WEBVTT

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[gentle music]

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- Eliza Skenandore: For me,
raised beadwork is a way

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to express myself.

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So, you'll see pieces
that are unique to me

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because these are the colors
that I enjoy.

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These are the styles that I use
in my everyday life.

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Raised beadwork
keeps our culture alive.

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Shekolí.

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Yutyátashnolats ní:yukyáts.

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Onyota'a:ká:níi:

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Wakkwáho niwaki'taló:ta.

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My English name
is Eliza Skenandore.

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And my Oneida name is
Yutyátashnolats,

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which means "she moves quickly."

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And I serve as both
the library director

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for the
Oneida Community Library,

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but also I consider myself an
artist and a culture advocate

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for our community.

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So, raised beadwork is a style
that is done

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among the Haudenosaunee.

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In our language,
we say Laudenosaunee.

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It's the people
of the longhouse.

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So, our homelands
are in New York.

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Those six nations all do the
raised beadwork style.

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It's very mathematical.
[laughs]

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And so, it's like tension,
the amount of spacing

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you put in each stitch
to get that uniform look.

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You have to be so precise.

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When I first started,

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there wasn't really anyone
teaching in this community.

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Occasionally there would be
people from out east

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that would come teach
in our community,

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but the classes
were really expensive.

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And as a college student,

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I couldn't afford, like,
those classes.

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When I was starting
my associate's degree,

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the tribe has this program
that is for student interns.

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And it just changed
my entire life track.

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I was under the collection
management supervisor

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and she needed help moving
the collection from offsite

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to a new location.

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And I opened this drawer

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and it's this
mini raised beaded collection.

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And they're all miniature
of our, like, raised beadwork.

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And I just fell in love.

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And I'm just like, "Sarah,
can I take photos of this?

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And can I, like..."

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She's like, "Take however much
time you want."

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And so, I'm like, counting beads
and I'm taking photos,

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and I started recreating
some of the pieces

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that were in the collection.

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I feel like
as a library director,

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I'm making sure that our stories
are protected

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and our stories are shared.

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It's just completely full circle
to find myself

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being the director and becoming
a mentor for the youth.

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Growing up here
in this community

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and being able to give back
to the community

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that gave so much to me.

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In the library, we're not only
just a place for books,

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we're a place for people.

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We're teaching cultural values.

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We're teaching knowledge.

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We're taking the interests
of our community

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and making sure that they have
those opportunities

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to learn what they want
to learn.

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I feel like the library
is a place

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where our community
can be heard,

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and it's a place
where they can feel welcomed

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no matter what background
they come from

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or where they are in their state
of learning.

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My biggest mentor was my father.

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He instilled that our culture
is important

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because he didn't find out
that he was Native American

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'til he was in fourth grade,

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from a kid bullying him
that he was Indian.

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He didn't want that for us.

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He wanted to make sure
that we knew who we are.

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I feel like with every
generation, our culture,

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our language, our stories
get stronger and stronger.

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That's what keeps our culture
alive

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is being able to pass it
from person to person.