Hainipi… Hi everyone. Welcome to The BAGO Mic, powered by Student Voice, where students lead the way.

We are students from Winnebago Public Schools, broadcasting from the Winnebago Native American Reservation in Winnebago, Nebraska. This podcast is created by us… for the world.

Let’s start by introducing ourselves.

Xailei: My name is Xailei.

Noe: My name is Noe.

Honor: My name is Honor.

Xailei: Today’s episode is about learning from someone in our community and understanding the importance of our culture, wisdom, and community.

Before we begin, we want to share something we’re thankful for.

Xailei: I’m thankful for life.

Noe: I’m thankful for water.

Honor: I’m thankful for family.

Xailei: Today we are here with Sarah Snake, who is an elder in our community. We also think it is really special because she is Nick’s and Easton’s grandma.

We wanted to interview Ms. Snake because of her wisdom and connection to our community. Thank you for being here with us today.

Now let’s get into it.

Xailei: Can you tell us about yourself and your role in the community?

Ms. Snake: Sure can.

First of all, Hainipi.

Well, I’m a lifelong member of the Winnebago community in general and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, and our community is very, very important to me. If you can see the growth, you see the growth that we have here. The students here don’t realize what it was like before.

I read your questions ahead of time, and I kind of like to answer all the questions you had in my story.

Okay, so I wasn’t born here in Winnebago. I was born in a community in Minnesota and moved here when I was 8 years old. And so when I moved here, Winnebago wasn’t like it is today. It totally wasn’t anything like it is today.

The first four or five houses that I lived in here were more or less shacks. They were just little houses made out of tar paper, and they were run down. We didn’t have indoor plumbing.

We had to actually go to the restroom out in the outhouse, which is a little wooden house with a hole dug in the ground. And you sat on a little homemade seat and you went to the bathroom outside. We didn’t have running water.

We had to go pump water from a pump or get it at the spring in gallon buckets and milk cartons. And we didn’t have showers. We didn’t have bathtubs in all the houses that we lived in when I first moved here.

And all of the roads that now go up to Little Priest Tribal College or here to the public school or out at the Cali Project were all mud. There were no paved roads whatsoever. Everything was just dirt and mud.

We didn’t have the housing that we have now. We didn’t have the businesses we have now. We didn’t have any of those things.

Life was really different for us when I was your age.

And so to see the community of Winnebago — the community is different than being a Winnebago tribal member because community is where we all live and work and strive to make things better for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren.

Community is very, very important to me because if you lived in Denver, Colorado, or St. Paul, Minnesota, do you think everybody’s related?

Students: No.

Ms. Snake: But here in Winnebago, we all have a connection. We’re all somehow related to each other. And that’s a really important thing.

That’s really important to know that everybody who lives next door to you or lives at the Cali Project or lives by the powwow grounds — somehow we’re all connected.

We’re all related somehow.

That’s a big difference in the Winnebago community.

Although there are other people that live here who aren’t members of our tribe, they’re members of our community.

Community is different than tribal membership.

As a community, we all work together.

When I was a young girl, people used to say that the whole community raised the children.

I remember people correcting me — people I maybe didn’t know personally.

Maybe I just knew they were from Winnebago.

If I was walking down the street and bullying somebody, they would say, “Hey, you quit doing that. You quit talking like that. You quit acting like that.”

And you listened.

That was part of the community.

When the community saw somebody not doing what they should be doing, they had a right to correct us as community members and tribal members.

So community is very, very important.

And with the growth we have here, it’s important that we all stick together — not only as a tribe, but as a community.

Does that make sense?

Students: Yeah.

Noe: I have one question. What was the house made out of again?

Ms. Snake: Back then it used to be called tar paper. It was big thick black pieces made with tar that they put up on the walls.

Noe: I have another question. What year did you come here?

Ms. Snake: We moved here from Minnesota in 1964.

And I started out going to St. Augustine’s Indian Mission. It was really hard because at that time St. Augustine’s was a boarding school.

The kids that went there lived there where YCIC is now. That used to be the girls dormitory, and the other little buildings were the boys dormitories.

We were some of the first day students that went there.

It was really hard because the kids who boarded there didn’t get to go home.

We got to go home every night.

That caused a lot of tension.

The kids that boarded there didn’t understand that, so they bullied me and my siblings because we got to go home every day.

It made school hard for us.

I transferred to Winnebago Public School when I was in fourth grade.

The public school back then was this old building up on the hill where this area kind of is now.

Down below where the playground area is now used to be the football field.

So yes, we moved here in 1964 and I’ve been here ever since.

Noe: What does community mean to you?

Ms. Snake: Community means growth.

It means helping each other.

And seeing where we came from compared to where we are now.

One of the things I pushed really hard for when I worked for Ho-Chunk Incorporated was housing opportunities.

Back when I was young, almost everything here was low-income housing.

