Anita Watashe, Interview
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Created: Thursday, May 11, 2023 - 09:15 |
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Summary:
An interview with Muscogee (Creek) Nation citizen Anita Watashe. Description:
An interview with Muscogee (Creek) Nation citizen Anita Watahse. A downloadable transcript may be found by link: Anita Watashe. This interview has been indexed through the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History Center’s Oral History Metadata Synchronizer system at the University of Kentucky. For an indexed copy of the video, please follow the external link found in the bar on the right of this page.
Transcription:
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Historic and Cultural Preservation Department Oral History Program
“A Twenty-First Century Pandemic in Indian Country: The Resilience of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Against Covid-19”
As Remembered by: Mrs. Anita Watashe
Interview by: Ms. Midge Dellinger
Date: May 14, 2022
Transcription: The Audio Transcription Company
Edited by: Ms. Midge Dellinger
MIDGE DELLINGER: This is Midge Dellinger, oral historian for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Today is May 14, 2022, and I am in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, interviewing Muscogee citizen Mrs. Anita Watashe. I am performing this interview on behalf of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Historic and Cultural Preservation Department for the oral history project titled “A Twenty-First Century Pandemic in Indian Country: The Resilience of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Against COVID-19.” Mrs. Watashe, thank you so much for taking time out of your Saturday to be here with me and to do this interview.
We’re going to start with some questions that pertain to your personal background and I’d like to begin with what is your tribal town and clan?
ANITA WATASHE: My tribal town is Hvlvpe, and my clan is the Bird Clan. DELLINGER: And where were you born?
WATASHE: I was born in Talihina, Oklahoma, at the Choctaw Hospital. DELLINGER: Now is Talihina where your folks were from? [00:01:00]
WATASHE: No, we were living in Holdenville at the time and I have no idea why that’s where I was born. [laughs] No, we didn’t live in Talihina.
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DELLINGER: Okay, so your folks were living in Holdenville at the time. And so, who are your parents? Will you please tell me about each one of them?
WATASHE: My parents are the late Rev. Joseph Lowe Jr., and my mother is Louise Lowe. And before my dad passed in September, they had celebrated their sixty-first wedding anniversary.
DELLINGER: Wow, that’s wonderful. Now, tell me a little bit about your dad, about your dad’s life.
WATASHE: My dad, he was born on our church grounds, at Wewoka Indian United Methodist Church, in Yeager. He went to Haskell, when it was a high school, [00:02:00] he went to the Army, he worked for the city of Holdenville, he loved to play fast pitch softball. He was a pitcher. He became an Indian United Methodist minister in 1976. His first charge was at the Jay Tsalagi Church, in Jay, Oklahoma. He pastored there two years. He was moved to Sapulpa, and he pastored the Pickett Chapel Church, United Methodist Church. From there, he became the district superintendent of the Northeast Region. And after that his charge was at Mary Lee Clark in Del City. And then, he was going to retire. So, he pastored one year at the New Town Indian United Methodist Church in Okmulgee. And then, [00:03:00] after he retired he still was busy. He preached once a month at the Concharty Indian United Methodist Church, I think for fifteen years after he retired. So, he was there once a month. But he was active in his home church. He loved his home church. And he was an active member there until he passed.
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DELLINGER: And when you say home church, you mean Wewoka. WATASHE: Yes, the home church is Wewoka in Yeager, not in Wewoka. [laughs]
DELLINGER: Right, I’ve heard that. Now, where is Yeager, Oklahoma? If someone didn’t know where Yeager, Oklahoma was, how would you tell them to get to Yeager?
WATASHE: Well, if they knew where Holdenville was, I always tell them from the Holdenville intersection, 48 and 270, it’s three miles east and seven miles north on Yeager Road. If you know where Yeager [00:04:00] cemetery is, we’re one mile north of that.
DELLINGER: And you mentioned that your father worked for the City of Holdenville. What was he doing?
WATASHE: He was over the cemetery crew there, in Holdenville. So, that’s where he was working when he became a minister.
DELLINGER: Now, what about your mom?
WATASHE: My mom, she was a stay-at-home mom. She was busy. After he became a minister, she’s always by my dad’s side. Whatever he was doing she was right there.
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They was inseparable. And they enjoyed going out and visiting, and visiting their members or people in hospitals, nursing homes. So, they kept busy. She was busy as a pastor’s wife.
DELLINGER: Now, Mrs. Watashe, [00:05:00] do you have siblings?
WATASHE: I have two sisters. One, Tracey Lowe, was the oldest and she passed from cancer in two-thousand and seventeen. And then, I have a younger sister, Anna.
DELLINGER: And Anna, where does she live?
WATASHE: She lives in Okmulgee.
DELLINGER: And so, it sounds like growing up, you moved around, like you weren’t raised there in Holdenville.
WATASHE: No. I went to Holdenville Elementary up until fourth grade, and then I went to Jay for two years, then when we moved to Sapulpa, I went to Mounds, and that’s where I graduated.
DELLINGER: What was that like as a child moving around like that? You make friends and then you have to leave those friends, did you maintain any of your friendships? [00:06:00]
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WATASHE: I still have friends from Holdenville. I still have friends from Jay. And I’m in contact with everybody that I had friends with in Sapulpa. So, yeah I made a lot of friends during those years.
DELLINGER: Now, let’s talk about grandparents. Who are your grandparents and share a little bit about them?
WATASHE: My grandparents was Joseph and Hepsey Lowe. They lived in Holdenville. And Ed and Viva Boyston. They were in Holdenville, also.
DELLINGER: Okay. And what did these folks do?
WATASHE: My grandfather, Grandpa Lowe, I’ll call him. He worked for Canadian Valley, I believe. My grandmother was a housewife, a homemaker, and she was very active in our church. And she would make [00:07:00] potholders when we had our camp meetings at Preston, at the district center, when we would have our annual conference, she would make potholders and she would take them to every camp so they would have potholders. And she was a crafty little lady. I still have a heart that she made for Valentine’s, it’s a pink heart. It’s a little pillow, has my initials on it, and the year she made it. So, I still have that. They were both four-fourths, full-blood Creek, and they spoke the language. They were great. I mean, my grandmother was a little strong lady. And it seemed like they were both very quiet. And then my grandparents on my mom’s
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side, [00:08:00] the Boydstuns, my grandfather worked, I can’t remember where he worked, but it was with Holdenville. My Grandmother Boydstun was a homemaker, also, but they loved their grandkids. Grandpa Boydstun would get out there and play whatever we wanted to play. And they were very good people. I think my grandfather has taken everybody in Holdenville picked them up and took them somewhere. They would always call him if they needed a ride and he would just go pick them up and take them. And I remember sitting on the porch, and Grandma Boydstun singing to me and my sister, or telling us a story, and things like that. I have good memories of both sets of my grandparents.
DELLINGER: [00:09:00] That’s wonderful. So, as a child, being around Joseph and Hepsey when you were with them, did you get to experience the Muscogee language? Did they speak in the language around you?
WATASHE: They spoke it around me. Most of our services back then when I was growing up at Wewoka, it was done in Creek. And she taught Sunday school, so she’s taught all her grandkids in Sunday school. I remember going to Vacation Bible School, that’s when we had it all week, all day long, and she was always the teacher.
DELLINGER: So, then, was it important to your grandparents for their grandchildren to know the language? Are you able to speak some of the language now?
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WATASHE: I don’t you speak it but [00:10:00] I think she tried. She would line us all up and she would learn us a song and we would sing it. Yeah, it was spoken around us and the church was done all in Creek sometimes. So, I just never did pick up on it. But I loved to hear the Creek singing. And usually, if someone can start a song, I can’t, I can’t even sing. I like to sing, but if they can start it I can follow. But other than that, I just never did pick up on it. I wish I would have.
DELLINGER: Right. Now, you said you graduated from Mounds High School. And so, when you were in high school, were there any activities that you engaged with? What was high school life like for you?
WATASHE: Mounds was a good school. It was small. [00:11:00] I think my graduating class had thirty-eight, and back then, that was the biggest class they’ve had. I think now it’s more. But it was a good school. I enjoyed it. I still have my friends from high school, we’re still BFFs. And yeah, it was a good time in high school. I enjoyed my years.
DELLINGER: And what year did you gradate?
WATASHE: In 1984.
DELLINGER: Now, after high school graduation, where did life take you after that?
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WATASHE: Mostly to Creek Nation. [laughs] I had went to the OSU Okmulgee. Well, I worked at Head Start after graduation for a couple years, then I went to OSU Okmulgee, and then, during that time I was going, they had a job opening. [00:12:00] And so, I just
happened to be at the complex one day. I think my sister, she was probably working in election board at that time.
DELLINGER: Is that Tracey?
WATASHE: Tracy. So, I went and applied. And I was living at Jenks at the time, so between Okmulgee and Jenks, I got called in for an interview.
DELLINGER: Oh, you didn’t even make it back home.
WATASHE: I didn’t even make it home.
DELLINGER: What was the job?
