WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.100 align:middle line:90%
OK.

00:00:02.100 --> 00:00:03.795 align:middle line:90%
Also, I want to--

00:00:03.795 --> 00:00:07.170 align:middle line:90%


00:00:07.170 --> 00:00:08.970 align:middle line:84%
also, one thing I
noticed that I was

00:00:08.970 --> 00:00:15.540 align:middle line:84%
doing as I was organizing what
I wanted to read this evening,

00:00:15.540 --> 00:00:18.510 align:middle line:84%
I noticed that my father
figured very strongly

00:00:18.510 --> 00:00:19.515 align:middle line:90%
in the things I chose.

00:00:19.515 --> 00:00:22.380 align:middle line:90%


00:00:22.380 --> 00:00:29.790 align:middle line:84%
And in a lot of the various
pieces, my family is important.

00:00:29.790 --> 00:00:32.140 align:middle line:84%
And they show up
in different ways.

00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:35.520 align:middle line:84%
A lot of times, it's my
sisters or my mother, certainly

00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:36.810 align:middle line:90%
my father.

00:00:36.810 --> 00:00:39.990 align:middle line:84%
When other times, it's
just memories of people

00:00:39.990 --> 00:00:44.050 align:middle line:84%
that I grew up around who
passed on very early on.

00:00:44.050 --> 00:00:46.680 align:middle line:84%
But I have very strong
memories of them.

00:00:46.680 --> 00:00:52.240 align:middle line:90%


00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:57.663 align:middle line:84%
So this one is not
in the collection

00:00:57.663 --> 00:00:59.580 align:middle line:84%
that the students are
reading for their class.

00:00:59.580 --> 00:01:05.489 align:middle line:84%
But this is an
excerpt from an essay

00:01:05.489 --> 00:01:18.300 align:middle line:84%
that I did this fall as part
of the Tucson Libraries Series

00:01:18.300 --> 00:01:20.670 align:middle line:90%
that I was invited to do.

00:01:20.670 --> 00:01:23.790 align:middle line:84%
And the section I pulled
is the one about--

00:01:23.790 --> 00:01:26.340 align:middle line:84%
is the section,
again, on my father.

00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:30.420 align:middle line:84%
And I pulled it because it's
light and fun, in a way.

00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:32.520 align:middle line:84%
But it also ties
back to this notion,

00:01:32.520 --> 00:01:39.630 align:middle line:84%
like I said, of helping us
to have those papers that

00:01:39.630 --> 00:01:44.205 align:middle line:84%
says you're O'odham or you're
from this particular place.

00:01:44.205 --> 00:01:46.890 align:middle line:90%


00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:52.260 align:middle line:84%
Anyway, so this piece
speaks to that experience.

00:01:52.260 --> 00:01:58.770 align:middle line:84%
So, like I said, it's just an
excerpt from the longer essay.

00:01:58.770 --> 00:02:05.710 align:middle line:90%


00:02:05.710 --> 00:02:10.759 align:middle line:84%
And the essay covers
a range of things.

00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:15.430 align:middle line:84%
And one of the things it does
cover is reading and writing,

00:02:15.430 --> 00:02:20.620 align:middle line:84%
and how we, as young people
within our family, how

00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.800 align:middle line:84%
we sort of discovered,
in our own way,

00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:31.060 align:middle line:84%
things that we chose to read as
we grew up, even though we grew

00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:35.230 align:middle line:84%
up in a family, as I just
read the list of things

00:02:35.230 --> 00:02:37.715 align:middle line:84%
that-- what our language is
for, it's not for writing.

00:02:37.715 --> 00:02:38.590 align:middle line:90%
It's not for reading.

00:02:38.590 --> 00:02:40.030 align:middle line:90%
It's for these other things.

00:02:40.030 --> 00:02:42.580 align:middle line:84%
But once we started
schooling and got exposed

00:02:42.580 --> 00:02:45.100 align:middle line:84%
to written print and
books and stories,

00:02:45.100 --> 00:02:50.950 align:middle line:84%
we just sort of gravitated
very easily to that.

00:02:50.950 --> 00:02:55.010 align:middle line:84%
So part of the essay
kind of talks about that.