And low-income housing meant staying poor.

Because if you made too much money, suddenly you no longer qualified.

I thought that system discouraged Native people from moving ahead.

So I pushed for home ownership.

That’s why places like Ho-Chunk Village matter.

People can own homes.

People can build equity.

People can learn responsibility.

Because when you own something, you learn how to maintain it.

You learn how to prepare.

And those opportunities matter for future generations.

Honor: What are some traditions or teachings that are important to pass down to younger generations?

Ms. Snake: Oh wow… there’s a lot.

One of the most important things is respect.

Respect yourself first. Respect your parents. Respect your elders. Respect other people.

Because if you don’t respect yourself, then you won’t respect anybody else.

Another thing that’s important is listening.

A lot of times our elders have stories and teachings, but younger people sometimes don’t slow down enough to listen anymore.

When I was younger, we sat and listened to our grandparents and our parents. That’s how we learned things.

That’s how we learned who we were.

We also learned from ceremonies and from the community.

One thing I really think is important is language.

Even if somebody only learns a few words, those words matter because that keeps our culture alive.

Every generation has to carry a little bit more forward.

Xailei: What are clans and why are they important?

Ms. Snake: Clans are family groups inside our tribe.

They help us understand where we come from and how we’re connected to one another.

Years ago, clans helped organize responsibilities and leadership roles inside the tribe.

Different clans had different responsibilities.

They also helped keep balance.

Today some people know their clan and some people don’t, but I think it’s important for young people to learn those things because it teaches identity and belonging.

Honor: What made you want to help people in the community?

Ms. Snake: Probably growing up the way we did.

When you grow up without much, you understand what struggle feels like.

So when opportunities came for me to help improve housing or education or healthcare, I wanted to help because I remembered what things used to be like.

I didn’t want younger generations to struggle the same way we did.

That’s one reason I worked in tribal government and different programs.

I always wanted to see the community improve.

Noe: What was it like serving on tribal council?

Ms. Snake: Busy. Very busy.

A lot of responsibility.

People think leadership is just meetings, but it’s really making hard decisions for the future.

Sometimes people are happy with your decisions and sometimes they’re not.

But you have to think about the community as a whole.

You have to think long term.

Leadership isn’t about power.

It’s about responsibility.

And if you’re a good leader, you listen more than you talk.

Xailei: What advice would you give kids today?

Ms. Snake: Stay in school.

Seriously.

Education matters so much.

When I was young, many Native people didn’t get opportunities. There were barriers everywhere.

You students today have opportunities that many of us never had.

And I know school can feel hard sometimes, but education gives you choices.

It gives you a voice.

And don’t ever feel ashamed of being Native.

Be proud of who you are.

Learn your culture.

Learn your history.

Learn your traditions.

Because once traditions disappear, it’s hard to bring them back.

Honor: What are some changes you’ve seen in Winnebago over the years?

Ms. Snake: Oh my goodness… almost everything.

The roads.

Housing.

Businesses.

Schools.

Healthcare.

When we first moved here, we didn’t have all these buildings and opportunities.

There were very few jobs.

Now we have Ho-Chunk Incorporated, Little Priest Tribal College, healthcare facilities, better housing, and more educational opportunities.

The growth is amazing.

But even with growth, we still have challenges.

That’s why community matters so much.

We have to keep helping one another.

Noe: Why is it important for people to help each other?

Ms. Snake: Because nobody succeeds alone.

At some point in life, everybody needs help.

And in Native communities especially, helping each other has always been important.

That’s how our people survived.

Families helped families.

Communities helped communities.

And I think sometimes society forgets that today.

People get too independent sometimes and forget we need each other.

Xailei: What do you hope for the future?

Ms. Snake: I hope young people continue carrying our culture forward.

I hope they stay proud of being Ho-Chunk.

I hope they become leaders, teachers, doctors, business owners, parents, and role models.

But I also hope they remember kindness.

Because success doesn’t mean much if you forget how to treat people.

And I hope our language and traditions continue.

Because culture is identity.

Once you lose identity, it’s hard to know who you are.

Honor: Is there anything else you want students to know?

Ms. Snake: Yes.

Don’t be afraid to dream bigger than what you see around you.

You can leave Winnebago and get an education and still come back and help your people.

That’s important.

Some people think if you leave you can’t come back, but that’s not true.

Sometimes you leave to learn things so you can return stronger and help your community more.

And always remember where you came from.

Never be ashamed of your community.

This community has strong people, strong traditions, and strong history.

Students: Thank you.

Ms. Snake: You’re welcome.

Xailei: Thanks for listening to The BAGO Mic. We hope our voices made you think, feel, or smile today.

Remember: your voice matters, our story matters, and YOU matter.

Students: Thank you. See you all again!

Wa’įniginąpšąną.

Žige hanicakjawi.