My Biggest Regret:

Not purchasing the cradle board I had asked Sophie Allison to make for me.  Sophie and Irene were Native American women on the Duckwater Shoshone Reservation.  They were also faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I wasn't sure I had actually asked her to make one for me.  However I later got word that she had.  Sheri and I had moved to Roosevelt and I always hoped to get ahead enough to afford it; but we never did.  It wasn't until we had lived in California for a time that we finally started to catch up and have some breathing room financially.  I always had a sense that I had let her down.  I could have gotten it for $150 then.  They are worth much more than that now.  

Book Review: Jack Malotte

Jack Malotte by David B Walker, CEO, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada, 2019. 

I was exploring something and came across something that said the artist Jack Malotte is from Duckwater, Nevada.  After that I just had to see some of his work.  Sheri and I lived in Duckwater from 1983-1985.  Duckwater is a very small community with less than 200 residents.  The Art of Jack Malotte was on display at the Nevada Museum of Art from June 6-October 20 2019.  The museum put together a book of the display which included many works.  The book also includes a biography of Jack Malotte, and a chronology.  Common themes for Malotte are, a Native American man, whirlwinds, and activism.  He often has pictures of mountains, with feathers, birds, or jets flying above.  

He was active with the Dann sisters, Mary and Carrie.  They struggled the the BLM claiming that according to treaty the land still belonged to the Western Shoshone.  However the BLM claimed jurisdiction over the land and wanted to charge grazing fees.  The courts have granted millions of dollars for the land, which the Shoshone have not taken saying the land is not for sale.  It is gathering interest someplace.  The Dann sisters have since passed away but Malotte lent his supoort with artwork for their organization.

Other activist movements have included stop MX, stop nuclear testing on Shoshone land and protection of the environment.

In his history Malotte has lived many places, and his art.  There are many pictures of desert and mountain, in Nevada and Arizona.  One special painting I like is of Big Spring in Duckwater.  Many of the paintings remind my of the desert and mountains where I live now in Kingman.  

He formed a relationship with Virginia Sanchez of Duckwater which motivated him to move there in 1999.  I worked with Virginia Sanchez when I was in Duckwater.  During that time she and Kathy Graham Blackeye traveled to Europe to testify before the United Nations.  Virginia and Jack Malotte both have that activist spirit.

This art is incredible.  I would share it but I am sure it is copyrighted.  I did find a couple paintings on line, including the book cover and my favorite form the book.  This art is very intriguing and makes you think.  The book mentioned a mural at Duckwater school and I wanted to see this but couldn't find it

Duckwater: Working with BYU Native American Services

While I lived in Duckwater I had the chance to work with BYU Native American Services.  They help sponsor a tribal dinner for the holidays, which we used to fee the tribe for a funeral.  They also sponsored a dentist to come to the reservation and do dental work for free.  Dr. Max Blackham became our family dentist after we moved to Utah.  I received this letter from Dale Tingey after we relocated.

Film Discussion Group: Duckwater

I was heavily involved in prevention and educational work at Duckwater.  As part of this I started a movie series.  I would generally go to the library in Ely and get some movies.  I started a discussion group where I would show the movie the the hope of inspiring some conversation.  I wrote about this in the newsletter: Duckwater Positive. 
Film/Discussion Group Planned
Billy Wardle, social worker, is beginning a program using film and discussion.  He hopes to make this a monthly program.  It is hoped this will be a method for residents to talk about issues concerning them and also provide a method of intellectual growth. 
The first film will be presented Monday, April 16 (1984) at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the tribal auditorium.  The first film in this group deals with personal insecurities and fears and should lead to discussion. 
The groups will be about 45 minutes.  Refreshments will be served as part of each group session.

Duckwater Christmas Festival of Lights 1984

This is the program I kept from so many years ago.  Everyone had to take more than one part, because there weren't that many students in the school.

Virginia Sanchez from Duckwater Shoshone Tribal School

Sheri and I received a thank you note form Virginia Sanchez.  She and I worked hard to put together the Spring Festival many years ago.  She worked from the aspect of working with the youth through the school.  This included helping set up the Youth Hand Game tournament.  We enjoyed working together.  I know she later became more involved in working with the tribal counsel, but this was long after my two years in Duckwater. 