WATASHE: Food Distribution, where I’m at now. So, this was in ’89. And so, they tell me to come in. And back then, where it’s called, what is it, education now? Back then, it was JTPA is what people called it, Job Training Placement. And it was just a little office. So, I go in there and I have to do a typing test and all of this. So, I did it and I think that was on a Friday. And then that Friday afternoon I get a call, saying, “Can you come to work on Monday?” I’m like, “Wow.” [00:13:00] I said, “Okay.” And I was nervous. So,
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they told me where the Food Distribution was at. It’s not where it’s at now, it was on 4th and Okmulgee, kind of by the high school. And I went there and I thought, “Oh my God,” because it was just a building. And they were showing me around. I was thinking, “Man, this looks like a dungeon.” But at the time, Charley LaSarge was the manager, and he said, “We’re going to be moving in two months, we’ve got a brand-new building.” So, I started in 1989, I’m still there today. A lot has changed since I first started, but I enjoy the work.
DELLINGER: Yeah, we did the math the other day. So, you’ve been there thirty-three years.
WATASHE: It’ll be thirty-three years in October.
DELLINGER: And so, it’s obvious to me that you have enjoyed it there. What [00:14:00] do you think has kept you there? What specifically can you—
WATASHE: I think I like working with the people. I like helping the people. I like seeing them. They come in and they don’t know what to expect and we tell them all about our program and if they qualify, and they leave happy, and that’s good to see, too. And I just like the job that I do. I like my working family, they’re great. I enjoy them. It doesn’t seem like three-three years.
DELLINGER: That’s good. That’s really good. Thoughts about retiring?
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WATASHE: I’m ready to retire. I really am. And I was fixing to just do an early retirement, and then, when I got sick, and then I thought, [00:15:00] “Well, I need my insurance.” So, that kept me there. But I am ready, though. I’m ready to retire. I can make it until retirement age, but I guess if it comes earlier, I’ll do it.
DELLINGER: Right. Okay. So, tell me more about your family life. You live here in Okmulgee, tell me more about your family life here in Okmulgee.
WATASHE: My family life. I moved to Okmulgee in 1990, my sister and I did, my sister Tracey and I did. So, I’ve been in Okmulgee ever since. I like Okmulgee. I work here. Well, I don’t know, let me think, [00:16:00] will this be edited?
DELLINGER: That’s okay. What about your spouse?
WATASHE: My spouse. When my dad moved to Sapulpa, to the Pickett Chapel Church, the parsonage was on their grounds, and the Watashes, Mark’s family, lived right next to Pickett. So, when we’re moving in, him and his sister comes up and welcomes us, they were on their bikes. And so, me and his sister, Salena, became friends, and we’re still best friends today. But Mark and I, we went to church together, we went to school together, hung out together on weekends, and then, I think it was forty years later, we got married. [laughs] But we’ve known each other since 1977, or ’78. We were always friends.
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DELLINGER: Yeah. I think you guys have such a cool story.
WATASHE: Yeah. Like, [00:17:00] I would go with his family. He played ball, he played fast pitch, and we’d travel and watch him play. So, yeah. I’ve known him. We was neighbors.
DELLINGER: And so, how many years have you been married now? WATASHE: It’ll be three years in October.
DELLINGER: Okay, so you’re still newlyweds.
WATASHE: Yeah.
DELLINGER: As far as marriage, right? Because, again, you have this forty-year history with each other.
WATASHE: Oh, yeah. My mom’s like, “Why didn’t you all get married earlier?” DELLINGER: Right, right. How do you like to spend your free time?
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WATASHE: Sometimes I just like to chill at home. I’ll go home, and Mark likes to cook out a lot, so I’ll let him do his thing outside, and I’ll do my thing. When I come home, I really don’t have nothing to do because he takes care of everything. When I come home, I just like to kind of like chill out or go for a ride. [00:18:00] Sometimes we’ll just get in the truck and we’ll just go for rides. And he knows I like to take pictures so I’m like, “Stop, I want to take a picture.” Or we’ll go to my mom’s, or a lot of times we all meet, my mom and sister, we’ll all go to Selena’s. We have game nights. We have dinners. Fourth of July we have a big firework show. And I love just being at home, though, just able to relax and chill out, and do things around the house.
DELLINGER: And you’re an animal lover.
WATASHE: I’m an animal lover. I am an animal lover. I had a little dog, two little dogs, but they passed. But we went to the Humane Society and fell in love with the dog we got now, Baxter. He has a little sad story how he got [00:19:00] dumped. But he is just— yeah, I just love to hug him. He’s just one of those little dogs you just pick up and like to hug. And he hugs you back, his little paws around you. So, yeah. I just love animals.
DELLINGER: I want to go back to Wewoka Indian Methodist Church. Can you share any history about that church? Do you know how old the church is?
WATASHE: I believe in 2005 we celebrated a hundred years at that church.
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DELLINGER: Wow, that’s great.
WATASHE: I don’t know the math, but in 2005, I believe that’s when it was, we had our one-hundred-year celebration. We used to have camp houses all around. I think there were six or eight camp houses. The last one that was still standing was my grandma and grandpa’s. But we built a new church and a new fellowship hall, so both of those got torn down. But there is a lot of memories from the old church [00:20:00] and in the old camp house. And our church, I thinks, sits in the most beautiful place because when you’re coming down the hill, and around the curve, there sits our church. And I could sit out there all day because it’s so peaceful. I love sitting out, just sitting on the porch in the fellowship hall. And the members there, we’re all family. And the guys, the men at the church keep the lawn mowed. I mean, our yard is always so pretty. And yeah. So, a lot of memories at that church. My dad was born there at the camp house. I think my other aunt and her family had lived there at one time. Her kids have went to Yeager. There’s a little school about three miles from Wewoka Church, it’s called Pecan Grove, [00:21:00] and my dad went to Pecan Grove.
DELLINGER: Now, that school is still in existence?
WATASHE: It’s not there. I mean, there’s a sign out there or something, a brick sign that says, “Pecan Grove.” That’s where my dad went. And he always laughed because he said they had a softball team, and he was real young, and these guys were older, and they would come get him out of class to go be on their softball team.
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DELLINGER: So, he was a good ball player.
WATASHE: Yes. He was a pitcher. And we used to go to all these ball games and watch him play. I really enjoyed that.
DELLINGER: Yeah, those are amazing memories for sure.
WATASHE: Yeah. Because before he’d go to a ball game, he would take me and my sister, and there used to be a store in Holdenville, and they had penny candy. So, my sister would load up her sack, but me, I’d get the big things so I didn’t get [00:22:00] as much. Like, I’d get candy bars. But he’d always get us snacks, something to drink before he went and played, or had an ice chest for our drinks and things.
DELLINGER: That sounds like good times.
WATASHE: Yeah, we would load up in his truck, and we would go to ball games. It was a good time. He didn’t have any sons, so like for Christmas, Tracey and me might get a train track or a race car track. But he always was, whatever. Whatever we wanted to do, he did.
DELLINGER: Do you consider that you and Tracey grew up as tomboys?
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WATASHE: Yes, we did. Yeah, we did. My dad would tell Tracey, “Don’t arm wrestle at school, you’re going to hurt them boys.” [laughs] Yeah, but I think we were tomboys because I remember Dad taking us [00:23:00] and just going out and walking in the woods, or playing with the trains, playing cards. He had a race car. He had bought me a little red Volkswagen, and it ran by a little remote. And he liked playing that. We would take it and just go all over the sidewalk with it. And when he worked at the cemetery in Holdenville, that’s where we learned to ride the bikes. So, he’d take us out there and we’d ride.
DELLINGER: So, you learned to ride bikes in the cemetery?
WATASHE: Yes, at Holdenville. He taught me how to ride, he didn’t tell me how to put on the brakes and I hit a cedar tree. [laughs] He said, “I couldn’t see you, but I could see the bike.” I was under the tree.
DELLINGER: So, back to your family’s connection with Wewoka, your grandparents [00:24:00] were there, Joseph and Hepsey. Do you know how far back, how many generations back your relationship goes to that church?
WATASHE: I believe that Grandpa’s parents was in that church. Yeah. I didn’t know my great-grandparents, but it seems like they were there, too. I didn’t know them. But in our graveyard at the cemetery, there’s some graves way back, way back. I believe they were all members there.
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DELLINGER: All right. Well, this has been wonderful and I would like to continue on just having you share here about your childhood and whatnot, but I think we’re going to move on now. And I’m going to ask you [00:25:00] some questions now that pertain to COVID-19 and your experiences with the pandemic. At this point in time, COVID has been in existence here in the US for about twenty-eight months now, but going back to 2020, when and how did you first hear about the COVID-19 virus?
