MINNESOTA'S GREATEST GENERATION ORAL HISTORY PROJECT: NATIVE AMERICAN INTERVIEWS

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota's Greatest Generation Oral History Project. Oral history interviews of the Minnesota's Greatest Generation Oral History Project: Native American interviews. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: AV2008.31

Processing Information:

Processed by: Jennifer Huebscher, September 2009.

Catalog ID number: 006955809

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: William N. Amyotte was born in 1922 in Colvill, Minnesota. He attended school in Grand Marais and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] before graduating. After leaving the CCC, Amyotte enlisted in the Army and completed basic training at Fort Snelling. He was sent Alaska where he spent the war years. After the war he married, worked for General Mills, and raised a family.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include attending school in Grand Marais; life in a CCC camp; enlisting in the army; basic training at Fort Snelling and working in the mess hall; being stationed in Alaska; injuring his hand and spending time in an army hospital; working at a military defense plant; hearing about the dropping of the atomic bomb; using the GI Bill to attend cooking school; getting married and starting his career at General Mills; becoming involved in flour mill unions on a national level; his platform as union president; overall reflections on his service.

Interviewed by: Karissa White and Brian Horrigan.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Rachel Barrett was born in 1922 in Red Lake, Minnesota. She attended government school, Flandreau High School, and Red Lake High School. After high school she worked in a fishery, eventually being selected to teach homemaking, gardening, and canning through the University of Minnesota. She was married after high school and raised a family.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include being raised by her grandmother; canning, hunting, and gardening as a child; finishing high school in Red Lake after attending government school and Flandreau; entertainment: marbles, games, powwows, tribal competitions; being exposed to the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration; working at a fishery: filleting, smoking, selling; working for the University of Minnesota; teaching homemaking, gardening, and canning; getting married and raising her children.

Interviewed by: Karissa White.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Jim Clark was born in 1918 and grew up in the Pine County. He worked in the CCCID [Civilian Conservation Corps Indian Division] for three years. He served in the U.S. Army as a medic during World War II. After the war Clark returned home to Aazhoomog in 1946. He found work at a hospital in Minneapolis in 1953 and continued to work in hospitals in the Twin Cities area for the next thirty years. In 1970 he began teaching the Ojibwe language at evening classes. He retired from hospital work in 1983 and soon afterwards began working in the Minneapolis Public Schools where he taught Ojibwe for eight years. In the early 1990s Clark returned to the Mille Lacs area where he stayed active in the Ojibwe community and wrote a memoir in both English and Ojibwe, Naawigiizis, Memories of Center of the Moon, which was published in 2002.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include growing up in Aazhoomog; ricing and sugar camps and other traditional activities; life during the Depression; boarding school experiences; speaking Ojibwe more than English while growing up; boarding school experiences at Hayward and Wahpeton; CCC experiences; mail censorship during WWII; technological changes since WWII; working in hospitals; marriage and children; teaching the Ojibwe language; writing down stories and how he got to know Louise Erdrich, who wrote his book’s introduction; preserving Ojibwe language and culture.

Interviewed by: Karissa White.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Vernon D. Clark was born in 1932. After enlisting in the military and completing basic training, he was sent to Fairbanks, Alaska. He spent most of the Korean War in Fairbanks and after completing his service returned home to Minnesota and began working at a mill. He then found work at a hospital where he was promoted to head of maintenance. Clark lived on the Red Lake Indian Reservation at the time of this interview.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include growing up in the Episcopalian faith; attending Health Camp; hunting for food; attending Indian celebrations in different towns; getting sick with pneumonia and pleurisy; being stationed in Fairbanks after enlisting; basic training; working at the mill; involvement with the community; working at the hospital; the current situation on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Interviewed by: Karissa White.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: James W. Drouillard, Sr. was born in 1926 in Duluth, Minnesota. He was raised in Hovland, Minnesota and attended high school in Grand Marais. After high school he went to trade school in Duluth before enlisting in the Navy. After naval training, Drouillard completed machinist training and was a member of a Landing Ship, Tank (LST). He saw action in Borneo, Manila, and around the Philippines. He was married while stationed in Alaska and drove a Greyhound bus for many years before retiring.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include life during the Great Depression; having his father pass away at a young age; high school in Grand Marais; trade school in Duluth; shipbuilding in Duluth; entertainment: hunting, fishing, movies; enlisting in the Navy; Naval and machinist training; experiences on a LST; fighting in the Philippines; getting married while stationed in Alaska; moving to Phoenix, Arizona and working for Greyhound; visiting the World War II memorial in Washington D.C.; reactions to current wars.

