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Robinson, Marilyn (audio interview #1 of 2)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION</b> - This is the first of two interviews conducted as part of a project for a senior women's studies seminar. 1997-04-19
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- 2019-09-26
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- SUBJECT BIO</b> - Marilyn Robinson was actively involved in promoting American Indian Studies at several campuses, including UCLA, and an active participant in Indian women's organizations. A Mohawk-Cayuga woman, she was raised on the Six Nations Indian Reserve in southern Ontario, Canada in a family that honored that their native traditions and practices. Although her primary education was on the reserve, she had to leave in order to attend high school and college, where she experienced a great deal of racism. During the 1950s, after her marriage to a non-Indian, she stayed at home and raised her children. When she moved to San Diego in 1961, she became an activist and joined several Indian groups, including United Indian Women's Council. She returned to college to pursue an advanced degree, taught sociology and American Indian Studies, but became involved in advocacy of Indian causes - particularly promotion of education - and did not complete her Ph.D. TOPICS</b> - family life on the reservation; childhood; high school in White community; racism; social life; religion; transition from reservation to high school in town; and role models; teaching on the reservation; first marriage; sibling relationships; role as wife of an academician; socializing among wives; and children;
- File: aimrobinson1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:21)... Robinson grew up on a six nations Indian Reserve in southern Ontario, Canada. She lived on a self-contained community which had its own hospitals and day schools. The day schools were on the reserve and were under the jurisdiction of the reserve. There were twelve schools: four were two rooms and the rest were one room, grades 1-8. She was taught by Indian teachers and used English in school but spoke Mohawk at home. Her parents did not speak English until they were ten or eleven years old, in the 1930's and 40's. She grew up in a very "traditional" way, and did not have any contact with the non-Indian world. (3:21-6:39)... Students were required to leave the reservation to go to high school, which they did not start until 10th grade. Robinson worked as a maid/child care provider to pay for her room/board. They were not required to go to high school, but the Indian culture valued education. She went home to the reservation every other weekend. The attitude toward Robinson leaving was mixed. While her parents believed in education, they were hesitant to send her away from the culture and family. (6:39-11:23)... The high school Robinson attended was all White and she found it terrifying. She was overwhelmed and lost, and there was a lot of prejudice toward Indians. The other students made fun of them and some of the teachers did not like the Indian students and made it very obvious and belittled them. On the other hand, she had a French teacher who praised her and was wonderful with all the students. Robinson became close friends with a White girl at school. When Robinson invited her to the reservation, her parents would not allow her to go. Robinson was not at all prepared for the prejudice that she experienced in high school; her high school only prepared her for academia, but not for social experiences. She asked her father why people don't like them and he just said that they don't understand them. (11:23-14:21)... Robinson worked in a home for room and board while she attended high school. She felt like a servant and was treated like one. She was studying for a test that she had to pass to go on in school and came home one day after the woman she worked for had a luncheon. The house was a mess and she was expected to clean it up, make dinner, and feed and bathe the child. She was in shock. She thought that her education was the priority, but it turned out that the woman's first priority was for her to be a maid; being a student was second. She lived with two families during high school and was treated the same way in both homes. (14:21-18:26)... Robinson grew up in a house with her mother, father, two sisters, and brother. Her eldest sister is twenty years older than her and her second sister is thirteen years older. Her brother left home when he was seventeen to work in Niagara Falls. She grew up in a one room house, but her father added rooms on over the years. They did not have electricity or indoor plumbing. Her family practiced the Long House religion and went to church with her mother and to ceremonies with her father. A lot of people would come to visit and she explains that "when people came over you dropped what you were doing and you visit." Robinson's father farmed his own land and her mother went to town and did day work when the family needed the money. Robinson's mother's family lived around them. (18:26-22:52)... The Six Nations was a matrilineal and matrilocal community. The women owned the land and Robinson lived on her mother's land. When she left the reservation permantley she realized how differently women were treated in the non-Indian world and how different the patriarchal life was. Women had a lot of power in the reservation and they made the important decisions; men did not make decisions without consulting the women. In the Six Nations, the clan mothers chose the clan speakers and if they did not make wise decisions, the clan mother had the power to remove them. (22:52-25:30)... Robinson's family was very involved in tribal social events. The Indian fair was held every September and her father was president for a number of years; her mother was president of an Indian women's organization. The fair was to promote crops and flowers and the school children exhibited their art and crafts. There was a plowman's association and there were judges to determine the best plowman. There was a La Crosse team in the summer and every Sunday there was a game of just Indian teams. (25:30-35:05)... Robinson's mother was an Episcopalian and her father practiced Long House religion. She never noticed a major issue about religion in her house. Indians were tolerant of other religions. She went to ceremonies with her father and always felt that she got more from the Long House religion. Robinson practices Long House religion. She notes that there is no hierarchy in Long House, and no one standing up front telling you what to do. The religion was very much in in tune with nature and planting. Corn was an essential part of the culture and the green corn dance was Robinson's favorite because it was so central to life and