WATASHE: Well, you were hearing about it. Just watching the news, you would hear about it. And then, one day we get an email at work saying they’re going to close down so we had to make arrangements. Our office never closed. All through the pandemic, we served the people. Our doors never closed, we just served them a different way, which they would just call in their food order, everything was done over the phone, they called in their food order, [00:26:00] the guys packed it up, they didn’t even have to get out of the car. They would say, “Where do you want your food?” And usually, they would have the trunk open, or one of their back seats open. Everything was done over the phone. At first, it was very hectic because our phones was ringing non-stop because they didn’t think they was going to get their food. Everything was closing down so they didn’t think they were going to get their food, but we remained open. And we worked through it.
DELLINGER: Right. When you first learned about COVID-19, and as you said, you were seeing it on the news, and so you were seeing what it was doing in other places.
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What were your first thoughts about it? I mean, were you concerned or not that it was going to make its way into Oklahoma?
WATASHE: I knew that it was going to make its way, and they would give you preparations what to do. So, [00:27:00] we had everything. We wore the gloves, the masks, we sanitized, and all of that. And it was just weird to me, seeing the world shutting down, Oklahoma shutting down, Okmulgee shutting down. It was sad to me to see things going on like this. It was sad.
DELLINGER: What were some of the initial conversations that you had, either when you first started hearing about COVID-19, or after it made its way here to Oklahoma, what was some of the first conversations you were having with your family and even coworkers?
WATASHE: With the family, we were just not going anywhere. We would talk to them over the phone saying, “We [00:28:00] probably won’t be visiting as much,” because I’m for sure didn’t want to give it to anybody. And just like if we went somewhere, you don’t know if you came in contact with it, so you surely didn’t want to go and visit your elderly parents, your elderly father-in-law. So, basically, we just stayed home. Mark would go out and get things that we needed. I never hardly ever went out during that pandemic.
DELLINGER: When local and state governments did begin the lockdowns and the shelter in place that you’ve already touched on here, initially, what were your thoughts?
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Because these were extreme safety measures. What were your thoughts about that? You’ve kind of already touched, too, on what emotions did that bring up inside of you, just to hear those words?
WATASHE: Yeah, it was sad, it was scary, [00:29:00] too, because you hear of so many deaths, that the hospitals are filling up, so you think, if you get COVID you may not even get a room in Oklahoma. You may have to go out of state to get a room. But when I think
of COVID, since I’ve had it, it’s just kind of a scary—you don’t want to get it again, that’s for sure. But yeah, it’s just—
DELLINGER: In the beginning of COVID-19, the pandemic, what made you realize the severity of the virus?
WATASHE: Just knowing some of the people I knew that had it, that was put in a hospital, put on a ventilator, and never came out of the hospital. So, it was tough that you see that people that you [00:30:00] used to work with or your friends are getting it and not surviving it, leaving family behind.
DELLINGER: During the first year of the pandemic, and while scientists and the medical profession were trying to figure out how to combat COVID-19, what were your personal safety measures to stay free from the virus, both at home and when you left home?
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WATASHE: When we were at home, we kept our home sanitized. I mean, we really didn’t let anyone come over, just for the fact we don’t know where they’ve been, or what they were doing. But my husband and me, we followed the safety. We wore the mask; at times we wore [00:31:00] gloves. If we went anywhere, we’d spray down our vehicles. But I think, I don’t know, I think, like, we’ve done all of that and we still both got COVID.
DELLINGER: So, let’s go ahead and talk about that. Mrs. Watashe, if you will, talk about your experience having COVID-19.
WATASHE: Yes. I came in contact with it. I had got a text message and said that we have been in contact with it. And so, we was going to get tested. I think I got that text on a Monday. I think that was our anniversary, too, October 26. And then, I was to get tested on October 31. So, I found out on the thirty-first, I went and got tested. It was at 9:00 a.m. At 10:00 [00:32:00] a.m., they called and said I had COVID. And at the time, people then, you didn’t have the infusions or anything. So, the first thing you thought of was just really bad. And so, I was tested on the thirty-first, became positive. Mark was negative. A couple of days later, he was feeling symptoms and went to his primary doctor and he had COVID. We both had COVID at the same time. Mine, thank God, it was very mild. The only thing that really affected me was my smell and taste. Headache. But I had lost my taste and smell for seven months. And I still, today, can’t have a full smell. I still don’t believe my taste is full. I can taste, but it’s kind of a dull taste. My husband had it worse than I did. [00:33:00] He had got the COVID pneumonia. At the time, Okmulgee
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Hospital was full. They would have to try to find him a hospital in Tulsa, so they just gave him an option, do you want us to try to find you somewhere, it might be outside of Oklahoma, or do you want to go home? So, he chose to come home. So, yeah. His was pretty bad but thank God that we both got through it. I think we both still have symptoms of it because it seems like those headaches never go away for me. I went, I think, well, from November all the way up until March, I had the headaches and they were bad.
DELLINGER: You’re experiencing I think what they’re calling long-term COVID?
WATASHE: I think I am, yes. And it seems like [00:34:00] when I had COVID, that’s when my health started declining a little bit. And I don’t know if that has anything to do with COVID, but I think it does. I mean, in some way it’s affected me. So, I had to take family medical leave for twelve weeks. They said it wasn’t due to COVID, but just because of my health.
DELLINGER: Yeah. And so, previous to COVID and to you getting COVID, do you consider you were a pretty healthy person?
WATASHE: I had never been sick up until COVID. Never been sick. And after COVID, it seems like from then on, there’s something always going on. I’ve never been to the doctor as much as I’ve been now. Doctors, specialists, doing MRIs, X-rays, CTs, everything. [00:35:00] And they still haven’t pinpointed the root of what’s going on with me.
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DELLINGER: Yes, so it really does make you wonder, doesn’t it?
WATASHE: It really does, yeah.
DELLINGER: Now, how is your husband? Is he doing long-term COVID as well?
WATASHE: I think he pretty much got over his, but he has the headaches. But other than that, he’s pretty healthy. And I don’t think he had ever been really sick, either, but it affected us. Brain fog, oh my gosh, yes. Brain fog. I can’t remember hardly like talking to someone and asking them questions, they’re like, “Don’t you remember?” And I’m like, “Oh, yeah.” So, I have the COVID brain fog.
DELLINGER: So, your short term [00:36:00] memory, you think? Because you’re doing wonderful here today. So, I’m wondering what it was like for your families to have two people in one home, a husband a wife, both ill, and him being severely ill, what was that like?
WATASHE: I did not see my mom or dad for a month. Even though the doctor says after nine days you can’t give it to anyone, I mean, you’re immune. But I was so scared, it was a month before I went and seen my mom and dad. And the same way with Mark, we didn’t go see his dad, because we sure didn’t want any of them to get it. We were scared that we might give it to someone, even though the doctor said that we’re good. But it was
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awful not being able to see them. My sister would drop off food at our gate, and after she left, we would go get it. [00:37:00] Mark’s dad would come, friends would come, whatever we needed, we couldn’t go out and get it, so we would tell them, they would go get it, and they would put it at the fence. But we could look out the door, or the window, and wave at them. And that was sad, because you could tell they were worried about us. And then, us not getting to see them, because we’re all a close-knit family, and not being able to see them, and talk to them in person. And that kind of made me sad. I didn’t feel bad but I was sad because I couldn’t see the people that I wanted to go visit.
DELLINGER: How do you think your spirituality helped you through those hard times?
WATASHE: That’s what got me through. God got me through. God got Mark through. And we would pray every night that our bodies would be healed [00:38:00] and they were. I mean, we’re good today and we had a lot of people praying for us. My home church, his home church, they were praying. We would get cards in the mail from church members. And I knew we would get better. Every night, I’d talk to Mom, they would pray over the phone, Mom and Dad. I know my church family was praying for me, they would call and check on me, or text how we’re doing. So, yeah. We had a bunch of prayers going out and we survived it.
DELLINGER: Yeah, that’s wonderful. I want to go back to your work at Food Distribution, because as you’ve already mentioned, you guys there in that department really are, and really were, at the beginning of the pandemic, front-line [00:39:00]
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workers, and as you said, you didn’t have the opportunity to shut down and shelter in place. People still needed their food. And so, you’ve already mentioned some of the changes that had to be made so that you could provide food to people, safely, for your safety, too. So, in the beginning of the pandemic, let’s say during that first year, did you see an increase in the number of families needing food support?
WATASHE: Yes, there was an increase at the beginning of the pandemic, there was. People were scared that they wasn’t able to provide for their families, people were losing their jobs, or their jobs were shutting down. So, we had clients come in. I mean, they would put their applications either email, or we had a drop box, and I think on any given day, we could have thirty [00:40:00] pieces of mail, people applying. It was a busy time for us.
DELLINGER: Like if you had to give a percentage to the increase, what would you guesstimate?
WATASHE: In the beginning, I would say at least—I wouldn’t say half, maybe forty, thirty percent. But then, we also lost clients when SNAP increased their benefits, and we did lose clients that way. But they’re slowly coming back now.
DELLINGER: For folks who don’t know what SNAP is, what is SNAP?
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WATASHE: It’s food stamps. They know it by food stamps. But we also had a lot of clients pass during this time, too.
DELLINGER: The USDA, what did they do to help support the situation? Did they make any changes to eligibility? [00:41:00] Did they increase food supply to Indian country?