Artwork of Rodney Mike and Duckwater Christmas program 1983

Rodney Mike also painted a picture I won in raffle.  He is very talented.  I left the picture for the office I was vacating as always thought it was weird I ran the raffle and won the prize.  However I did display proudly in my office.  The raffle was to raise money for the first Duckwater Festival, which has now become an annual event.

8 Natural Swimming Spots With The Clearest, Most Pristine Water In Nevada

4. Big Water Spring – Railroad Valley

Flickr / Mary-Austin & Scott

The largest geothermal hot spring in Nevada, Big Water Spring offers beautifully clear water of about 91-93 degrees. The sacred waters of the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe are a designated critical habitat of Railroad Valley Spring Fish, but the spring remains open to the public for enjoyment. There’s a stairway with handrails leading into the spring, which is naturally heated by the earth. 

This is from a Nevada Tourist resource.  I spent many many days in this pool of water.  It was never cold.  It offered a steady flow of warm water from which a catfish farm enterprise developed.  However it provided many enjoyable hours.  I would help youth recreation activities in the summer, and making it to the pond was an almost daily experience during the summer.  

Duckwater Recognition Award

Duckwater May 30, 1985: In Duckwater the tribe had an annual recognition dinner to honor their employees and tribal members.  I remember the first year I was there at the awards ceremony hoping maybe one of the awards would come my way.  It didn't.
However my second year the tribe did present me with a certificate of appreciation.  Jerry Millett, the Tribal Chairman, present me with the award.  Ironically it came on the same day I resigned to take employment in Utah.
My journal notes, "The Tribe honored me with a certificate of appreciation the same day I announced my resignation.  They had planned it previously"
I felt the award was well earned.  I really feel I did my best in my employment in Duckwater.  At times it took thinking of creative ways of making use of myself--but for the most part I kept busy, and hopefully I had an influence of good.

Duckwater Personalities: Sophie Allison and Irene Mike

When I was in Duckwater, Sophie Allison and Irene Mike were already part of the Senior Center program.  However they were both still very active.  They were sisters.  They were some of the few who actually attended the Lund Ward on a regular basis.  And when we started a branch in Duckwater, they were very active.
One of the most impressive things about Sophie Allison was her weaving.  I feel, in her own right, she was keeping a vanishing tradition, with lots of history in Nevada, alive.  I visited her one afternoon while she was preparing willows for weaving.  She gathered the willows from along creeks.  The Currant Creek had a large patch of willows and this was a favorite spot for gathering.  She would keep the willows in water until she was ready for them.  She would take a willow form the water, and then hold it in her mouth.  With her fingers she would peel the bark away.  In this manner she prepared the willows for weaving.  Sophie was adept at making cradle boards.  They had a different design on the hood for boys and girls.

girl

boy

 She also made baskets.  Mostly she would make baskets to assist in the gathering of pine nuts.  I remember she would make cone shaped baskets for this.
This is a skill that was important to the original Shoshone.  I don't know who is carrying on this tradition now that Sophie is gone.

Sophie in the middle and Irene on the right

Many of the children from the reservation looked to these two women as Grandmother.

Duckwater: Digging a Sewer Leach Line

In doing social work, sometimes you do what is needed.  While I worked for the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, a tribal member's house burned, and a family was homeless.  I was on the phone to arrange with B.I.A. housing for a double wide trailer to be provided.  The tribe provided a property for the same, and would get water and electricity to the site. The septic tank would also be provided by the B.I.A.  However they would not provide the labor for placing the septic tank nor the leach line. That is one of those extra duties as assigned.  Someone from the B.I.A. directed the project, and I and tribal employees provided the labor.   We spent a day putting this in.  Of course a back hoe did most of the heavy work, but there was shoveling to get the right slant, and then shoveling in gravel.  I don't know much about such things, and just did what I was shown.  However it felt good to provide a real contribution, and for the family with there young ones to move back in.  I was able to visit them a couple months later delivering Christmas gifts provided by Save The Children.  It takes a community sometimes.