Interviewed by: Karissa White.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Bert Good was born in 1920. He attended the Red Lake boarding school before being drafted in 1942. He went through tank and gunner training before entering the European Theater in France, Holland, and Germany. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge and was eventually discharged. He returned home where he spent time working as a trapper near his hometown. He also married after his time in the service.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include attending Red Lake boarding school; running away from school twice; powwows; life during the Great Depression; being exposed to the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC]; being drafted; going through tank and gunner training; interactions with General Patton; fighting the Germans in France and Holland; occupying areas of Germany including Berlin; the Battle of the Bulge; being discharged and returning home; working as a trapper; being mistreated by the government concerning a military pension; getting married and life after his military service.

Interviewed by: Karissa White.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Bill Light was born in 1925 in Big Rice Lake, Minnesota. After high school he joined the Air Force, completing gunners training in Texas before being stationed in Europe. He completed 25 flying missions during World War II. Upon returning home he reenlisted and was sent to Europe during the Korean War. After his military service, Light was married and had one child before being divorced. He has worked as a conservation officer for the Tribal DNR and as a janitor.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include attending grade school in Tower, Minnesota: attending Flandreau; being raised by his grandmother; enlisting in the Air Force; fighting in England; receiving medals (Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross); learning how to fly planes before the Korean War; exposure to Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] camps and the Works Progress Administration [WPA] as a child; getting married, having a child, getting divorced; working for the Tribal DNR; working as a janitor.

Interviewed by: Karissa White and Brian Horrigan.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Roberta McKenzie was born in 1928 in Red Lake, Minnesota. During high school she attended school in both Oklahoma (9th and 11th grade) and Minnesota (10th and 12th grade). McKenzie then worked for Greyhound and a meat packing plant in Sioux City, Iowa. She attended business school in Bemidji and went to work for the University of Minnesota Department of Medical Laboratories upon graduating. She recently finished her schooling at the Tribal College in Red Lake.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include living with her aunt and uncle while going to school in Oklahoma; going to school in Minnesota; gardening and canning while growing up; attending powwows and Indian celebrations; rationing and food stamps; her brother enlisting in the army; giving birth to a daughter; working at a meat packing plant in Sioux City; attending business school while working in Bemidji; raising her children; working for Greyhound and the University of Minnesota; exposure to the discrimination of Indians in Bemidji; attending Tribal College in Red Lake; attending sporting events where Red Lake High School was a participant.

Interviewed by: Karissa White.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Ernest Olson was born in 1927 in Duluth, Minnesota. He attended high school in Grand Marais, Minnesota and eventually went on to study at Utah State Agricultural College. He enlisted when the war was ending and participated in the American occupation of Germany. Upon returning home, Olson worked as a fisherman, electronics repairman, and construction contractor.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include growing up during the Great Depression; being exposed to the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] and Works Progress Administration [WPA]; attending Utah State Agricultural College; basic training in Texas; the dropping of the atomic bombs; occupying Berlin and southern Germany; working on a fishing boat; getting married and having children; working as an electronics repairman; advances in technology: color television; working for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe as a construction contractor; working for the Radisson Inn in Grand Portage.

Interviewed by: Karissa White and Brian Horrigan.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Michael Pindagayosh was born in 1921. After attending school he was married and had six children. He worked for the Lakeland Door Company in Minneapolis before moving back to the Indian Reservation where he grew up.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include going to powwows when he was younger; how powwows have changed in modern times; getting married at a young age; hunting and gardening; working for the Lakeland Door Company; life in Minneapolis; moving back to the reservation; his deteriorating health; being labeled as a “deserter”; maintaining Indian traditions.

Interviewed by: Karissa White.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Ruth Ann Boshey Strong was born in 1925 in Burntside Lake, Minnesota. Her early schooling was done in Ely, Minnesota and Pipestone, Minnesota. She eventually moved to Nett Lake where she met her husband. She worked for Burntside Lodge and raised a family.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include childhood memories: going swimming, gathering food, ricing; taking care of her grandmother; school experiences in Ely and Pipestone; moving to Nett Lake and meeting her husband; her husband’s military service in World War II; going to powwows; her strained relationship with her husband; raising her children; adopting her nephew and his son; growing up during the Great Depression; the Works Progress Administration [WPA] and the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC]; food shortages; modernization of the reservation.