WATASHE: Yes. Brain fog, here. They did, what was it? Let me think. I can’t even remember, Midge. They did do something; I just can’t remember. [laughs]
DELLINGER: But they were supportive.
WATASHE: Yes, they were very supportive.
DELLINGER: They were trying to help the situation. So, as you were working with people, folks who were coming to get food support, can you talk just a little bit more about what their state of mind was, and emotions that you saw in these people?
WATASHE: Usually, okay, well, they if they were eligible, a lot of the clients, [00:42:00] then, we were getting new clients. So, their emotion was just thankful that they got food, thankful. And they would tell us, “We’re so thankful for this department. We’re thankful for you helping us,” thankful for the food they got. And I think that everyone that applied, if they were eligible, we didn’t make them wait. If they needed
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verifications turned in, we would just say, “We’ll certify you for this month,” and let them get their food. Yeah.
DELLINGER: What was it like though, having to tell people that they weren’t eligible?
WATASHE: That was the hard part, because everybody was struggling at the time. And USDA sets our guidelines, so we [00:43:00] have to follow what they tell us, and if they weren’t eligible, we would have to tell them. But we would try to give them places that they could try and go to, maybe food banks, or churches. We had a list to give them.
DELLINGER: So, I know it had to be so stressful just working in that situation day to day. Through all of these surges of illness and death, how did you, at the end of every day, go home and nurture and care for yourself?
WATASHE: The first thing that I would do when I get home was just thankful for being able to go and help the people, come home, and be thankful for what you have at your house. I was thankful that I had a job. People was losing their jobs. I[00:44:00] was just thankful that when I would come home, I just felt like, oh my gosh, I just need to go— like, I’ve been around some people you just want to just—first thing I’d do is take off my shoes, keep them outside the house, go in, take a shower before I done anything, you know? But I don’t know, it’s just, I was just thankful during that time that I was able to work. And just seeing these people that came in, it just made you realize what they were going through, and you sympathized with them.
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DELLINGER: From your knowledge, what has been the toll of illness and death in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation due to COVID-19?
WATASHE: I don’t know that.
DELLINGER: But the Muscogee Nation has lost, [00:45:00] we have lost people because of COVID.
WATASHE: Oh, yes. Yes.
DELLINGER: Did you experience that with your church community, a loss because of COVID-19?
WATASHE: There was one church that we was acquainted with, they lost a lot of members, a lot of elders. My home church, they never shut their doors during this time and I don’t believe anyone passed from that community, or that church, from COVID.
DELLINGER: Because the doors stayed open, were there any safety measures, though, that the church followed?
WATASHE: The mask. They would do the space in between. They didn’t eat at church. [00:46:00] Indian churches, they like to eat. But all that was taken. Every so many pews
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were blocked off. And not a lot of them went during that time. I know that we didn’t, me and my family didn’t go.
DELLINGER: Can you share the name of the church that you just mentioned that lost several members?
WATASHE: Concharty.
DELLINGER: Oh, it was Concharty. Okay. Mrs. Watashe, have you been vaccinated against COVID-19?
WATASHE: I have been vaccinated, fully vaccinated plus the booster. DELLINGER: And why was it important to you to get vaccinated?
WATASHE: Because after you have COVID, you don’t want it again. You want to protect yourself from getting it again. I know a lot of people [00:47:00] was against it, but once you have COVID, and you realize, even though I had a mild case, you never know how bad your next COVID would be if you got it. And I didn’t want to find out, so I went and got vaccinated.
DELLINGER: Do you remember what vaccine you received?
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WATASHE: I used Pfizer.
DELLINGER: And what were your side effects?
WATASHE: I had no side effects. My arm was a little sore and that was it. So, I was like, “Did this work?” [laughs] Because like my sister and Mark, they had headaches, they felt drowsy. And I didn’t. I took the shot and I was good. I didn’t have any side effects.
DELLINGER: Good for you. That’s good. What are your thoughts about how the Muscogee (Creek) [00:48:00] Nation leadership has handled the pandemic in comparison to the State of Oklahoma?
WATASHE: I think our tribe done really, really well when it came to the pandemic. They had good people. I don’t even know who was making all the decisions, but I think some of it was from the health, and then our administration. But anyway, I thought they’d done a really good job. They tried to protect their employees that was frontlines by giving us all this, what is it called, the mask, the sanitizer, anything that you needed to protect yourself, it was available to us. So, I just thought that it was a really—I mean, the leadership done a really fine job.
DELLINGER: The [00:49:00] Muscogee (Creek) Nation did two or three food giveaways. Was Food Distribution a part of that, or was that something totally separate?
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WATASHE: That was totally separate but we had workers that would go and help at different communities when they were there. Some of our workers volunteered to help, or our director would help with the trucks and loading them, things like that when they was at River Spirit. So, yeah. Our department tried to help as much as they could when it came to doing things like that.
DELLINGER: How do you think that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Health Department has performed throughout the pandemic?
WATASHE: In my opinion, I think they’ve done great. I thought they’ve done a good job. I mean, now that you get COVID, they have these infusions you can go and it helps. [00:50:00]
DELLINGER: Can you share anything more about that?
WATASHE: Well, I know the infusion wasn’t out when I had COVID, but a couple of friends, they got COVID and they were elders, and they said they got a phone call saying, “Come do an infusion,” and the infusion just helps some where they won’t have so many symptoms.
DELLINGER: Is this the monoclonal antibody infusion?
WATASHE: Yes.
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DELLINGER: Okay. And what kind of response did they have? Do you know? Was it helpful?
WATASHE: It was helpful. They said it was helpful to them. They were glad, because they didn’t even know the infusion existed till they got a phone call. So, I think the health done good in doing all of that. And then, doing their vaccines where they would go have all, what is it called when they do the big vaccine? They done one at the hospital, [00:51:00] and they’ve done one at River Spirit.
DELLINGER: Yeah, just their big vaccine events?
WATASHE: Yeah, yes. I thought they’ve done great on that.
DELLINGER: Yeah, and I think, now, the nation even has a monoclonal antibody clinic. WATASHE: I think so, too, at Council Oak, I believe.
DELLINGER: Right. Okay, so anything else? I kind of cut into you, there. Anything else?
WATASHE: No.
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DELLINGER: Okay. All right, so as I mentioned earlier, we’re about twenty-eight months into having COVID in our existence and it doesn’t seem to be going away, it continues to mutate. What are your thoughts about these things? Do you think COVID-19 is ever going to go completely?
WATASHE: I don’t think it’ll ever go completely away. I think the numbers might go down where so [00:52:00] many is not getting it, but I think just like the flu, I think flu season, COVID season, I just don’t see COVID going away. I wish it would. I wish it would go away and stay away and not ever come back.
DELLINGER: Right. We’ve been in this what I’m calling a COVID lull for two or three months now, at least. Do you feel like you’re still paying as close attention to COVID, maybe like in the news, and what’s going on in the numbers? Where are you with that right now?
WATASHE: Sometimes I don’t even watch the news because everything seems bad. But right now, I don’t think I do as much as I did when it first came out. Like, we’ll go eat in a restaurant, [00:53:00] or we’ll go to a store. We do normal things, now. But it’s still there, even though we’re not as safety as we were when it first came out.
DELLINGER: Yeah, and that was going to be my next question. I was going to ask you if you and your husband are engaging in a life that’s more similar to what your life was
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like before the COVID pandemic, which you just answered that. What are the safety measures, though, if there’s any, that you are continuing to stick to in your daily life?
WATASHE: Well.
DELLINGER: Are you still masking at all, or hand sanitizing?
WATASHE: Sometimes. Hand sanitizer. I keep it in my purse, we keep it in our vehicles. [00:54:00] We still do the spray down if we go somewhere and spray the vehicles, but as far as masks, unless it’s required, we don’t have a problem with it if they tell you to put on a mask, like when you go to your doctor’s office or anything like that, we’ll wear one, or if we go somewhere that says masks are required, we’ll put one on.
DELLINGER: All right, well, Mrs. Watashe, we are down to our last two questions. For future generations of Muscogee who may find themselves trying to survive a global health and economic event such as the COVID-19 pandemic, what words of wisdom or advice do you have for them about living with and surviving such a catastrophic event?
WATASHE: Living with COVID? Just protect yourself however you can. [00:55:00] I would say to them if you do get COVID, you can survive it. I mean, you can. But when I had COVID, I think, just me having COVID, it does make you feel bad, but I say my God is bigger than COVID, and that’s who I look to. That’s who you should look to. He’ll get you through. God is good.
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DELLINGER: All right. In closing, is there anything else that you would like to say or share?
WATASHE: About COVID?
DELLINGER: Yeah.
WATASHE: Like I said, I don’t think COVID’s going to go away. Getting vaccinated is [00:56:00] up to the person. I would just say protect yourself, protect your surroundings, where you go, who you talk to. Just, it’s there. It’s real. So, I would just say be safe.
