Maude “Grandma” Supernaw
Interviewed by: Bill Supernaw, Jr.
Interview Date: 1962
Transcribed by: Rise Supernaw Proctor & Billy Supernaw Proctor
Subject: Foot Races & Raising Deer

Foot Races & Raising Deer
 Bill: Did you ever, you ever run any foot races?

Grandma: Yeah, I race all time, run, foot race. I beat all girls and boys too, I beat boys too. And uh, up to Pawhuska, I went up there school (1), and them girls they all, I run a race with them. They told me which one girl run fast, I run with her and I beat her too. So, they won’t run a race with me anymore. So, I beat all them girls.

That’s reason I caught turkey too, uh, young turkey, my father went hunting, uh, young turkey, uh, he just broke a wing here and he brought it (home). We always raise little deer too, and we went after deer, my mother, we look for them, they, we brought back, and a, a box was in that, and my mother raise it up with turkey in there. Running outside, and because he can’t fly, just run. Deer all both got scared. Here you, you hold, I mean, uh, take care of them deer, you go after that turkey. So, here I went, oh, at, uh, toward the road, where road was now, just, he just look around, which way he’s going, going run. When he see me, just run, I run with him, go, about time I catching, it turn, I go round. Uh, couple time miss turn and I finally grab him, I grab the little, bring back.

Bill: Where was that?

Grandma: Oh, out to farm (2), our place, used to be. And the deer, and uh, got alright, they got scared. They just come home eat, but they didn’t come home. We went, we went look for it. Uh, sometime they go away people kill them, didn’t come back. My father sometime bring one and we raise her, and it get big and uh, so long, they didn’t come back, I guess somebody kill them.


(1) St. Louis Girls Parochial School

(2) Mary Maude “Grandma” Supernaw’s Osage Allotment, west of Skiatook.
   
 
 

Maude “Grandma” Supernaw
Interviewed by: Bill Supernaw, Jr.
Interview Date: 1962
Transcribed by: Rise Supernaw Proctor & Billy Supernaw Proctor
Subject: Tall Chief’s Gourd, Eagle Fan, & Pipe

Tall Chief’s Gourd, Eagle Fan, & Pipe
 Irene: That gourd that you gave Bill, that was used in Peyote meetings.

Grandma: Yeah.

Irene: And it’s real old.

Grandma: Uh huh, yeah, that’s for Peyote, and the Eagle feather (fan) (1), uh, my father always had it. They got it.
.
Irene: That’s the one that RedEagles (2) have?

Grandma: Yeah.

Irene: You loaned it to them.

Grandma: Yeah, I told he can keep it, a while. Maybe people wants to use it, maybe. That’s what we need down there now, where to have on Billie (Webster) a fan.

Irene: Oh.

Grandma: Fan with her. When Irvin (Wilson) come, I’m going to tell him, when I see him, and something else with it, gourd and, no, that’s all. Just that clay pipe (see picture on Artifacts page), that oldest piece of pipe, you know. That’s a, we got it up the house. We going keep him, hang it up awhile. Smoke horses. Yeah we got, them gourd, use a, Peyote meeting.


(1) Given to Bob Whitebird to put in future Quapaw Museum at Quapaw, Oklahoma by Grandma Supernaw. The museum was not built and Bob was to give back to the Supernaw family.

(2) Mary Maude “Grandma” Supernaw, 1969 Interview on Tallchief’s fan, “Harry RedEagle, he use awhile for meeting (Peyote), and he, he died and his wife give back to me. He said you, he told give back, belongs to Quapaws so give back to, give back to me.”
   

Maude “Grandma” Supernaw
Interviewed by: Bill Supernaw, Jr.
Interview Date: 1962
Transcribed by: Rise Supernaw Proctor & Billy Supernaw Proctor
Subject: Quapaws on Osage Reservation

Quapaws on Osage Reservation
 Bill, Jr.: Where were you born?

Grandma: On uh, Quapaw Creek (1), and at, that’s where I was born, and all Quapaw live around that Quapaw creek too, that’s why they name Quapaw Creek and some of them, they live down there Delaware Creek. Francis Goodeagle, he live up there, take care of their stomp dance, over there, down there, and uh, oh, John Beaver, they live Quapaw Creek and John Crow, and uh, Si gde and Solomon and uh, Mary’s grandfather and her grandma and great grandmother. That’s where they live there, but uh, some of them old people die right along there along Quapaw Creek.


(1) West of present day town of Skiatook.
   

