|
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
This Oral History is copyrighted by the Interviewee
and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program on
behalf of the Board of Trustees of the University of
Florida.
Copyright, 2005, University of Florida.
All rights, reserved.
This oral history may be used for research,
instruction, and private study under the provisions
of Fair Use. Fair Use is a provision of United States
Copyright Law (United States Code, Title 17, section
107) which allows limited use of copyrighted
materials under certain conditions.
Fair use limts the amount of material that may be
used.
For all other permissions and requests, contact the
SAMUEL PROCTOR ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM at
the University of Florida
UL 10A
Page 1.
INTERVIEWEE: Pam Taylor
INTERVIEWER: Lew Barton
B: We have another young lady here with us to be interviewed. Would
you mind telling us what your name is pt"- MA ?
T: I'm Pamela C. Taylor.
B: Pamela C. Taylor, T-a-y-l-o-r. How old are you, Pam?
T: Sixteen.
B: Sixteen, that's a nice age to be, isn't it? Do you enjoy being
sixteen?
T: Yes.
B: Have you got any boyfriends and girlfriends?
T: Yes.
B: Which do you have the most of?
T: Girlfriends.
B: Do you have any sports in school?
T: Yes, baseball.
B: Do you play on the girls team?
T: Uh--hfr* f 1 Ti-'1 (5C
B: t.UnWlt. Would you mind telling us the names of your parents?
T: Mildred Louise Taylor and James Stephen Taylor.
B: Would you mind telling us the names of your brothers and sisters
Me!a ahasEs and their ages?
T: James Stephen Taylor,Jr, age eighteen, Mary Louise Taylor, age fifteen,
and QBjaJ' Mae Taylor, age four.
UL 10A
Page 2. dib
B: -eMfth, now which one are you? I mean are you the oldest?
T: No, I'm next to the oldest.
B: "1D&auhwela'Lt.foeol1-e. What grade are you in?
T: The eleventh.
B: Are you having any difficulties in school?
T:
B: S'ye^ are you doing tutoring work over here or., ririiju'M
T: No.
B: Do you live near the center here?
T: -Uh / 3
B: -f"tafk what street do you live on?
T: On Duncan.
B: On Duncan Street, D-u-n-c-a-n,
T: 44 rihX t-,N%, \j
B: How far is that from South Broadway?
T: About six or seven blocks.
B: iftS do you go to church?
T: at West Cross Street Baptist Church.
B: Were you over at the meeting last night by the way?
T: No.
B: They had a nice meeting over there last night. I was over there.
Do you have any problems with other young people, getting on with
other young people?
UL 10A
Page 3. dib
' No.
B: Do they treat you any differently because you're an Indian?
T: Well, some of the schools
d0.
B: What do they, they have a tendency to shy away from you or make
remarks or anything like that?
T: Yes, and they CC({ J ad on Indians, most of them.
B: What do you feel about this?
T: I feel that we're all the sameno matter what your race is.
B: Right. Ba-yeu mkca an you remember any particular problems at
all in this connection?
T: Well, let's see. This girl and me)a-c, I was in the tenth grade
last year, and she made a remark about the Indians while we were
in history clasand that made me a little upset about it and I
told her tat, "D l r what she was saying __^_.'
Sen LLcr^ about i tt^^Il-jiuAr.-
told her that.. Luld take it outside.
B: Did she take you up on it?
T: No. C1 --' o
B: Do you think our Indian children are a little too sensitive about re-
marks like this?
T: No.
B: They take it pretty well?
ST: They take it pretty well.
B: Can you think of anything we could do to help along these lines afi-Cd
help people better understand each other and get along better together?
UL 10A
Page 4. dib
T: No, can't think a W.
B: When they teach you in school, what place now?
T: The eleventh.
B: Have you studied anything at all about Indians in school?
T: 4Sa this year.
B: WmZaNt what course is that in?
T: Wi.a81i history.
B: "=PC th. You have counsellors in school?
T: Qmaii. ye >
B: They don't teach sex education?
T: Well, they did last year.
B: MU -hn4Y
T: We had sex education.
B: Do you think it was helpful, too?
T: inh-hn. -^
B: Do you think people of the community frown on this sort of thing maybe?
T: Most of them do.
B: Think they feel it shouldn't be taught?
T: Well not the younger ones,.the older ones like my dad. They think
it shouldn't be teaching in school. But if they don't teach them
in school/nobody else is going to teach it to them.
B: Right. If you have a personal problem you want to discuss and have nobody
to talk tocan you always go to your counselor?
T: Yes.
B: What's your favorite subject in school?
UL 10A
Page 5. dib
T: U.S. history.
B: Do you think the Indians got eft out of history, too?
T: They don't really' ye7 I m.nriia:. 'l in history they
talk about the Negro s and the whites, and I don't think the Indians
should be left out Id ';'' .
B: Of course American history began with the American Indian.
T: Right.
B: And if you're told was a small group, I suppose you can
p l / C sometimes.
T: Yes.
B: Do you think there's anything that might be done to stimulate more
interest along these lines?
T: Yesy I can't think of none.
B: Do you think people would be interested in a course on American Indian
T: I think most of them would, because like at school, .yaSMesw, I told
a lot of my friends about Indian enter, and one night:about thirteen
or fourteen of them come down here and they liked it down here.
There was Indian dancing that night and most of them liked 25 gp
-gms c They said they'd like to do some beadwork now.
