, “Our traditional leaders and people are thinning out. They can hold nations together. It used to be the traditional people who were in charge of the lands, not anymore. Now it is important for Indian people to defend their borders, politically, geographically and economically. This is important since the spigot in Washington, D.C., can be turned off at any time.”

His message centered on the need for discipline and respect for all our resources. “It’s up to you.” Lyons also related how Indian tribes are in hard times because of casinos. Tribes are taking chances for money. In his tribes’ oral stories dating back to 1799, the following things are said to destroy a nation: 1) strong drink; 2) the Bible; 3) the fiddle (because you will dance to some one else’s tune); and 4) a deck of cards. His tribe took this warning to heart and maintained their traditions and kept away from gambling.

“We have to assess ourselves. Look at our territories and land. Think about our treaties. Treaties are so strong. They are powerful instruments of the law. It is easier to change the treaties than the people. All of our histories have been terrible.” Lyons commented during the session.

And despite this history, Indian people have to maintain their integrity and maintain traditions. “We have to remind ourselves how important this is,” said Lyons.

All of his past teachers said the same thing, “Try hard, do what’s right.”

Howard Ranier

Howard Ranier has given presentations for 25 years and finds his greatest challenge is that some people listen, but many are not willing to change.

In a nutshell, Ranier said it is time for Indian people to be heard and seen—in high-school, in college and in non-Indian communities. In his words: “Show them how good you are.”

In his travels across Indian country, Ranier said the biggest problem on reservations is getting people to believe in themselves, in God and their potential. “If we would allow people to let past mistakes go,” Ranier offered, “we could get on with life. It’s time to start.”

With this as background, Ranier delivered a memorable presentation to a large group of Potawatomi tribal members, local school staff and other interested individuals. He asked in his opening remarks: “What is the future of Potawatomi children? Answering his own question he said:

“The early years are marked by eagerness. Children are eager to learn. ‘Choose me, choose me.’ Optimism will get them through middle school and then in high school, a different attitude starts: ‘I dare you to teach me.’”

Some students don’t like to study; some think teachers are boring making them learn what they don’t want to. At home, children are saturated with television and find teachers aren’t entertainers like they’ve become accustomed to. Others feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders when they go into the higher grades, according to Ranier. They quit trying, lose hope and want out. Subsequently, there are two types of people—happy and unhappy people. “It’s hard to tell a kid to be happy when a parent or teacher isn’t happy,” said Ranier. They may feel life is hard; there is one traumatic thing after the other, and some don’t like their jobs or worse yet, don’t like themselves and have nothing to look forward to.

Ranier said everyone isn’t like this type though. Others are optimistic. The flame won’t burn out. They feel like they are loved and doing something. Ranier said these are proactive people and aren’t waiting for a train to hit them. In fact, they choose to be happy, and these are the type of people needed in Indian communities, if there is to be a better future.

Ranier said three things must change: 1) mind set. How do you change that? Plant hope and give children more attention. Kids respond to more attention. If other kids are giving them that attention—maybe bad will go with that. 2) Choices. By giving children choices, they feel free. There is opportunity for choices. 3) PSD, Positive self-discovery. “I feel worthy.”

In life and in the classroom, there are doubters, skeptics, complainers/whiners; so there is a lot of negativity to work with. This won’t work. Ranier asserts that children need a vision—something to open their eyes. Show them something good is going to happen. They will soon see “they are good.”

Adults have to show kids how creative they are and to give them direction. There isn’t somebody around the corner that will wave a magic wand on them. What’s happening today is we have children with destroyed spirits, Ranier observed. They are volcanoes ready to erupt. Where, he questioned, did they get the lava? Everyday experiences and that lava are getting hotter everyday. Home is where the spirit or will starts to develop. Peers affect each other, which is a great impact on spirit. Kids all know the four letter words, but there are others, too—words such as care and love. Part of love is time, which equals power. If kids don’t get attention at home, they will find it elsewhere.

Kids are afraid to raise their hands because they are afraid to be made fun of if they make a mistake or say the wrong thing, which is another reason kids have unfulfilled dreams. As an alternative, Ranier urged the group to get closer to God. The further you are away or closer to him can affect the spirit. Your prayers will count in the future.

“When we lose prayer in our home, our schools and our gatherings, we are dead,” said Ranier. Children will be stronger if they listen to this advice.

Also, the past is the past. You can’t do anything about it. All it does is harbor resentments and is wasted energy. He advises to let it go. That is only way to be free. Since young people have experienced enough lows, it is time for parents to give them more time, love and attention. Be concerned, advises Ranier. By revealing our feelings to each other, relationships are built, allowing for healing and making it possible for a transformation to take place.

His advice for all Indian communities is to have hope. Hope is the way. When you have hope, you have power. “We have to control ourselves. Pains, addictions and anger can control you. If not, someone or something will control you.”

“Don’t act like an Indian—be an Indian. Quit whining and go after your dreams. Leave a legacy. People will remember you or forget you. That is up to you.” said Ranier.

