Enduring Partnerships: TLAM Returns to the Oneida Nation

On an early morning in March the students currently taking the TLAM course and their instructor piled into two vans and headed north to visit the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, located along the Fox River near Green Bay.  One of the continuing goals of the TLAM group is to foster enduring relationships with the native communities of Wisconsin and our trip was another opportunity for our TLAM class to put this goal into practice.

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Our first visit was with Louis J. Williams, Library Director of the Oneida Community Library (http://www.oneidanation.org/library).  Lou welcomed us and gave us a tour of the library.  His tour included the library’s extensive collection of community archives, genealogical records, photographs, and shelves of native literature and artwork.  He highlighted the expanded computer internet access, youth language immersion programs, and the brightly decorated children and teen areas.   He also discussed the value of inter-library loan through the Outagamie Waupaca Library System  or OWLS consortium (http://www.owlsweb.info).  We left impressed with the vitality of the library, both its collections and programs and the commitment of Lou and his staff to serving their community.

Next we met Oneida Cultural Heritage Historical Researcher Nic Reynolds, who led us on a visit of relocated Log Homes that are part of a nearby historical site.  We toured through each of the five log homes and heard stories of the previous occupants, while Nic connected us to the lives and times they had lived within.  The homes were furnished perfectly with period furniture and displays that enlivened Nic’s presentation.  Of particular interest were the examples of Black Ash basket making and Oneida lace making and the stories Nic shared of boarding schools, land allotments, and the transcribing of 12,000 pages of WPA era interviews with Oneida tribal members.  As we were leaving Nic also pointed out where a proposed visitor’s center would be constructed and showed us where a 65 foot Long House construction project was underway.

We caravanned a short distance and arrived at the Cultural Heritage Center and Archives (http://www.oneidanation.org/culture).   As we entered the center, we were greeted warmly by some of the staff passing on their way to other appointments.  We were shown the archival holdings and were introduced to Eliza Skenadore, the Multi-Media Specialist responsible for many the displays, signs and print materials seen throughout our tour.

After lunch, we headed to the Language House, where the Language Revitalization Program is located.   We settled into the warm and spacious Language House’s main room and were given a lecture on Oneida language revitalization by program director, Leander Danforth and many of the adult learners and staff present.  Leander began by stressing the importance of continuing the tradition of spoken Oneida as the tribe had only one living “first language” speaker.  “Language loss can lead to a loss of identity”, Leander said, “and learning one’s native language was an important aid in the tribe’s young people holding onto that identity and developing pride in themselves”.  We discussed some of the challenges in studying the Oneida language, in particular the following example.  In Oneida there are 75 basic words to express the concept of “eating” and potentially there are a total of 135!  Leander said the intricacies of this highly structured language must be learned first and then vocabulary would follow.  He was excited about a new course of learning that he was already having success teaching to some of his younger language students.

Our next stop was with Stephen Webster of the Oneida Records Management Department.  Stephen gave us on overview of the scale and best practices he uses in the management of the Oneida records he oversees.  He was understandably enthusiastic about the control he had brought to a previously overwhelming and scattered collection and shared with us measures to insure his collection was accessible, searchable, and protected from fire and water damage.  He led us to a room containing a large portion of the Oneida Nation’s archival collection and discussed the boxed contents of oral transcriptions, photographs, maps, film footage, and audiotapes.

Our day concluded with a tour of the Oneida Nation Museum (http://www.oneidanation.org/museum/page.aspx?id=36) led by Assistant Director/Collections Manager Sara Summers.  We began with Nic Reynolds sharing again with us, this time a retelling of the Oneida Creation Story as we considered a painting showing of the fall of the Sky Woman.  We were then led through the exhibits and given background on each exhibit’s contents and curatorial approach by Sara.  A certain highlight was the Longhouse hands on display where we were encouraged to interact with the material culture of the Oneida people.  The Museum overwhelmed with the diversity of its exhibitions and certainly warrants another visit.

Thanks to everyone we visited with on our tour of the Oneida Nation who gave so freely of their time and made our trip so worthwhile.   TLAM looks forward to our next visit!

-Peter Rudrud

Suggested Oneida Nation Links:

Oneida (Native Sovereign Nation) Website: https://oneida-nsn.gov
Oneida Community Library: http://www.oneidanation.org/library
Oneida Nation Cultural Heritage: http://www.oneidanation.org/culture
Oneida Nation Museum: http://www.oneidanation.org/museum/page.aspx?id=36
Weekly Historical Notes Archives: http://www.oneidanation.org/culture/page.aspx?id=10622