DELLINGER: Okay. Mrs. Watashe, mvto, thank you so much for being here today and having this conversation with me and sharing your experiences. And you continue to stay safe and take care.
WATASHE: You too, as well.
END OF INTERVIEW
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Historic and Cultural Preservation Department Oral History Program
“A Twenty-First Century Pandemic in Indian Country: The Resilience of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Against Covid-19”
As Remembered by: Mrs. Anita Watashe
Interview by: Ms. Midge Dellinger
Date: May 14, 2022
Transcription: The Audio Transcription Company
Edited by: Ms. Midge Dellinger
MIDGE DELLINGER: This is Midge Dellinger, oral historian for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Today is May 14, 2022, and I am in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, interviewing Muscogee citizen Mrs. Anita Watashe. I am performing this interview on behalf of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Historic and Cultural Preservation Department for the oral history project titled “A Twenty-First Century Pandemic in Indian Country: The Resilience of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Against COVID-19.” Mrs. Watashe, thank you so much for taking time out of your Saturday to be here with me and to do this interview.
We’re going to start with some questions that pertain to your personal background and I’d like to begin with what is your tribal town and clan?
ANITA WATASHE: My tribal town is Hvlvpe, and my clan is the Bird Clan. DELLINGER: And where were you born?
WATASHE: I was born in Talihina, Oklahoma, at the Choctaw Hospital. DELLINGER: Now is Talihina where your folks were from? [00:01:00]
WATASHE: No, we were living in Holdenville at the time and I have no idea why that’s where I was born. [laughs] No, we didn’t live in Talihina.
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DELLINGER: Okay, so your folks were living in Holdenville at the time. And so, who are your parents? Will you please tell me about each one of them?
WATASHE: My parents are the late Rev. Joseph Lowe Jr., and my mother is Louise Lowe. And before my dad passed in September, they had celebrated their sixty-first wedding anniversary.
DELLINGER: Wow, that’s wonderful. Now, tell me a little bit about your dad, about your dad’s life.
WATASHE: My dad, he was born on our church grounds, at Wewoka Indian United Methodist Church, in Yeager. He went to Haskell, when it was a high school, [00:02:00] he went to the Army, he worked for the city of Holdenville, he loved to play fast pitch softball. He was a pitcher. He became an Indian United Methodist minister in 1976. His first charge was at the Jay Tsalagi Church, in Jay, Oklahoma. He pastored there two years. He was moved to Sapulpa, and he pastored the Pickett Chapel Church, United Methodist Church. From there, he became the district superintendent of the Northeast Region. And after that his charge was at Mary Lee Clark in Del City. And then, he was going to retire. So, he pastored one year at the New Town Indian United Methodist Church in Okmulgee. And then, [00:03:00] after he retired he still was busy. He preached once a month at the Concharty Indian United Methodist Church, I think for fifteen years after he retired. So, he was there once a month. But he was active in his home church. He loved his home church. And he was an active member there until he passed.
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DELLINGER: And when you say home church, you mean Wewoka. WATASHE: Yes, the home church is Wewoka in Yeager, not in Wewoka. [laughs]
DELLINGER: Right, I’ve heard that. Now, where is Yeager, Oklahoma? If someone didn’t know where Yeager, Oklahoma was, how would you tell them to get to Yeager?
WATASHE: Well, if they knew where Holdenville was, I always tell them from the Holdenville intersection, 48 and 270, it’s three miles east and seven miles north on Yeager Road. If you know where Yeager [00:04:00] cemetery is, we’re one mile north of that.
DELLINGER: And you mentioned that your father worked for the City of Holdenville. What was he doing?
WATASHE: He was over the cemetery crew there, in Holdenville. So, that’s where he was working when he became a minister.
DELLINGER: Now, what about your mom?
WATASHE: My mom, she was a stay-at-home mom. She was busy. After he became a minister, she’s always by my dad’s side. Whatever he was doing she was right there.
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They was inseparable. And they enjoyed going out and visiting, and visiting their members or people in hospitals, nursing homes. So, they kept busy. She was busy as a pastor’s wife.
DELLINGER: Now, Mrs. Watashe, [00:05:00] do you have siblings?
WATASHE: I have two sisters. One, Tracey Lowe, was the oldest and she passed from cancer in two-thousand and seventeen. And then, I have a younger sister, Anna.
DELLINGER: And Anna, where does she live?
WATASHE: She lives in Okmulgee.
DELLINGER: And so, it sounds like growing up, you moved around, like you weren’t raised there in Holdenville.
WATASHE: No. I went to Holdenville Elementary up until fourth grade, and then I went to Jay for two years, then when we moved to Sapulpa, I went to Mounds, and that’s where I graduated.
DELLINGER: What was that like as a child moving around like that? You make friends and then you have to leave those friends, did you maintain any of your friendships? [00:06:00]
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WATASHE: I still have friends from Holdenville. I still have friends from Jay. And I’m in contact with everybody that I had friends with in Sapulpa. So, yeah I made a lot of friends during those years.
DELLINGER: Now, let’s talk about grandparents. Who are your grandparents and share a little bit about them?
WATASHE: My grandparents was Joseph and Hepsey Lowe. They lived in Holdenville. And Ed and Viva Boyston. They were in Holdenville, also.
DELLINGER: Okay. And what did these folks do?
WATASHE: My grandfather, Grandpa Lowe, I’ll call him. He worked for Canadian Valley, I believe. My grandmother was a housewife, a homemaker, and she was very active in our church. And she would make [00:07:00] potholders when we had our camp meetings at Preston, at the district center, when we would have our annual conference, she would make potholders and she would take them to every camp so they would have potholders. And she was a crafty little lady. I still have a heart that she made for Valentine’s, it’s a pink heart. It’s a little pillow, has my initials on it, and the year she made it. So, I still have that. They were both four-fourths, full-blood Creek, and they spoke the language. They were great. I mean, my grandmother was a little strong lady. And it seemed like they were both very quiet. And then my grandparents on my mom’s
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side, [00:08:00] the Boydstuns, my grandfather worked, I can’t remember where he worked, but it was with Holdenville. My Grandmother Boydstun was a homemaker, also, but they loved their grandkids. Grandpa Boydstun would get out there and play whatever we wanted to play. And they were very good people. I think my grandfather has taken everybody in Holdenville picked them up and took them somewhere. They would always call him if they needed a ride and he would just go pick them up and take them. And I remember sitting on the porch, and Grandma Boydstun singing to me and my sister, or telling us a story, and things like that. I have good memories of both sets of my grandparents.
DELLINGER: [00:09:00] That’s wonderful. So, as a child, being around Joseph and Hepsey when you were with them, did you get to experience the Muscogee language? Did they speak in the language around you?
WATASHE: They spoke it around me. Most of our services back then when I was growing up at Wewoka, it was done in Creek. And she taught Sunday school, so she’s taught all her grandkids in Sunday school. I remember going to Vacation Bible School, that’s when we had it all week, all day long, and she was always the teacher.
DELLINGER: So, then, was it important to your grandparents for their grandchildren to know the language? Are you able to speak some of the language now?
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WATASHE: I don’t you speak it but [00:10:00] I think she tried. She would line us all up and she would learn us a song and we would sing it. Yeah, it was spoken around us and the church was done all in Creek sometimes. So, I just never did pick up on it. But I loved to hear the Creek singing. And usually, if someone can start a song, I can’t, I can’t even sing. I like to sing, but if they can start it I can follow. But other than that, I just never did pick up on it. I wish I would have.
DELLINGER: Right. Now, you said you graduated from Mounds High School. And so, when you were in high school, were there any activities that you engaged with? What was high school life like for you?
WATASHE: Mounds was a good school. It was small. [00:11:00] I think my graduating class had thirty-eight, and back then, that was the biggest class they’ve had. I think now it’s more. But it was a good school. I enjoyed it. I still have my friends from high school, we’re still BFFs. And yeah, it was a good time in high school. I enjoyed my years.
DELLINGER: And what year did you gradate?
WATASHE: In 1984.
DELLINGER: Now, after high school graduation, where did life take you after that?
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WATASHE: Mostly to Creek Nation. [laughs] I had went to the OSU Okmulgee. Well, I worked at Head Start after graduation for a couple years, then I went to OSU Okmulgee, and then, during that time I was going, they had a job opening. [00:12:00] And so, I just
happened to be at the complex one day. I think my sister, she was probably working in election board at that time.
DELLINGER: Is that Tracey?
WATASHE: Tracy. So, I went and applied. And I was living at Jenks at the time, so between Okmulgee and Jenks, I got called in for an interview.
DELLINGER: Oh, you didn’t even make it back home.
WATASHE: I didn’t even make it home.
DELLINGER: What was the job?