Duckwater Community Projects August 1983-June 1985: Volleyball League

I organized and ran a volleyball league both years we lived in Duckwater.  We had five or six teams each year.  Most of the teams came from the Native American, but we also had one community ranch team which is the team Sheri and I would participate with.  We would have regular play, and then a tournament at the end of the year.  Willie Blackeye was usually the star.  His team won the championship both years.  Other teams included the Duckwater Shoshone School team which had many teachers and spouses.  There was also a team of tribal employees, and another community team with many from the George family.
I would arrange for the purchasing of trophies for the first place team.  I also got more than my share of officiating volleyball.  It seems I was in charge of the net about every game, but I could get someone to watch the lines for me.  JerDean Moyle, a senior in high school, would also help with the officiating.  The league was co-ed and the rule required three women participate at all times on the court.

Duckwater Community Projects August 1983-June 1985: Spring Festival

As part of my work in Duckwater I helped organize a Spring festival, and was part of putting together the first festival, which is still held today, although no longer in the early Spring.
As part of my work I put together a pow-wow type of festival each May.  It included a youth hand game tournament, community dances (Native American and country western) a community barbecue (the tribe would provide the beef which the barbecued in a pit in the ground) a chuck wagon breakfast, booths, games, including hand game and card playing areas.  It was really a fun time.  I especially enjoyed doing some round dance and listening to the drum.
The booths were nice.  One year we bought a couple small doll Shoshone cradle boards at a booth.  Also a beaded small hat.  Sheri purchased beaded moccasins which she wore for many years.
One of the problems of the festival was getting the booths set up, and getting electricity to them.  They were pole framed, with green branches placed over the top to provide shade.  The frames didn't come down, so they were available for the next year.  The electricity was provided by a long extension cord run from a nearby building.  The cord had to by run through a culvert.
 The second year it fell upon me to make a horse shoe throwing pit for a tournament.  Wayne Dick and I drove an old pickup to a place on the reservation where there was sand.  We got a pretty good load and filled in a couple areas to provide a good landing for the horseshoes.  I had to measure things four or five times to get the pits and stakes to where I thought it would work best.
We also had a pool tournament at the recreation center for the younger crowd
Many people helped.  Virginia Sanchez worked at the school, and she was instrumental with putting together the youth hand game tournament.  She and I co lead the organization.  Mary Lou Gomes and Kathy Millet also helped greatly.  These were my coworkers.  Jerry Millett was the tribal chairman.  Irwin Watson who worked for the tribe provided tremendous support with the barbecue pit and other tasks.  They had to watch the meat most of the night.  Mitchell Maes, Wayne Dick and Howard Thompson helped with setting up the shelters.  Of course others in the community helped as well.  The entire community helped with a pot luck and little tasks as needed.  The entire year I would sell candy and pop  from the office to make money for the event.

Duckwater Community Projects August 1983-June 1985: Save the Children

Save the Children was an international organization to help communities.  They would sponsor individual children, with the goal of using the money donated on behalf of the child for community projects.  The idea behind the projects was to lead towards self sufficiency.  Of course there would always be some personal giving to the individual child.  The children of the Duckwater Reservation were sponsored through this program.  I remember one year just before Christmas, I received a big package of donated items for Christmas.  I distributed them to the different families on the reservation like a day before Christmas.  I worked on this project most of the time I was at Duckwater, and it was finally established before I left.  I did leave before the actual community project was started, so I am not sure how the money was used.  However, most of the kids had a sponsor before I left.  A community based board was in place to supervise the money and assure it was used for the benefit of the community.

Duckwater Community Projects August 1983-June 1985: Community Projects: Pottery

The Duckwater Tribe owned a pottery wheel, however it was not used as it should have been.  I was able to set it up in a building behind the school.  In the end it made a nice pottery barn.  We also found money to purchase a kiln.  The building where we put the kiln did not have an adequate electricity supply as it needed to have 220, the same as for a stove.  This left the task of running a line underground to the out building.  I was able to get the wire through a pipe, but did not have the electrical know how to complete this project.  I was able to recruit Irwin Watson and staff from the garage and maintenance department of the tribe to complete this and make sure the kiln was well wired.  This project was done to support the school and the art program at the school.

Duckwater Community Projects August 1983-June 1985: Weight Lifting Set

I discovered that the tribe owned a universal weight lifting set.  This was stored in someone's garage.  In order to make it more accessible I had it moved to the community gym (which was used as the community center and the school.)  I also was able to purchase some new pins for the set as they old ones had been misplaced.  It almost fit in a corner of the gym, but was a safety hazard for those playing basketball if the were to dive over the side line in that direction.

