Interview · North Dakota · Demus McDonald · NDNAEU 2
Themes: Land & stewardship, Kinship & family, Storytelling & oral tradition, Education & learning, Healing & resilience, Children & young people, Humor & play, Intergenerational learning
Learn About questions
What were the tipi poles gathered for in this story?
Why was it important that Demus prepared them?
What role did the poles play in this story?
How did his grandpa heal the man?
Why did Demus have to cut up the poles after the man was healed?
How did Demus’s grandma heal him and his sister?
Why was Demus afraid?
Learn From questions
Have I known someone who was deathly ill? What was my relationship to him/her and how did it impact me?
Have I ever experienced seeing someone healed from a serious illness? How did it happen?
Have I ever seen myself as playing a vital role in someone’s story? What was it?
Transcripts
Grandmother's Story with Demus Mcdonald NDNAEU 2
Watch this interview on YouTubeYeah another one where my grandma she was a bell Mary brunch oh she was a medicine woman and she well when we were sick as kids they gave me to her my sister Dinah my sister Sandra my brother George it was follow us that the game was to grandma she raised us and whenever we got sick we never had to go to the hospital she cute ass I know we wanted after long time they said we had TV me and my sister they’re gonna send us to San Haven so one night scared I was kind of crying and cheered me she literally took her chest as a how come you’re crying I said not all Chechnya said I don’t want to die they’re gonna send us away here don’t die over there she said oh I’ll do something so she made fire gee she boiled some water shared one the lighter brighter lamp called a land lamp that when she did so weak stuff there was nice and bright so she boiled the water I was first and water was boiling she told me to brewing that pot of boiling water so I didn’t she said now help your sister she was small so she did the same she blew in that didn’t she put that on a side she said you see that greasy spot and NASA that liked what brights us you know I like somebody put lard in there greasy oh hello Broca’s and I see that she said her warriors on hash she said that’s your disease and she took some wood then that it wasn’t boil it was just kind of it was moving but it wasn’t boiling and she threw those sticks in the middle and in there and then she said watch their workers a lot those sticks were in the mirror that person everything was spinning person that grease spot was gone and she took those sticks out tarragon that the TV was in so she took them outside burnt them so couple days later we went back to the hospital they took actually nothing so my god I had medicine even for TV and we really call those things in a slew the long weed with a brown topology Cattleya these to pick the full amount the root not the routine and there’s no cut that it looks like a radish person you cut that open when you peel it open there’s some truth in there that’s what the person that sick they will down lick that and swallow and that was cure for diabetes I think she wants to go bingo
Healing Grandparents with Demus Mcdonald NDNAEU 2
Watch this interview on YouTubeAgain my mother brought me to my god but john sherman one morning he woke now Sheila kicked all wake up little boy bring the horses get that to show Cox a vamp dies so that’s the first time I heard that word and I kind of didn’t know what he said so after he got out of sight ask grandma Louisa said oh can I talk okay - sure a girl she’s I said what is grandpa mean when he said to shoo and there she said those are two peoples - shoo means T people’s since you’re gonna go chop T people’s bring the horses in and then when the horses came in I just had altars on so I just wouldn’t hooked up hope to root go tie them on the wagon next I had to put those heavy harnesses I’ll put the collar on Chris and I’ll put that heavy the part that the front part I put it on top of the horse the collar next I’ll go stand on the horse it won’t be pulling up that it’s a good thing the horses were tainted so I’ll be crying cuz that two things were heavy but there’s nobody to help me so finally I would get them up pull them up get down ground get on with the horse next there’s another buckle on the day that you have to and then the horses kick a horsefly said did go right by me here well I knew it was kicking at their horse the horse flies anyway that’s that with my grandpa taught me to never give up harnesses are heavy but that’s where 42 G’s never give up so we come to the with the highway here with that the Maria me know game and fish park is that was drivers lands and they would chop down 14 of those uh white poplar trees and they put time on the wagon we go I was remembered was we what’s up at the trading post and he was good enough to give him credit so they would buy one or two loaves of bread some of those little cans of parted meat there’s a little key on the side you pop that stick that key in there then my grandma would make sandwich with one slice of bread my grandpa would take that half-asleep I had one bite half gone the next bite those all gone so I still remember I still buy potted meat the week that I used to eat it but anyway he chop those down and then we go home bout by Z bus pass then when we unload them T people’s poplar trees there was a blade with a two ends of it he’d give me that plate yes Aidan about school he said to trim them trimmed easy lay up one of those long poles I’ll start from the top coming down get so far and then I turn it go back up just keep skinny and down there was other little boys playing around her Oh first day brother sick man from cannonball he was sick he was there and now but I’m I skinned about four or five of them I start getting blisters I ask grandma Luiza I said hey Doc I know all my captioning has been appointed the little boys I said how come they don’t help me she said the attack otaku teacherkit touch it’s not a monetary something she said that man in that car he’s sick he’s from cannonballs and venetie schiacciata he caught from cannonballs he’s secure wrappers gonna heal yesterday now he’s he’s gonna put his TP up on these and they have to be skinned by a little boy they don’t know woman yet see that’s how you say it now we are story a SHINee that means don’t know a woman yet in other words a virgin boy has to peel those so after I knew I was important you didn’t hurt no more so I peeled all them then they put them up put that TP on there we’re gonna probe rot that sick man in ER so finally on the fourth day that man came out he was he was healed so next they took that TP apart they laid those tepee poles down and next to that there was two sawhorses didn’t pose or cross booted him and like about the size of a yardstick I had to cut those poles Nick with a sock so there again nobody helped me but Khushi she said we grabbed took the sick out of that sick man and went up in the air that sick went up it went into the tepee poles so the sick is all in these t people said but you’re not gonna get sick you have to asalaam and then when they were all salt next grandpa came Parliament he weren’t about because that disease was in them so he burnt that so that was my grandpa’s on medicine he was strong and one time one lady she asked me if they could do a recreation of that so I said norm asana that’s a sacred thing I still have to put that on camera did a recreation of it all the wannabes will be said now my grandpa my grandpa did that I peeled us for my grandpa it’s arson or that’s a sacred thing now seem to be we can’t do that so they didn’t they didn’t bother
Resource text
NDNAEU Alignment:
Affiliation sources
NDNAEU document credits: Demus McDonald — Spirit Lake (Dakota).
Source materials
Supplied transcript documents. Text and transcription uncertainties are preserved as supplied.