All my life I have had so many supporters in my family. I love all of them and they are all a very big part of who I am. My great grandmother is one of my biggest supporters, always making what I’m doing a challenge, for example if I were building a house out of legos she would be the one to tell me well why not a city. Though my great grandmother’s story is one that I will never forget.
My great grandmother did not live with her siblings, well she lived with her sister for 4 years, but other than that she didn’t. She lived with her aunt and uncle, where she worked a lot. Going to school was kind of a reward to her. “I would normally go to school on Monday to get my work then go back Friday to turn my work in.” My great grandmother told me. Her aunt and uncle always told her that her great grandmother was really bad because she was “an evil woman” because she was open to smoking a pipe and drinking, so it is said, she was also 100% Abenaki.
While growing up my great grandmother loved going to lakes, where they fished for salmon, her grandmother made Sammi Wiggle, unable to make it herself now. Like most people during this time, the way she learned to swim was by being thrown in the lake and told to learn to swim.
My great grandmother loves nature. She listens to it all. All the sound animals make, the way the wind makes sound, she listens. She is very involved in nature, watching as the environment changes as the climate changes. When a tree is about to be cut down, she talks to the tree before it happens to make sure it is okay with it. Which is one of my favorite things about who she is.
My great grandmother has all these great things about her, not all Abenaki, she is a mix of many different wonderful things. But the Abenaki part of her was told to hide it, and not tell anyone about it. Her great grandmother was fully Abenaki, like I said before, she was told she couldn’t see her great grandmother because she was open about smoking a pipe and drinking, no one could see her though.
Her great grandmother was shamed for being Abenaki, my great grandmother’s great aunt even sneaked out to visit her 4-5 times, but she didn’t care, she would get in trouble with her mother since my great grandmother’s great grandmother made it clear that she drank and smoked from a pipe. I’m not sure if part of the reason was because she was Abenaki or not.
My great grandmother has always been a really hard worker. She always finds something to do. She has worked so many jobs, she and her husband worked everyday when my grandmother was growing up. Her favorite job is being a nurse for the elderly. And even with all the work she had to do she was able to make good memories with her three biological kids and then 6 other kids who stayed with her and her husband. I have always been in awe when she tells me all she did and still does, even now. She was able to find the time to be there for everyone when it was needed.
Her husband (my great grandfather) and her to this day have been able to make wonderful memories with their grandkids, and great grandkids. Things may be way too expensive to make the same memories that her kids got, but she still finds ways. Like finding new board games and trying them out, or going “hunting” for something in her barn where you always find cool pictures and fun memories, showing me you don’t need to go somewhere to make memories you can look back on when you’re having a rough day. Even though my great grandmother does all these wonderful things, and makes these wonderful memories, this was the first time I have heard about her being Abenaki.
With all the things that my grandmother had to do, the stresses of a bunch of kids and work, she was able to make everyone grow up and be the great people they are today, with defaults like everyone. Though everyone has memories to look back upon, there are times when I get up and talk to my grandmother, she starts talking to me about all the fun she had as a kid growing up, I always look forward to those mornings. Now her story spreads.
