Traveling with Doris And Elfrieda
From James Donahue’s journal
Elfrieda could not stay home. She loved to drive all over the reservation in the Begay pickup. She often invited Doris to go along. They traveled everywhere on the reservation, sometimes visiting Elfrieda’s family, sometimes friends, and at other times went on sightseeing tours. Doris said one day Elfrieda showed her the “secret” opening to what she said was the entrance to a vast underground cavern filled with living quarters, food and water for the people to go in the event of an atomic attack or some other world catastrophe. We never knew if this was a true story or not.
One day the Begays took us both along with them when they went to collect their monthly government surplus rations. We drove to an obscure building in a small community on the reservation. After going inside for a while, Raymond backed his pickup to a loading ramp where a large quantity of packaged foods was given to them. They loaded canned meat, large squares of cheese, vegetables, crackers and other supplies all said to have been government surplus. The Native Americans apparently enjoyed this kind of handout each month. Because they made money selling jewelry and Raymond was paid for his work as a practicing medicine man, they did not need this food, but they took it anyway. Elfrieda passed it around to other tribal members who were so poverty stricken they really needed the extra help.
Doris got to visit many of these people, still living in Hogans and getting by. She said she was impressed at how clean the Hogans were. Even though the people lived on a dirt floor, the dirt was packed hard and the one-room homes were utilitarian, lacking anything that was not needed, and always immaculate.
Doris also noticed that some of the people they visited were suffering from medical problems. She asked about their medical assistance, beyond the work of the medicine men, and learned that a district nurse was supposed to make the rounds and visit them. They complained, however, that the nurse rarely came. Doris had Elfrieda drive her to the office where the nurse worked and filed a complaint, asking for more and regular visitations in these remote areas. I believe Doris even offered her services as a licensed medical technologist, without charge, but she was turned down.
While Elfrieda liked to roam, Raymond was content just staying home and tending to his own affairs. When we learned that he had to go to great trouble to get the cedar he used in his rituals, we wrote to Sharon and asked her to send us a box filled with cedar limbs. Raymond was really pleased when the box arrived and we could hand it to him as our gift. He sat for hours cutting up the cedar and getting it prepared for his ceremonies.
From James Donahue’s journal
Elfrieda could not stay home. She loved to drive all over the reservation in the Begay pickup. She often invited Doris to go along. They traveled everywhere on the reservation, sometimes visiting Elfrieda’s family, sometimes friends, and at other times went on sightseeing tours. Doris said one day Elfrieda showed her the “secret” opening to what she said was the entrance to a vast underground cavern filled with living quarters, food and water for the people to go in the event of an atomic attack or some other world catastrophe. We never knew if this was a true story or not.
One day the Begays took us both along with them when they went to collect their monthly government surplus rations. We drove to an obscure building in a small community on the reservation. After going inside for a while, Raymond backed his pickup to a loading ramp where a large quantity of packaged foods was given to them. They loaded canned meat, large squares of cheese, vegetables, crackers and other supplies all said to have been government surplus. The Native Americans apparently enjoyed this kind of handout each month. Because they made money selling jewelry and Raymond was paid for his work as a practicing medicine man, they did not need this food, but they took it anyway. Elfrieda passed it around to other tribal members who were so poverty stricken they really needed the extra help.
Doris got to visit many of these people, still living in Hogans and getting by. She said she was impressed at how clean the Hogans were. Even though the people lived on a dirt floor, the dirt was packed hard and the one-room homes were utilitarian, lacking anything that was not needed, and always immaculate.
Doris also noticed that some of the people they visited were suffering from medical problems. She asked about their medical assistance, beyond the work of the medicine men, and learned that a district nurse was supposed to make the rounds and visit them. They complained, however, that the nurse rarely came. Doris had Elfrieda drive her to the office where the nurse worked and filed a complaint, asking for more and regular visitations in these remote areas. I believe Doris even offered her services as a licensed medical technologist, without charge, but she was turned down.
While Elfrieda liked to roam, Raymond was content just staying home and tending to his own affairs. When we learned that he had to go to great trouble to get the cedar he used in his rituals, we wrote to Sharon and asked her to send us a box filled with cedar limbs. Raymond was really pleased when the box arrived and we could hand it to him as our gift. He sat for hours cutting up the cedar and getting it prepared for his ceremonies.