WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.000 You 00:31.000 --> 00:37.000 For me, raised beadwork is a way to express myself. 00:37.000 --> 00:44.000 So you'll see pieces that are unique to me because these are the colors that I enjoy. 00:44.000 --> 00:48.000 These are the styles that I use in my everyday life. 00:48.000 --> 00:52.000 Raised beadwork keeps our culture alive. 00:53.000 --> 00:55.000 So golly. 00:55.000 --> 01:00.000 Yoonjaga Snolets, Nirongets, Oniote, Daia, Ganyi, Wokahehe Gita Loro. 01:00.000 --> 01:03.000 My English name is Eliza Skenendoor. 01:03.000 --> 01:09.000 And my own item name is Yoonjaga Snolets, which means she moves quickly. 01:09.000 --> 01:21.000 And I serve as both the library director for the Oniote Community Library, but also I consider myself an artist and a culture advocate for our community. 01:22.000 --> 01:29.000 So raised beadwork is a style that is done among the Haudenosaunee. 01:29.000 --> 01:31.000 In our language, we say Laudenosaunee. 01:31.000 --> 01:33.000 It's the people of the longhouse. 01:33.000 --> 01:36.000 So our homelands are in New York. 01:36.000 --> 01:41.000 Those six nations all do the raised beadwork style. 01:41.000 --> 01:43.000 It's very mathematical. 01:43.000 --> 01:50.000 And so it's like tension, the amount of spacing you put in each stitch to get that uniform look. 01:50.000 --> 01:53.000 You have to be so precise. 01:53.000 --> 01:58.000 When I first started, there wasn't really anyone teaching in this community. 01:58.000 --> 02:06.000 Occasionally there would be people from out east that would come teach in our community, but the classes were really expensive. 02:06.000 --> 02:12.000 And as a college student, I couldn't afford like those classes. 02:12.000 --> 02:19.000 When I was starting my associate's degree, the tribe has this program that is for student interns. 02:19.000 --> 02:23.000 And it just changed my entire life track. 02:23.000 --> 02:35.000 I was under the collection management supervisor and she needed help moving the collection from offsite to a new location. 02:35.000 --> 02:41.000 And I opened this drawer and it's this mini raised beaded collection. 02:41.000 --> 02:44.000 And they're all miniature of our like raised beadwork. 02:44.000 --> 02:45.000 And I just fell in love. 02:45.000 --> 02:50.000 And I'm just like, Sarah, can I take photos of this? 02:50.000 --> 02:54.000 And can I like, she's like, take the however much time you want. 02:54.000 --> 03:06.000 And so I'm like counting beads and I'm taking photos and I started recreating some of the pieces that were in the collection. 03:06.000 --> 03:12.000 I feel like as a library director, I'm making sure that our stories are protected. 03:12.000 --> 03:15.000 And our stories are shared. 03:15.000 --> 03:19.000 It's just completely full circle to find myself. 03:19.000 --> 03:24.000 Being the director and becoming a mentor for the youth. 03:24.000 --> 03:30.000 Growing up here in this community and being able to give back to the community that gave so much to me. 03:30.000 --> 03:37.000 In the library, we're not only just a place for books, we're a place for people. 03:37.000 --> 03:40.000 We're teaching culture values. 03:40.000 --> 03:42.000 We're teaching knowledge. 03:42.000 --> 03:52.000 We're taking the interests of our community and making sure that they have those opportunities to learn what they want to learn. 03:52.000 --> 04:05.000 I feel like the library is a place where our community can be heard and it's a place where they can feel welcome no matter what background they come from. 04:05.000 --> 04:09.000 Or where they are in their state of learning. 04:09.000 --> 04:12.000 My biggest mentor was my father. 04:12.000 --> 04:21.000 He instilled that our culture is important because he didn't find out that he was Native American until he was in fourth grade. 04:21.000 --> 04:24.000 From a kid bullying him that he was Indian. 04:24.000 --> 04:26.000 He didn't want that for us. 04:26.000 --> 04:29.000 He wanted to make sure that we knew who we are. 04:29.000 --> 04:36.000 I feel like with every generation our culture, our language, our stories get stronger and stronger. 04:36.000 --> 04:42.000 That's what keeps our culture alive is being able to pass it from person to person. 04:59.000 --> 05:02.000 Thank you.