denotes joy and good food. When she was fourteen, Robinson went to her mother and told her that Christianity was not for Indians. She did not like the fact that someone was up front telling her what to do. (35:05-40:40)... The transition between living on the reservation and living in town was very dramatic; at first there were a group of Indian girls who supported each other until many of them dropped out. Robinson's salvation was that she loved to learn and loved school, ideas, and reading. She found a conflict between what she learned in school and her culture and that drove her to learn more and stay in school. She taught on the reservation and decided to get her teaching credential. She took two classes but could not handle it; one of her professors became exasperated by Robinsons' constant questioning. There was this tunnel vision and she was always questioning things. (40:40-41:59)... As Robinson went through high school, there were fewer and fewer Indian students; they dropped out through the years. She did not have many friends because she could not be with her Indian friends. She felt that she was becoming more and more White. Her escape was learning. (41:59-45:48)... Robinson's role model was her mother because she was strong and she always wanted her to set her sights higher. She also admired her French teacher in high school. As she learned more and more, she did not discuss it with her family. She did not want conflict with them so did not discuss what she learned. It was comforting for her to go home and settle back into the roles of the family. End of tape <b>File: aimrobinson2.mp3</b> (0:00-1:50)... When Robinson went home to celebrate her father's 71st birthday, one of the older men came up to her and asked what she was doing. She told him she was going to school to get her degree. He told her that she was too old to be in school and that maybe she should come back to the reservation and make baskets. She thought he may have a point and she never questioned anyone that stayed on the reservation. It is much more comforting to stay and live in the traditions of the reservation. (1:50-8:10)... After high school Robinson went to a one year teaching school and she taught on the reservation, putting her heart and soul into it. She taught grades 1-8 and she loved the kids. She was active in the educational component of organizing a PTA and parent involvement and was active in getting more funding for education and her school. She recounts going to a one-day conference of teachers and discovering that she and the other teachers from her school were the only Indian teachers. She was surprised that the other teachers of Indian children were White. Although the curriculum was dictated by the state, she fit in teaching the native culture and the native language. She recalls a boy asking her why she was not telling them to stop speaking Indian. She allowed the students to speak Indian at recess and at lunch but told them when the principal came to the class that they had to speak English. (8:10-11:02)... When Robinson was in elementary school, the Indian teachers punished the students for not speaking English; they were struck across the knuckles with a ruler. Today there is language immersion but back then they were taught to be assimilated into the White culture. (11:02-14:57)... Robinson never felt ashamed of being Indian and gets angry when people deny being Indian. She recalls a family who lived off the reservation who had a daughter with whom she became friends. Her friend came to the reservation for the weekend for a festival. They met up with another girl who claimed to be French, denying being Indian, which angered both Robinson and her friend. Robinson came from a family that was proud of their heritage. (14:57-17:02)... Robinson recalls an incident when she was at Princeton with her first husband. An anthropologist was talking about her research, which turned out to be about Robinson's home. Robinson told the anthropologist that she had it all wrong and she corrected her. (17:02-23:29)... Robinson's family used both a medicine man and a doctor when she was growing up. Her Reserve was founded very early, in 1784, and is very different than others. When she returns, she finds that the natives speak the language and still use a medicine man. It was not unusual for Robinson's mother to call on the medicine man and then call the doctor. (23:29-28:14)... Robinson married a non-Indian who she met at a school dance. She was married after her first year at school and her family had mixed feelings about it. Her mother had passed away by this time and her father was supportive but did not want her to leave the reservation. They were married in 1951. (28:14-32:06)... Robinson was very close with her eldest sister, who was more like a mother to her. She was twenty years older than her and never had children. Robinson's other sister, with whom she was not very close, left the reserve very young and never returned; she did not incorporate Indian culture in her life. Robinson is also close with her brother and she recalls the first time he left the reserve to work in Niagara Falls and came back with a watch. She had never seen a watch before and the next time he brought her a dress. He took care of Robinson when she was younger. (32:06-34:00)... When Robinson was young she helped her father in the fields and helped her mother clean the house. The duties in the home were not gender related at all; her brother cooked when their mother was ill. Her father also cooked and it was common for their culture. (34:00-41:39)... Robinson's in-laws treated her very nicely. When she married, she was very naive, but as she grew and went to school, she did not want to be the housewife waiting on him. He wanted a traditional wife who stayed at home and they grew apart. They had four children. She did not experience any prejudice being married to a non-Indian and it was not uncommon in her area to intermarry. She and her husband moved to California and she has been in San Diego since 1961. She did not experience any prejudice in California, and describes it as very different than other places, especially in the academic world. She worked until she was pregnant and always took classes. She and her husband moved a lot early in the marriage and it was difficult to fit in with other Indian cultures in places like Chicago and New Jersey. (41:39-44:42)... When Robinson was married she was the academic's wife; she socialized with the other wives but could not relate to any of them. When she moved to San Diego, she went to school full-time and had three small children. She really did not have time to socialize with the other wives. She did make friends with a Mexican woman and they were the only two "brown" women at social events. <b>End of tape
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