1
00:00:04,605 --> 00:00:06,273
[gentle music]

2
00:00:13,180 --> 00:00:15,449
- Eliza Skenandore: For me,
raised beadwork is a way

3
00:00:15,516 --> 00:00:17,084
to express myself.

4
00:00:17,150 --> 00:00:21,054
So, you'll see pieces
that are unique to me

5
00:00:21,755 --> 00:00:24,291
because these are the colors
that I enjoy.

6
00:00:24,358 --> 00:00:27,928
These are the styles that I use
in my everyday life.

7
00:00:27,995 --> 00:00:31,932
Raised beadwork
keeps our culture alive.

8
00:00:34,168 --> 00:00:35,769
Shekolí.

9
00:00:35,836 --> 00:00:37,371
Yutyátashnolats ní:yukyáts.

10
00:00:37,437 --> 00:00:38,672
Onyota'a:ká:níi:

11
00:00:38,739 --> 00:00:39,873
Wakkwáho niwaki'taló:ta.

12
00:00:39,940 --> 00:00:42,576
My English name
is Eliza Skenandore.

13
00:00:42,643 --> 00:00:46,213
And my Oneida name is
Yutyátashnolats,

14
00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,882
which means "she moves quickly."

15
00:00:48,949 --> 00:00:52,886
And I serve as both
the library director

16
00:00:52,953 --> 00:00:54,288
for the
Oneida Community Library,

17
00:00:54,354 --> 00:00:59,026
but also I consider myself an
artist and a culture advocate

18
00:00:59,092 --> 00:01:00,894
for our community.

19
00:01:01,461 --> 00:01:05,365
So, raised beadwork is a style
that is done

20
00:01:06,867 --> 00:01:08,969
among the Haudenosaunee.

21
00:01:09,036 --> 00:01:11,471
In our language,
we say Laudenosaunee.

22
00:01:11,538 --> 00:01:13,240
It's the people
of the longhouse.

23
00:01:13,307 --> 00:01:16,376
So, our homelands
are in New York.

24
00:01:16,443 --> 00:01:20,848
Those six nations all do the
raised beadwork style.

25
00:01:20,914 --> 00:01:22,916
It's very mathematical.
[laughs]

26
00:01:22,983 --> 00:01:25,986
And so, it's like tension,
the amount of spacing

27
00:01:26,053 --> 00:01:29,723
you put in each stitch
to get that uniform look.

28
00:01:29,790 --> 00:01:32,125
You have to be so precise.

29
00:01:32,659 --> 00:01:33,927
When I first started,

30
00:01:33,994 --> 00:01:37,464
there wasn't really anyone
teaching in this community.

31
00:01:37,531 --> 00:01:40,234
Occasionally there would be
people from out east

32
00:01:40,300 --> 00:01:42,936
that would come teach
in our community,

33
00:01:43,003 --> 00:01:45,239
but the classes
were really expensive.

34
00:01:45,305 --> 00:01:46,573
And as a college student,

35
00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,444
I couldn't afford, like,
those classes.

36
00:01:51,879 --> 00:01:54,848
When I was starting
my associate's degree,

37
00:01:54,915 --> 00:01:59,553
the tribe has this program
that is for student interns.

38
00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:03,657
And it just changed
my entire life track.

39
00:02:03,724 --> 00:02:08,495
I was under the collection
management supervisor

40
00:02:08,562 --> 00:02:13,100
and she needed help moving
the collection from offsite

41
00:02:13,166 --> 00:02:14,835
to a new location.

42
00:02:15,435 --> 00:02:17,471
And I opened this drawer

43
00:02:17,538 --> 00:02:21,341
and it's this
mini raised beaded collection.

44
00:02:21,408 --> 00:02:24,611
And they're all miniature
of our, like, raised beadwork.

45
00:02:24,678 --> 00:02:25,913
And I just fell in love.

46
00:02:25,979 --> 00:02:29,950
And I'm just like, "Sarah,
can I take photos of this?

47
00:02:30,017 --> 00:02:31,618
And can I, like..."

48
00:02:31,685 --> 00:02:34,288
She's like, "Take however much
time you want."

49
00:02:34,354 --> 00:02:39,159
And so, I'm like, counting beads
and I'm taking photos,

50
00:02:39,226 --> 00:02:42,663
and I started recreating
some of the pieces

51
00:02:42,729 --> 00:02:45,399
that were in the collection.

52
00:02:46,300 --> 00:02:48,368
I feel like
as a library director,

53
00:02:48,435 --> 00:02:52,372
I'm making sure that our stories
are protected

54
00:02:52,439 --> 00:02:55,008
and our stories are shared.

55
00:02:56,176 --> 00:02:59,346
It's just completely full circle
to find myself

56
00:02:59,413 --> 00:03:04,351
being the director and becoming
a mentor for the youth.

57
00:03:04,418 --> 00:03:05,619
Growing up here
in this community

58
00:03:05,686 --> 00:03:08,555
and being able to give back
to the community

59
00:03:08,622 --> 00:03:10,757
that gave so much to me.

60
00:03:12,025 --> 00:03:15,696
In the library, we're not only
just a place for books,

61
00:03:15,762 --> 00:03:17,764
we're a place for people.

62
00:03:17,831 --> 00:03:20,567
We're teaching cultural values.

63
00:03:20,634 --> 00:03:22,636
We're teaching knowledge.

64
00:03:22,703 --> 00:03:25,506
We're taking the interests
of our community

65
00:03:25,572 --> 00:03:29,610
and making sure that they have
those opportunities

66
00:03:29,676 --> 00:03:32,946
to learn what they want
to learn.

67
00:03:33,013 --> 00:03:34,615
I feel like the library
is a place

68
00:03:34,681 --> 00:03:37,351
where our community
can be heard,

69
00:03:37,417 --> 00:03:41,555
and it's a place
where they can feel welcomed

70
00:03:43,524 --> 00:03:45,993
no matter what background
they come from

71
00:03:46,059 --> 00:03:50,364
or where they are in their state
of learning.

72
00:03:50,430 --> 00:03:52,466
My biggest mentor was my father.

73
00:03:52,533 --> 00:03:55,969
He instilled that our culture
is important

74
00:03:56,036 --> 00:03:59,506
because he didn't find out
that he was Native American

75
00:03:59,573 --> 00:04:01,475
'til he was in fourth grade,

76
00:04:01,542 --> 00:04:04,912
from a kid bullying him
that he was Indian.

77
00:04:04,978 --> 00:04:06,680
He didn't want that for us.

78
00:04:06,747 --> 00:04:09,516
He wanted to make sure
that we knew who we are.

79
00:04:09,583 --> 00:04:12,786
I feel like with every
generation, our culture,

80
00:04:12,853 --> 00:04:16,290
our language, our stories
get stronger and stronger.

81
00:04:16,356 --> 00:04:18,325
That's what keeps our culture
alive

82
00:04:18,392 --> 00:04:22,629
is being able to pass it
from person to person.