Interviewed by: Karissa White and Brian Horrigan.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: B.L. Tibbetts, Sr. was born in 1923 in Ball Club, Minnesota. He began high school in Deer River but dropped out to join the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC]. In 1942 he enlisted in the Navy and traveled to North Africa, as well as the Philippines. Upon returning home he married and started a family while working on the Iron Range.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include fishing for food; attending high school in Deer River; life in a CCC labor camp; enlisting in the Navy; experiences during gunner training; participating in the Battle of Midway; taking leave in Sydney, Australia; hearing about the atomic bomb explosions; returning home from China; getting married and starting a family; working on the Iron Range; reflections on war experiences.

Interviewed by: Karissa White.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Ernest Wabasha was born in 1929 in Santee, Nebraska. He attended Marty Mission School in South Dakota for eleven years. In 1948 he enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Europe during the Korean War. After his service, Wabasha married Vernell and graduated from DeVries Technical Institute. After moving around the United States, the couple returned to the reservation in Lower Sioux.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include growing up in tents; canning and gardening; having a house built through the Works Progress Administration [WPA]; attending a Catholic boarding school; food stamps and rationing; attending Catholic church services and holding a job while in school; enlisting in the Navy after World War II; being stationed in Europe during the Korean War; employment situation after military service; graduating from DeVries Technical Institute; moving back to the reservation to take care of family affairs; helping develop Indian programs in school systems; being exposed to the American Indian Movement [AIM].

Interviewed by: Karissa White and Ben Petry.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: Maude Williams was born in 1917 on an Indian reservation in Lower Sioux, Minnesota. She attended Indian school in South Dakota and eventually went to work at a hospital. During the war she spent time working for 3M and Armour and Company, aiding with the war effort. Williams married after the war and adopted a daughter. She, along with her family, moved back to Lower Sioux after spending several years in different locations around the country.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include growing up on an Indian reservation; family relations; attending Indian school in South Dakota; working at a hospital as a nurse; rationing; dealing with friends going off to war; helping with the war effort by working for 3M and Armour and Company; moving to San Francisco and getting married; moving to Chicago; adopting a daughter; moving to Arkansas and back to Lower Sioux; experiencing civil rights demonstrations and Vietnam War protests; the effects of the Works Progress Administration [WPA] and the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC].

Interviewed by: Karissa White and Ben Petry.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information: James Wipson was born in 1918 in Chippewa City, Minnesota. He worked for both the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] and the Works Progress Administration [WPA] before entering the South Pacific Theatre of World War II. He participated in the battle of New Guinea and Mathin Bay Hill before being discharged. Upon returning home, Wipson married and raised a family, and he worked for Chrysler and at a shipyard.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include being raised by his grandmother; growing up during the Great Depression; working at a CCC camp; working for the WPA; living in Milwaukee; jungle training near Pearl Harbor; the battle of New Guinea and Mathin Bay Hill; banzai attacks; returning home and finding work; getting married and starting a family; working for Chrysler; moving to California and working at a shipyard; technological advances through the decades; the dropping of the atomic bombs; emergence of the Cold War; the Iraq War.

Interviewed by: Karissa White and Brian Horrigan in 2006. Interviewer in 1999 is unidentified.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Depressions -- 1929 -- Minnesota.

Families -- Minnesota -- Social conditions -- 20th century.

Indian reservations -- Minnesota.

Indians -- Social life and customs.

Military training camps -- United States.

Ojibwa Indians -- Minnesota.

Powwows -- Minnesota.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Indians.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Indian.

Persons:

Amyotte, William N., interviewee.

Barrett, Rachel, interviewee.

Clark, James, 1918- interviewee.

Clark, Vernon D., interviewee.

Drouillard, James W., Sr., interviewee.

Good, Bert, O., interviewee.

Horrigan, Brian, interviewer.

Light, William F., interviewee.

McKenzie, Roberta, interviewee.

Olson, Ernest S., interviewee.

Petry, Ben, interviewer.

Pindegayosh, Michael, interviewee.

Strong, Ruth Ann, interviewee.

Tibbetts, B. L. (Burnham Lyle), Sr., interviewee.

Wabasha, Ernest, interviewee.

Wabasha, Vernell, interviewee.

White, Karissa E., interviewer.

Williams, Maude M., interviewee.

Wipson, James L., interviewee.

Organizations:

American Indian Movement.

Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.). Indian Division.

Minnesota Works Progress Administration.

Places:

Red Lake Indian Reservation (Minn.)

Document Types:

Interviews.

Oral histories

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