WATASHE: Food Distribution, where I’m at now. So, this was in ’89. And so, they tell me to come in. And back then, where it’s called, what is it, education now? Back then, it was JTPA is what people called it, Job Training Placement. And it was just a little office. So, I go in there and I have to do a typing test and all of this. So, I did it and I think that was on a Friday. And then that Friday afternoon I get a call, saying, “Can you come to work on Monday?” I’m like, “Wow.” [00:13:00] I said, “Okay.” And I was nervous. So,
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they told me where the Food Distribution was at. It’s not where it’s at now, it was on 4th and Okmulgee, kind of by the high school. And I went there and I thought, “Oh my God,” because it was just a building. And they were showing me around. I was thinking, “Man, this looks like a dungeon.” But at the time, Charley LaSarge was the manager, and he said, “We’re going to be moving in two months, we’ve got a brand-new building.” So, I started in 1989, I’m still there today. A lot has changed since I first started, but I enjoy the work.
DELLINGER: Yeah, we did the math the other day. So, you’ve been there thirty-three years.
WATASHE: It’ll be thirty-three years in October.
DELLINGER: And so, it’s obvious to me that you have enjoyed it there. What [00:14:00] do you think has kept you there? What specifically can you—
WATASHE: I think I like working with the people. I like helping the people. I like seeing them. They come in and they don’t know what to expect and we tell them all about our program and if they qualify, and they leave happy, and that’s good to see, too. And I just like the job that I do. I like my working family, they’re great. I enjoy them. It doesn’t seem like three-three years.
DELLINGER: That’s good. That’s really good. Thoughts about retiring?
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WATASHE: I’m ready to retire. I really am. And I was fixing to just do an early retirement, and then, when I got sick, and then I thought, [00:15:00] “Well, I need my insurance.” So, that kept me there. But I am ready, though. I’m ready to retire. I can make it until retirement age, but I guess if it comes earlier, I’ll do it.
DELLINGER: Right. Okay. So, tell me more about your family life. You live here in Okmulgee, tell me more about your family life here in Okmulgee.
WATASHE: My family life. I moved to Okmulgee in 1990, my sister and I did, my sister Tracey and I did. So, I’ve been in Okmulgee ever since. I like Okmulgee. I work here. Well, I don’t know, let me think, [00:16:00] will this be edited?
DELLINGER: That’s okay. What about your spouse?
WATASHE: My spouse. When my dad moved to Sapulpa, to the Pickett Chapel Church, the parsonage was on their grounds, and the Watashes, Mark’s family, lived right next to Pickett. So, when we’re moving in, him and his sister comes up and welcomes us, they were on their bikes. And so, me and his sister, Salena, became friends, and we’re still best friends today. But Mark and I, we went to church together, we went to school together, hung out together on weekends, and then, I think it was forty years later, we got married. [laughs] But we’ve known each other since 1977, or ’78. We were always friends.
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DELLINGER: Yeah. I think you guys have such a cool story.
WATASHE: Yeah. Like, [00:17:00] I would go with his family. He played ball, he played fast pitch, and we’d travel and watch him play. So, yeah. I’ve known him. We was neighbors.
DELLINGER: And so, how many years have you been married now? WATASHE: It’ll be three years in October.
DELLINGER: Okay, so you’re still newlyweds.
WATASHE: Yeah.
DELLINGER: As far as marriage, right? Because, again, you have this forty-year history with each other.
WATASHE: Oh, yeah. My mom’s like, “Why didn’t you all get married earlier?” DELLINGER: Right, right. How do you like to spend your free time?
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WATASHE: Sometimes I just like to chill at home. I’ll go home, and Mark likes to cook out a lot, so I’ll let him do his thing outside, and I’ll do my thing. When I come home, I really don’t have nothing to do because he takes care of everything. When I come home, I just like to kind of like chill out or go for a ride. [00:18:00] Sometimes we’ll just get in the truck and we’ll just go for rides. And he knows I like to take pictures so I’m like, “Stop, I want to take a picture.” Or we’ll go to my mom’s, or a lot of times we all meet, my mom and sister, we’ll all go to Selena’s. We have game nights. We have dinners. Fourth of July we have a big firework show. And I love just being at home, though, just able to relax and chill out, and do things around the house.
DELLINGER: And you’re an animal lover.
WATASHE: I’m an animal lover. I am an animal lover. I had a little dog, two little dogs, but they passed. But we went to the Humane Society and fell in love with the dog we got now, Baxter. He has a little sad story how he got [00:19:00] dumped. But he is just— yeah, I just love to hug him. He’s just one of those little dogs you just pick up and like to hug. And he hugs you back, his little paws around you. So, yeah. I just love animals.
DELLINGER: I want to go back to Wewoka Indian Methodist Church. Can you share any history about that church? Do you know how old the church is?
WATASHE: I believe in 2005 we celebrated a hundred years at that church.
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DELLINGER: Wow, that’s great.
WATASHE: I don’t know the math, but in 2005, I believe that’s when it was, we had our one-hundred-year celebration. We used to have camp houses all around. I think there were six or eight camp houses. The last one that was still standing was my grandma and grandpa’s. But we built a new church and a new fellowship hall, so both of those got torn down. But there is a lot of memories from the old church [00:20:00] and in the old camp house. And our church, I thinks, sits in the most beautiful place because when you’re coming down the hill, and around the curve, there sits our church. And I could sit out there all day because it’s so peaceful. I love sitting out, just sitting on the porch in the fellowship hall. And the members there, we’re all family. And the guys, the men at the church keep the lawn mowed. I mean, our yard is always so pretty. And yeah. So, a lot of memories at that church. My dad was born there at the camp house. I think my other aunt and her family had lived there at one time. Her kids have went to Yeager. There’s a little school about three miles from Wewoka Church, it’s called Pecan Grove, [00:21:00] and my dad went to Pecan Grove.
DELLINGER: Now, that school is still in existence?
WATASHE: It’s not there. I mean, there’s a sign out there or something, a brick sign that says, “Pecan Grove.” That’s where my dad went. And he always laughed because he said they had a softball team, and he was real young, and these guys were older, and they would come get him out of class to go be on their softball team.
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DELLINGER: So, he was a good ball player.
WATASHE: Yes. He was a pitcher. And we used to go to all these ball games and watch him play. I really enjoyed that.
DELLINGER: Yeah, those are amazing memories for sure.
WATASHE: Yeah. Because before he’d go to a ball game, he would take me and my sister, and there used to be a store in Holdenville, and they had penny candy. So, my sister would load up her sack, but me, I’d get the big things so I didn’t get [00:22:00] as much. Like, I’d get candy bars. But he’d always get us snacks, something to drink before he went and played, or had an ice chest for our drinks and things.
DELLINGER: That sounds like good times.
WATASHE: Yeah, we would load up in his truck, and we would go to ball games. It was a good time. He didn’t have any sons, so like for Christmas, Tracey and me might get a train track or a race car track. But he always was, whatever. Whatever we wanted to do, he did.
DELLINGER: Do you consider that you and Tracey grew up as tomboys?
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WATASHE: Yes, we did. Yeah, we did. My dad would tell Tracey, “Don’t arm wrestle at school, you’re going to hurt them boys.” [laughs] Yeah, but I think we were tomboys because I remember Dad taking us [00:23:00] and just going out and walking in the woods, or playing with the trains, playing cards. He had a race car. He had bought me a little red Volkswagen, and it ran by a little remote. And he liked playing that. We would take it and just go all over the sidewalk with it. And when he worked at the cemetery in Holdenville, that’s where we learned to ride the bikes. So, he’d take us out there and we’d ride.
DELLINGER: So, you learned to ride bikes in the cemetery?
WATASHE: Yes, at Holdenville. He taught me how to ride, he didn’t tell me how to put on the brakes and I hit a cedar tree. [laughs] He said, “I couldn’t see you, but I could see the bike.” I was under the tree.
DELLINGER: So, back to your family’s connection with Wewoka, your grandparents [00:24:00] were there, Joseph and Hepsey. Do you know how far back, how many generations back your relationship goes to that church?
WATASHE: I believe that Grandpa’s parents was in that church. Yeah. I didn’t know my great-grandparents, but it seems like they were there, too. I didn’t know them. But in our graveyard at the cemetery, there’s some graves way back, way back. I believe they were all members there.
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DELLINGER: All right. Well, this has been wonderful and I would like to continue on just having you share here about your childhood and whatnot, but I think we’re going to move on now. And I’m going to ask you [00:25:00] some questions now that pertain to COVID-19 and your experiences with the pandemic. At this point in time, COVID has been in existence here in the US for about twenty-eight months now, but going back to 2020, when and how did you first hear about the COVID-19 virus?
WATASHE: Well, you were hearing about it. Just watching the news, you would hear about it. And then, one day we get an email at work saying they’re going to close down so we had to make arrangements. Our office never closed. All through the pandemic, we served the people. Our doors never closed, we just served them a different way, which they would just call in their food order, everything was done over the phone, they called in their food order, [00:26:00] the guys packed it up, they didn’t even have to get out of the car. They would say, “Where do you want your food?” And usually, they would have the trunk open, or one of their back seats open. Everything was done over the phone. At first, it was very hectic because our phones was ringing non-stop because they didn’t think they was going to get their food. Everything was closing down so they didn’t think they were going to get their food, but we remained open. And we worked through it.