“It nice to keep these good feelings, but tomorrow you must face yourself, meet pain head-on and doubters head-on. Just go around them, or they will stop you and don’t spend time trying to convince them.” Ranier concluded. “It’s more important to help each other along the way.

After all, there are enough people sitting around not doing anything.”

David Lester — visionary, storyteller

Every once in awhile someone can take the art of public speaking to another level. A case in point is A. David Lester. Lester can hold a large group of people spellbound with his ability to articulate his vision about Indian life, history, politics and interlace those with stories, quotes and jokes to cement his message.

Lester is the Executive Director of the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT), based in Denver, Colorado, and a member of the Muskogee Creek Tribe in Oklahoma. CERT’s mission is to support tribes as they develop their management capabilities and use their energy resources as the foundation for building stable, balanced, self-governed economies.

“Everything I know is something I learned from others, and there is not an original idea in me,” said Lester. But, this downplaying of his abilities was part of his delivery. Lester fit the description of a true story-teller. For example, consider some of his message. Lester reminded his audience that it is the songs, traditions and the language of tribes that will keep tribes alive. “Most of all,” he says, “it is important for us to make sure the next generation carries the values we learned from our grandparents.”

“It is a given,” maintains Lester, “that tribes have gone through much suffering, and pain, but it was only part of the process. It is now a time of the rebirth for Indian tribes.” Although tribal leaders are making informed decisions, Lester wonders if they are always wise decisions. He said it’s important for tribal leaders to move out of their comfort zones, having an open heart and mind, and move toward a level of wisdom.

Lester is of the opinion that Indian people process things different than the white man. They look for insight and perception and how everything interrelates. Indians seek understanding then wisdom. He asks, “What are the questions we need to ask at home before we start looking for the answers?” Only then, Lester implies, can that level of wisdom be reached.

In his writings, Lester quoted Will Rogers “ignorance is not a problem in America; the problem is people knowing things that aren’t true.”

With that said, he examined some history and some misconceptions about Indian people. He said there is a popular train of thought that poverty is a direct result of trying to keep an Indian culture. “Not even close.” according to Lester, “Much of this is a result of a purposeful policy on the part of the United States government. It was always a goal to prevent tribes from competing economically with the mainstream. Those misconceptions should be replaced by factual reality.”

“If it is our goal to have a diversified economy,” said Lester. “We have to pay attention to federal policy. The system of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was designed to be an unstable system and had so many years of mismanagement.” Lester maintained this reliance on the BIA only doomed tribes to failure. It is only through an accident of history called casino gambling that this trend has been reversed for some tribes.

Another misconception is the question of why unemployment rates have remained the same since the 35-40% of the 1960s on Indian reservations. Lester said people seem to overlook the fact that Indian tribes’ populations have doubled since those days. There are more Indians working now and more Indians kids in school than ever before. Tribal councils in general are more dedicated to development.

“Some people view Indians as ‘welfare queens,’” said Lester. “A lot of what people think they know about us is not true.” The existing data suggest a dynamic growth on reservations, not seen elsewhere. Lester points out the term “economic leakage,” meaning all the money is going off the reservation. This figure is estimated at 85-90%. This is a value added to the outside reservation economy.

Lester provided an example of how the Navajo supplies energy to many states, but lack electricity on many parts of its own reservation. “Who made those decisions?” he asks.

As a political scientist, Lester advanced his definition of sovereignty: “Unlimited power to impose will on others and territory that extends to where it is stopped by another sovereign.” Lester points out how the mind-set of a state and county differ from a tribe’s approach to economic development. The tribal view is a right to be who they are and a right to exist and not having to conform to some external definition.

The state-county economic development notion is to create an atmosphere to attract more business, but Indian tribes don’t approach it as the same mechanical process of their neighbor. Tribes approach economic development as a way to benefit human development on the reservation, an investment in people.

“It is more important to build a cultural and spiritual foundation on the reservation, but not on the back of others,” said Lester. “It is more important,” as Lester wrote in the CERT publication Red Earth, “to work toward a win-win situation on reservations, which promotes stability. A win-lose situation, on the other hand, promotes instability.

When our people work for the future, we work for the spiritual and material prosperity of all peoples. There cannot be spiritual prosperity without social and economic justice.”

In closing, Lester told a story: A man died and went to the pearly gates where he met St. Peter. In reviewing his life, St. Peter said the man could go either way—heaven or hell, and he would leave it up to him. The guy asked to view the options, so St. Peter took him on the grand tour. In the area known as hell, all the people were sitting in a grand ballroom sitting at a large table with a big bowl of soup and a huge long handled spoon that they couldn’t put into their mouths, so it spilled all over themselves and the table. They were in a state of misery and hungry on top of that. On the last part of the grand tour, St. Peter took him the place known as heaven. It was the same scenario with all the people sitting around a large table with the same big bowl of soup and the same huge long handled spoon, but the difference there and the place known as hell was the people there were feeding and helping each other, thus they were happy.

Lester said the “new money” on reservations is the medium that allows an opportunity to do exactly that—to help each other.