00:02:55.010 --> 00:03:01.780 align:middle line:84%
And so I chose this segment
about my father and his writing

00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:02.440 align:middle line:90%
experience.

00:03:02.440 --> 00:03:06.370 align:middle line:84%
And my father, he believes
he went to school.

00:03:06.370 --> 00:03:08.740 align:middle line:84%
He really can't remember if
he went to school though.

00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:10.960 align:middle line:84%
But he believes
he went to school

00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:15.880 align:middle line:84%
because he remembers vaguely
playing softball or baseball.

00:03:15.880 --> 00:03:17.800 align:middle line:84%
And he says that's the
only thing that you

00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:19.960 align:middle line:90%
do in school is play games.

00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:22.150 align:middle line:90%
So that's his memory.

00:03:22.150 --> 00:03:28.210 align:middle line:84%
But he could spell his
name or write his name.

00:03:28.210 --> 00:03:30.205 align:middle line:84%
And that's what this
section is about.

00:03:30.205 --> 00:03:32.890 align:middle line:90%


00:03:32.890 --> 00:03:37.160 align:middle line:84%
And since they didn't
write a whole lot--

00:03:37.160 --> 00:03:39.130 align:middle line:84%
my mother didn't
write at all, or read,

00:03:39.130 --> 00:03:41.530 align:middle line:84%
and my father could
sign his name--

00:03:41.530 --> 00:03:47.060 align:middle line:84%
my sister signed a lot
of things for them.

00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:50.000 align:middle line:84%
And I remember that
very, very well.

00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:53.950 align:middle line:84%
And so that's how
this one begins.

00:03:53.950 --> 00:03:55.870 align:middle line:84%
"As young elementary
school children,

00:03:55.870 --> 00:03:58.600 align:middle line:84%
our big sisters always
signed our report cards

00:03:58.600 --> 00:04:02.200 align:middle line:84%
for us, our parents never
having to look at them.

00:04:02.200 --> 00:04:04.420 align:middle line:84%
One of my sisters
used a signature

00:04:04.420 --> 00:04:07.360 align:middle line:84%
she created for our father which
looked nothing like the one he

00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:09.370 align:middle line:90%
actually had for himself.

00:04:09.370 --> 00:04:11.080 align:middle line:90%
Yes, he could sign his name.

00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:13.930 align:middle line:84%
However, if you needed
something signed by him,

00:04:13.930 --> 00:04:16.240 align:middle line:84%
you had to give him,
advanced warning

00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:19.329 align:middle line:84%
and be willing to wait at
least 10 or 15 minutes for him

00:04:19.329 --> 00:04:21.010 align:middle line:90%
to complete it.

00:04:21.010 --> 00:04:23.980 align:middle line:84%
He was slow and deliberate
in his penmanship.

00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:26.170 align:middle line:84%
He set down each
symbol carefully,

00:04:26.170 --> 00:04:29.560 align:middle line:84%
a combination of block
print and cursive form.

00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:32.860 align:middle line:84%
His writing was almost as
careful and deliberate as his

00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.650 align:middle line:90%
method for sautéeing onions.

00:04:35.650 --> 00:04:39.760 align:middle line:84%
The onion was chopped in uniform
pieces and sautéed in a pan

00:04:39.760 --> 00:04:42.100 align:middle line:84%
at very low heat
with gentle stirring,

00:04:42.100 --> 00:04:45.250 align:middle line:84%
until every piece
was translucent.

00:04:45.250 --> 00:04:48.250 align:middle line:84%
He actually, I'm sure, would
put many cooking channel folks

00:04:48.250 --> 00:04:52.090 align:middle line:90%
to shame with this ability.

00:04:52.090 --> 00:04:54.160 align:middle line:84%
We always knew he
had been cooking

00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:57.220 align:middle line:84%
with onions when we entered the
house since the whole place was

00:04:57.220 --> 00:05:02.170 align:middle line:84%
saturated with the aroma
of slow-cooked onions.

00:05:02.170 --> 00:05:04.960 align:middle line:84%
It wasn't just the
onions he cooked.