B: *4aiih, do you do this sort of thing, beadwork?
T:
B: Are you good at it?
T: Not good at it. I just learned over the summer when I was working down
here.
UL 10A
Page 6. dib
B: Do you come over for the Indian dances on Thursday nights?
T: U-b 4
B: Do you dance?
T: No, my sister does, but I don't.
B: You don't dance Indian-style or otherwise?
T: Uh uh.
B: Just enjoy watching.
T: Right.
B: You and I are about in the same boat, but I want to learn
Indian danceS',
T: Well, I know a few steps / i& but I just like to sit
back and watch them do it.
B: fgiS, very colorful isn't it?
T: JlIMh.. \e-s
B: Very beautiful really, and I'll tell you one thing there's some
beautiful Indian girls out on the dance floor there, Don't
you think Indian girls are beautiful?
T: --f e-.
B: How about Indian guys?
T: Yes.
B: They're not beautiful, but maybe they're handsome.
T: Yes...right.
B: What do you plan to do when you get through school?
T: I want to go to college and go to nursing school.
B: Do you think you'll be able to make it?
T: Yes, I think so.
UL 10A
Page 7. dib
B: What do you girls think about women's lib? Do you think our young
people are inclined to lean towards women's lib?
T: In a way I do. It'really doesn't make no sense, women's lib. T'STUt
howP
aJilsr t^aai_i they know they're going to get treated anyway,
so...
B: You don't think it's going to make.much difference?
T: No, it's not going to make much difference. It's like these women
that want to work construction. They work construction maybe two
0- :-t 7-I' 'etc
or three weeks. Tihey do nothing and...they just give up on it
B: I picked up the telephone the other day and I listened for a soft
feminine voice to say, "Number please." This guy's voice came on.
How do you feel about guys who serve as telephone operators?
T: I really don't know. (j '--
B: Do you think it's sort of a reaction to women's lib?
T: Yeb, it is.
B: Do you like things the way they were in the past?
T: Yes, they were better the way they were^ Women did women's work and
men did men's work.
B: I see. They're just not made the same are they?
T: No.
B: What do you think young people can do about the problems today? Do
yo6 think they have a good idea of which to do and all this?
T: Well, some of them have good ideas about things, but ggvgggy, really
it wouldn't matter that I did try to change it, because if it's going
to be changed it's going to be changed.
UL 10A
Page 8. dib
B: And you don't thin young people dhoa have to say or do would
make much difference?
T: No, because older people-, p -Bf as just don't listen to younger
people. They might listen to them, but yr a1mm they don't take
their advice or nothing. It's just something that's going in-one
ear and coming out the other. But it really wouldn't make no dif-
ference if they tried to change it.
B: I don't know about that. I like to listen to young people. They
have great ideaS1 T
T: Yes.
B: Do you feel that these ideas are wasted time?
T: I feel most of them are.
B: Bi too bad, isn't it?
T: Yes.
B: Is there anything you would like to do? I take it you feel that there
is a generation gap. Is it very good to talk to older people?
T: Well, some older people are god3 lik- rI Y ..aM.MMa L, it's
hard for me to talk to my mother than it is to talk to myl t'
And-SUam Ioaybecan talk to my, one of my aunts better than I
can talk to my sister.
B: Do you think Indian parents are stricter than other people?
T: No, not really, because ymc --1- r ,y ,- -n' .ii. my parents/they usually
allow at least a little bit of freedom. Some things we want
1- (P-' they won't let us have our way about it, but with
other things they go along with.
UL 10A
Page 9. dib
B: Do you think that people say sometimes "I don't know what's going to
happen to our young people." You don't see any difference, do you?
T: No, I don't.
B: I don't think there is any difference. The young people of yester-
day and the young people of today...
T: .y
B: ...perhaps some people, they have more money to spend and this
sort of thing. Do you think Indian children are very respectful
towards parents?
T: .,I a mhem, you know, they respect i faFC
and other people.
B: I think Indian children have beautiful manners.
T: -4-htih. y S
B: I wish we could do something about the generation gap, but I don't
see any generation gap between me and younger people'jl'__ (t_ C _
I really encourage young people ,i's a, to talk to me pretty
freely, -uasmsm, tell me things and just talk together. I really
don't see all that much difference d1WMCl- 'tAt e-.g'dh-
my friends ;lt., C all right, you don't know what you want to
do U,/ kv Vp r-,.
U iV
T: NOY
B: It might be a better one.
T: Right.
B: BUZM"h and then when you go into college...do you make pretty good
grades in school?
T: Yes, they're pretty good except for physical science.
UL 10A
Page 10. dib
B: That's sort of a man's subject anyway, isn't it?
T: Yes
B: Guys get more interested in...
T: Right.
B: ...physical things "d girls I suppose the girls
beat them in some other areas C .Do you study
Home Ec.?
T: Yes.
B : Do you find it's a helpful subject?
T: Anyway I'd like the course -OeFrat w, like sewing and cooking. Z=e
there you gotP3y uM two things you can do. You could work
in a factoryaaS9MM, if you wanted to, making clothes or be
a cook or something like that I@@a( working in a nice restaurant.
B: Is there anything you'd like to pass on to other young people?
T: No.
B: I want to thank you so very much for this interview '
T: Thank you.
B: You're very, you're a nice _U_ eCt to interview. Thank you
so very much.
S Iwelcome.
T: 40enT welcome.
|
RSS
HIDE