Duckwater Community Projects: August 1983 - June 1985: Community Center

I was in Duckwater Nevada almost a couple years.  I worked for the Duckwater Shoshone Indian Tribe.  This was a small community of about 200 at the time.  Working in Duckwater was a little different than clinical social work.  because o the low number of residents I became involved in a number of community projects.  To keep busy I became involved in many community projects.

One of those was the establishment of a community center.

We arranged for the tribe to donate one of their old buildings for this.  There was an old building which had been used for head start most recently.  I wrote a grant with Kathy Graham, who was the alcohol and drug worker at the time.  The money for the community center would come from a grant from her program.  With the money we bought needed equipment.  This included a T.V., V.C.R. stereo, ping pong table and some board games.  With the Duckwater Shoshone Elementary School we bought a satellite dish.  The tribe had an old pool table which had been in storage in the garage.  We brought it over and got it through the door after taking the legs off.  

As part of the community center we would try to have activity nights two or three times a week.  Sometimes we would rant a movie.  We would make popcorn and sell it.  We would also buy pop on sale in Ely and then resale it at a profit.  We would also get candy at a distributor in Ely and resale it.  I would also sale pop and candy at work to make money for the rec. center.  

Sometimes I would do an educational group geared to young people at the center.  But usually we stuck to just trying to create a good time without alcohol being involved.  We had a rule against alcohol in the recreation center.   However that didn't keep kids from drinking before they arrived or after they left.

My Poetry: Desert Road

Desert road, strait as an arrow
Lingering on; like an endless narrow
panorama of brush, rocks, happen-stance
Desert nothing, the bore has me entranced.

But from that lonely road I've seen
A hawk take flight, the beating of eagle wings
Coyote and antelope across the road have raced
Wildlife spots this barren waste.

And on this desert people have lived
But some with no livelihood have fled
Abandoned relics whisper their cry.

But also spotting the barrenness those who've survived
Those who have fought the land, and held.
Held onto their way of life--won't let it die.

This is a Duckwater era poem, when we lived on the desert.  We are one of those families who fled.

My Poetry: Ode to the Cow

This was written when we lived in Duckwater, and attended a cattle round-up

Ode to the Cow

Planted they seem like a well rooted tree,
Slowly trudging, if moving at all
I spied the cow on the road in front of me.

A toot of the horn, cow doesn't respond
So I creep around--not knowing
if the cow will jump in front of me, or be gone.

On the road there are always cows.
Slow moving beasts of life
lying in wait, sometimes to dent our cars.

And that same creature, pushed and herded
to the cattleman provides sustenance
and on the road just turded

And the slow beast has it a brain?
Or is it just a factory
for spawning steer calves, preferably lean.

For the cow is the mother of hundreds
of steaks, burgers and stews
And of barbeques more than a few.

And the bawling calf and the bawling cow
Yearly fill the valley's air
The cow mourning, torn in half

She searches, she sniffs the night air
Her precious must be close by,
If she could find him, but where?

The Day I Almost Killed my Nephew

We were visiting at Connie's around Easter, 1985.  This was when they lived in River Heights.  They had ride in cars for the boys.  They also had three wheelers.  The weather was pretty good.  Matt was about four, almost five at the time.  Where we were visiting I wasn't sure how things worked.  Matt was sitting on a three wheeler that had been started.  He decided to go for a spin.  I didn't see any problem with it.  (Not being familiar with three-wheelers and kids it didn't dawn on me this was not a good thing.  They rode the battery operated cars frequently; but I must admit the three-wheeler was quite a bit faster.)
Matt got going OK, but he was going fast.  It didn't take me long to realize Matt didn't know how to slow the thing down.  He took off across their back yard and weaved back and forth driving like someone who had too much to drink. 
Matt had some concept of steering and took a serpentine route through the back yard.  I made sort of a help attempt to stop him, but when Kelly saw him he made a bigger attempt, running all out across the field to catch up with him.  He had almost caught Matt when he got to the other end of the field, which was a fence lined with trees.  Matt mad an attempt to turn, and in fact turned the vehicle almost 90 degrees; right into a tree.  The tree stopped him fast, and he flew off the seat of the three-wheeler and into the branches which cushioned his stop.  Kelly was mad for a second and started to yell, but then stopped.  We were just lucky Matt hadn't hurt himself.