DELLINGER: Right. When you first learned about COVID-19, and as you said, you were seeing it on the news, and so you were seeing what it was doing in other places.
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What were your first thoughts about it? I mean, were you concerned or not that it was going to make its way into Oklahoma?
WATASHE: I knew that it was going to make its way, and they would give you preparations what to do. So, [00:27:00] we had everything. We wore the gloves, the masks, we sanitized, and all of that. And it was just weird to me, seeing the world shutting down, Oklahoma shutting down, Okmulgee shutting down. It was sad to me to see things going on like this. It was sad.
DELLINGER: What were some of the initial conversations that you had, either when you first started hearing about COVID-19, or after it made its way here to Oklahoma, what was some of the first conversations you were having with your family and even coworkers?
WATASHE: With the family, we were just not going anywhere. We would talk to them over the phone saying, “We [00:28:00] probably won’t be visiting as much,” because I’m for sure didn’t want to give it to anybody. And just like if we went somewhere, you don’t know if you came in contact with it, so you surely didn’t want to go and visit your elderly parents, your elderly father-in-law. So, basically, we just stayed home. Mark would go out and get things that we needed. I never hardly ever went out during that pandemic.
DELLINGER: When local and state governments did begin the lockdowns and the shelter in place that you’ve already touched on here, initially, what were your thoughts?
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Because these were extreme safety measures. What were your thoughts about that? You’ve kind of already touched, too, on what emotions did that bring up inside of you, just to hear those words?
WATASHE: Yeah, it was sad, it was scary, [00:29:00] too, because you hear of so many deaths, that the hospitals are filling up, so you think, if you get COVID you may not even get a room in Oklahoma. You may have to go out of state to get a room. But when I think
of COVID, since I’ve had it, it’s just kind of a scary—you don’t want to get it again, that’s for sure. But yeah, it’s just—
DELLINGER: In the beginning of COVID-19, the pandemic, what made you realize the severity of the virus?
WATASHE: Just knowing some of the people I knew that had it, that was put in a hospital, put on a ventilator, and never came out of the hospital. So, it was tough that you see that people that you [00:30:00] used to work with or your friends are getting it and not surviving it, leaving family behind.
DELLINGER: During the first year of the pandemic, and while scientists and the medical profession were trying to figure out how to combat COVID-19, what were your personal safety measures to stay free from the virus, both at home and when you left home?
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WATASHE: When we were at home, we kept our home sanitized. I mean, we really didn’t let anyone come over, just for the fact we don’t know where they’ve been, or what they were doing. But my husband and me, we followed the safety. We wore the mask; at times we wore [00:31:00] gloves. If we went anywhere, we’d spray down our vehicles. But I think, I don’t know, I think, like, we’ve done all of that and we still both got COVID.
DELLINGER: So, let’s go ahead and talk about that. Mrs. Watashe, if you will, talk about your experience having COVID-19.
WATASHE: Yes. I came in contact with it. I had got a text message and said that we have been in contact with it. And so, we was going to get tested. I think I got that text on a Monday. I think that was our anniversary, too, October 26. And then, I was to get tested on October 31. So, I found out on the thirty-first, I went and got tested. It was at 9:00 a.m. At 10:00 [00:32:00] a.m., they called and said I had COVID. And at the time, people then, you didn’t have the infusions or anything. So, the first thing you thought of was just really bad. And so, I was tested on the thirty-first, became positive. Mark was negative. A couple of days later, he was feeling symptoms and went to his primary doctor and he had COVID. We both had COVID at the same time. Mine, thank God, it was very mild. The only thing that really affected me was my smell and taste. Headache. But I had lost my taste and smell for seven months. And I still, today, can’t have a full smell. I still don’t believe my taste is full. I can taste, but it’s kind of a dull taste. My husband had it worse than I did. [00:33:00] He had got the COVID pneumonia. At the time, Okmulgee
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Hospital was full. They would have to try to find him a hospital in Tulsa, so they just gave him an option, do you want us to try to find you somewhere, it might be outside of Oklahoma, or do you want to go home? So, he chose to come home. So, yeah. His was pretty bad but thank God that we both got through it. I think we both still have symptoms of it because it seems like those headaches never go away for me. I went, I think, well, from November all the way up until March, I had the headaches and they were bad.
DELLINGER: You’re experiencing I think what they’re calling long-term COVID?
WATASHE: I think I am, yes. And it seems like [00:34:00] when I had COVID, that’s when my health started declining a little bit. And I don’t know if that has anything to do with COVID, but I think it does. I mean, in some way it’s affected me. So, I had to take family medical leave for twelve weeks. They said it wasn’t due to COVID, but just because of my health.
DELLINGER: Yeah. And so, previous to COVID and to you getting COVID, do you consider you were a pretty healthy person?
WATASHE: I had never been sick up until COVID. Never been sick. And after COVID, it seems like from then on, there’s something always going on. I’ve never been to the doctor as much as I’ve been now. Doctors, specialists, doing MRIs, X-rays, CTs, everything. [00:35:00] And they still haven’t pinpointed the root of what’s going on with me.
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DELLINGER: Yes, so it really does make you wonder, doesn’t it?
WATASHE: It really does, yeah.
DELLINGER: Now, how is your husband? Is he doing long-term COVID as well?
WATASHE: I think he pretty much got over his, but he has the headaches. But other than that, he’s pretty healthy. And I don’t think he had ever been really sick, either, but it affected us. Brain fog, oh my gosh, yes. Brain fog. I can’t remember hardly like talking to someone and asking them questions, they’re like, “Don’t you remember?” And I’m like, “Oh, yeah.” So, I have the COVID brain fog.
DELLINGER: So, your short term [00:36:00] memory, you think? Because you’re doing wonderful here today. So, I’m wondering what it was like for your families to have two people in one home, a husband a wife, both ill, and him being severely ill, what was that like?
WATASHE: I did not see my mom or dad for a month. Even though the doctor says after nine days you can’t give it to anyone, I mean, you’re immune. But I was so scared, it was a month before I went and seen my mom and dad. And the same way with Mark, we didn’t go see his dad, because we sure didn’t want any of them to get it. We were scared that we might give it to someone, even though the doctor said that we’re good. But it was
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awful not being able to see them. My sister would drop off food at our gate, and after she left, we would go get it. [00:37:00] Mark’s dad would come, friends would come, whatever we needed, we couldn’t go out and get it, so we would tell them, they would go get it, and they would put it at the fence. But we could look out the door, or the window, and wave at them. And that was sad, because you could tell they were worried about us. And then, us not getting to see them, because we’re all a close-knit family, and not being able to see them, and talk to them in person. And that kind of made me sad. I didn’t feel bad but I was sad because I couldn’t see the people that I wanted to go visit.
DELLINGER: How do you think your spirituality helped you through those hard times?
WATASHE: That’s what got me through. God got me through. God got Mark through. And we would pray every night that our bodies would be healed [00:38:00] and they were. I mean, we’re good today and we had a lot of people praying for us. My home church, his home church, they were praying. We would get cards in the mail from church members. And I knew we would get better. Every night, I’d talk to Mom, they would pray over the phone, Mom and Dad. I know my church family was praying for me, they would call and check on me, or text how we’re doing. So, yeah. We had a bunch of prayers going out and we survived it.
DELLINGER: Yeah, that’s wonderful. I want to go back to your work at Food Distribution, because as you’ve already mentioned, you guys there in that department really are, and really were, at the beginning of the pandemic, front-line [00:39:00]
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workers, and as you said, you didn’t have the opportunity to shut down and shelter in place. People still needed their food. And so, you’ve already mentioned some of the changes that had to be made so that you could provide food to people, safely, for your safety, too. So, in the beginning of the pandemic, let’s say during that first year, did you see an increase in the number of families needing food support?
WATASHE: Yes, there was an increase at the beginning of the pandemic, there was. People were scared that they wasn’t able to provide for their families, people were losing their jobs, or their jobs were shutting down. So, we had clients come in. I mean, they would put their applications either email, or we had a drop box, and I think on any given day, we could have thirty [00:40:00] pieces of mail, people applying. It was a busy time for us.
DELLINGER: Like if you had to give a percentage to the increase, what would you guesstimate?
WATASHE: In the beginning, I would say at least—I wouldn’t say half, maybe forty, thirty percent. But then, we also lost clients when SNAP increased their benefits, and we did lose clients that way. But they’re slowly coming back now.
DELLINGER: For folks who don’t know what SNAP is, what is SNAP?
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WATASHE: It’s food stamps. They know it by food stamps. But we also had a lot of clients pass during this time, too.
DELLINGER: The USDA, what did they do to help support the situation? Did they make any changes to eligibility? [00:41:00] Did they increase food supply to Indian country?
WATASHE: Yes. Brain fog, here. They did, what was it? Let me think. I can’t even remember, Midge. They did do something; I just can’t remember. [laughs]
DELLINGER: But they were supportive.
WATASHE: Yes, they were very supportive.
