Interview · North Dakota · Edna Cavanaugh · NDNAEU 5
Themes: Education & learning, Boarding schools & assimilation, Children & young people
Learn About questions
What is the Indian Relocation Act? How did it impact Native Americans in the middle 1900’s?
Why were Native Americans relocated to large cities around the US?
How did the Indian Relocation Act help Native Americans? Hurt Native Americans?
Learn From questions
Have I ever had to move to a place completely different from where I lived? What was the experience like for me?
Have I ever chosen to move to a new place because of a job? How would it be different to be asked to move?
Have I ever moved back home after being gone for a period of time? What was it like?
Transcripts
02 Edna Cavanaugh: Indian Relocation Act
Watch this interview on YouTubeBut must see at that time I think there were too many jobs at that time but while all did well I had gone to California see at that time before there was really no jobs to go to all there is was there was like now there was a lot of government jobs but you I’m I’m assuming they’d have to have some kind of college education that’s what I was thinking growing up to get into those type of jobs so and I don’t know if that’s why they started the relocation or they’d help people you know move to other cities who well that’s what they had as my sister I guess and her cousin her cousin where would you like to what city would you like to go and of course they thought of a warm state right away they said California you know cuts of course here it was very cold usually in the winter so they chose California and so that’s where since I married they’re in California that’s where all the kids grew up till I think my daughter was seven years old seven or eight years old when we moved back in 1978 so that’s when in the 80s that’s when they started school at Devil’s Lake and of course they grew up you know and but when my daughter after tell going to school and Devils leg up today what is it Fort I forget what it word that was grammar school I think energy and fourth or fifth grade anyway she wanted to go to a boarding school she said I want to go to the boarding school she said nice as well at that time you had to go to the judge here on the rez for him to sign a paper that it’s okay for you to go to school you know and he was well I knew the judge too so he was okay so well if that’s where she wants to go and she’s interested in going to school then there’s keeper in school he says so he signed the paper and she went I think it was two walked in I think at that time they had a walked in Indian school at that time and that’s where she went I think it started her I’m trying to think I think they started a seventh grade from there I can’t remember then from there she went to Flandreau boarding school
Source materials
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