I WANNA CRY The VOICES

Sheku,

My name is Karen Ann Hoffman. I’m a Haudenosaunee Raised Beadwork artist and citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. It is a great honor and deeply felt responsibility to welcome you to “I Wanna Cry”.

A protector of Women, Bobby Bullet has written this lament and put our Women’s voices at the forefront. This choir of care and concern creates an anthem that wafts a message of Peace and Love on the breezes of their breath. Strong as the Wind, gentle as a Whisper, this mixing of voices connects the wisdom of our past to the hope of our future.

As Unkweunkwe our original instructions tell us to put community before self. Among the most vulnerable in our community are our Missing and Murdered. Native artists have been creating, singing and praying for these Sisters across Turtle Island. “I Wanna Cry” lifts the voices of those at risk. It is a cry of pain through tears of determination.

Never Alone

To

Our Lost Sisters… Remember,

Aksota, Our Grandmother Moon watches over us. Even when we cannot see her face, She looks after us.

Aste note k^ten^tele, the Three Sisters, are our Guardians, Sustaining our People; giving us strength and life.

All our generations surround us with the warmth of their Support and Encouragement.

To Our Lost Sisters… Remember,

We are with you. Wherever you are.

Karen Ann Hoffman

She Remembers

Gaa-giizhiikwajiwed Bwaananaabekwe, Mary Moose, is an Anishinaabe Elder, born in the remote regions of northern Ontario, Canada. Gaa-giizhiikwajiwed Bwaananaabekwe means The Mermaid Who Swims Fast, and is Mermaid Clan. Bwaananaabekwe was sent to boarding school in Ontario Canada at the age of 11. The first day she arrived Mary’s hair was cut and the rest was wrapped with kerosene in a towel overnight.

The next day Bwaananaabekwe was asked to take a shower. When she took the shower there were nuns and priests looking at her naked and making her feel very uncomfortable. Bwaananaabekwe was touched inappropriately during this encounter.

She remembers the only thing she could do was cry and wonder why this was going on at the boarding school.

The Next day she was taken to a church next to the boarding school. She was dragged there and forced to pray. She was beaten with a bible until she did what the nuns asked her to do. At this time Bwaananaabekwe did not understand the English language very well. She remembers waking up in pain the next day with bruises on her ribs and legs.

She remembers sleeping in a school hall of 60 or so girls. The girls would sleep separated from the Native boys. She remembers the priest would walk in at night to select a girl to bring back to rape.Bwaananaabekwe remembers the cries of all the girls when the priests would visit at night. She would be selected on some of those nights and endured this throughout her stay at the boarding school.

At the school, Bwaananaabekwe remembers being whipped by leather belts, books, rulers, or anything the nuns could get a hold of if they were caught practicing the culture or speaking the language.

Bwaananaabekwe recalls an electric chair in the school’s basement. Sometimes they would put the kids there if they kept on speaking their language or did not listen to the nuns or priests.

She remembers losing a lot of her friends and this is very difficult for Bwaananaabekwe to talk about and says that’s all she would discuss. It’s too hard to try to remember what happened at the boarding school.

But, the only way she would carry on is to forgive herself first and to forgive what happened to her at the boarding school. It’s the only way she was able to keep on living.

Bwaananaabekwe’s Grandfather did not speak English and the Indian affairs gave her the name Mary.

Today Bwaananaabekwe is an Ojibwe Resource Specialist for the Fond Du Lac Reservation in Minnesota. She loves to teach the culture and Language.

Bwaananaabekwe Mary Moose among people near the Lake, and (opposite page) offering assema in the woods at the water.