DELLINGER: They were trying to help the situation. So, as you were working with people, folks who were coming to get food support, can you talk just a little bit more about what their state of mind was, and emotions that you saw in these people?
WATASHE: Usually, okay, well, they if they were eligible, a lot of the clients, [00:42:00] then, we were getting new clients. So, their emotion was just thankful that they got food, thankful. And they would tell us, “We’re so thankful for this department. We’re thankful for you helping us,” thankful for the food they got. And I think that everyone that applied, if they were eligible, we didn’t make them wait. If they needed
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verifications turned in, we would just say, “We’ll certify you for this month,” and let them get their food. Yeah.
DELLINGER: What was it like though, having to tell people that they weren’t eligible?
WATASHE: That was the hard part, because everybody was struggling at the time. And USDA sets our guidelines, so we [00:43:00] have to follow what they tell us, and if they weren’t eligible, we would have to tell them. But we would try to give them places that they could try and go to, maybe food banks, or churches. We had a list to give them.
DELLINGER: So, I know it had to be so stressful just working in that situation day to day. Through all of these surges of illness and death, how did you, at the end of every day, go home and nurture and care for yourself?
WATASHE: The first thing that I would do when I get home was just thankful for being able to go and help the people, come home, and be thankful for what you have at your house. I was thankful that I had a job. People was losing their jobs. I[00:44:00] was just thankful that when I would come home, I just felt like, oh my gosh, I just need to go— like, I’ve been around some people you just want to just—first thing I’d do is take off my shoes, keep them outside the house, go in, take a shower before I done anything, you know? But I don’t know, it’s just, I was just thankful during that time that I was able to work. And just seeing these people that came in, it just made you realize what they were going through, and you sympathized with them.
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DELLINGER: From your knowledge, what has been the toll of illness and death in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation due to COVID-19?
WATASHE: I don’t know that.
DELLINGER: But the Muscogee Nation has lost, [00:45:00] we have lost people because of COVID.
WATASHE: Oh, yes. Yes.
DELLINGER: Did you experience that with your church community, a loss because of COVID-19?
WATASHE: There was one church that we was acquainted with, they lost a lot of members, a lot of elders. My home church, they never shut their doors during this time and I don’t believe anyone passed from that community, or that church, from COVID.
DELLINGER: Because the doors stayed open, were there any safety measures, though, that the church followed?
WATASHE: The mask. They would do the space in between. They didn’t eat at church. [00:46:00] Indian churches, they like to eat. But all that was taken. Every so many pews
26
were blocked off. And not a lot of them went during that time. I know that we didn’t, me and my family didn’t go.
DELLINGER: Can you share the name of the church that you just mentioned that lost several members?
WATASHE: Concharty.
DELLINGER: Oh, it was Concharty. Okay. Mrs. Watashe, have you been vaccinated against COVID-19?
WATASHE: I have been vaccinated, fully vaccinated plus the booster. DELLINGER: And why was it important to you to get vaccinated?
WATASHE: Because after you have COVID, you don’t want it again. You want to protect yourself from getting it again. I know a lot of people [00:47:00] was against it, but once you have COVID, and you realize, even though I had a mild case, you never know how bad your next COVID would be if you got it. And I didn’t want to find out, so I went and got vaccinated.
DELLINGER: Do you remember what vaccine you received?
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WATASHE: I used Pfizer.
DELLINGER: And what were your side effects?
WATASHE: I had no side effects. My arm was a little sore and that was it. So, I was like, “Did this work?” [laughs] Because like my sister and Mark, they had headaches, they felt drowsy. And I didn’t. I took the shot and I was good. I didn’t have any side effects.
DELLINGER: Good for you. That’s good. What are your thoughts about how the Muscogee (Creek) [00:48:00] Nation leadership has handled the pandemic in comparison to the State of Oklahoma?
WATASHE: I think our tribe done really, really well when it came to the pandemic. They had good people. I don’t even know who was making all the decisions, but I think some of it was from the health, and then our administration. But anyway, I thought they’d done a really good job. They tried to protect their employees that was frontlines by giving us all this, what is it called, the mask, the sanitizer, anything that you needed to protect yourself, it was available to us. So, I just thought that it was a really—I mean, the leadership done a really fine job.
DELLINGER: The [00:49:00] Muscogee (Creek) Nation did two or three food giveaways. Was Food Distribution a part of that, or was that something totally separate?
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WATASHE: That was totally separate but we had workers that would go and help at different communities when they were there. Some of our workers volunteered to help, or our director would help with the trucks and loading them, things like that when they was at River Spirit. So, yeah. Our department tried to help as much as they could when it came to doing things like that.
DELLINGER: How do you think that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Health Department has performed throughout the pandemic?
WATASHE: In my opinion, I think they’ve done great. I thought they’ve done a good job. I mean, now that you get COVID, they have these infusions you can go and it helps. [00:50:00]
DELLINGER: Can you share anything more about that?
WATASHE: Well, I know the infusion wasn’t out when I had COVID, but a couple of friends, they got COVID and they were elders, and they said they got a phone call saying, “Come do an infusion,” and the infusion just helps some where they won’t have so many symptoms.
DELLINGER: Is this the monoclonal antibody infusion?
WATASHE: Yes.
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DELLINGER: Okay. And what kind of response did they have? Do you know? Was it helpful?
WATASHE: It was helpful. They said it was helpful to them. They were glad, because they didn’t even know the infusion existed till they got a phone call. So, I think the health done good in doing all of that. And then, doing their vaccines where they would go have all, what is it called when they do the big vaccine? They done one at the hospital, [00:51:00] and they’ve done one at River Spirit.
DELLINGER: Yeah, just their big vaccine events?
WATASHE: Yeah, yes. I thought they’ve done great on that.
DELLINGER: Yeah, and I think, now, the nation even has a monoclonal antibody clinic. WATASHE: I think so, too, at Council Oak, I believe.
DELLINGER: Right. Okay, so anything else? I kind of cut into you, there. Anything else?
WATASHE: No.
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DELLINGER: Okay. All right, so as I mentioned earlier, we’re about twenty-eight months into having COVID in our existence and it doesn’t seem to be going away, it continues to mutate. What are your thoughts about these things? Do you think COVID-19 is ever going to go completely?
WATASHE: I don’t think it’ll ever go completely away. I think the numbers might go down where so [00:52:00] many is not getting it, but I think just like the flu, I think flu season, COVID season, I just don’t see COVID going away. I wish it would. I wish it would go away and stay away and not ever come back.
DELLINGER: Right. We’ve been in this what I’m calling a COVID lull for two or three months now, at least. Do you feel like you’re still paying as close attention to COVID, maybe like in the news, and what’s going on in the numbers? Where are you with that right now?
WATASHE: Sometimes I don’t even watch the news because everything seems bad. But right now, I don’t think I do as much as I did when it first came out. Like, we’ll go eat in a restaurant, [00:53:00] or we’ll go to a store. We do normal things, now. But it’s still there, even though we’re not as safety as we were when it first came out.
DELLINGER: Yeah, and that was going to be my next question. I was going to ask you if you and your husband are engaging in a life that’s more similar to what your life was
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like before the COVID pandemic, which you just answered that. What are the safety measures, though, if there’s any, that you are continuing to stick to in your daily life?
WATASHE: Well.
DELLINGER: Are you still masking at all, or hand sanitizing?
WATASHE: Sometimes. Hand sanitizer. I keep it in my purse, we keep it in our vehicles. [00:54:00] We still do the spray down if we go somewhere and spray the vehicles, but as far as masks, unless it’s required, we don’t have a problem with it if they tell you to put on a mask, like when you go to your doctor’s office or anything like that, we’ll wear one, or if we go somewhere that says masks are required, we’ll put one on.
DELLINGER: All right, well, Mrs. Watashe, we are down to our last two questions. For future generations of Muscogee who may find themselves trying to survive a global health and economic event such as the COVID-19 pandemic, what words of wisdom or advice do you have for them about living with and surviving such a catastrophic event?
WATASHE: Living with COVID? Just protect yourself however you can. [00:55:00] I would say to them if you do get COVID, you can survive it. I mean, you can. But when I had COVID, I think, just me having COVID, it does make you feel bad, but I say my God is bigger than COVID, and that’s who I look to. That’s who you should look to. He’ll get you through. God is good.
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DELLINGER: All right. In closing, is there anything else that you would like to say or share?
WATASHE: About COVID?
DELLINGER: Yeah.
WATASHE: Like I said, I don’t think COVID’s going to go away. Getting vaccinated is [00:56:00] up to the person. I would just say protect yourself, protect your surroundings, where you go, who you talk to. Just, it’s there. It’s real. So, I would just say be safe.
DELLINGER: Okay. Mrs. Watashe, mvto, thank you so much for being here today and having this conversation with me and sharing your experiences. And you continue to stay safe and take care.
WATASHE: You too, as well.
END OF INTERVIEW
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An interview with Muscogee (Creek) Nation citizen Mark Watashe.
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May 14, 2022 Original Date:
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