00:05:04.960 --> 00:05:08.680 align:middle line:84%
He cooked everything this
way, slowly and carefully.

00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.650 align:middle line:84%
He chided us if we rushed
through our preparation

00:05:11.650 --> 00:05:16.450 align:middle line:84%
of meals, and especially when
we were cleaning dried beans.

00:05:16.450 --> 00:05:18.910 align:middle line:84%
He claimed he bit
into more stones

00:05:18.910 --> 00:05:23.290 align:middle line:84%
when so-and-so cleaned the
beans because they just rushed.

00:05:23.290 --> 00:05:25.540 align:middle line:84%
In his later years,
my sister simply

00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:29.950 align:middle line:84%
handed the task over to him,
perhaps tired of his critiquing

00:05:29.950 --> 00:05:32.530 align:middle line:90%
of bean-cleaning by others.

00:05:32.530 --> 00:05:35.170 align:middle line:90%
He was the dry bean cleaner.

00:05:35.170 --> 00:05:36.910 align:middle line:84%
But again, you had
to let him know

00:05:36.910 --> 00:05:42.010 align:middle line:84%
in advance of the
request for clean beans

00:05:42.010 --> 00:05:44.320 align:middle line:84%
so they could be put
on the stove to cook.

00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:48.130 align:middle line:84%
Otherwise, they wouldn't
be done in time for dinner.

00:05:48.130 --> 00:05:50.490 align:middle line:84%
For those of you who've
never cleaned dried beans,

00:05:50.490 --> 00:05:52.510 align:middle line:90%
it requires good eyesight.

00:05:52.510 --> 00:05:57.100 align:middle line:84%
My father cleaned beans into his
80s and never used his glasses.

00:05:57.100 --> 00:05:59.050 align:middle line:84%
I, on the other
hand, always needed

00:05:59.050 --> 00:06:02.950 align:middle line:84%
to put on my reading glasses
in order to clean beans.

00:06:02.950 --> 00:06:05.560 align:middle line:84%
And I always remembered
to try and do it slowly so

00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:07.540 align:middle line:84%
as not to miss those
little stones that

00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:11.170 align:middle line:90%
are always part of dried beans.

00:06:11.170 --> 00:06:14.380 align:middle line:84%
My father's signature, even
though I find humor in it,

00:06:14.380 --> 00:06:17.860 align:middle line:84%
played a significant role for
our whole immediate family

00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:20.590 align:middle line:84%
and a large part of
our extended family.

00:06:20.590 --> 00:06:24.070 align:middle line:84%
In 1984, when the O'odham
tribe opened enrollment

00:06:24.070 --> 00:06:26.260 align:middle line:84%
for the first time
in modern history,

00:06:26.260 --> 00:06:29.200 align:middle line:84%
many O'odham who were not
officially enrolled members

00:06:29.200 --> 00:06:31.130 align:middle line:90%
had their opportunity.

00:06:31.130 --> 00:06:33.340 align:middle line:90%
Our entire family was eligible.

00:06:33.340 --> 00:06:36.520 align:middle line:84%
Initially, we were not enrolled
simply because of our parents

00:06:36.520 --> 00:06:40.570 align:middle line:84%
migratory status of having
two residences, one in Mexico

00:06:40.570 --> 00:06:43.270 align:middle line:84%
and the other in
Arizona, and never living

00:06:43.270 --> 00:06:45.250 align:middle line:90%
on the reservation.

00:06:45.250 --> 00:06:48.640 align:middle line:84%
A criterion of our enrollment
was a signed affidavit

00:06:48.640 --> 00:06:52.082 align:middle line:84%
by someone who knew
us when we were born.

00:06:52.082 --> 00:06:54.700 align:middle line:84%
For our entire extended
and immediate family,

00:06:54.700 --> 00:06:58.630 align:middle line:84%
that person was our father,
being the oldest and certainly

00:06:58.630 --> 00:07:02.650 align:middle line:84%
the one who knew all of
us as babies, as children.

00:07:02.650 --> 00:07:04.300 align:middle line:84%
The tribal enrollment
office didn't

00:07:04.300 --> 00:07:06.690 align:middle line:84%
realize what they were
getting themselves

00:07:06.690 --> 00:07:08.580 align:middle line:84%
into when they found
my father would be

00:07:08.580 --> 00:07:11.880 align:middle line:90%
the one signing the affidavits.

00:07:11.880 --> 00:07:16.110 align:middle line:84%
One asked my oldest sister,
can he sign his name?

00:07:16.110 --> 00:07:20.850 align:middle line:84%
My sister replied, yes, without
any further elaboration.

00:07:20.850 --> 00:07:23.610 align:middle line:84%
We just looked at
each other and smiled.

00:07:23.610 --> 00:07:27.600 align:middle line:84%
And so it began, the entire
Zepeda clan sitting or standing

00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:30.270 align:middle line:84%
in a large conference
room filling out paperwork

00:07:30.270 --> 00:07:33.120 align:middle line:84%
and piling them in
front of my father.

00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.420 align:middle line:84%
My sister explains to him
that he needs to sign each one

00:07:36.420 --> 00:07:37.620 align:middle line:90%
and why.

00:07:37.620 --> 00:07:40.290 align:middle line:90%
He smiles and acknowledges.

00:07:40.290 --> 00:07:42.540 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING O'ODHAM]

00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:47.730 align:middle line:90%


00:07:47.730 --> 00:07:49.110 align:middle line:90%
Yes, I know them all.

00:07:49.110 --> 00:07:50.280 align:middle line:90%
I know their mothers.

00:07:50.280 --> 00:07:52.860 align:middle line:84%
And I've seen all these people
when they were little, when

00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:54.990 align:middle line:90%
they would all come around.

00:07:54.990 --> 00:07:58.680 align:middle line:84%
There were all his adult
children, eight of us, all

00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:01.300 align:middle line:84%
our children and
any grandchildren.

00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:03.720 align:middle line:84%
There were all
his adult nephews,

00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:07.600 align:middle line:84%
nieces, their spouses, and their
children and grandchildren.

00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:10.740 align:middle line:84%
There were probably about 30 or
40 adults he had to sign for.

00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:12.420 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:15.840 align:middle line:84%
He began signing in his slow,
deliberate, and careful way.

00:08:15.840 --> 00:08:18.930 align:middle line:84%
We all gathered there for this
process early in the morning,

00:08:18.930 --> 00:08:22.410 align:middle line:84%
not knowing how
long it would take.

00:08:22.410 --> 00:08:26.250 align:middle line:84%
After a while, some adults went
to pick up lunch for the rest.

00:08:26.250 --> 00:08:29.820 align:middle line:84%
Babies nursed and toddlers
napped on the floor.

00:08:29.820 --> 00:08:31.950 align:middle line:84%
Things could and
should not be rushed,

00:08:31.950 --> 00:08:34.409 align:middle line:90%
like the sautéeing of onions.

00:08:34.409 --> 00:08:39.390 align:middle line:84%
It must be done slowly to
achieve perfect translucence.

00:08:39.390 --> 00:08:42.750 align:middle line:84%
It didn't dawn on me then,
but my poor father's signature

00:08:42.750 --> 00:08:45.390 align:middle line:84%
played the most important
role in our being officially

00:08:45.390 --> 00:08:49.080 align:middle line:84%
recognized as having tribal
status, not only by the O'odham

00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:52.680 align:middle line:84%
Nation but also by
the US government.

00:08:52.680 --> 00:08:54.600 align:middle line:84%
If it weren't for
his signature, we

00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:59.310 align:middle line:84%
would be O'odham in all other
manners except officially."

00:08:59.310 --> 00:09:04.380 align:middle line:84%
So that's about
his contribution,

00:09:04.380 --> 00:09:06.030 align:middle line:90%
again, to our family.

00:09:06.030 --> 00:09:09.200 align:middle line:90%


00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:13.020 align:middle line:84%
So like I said, the
essay does go on

00:09:13.020 --> 00:09:15.760 align:middle line:84%
about other elements
of literature,

00:09:15.760 --> 00:09:18.562 align:middle line:90%
talking about literature.

00:09:18.562 --> 00:09:19.062 align:middle line:90%