 

Maude “Grandma” Supernaw
Interviewed by: Bill Supernaw, Jr.
Interview Date: 1962
Transcribed by: Rise Supernaw Proctor & Billy Supernaw Proctor
Subject: Quapaws Return to Quapaw, Oklahoma

Quapaws Return to Quapaw, Oklahoma
 Bill: How come these Quapaws go back to Miami (1)?

Grandma: Oh, they want him come back over there, allotting, they wanted to give them land. They wanted buy that land. That’s reason they told to come back, so, they made him go back.


(1) Quapaw Reservation
   

Maude “Grandma” Supernaw
Interviewed by: Bill Supernaw, Jr.
Interview Date: 1962
Transcribed by: Rise Supernaw Proctor & Billy Supernaw Proctor
Subject: Snake Clan

Snake Clan
 Bill: Well what’s this Snake Clan?

Grandma: Huh?

Bill: What’s this Snake Clan?

Grandma: Snake Clan?

Bill: Yah.

Grandma: Oh! That’s, uh, my father’s1 side, up.

Bill: Oh.

Grandma: Up, they claim, Snake Band, up there2. He claim, my father, there’s a big snake up there, they claim. That’s what they claim, Snake Band. That’s, just know they say that, a snake bit them and they spit on it and he said they kill them, they’d claim.

Bill: Kill the snake?

Grandma: Uh, huh.

Bill: Oh.

Grandma: Kill that disease, where the snake bit them.


1 Tall Chief

2 Quapaw, Oklahoma
 

Also see the Snake Clan Bracelet on our Artifacts Page!

Maude “Grandma” Supernaw
Interviewed by: Bill Supernaw, Jr.
Interview Date: 1962
Transcribed by: Rise Supernaw Proctor & Billy Supernaw Proctor
Subject: Special Corn

Special Corn
 Bill: What about this corn you talk about?

Grandma: Huh?

Bill: That corn.

Grandma: Corn?

Bill: Yeah, what about it?

Grandma: Way back.

Bill: The corn you said, sick corn or something.

Grandma: Oh yeah, that’s what my father (Tall Chief) using for medicine, I told you they bring, Indian (Quapaw) brought it with them, you know where ever they come from, you know. That’s what they commence to, his folks they use that, and doctor with it, you know. Few, they save a few seeds, you know, every year, you know. Summertime, they plant rest of them, they eat them and they good to eat too, sweet corn, but just save enough for that use for that special. So, that’s way my mother (Wa si sta) she always save for my father. So he can use it you know, and uh, that’s why sick people use it. My father use it in the morning. They pound it, and, and they cook it in the morning, they just give that, sick people give a drink and then they blow all over here, and uh, all over the blood, uh, body, rest of them, and then they give a, give a drink and let them eating a few corn and hominy they call. So, when they get through and they washed off and they wash everything off and then they, so they, they go home, they get well. My father cured a lot of people that way. Specially come see him, when they get sick. They bring thing like we did to give a name, you know. A pan and, and a buffalo horn, shell, feathers, and tobacco, and the goods I was telling you about, just same thing, they brought. Sometime they want to get well and they bring a horse and they give a horse, they put a horse, they get well.

Bill: You say they haven’t got anymore of that corn now?

Grandma: Huh?

Bill: They haven’t got anymore of that corn now?

Grandma: Huh uh, we ain’t got none. Ever since my mother died, we don’t take care of them so they, we lost that seed. We ain’t got anymore, and we, we can’t do that anyhow, when my father only one know, you know, he left, he’s dead, he learned from his daddy (Lame Chief). He got cer …. He got certain sing too, but nobody can sing that when he (Tall Chief ) died (1918) so, everything dropped, that corn, singing too. I guess Indian brought it with them, so somebody learned to fix it that way I guess, special.
   

Maude “Grandma” Supernaw
Interviewed by: Bill Supernaw, Jr.
Interview Date: 1965
Transcribed by: Rise Supernaw Proctor & Billy Supernaw Proctor
Subject: Quapaw Creek

Quapaw Creek
 Bill: Who else lived along here (Quapaw Creek)?

Grandma: Uh huh.

Bill: Who?

Bill: John Beaver?

Grandma: Yeah, John Beaver, they live over here Delaware Creek, uh, Bird Creek, Hominy Creek down here. All rest of them live over here.

Bill: Oh!

Grandma: Quapaw (Creek).

Bill: Huh!

Grandma: Pete Clabber and all them.

Bill: They use to live here too, huh, Pete Clabber?

Grandma: Uh huh, yeah! And Harrison Quapaw.

Bill: Well, I’ll be darn.

Grandma: They all live around here, Quapaw Creek.

Bill: That’s the reason it’s named Quapaw, huh?

Grandma: Uh huh, yeah. They name it Quapaw Creek.

Bill: Well, I’ll be darn, huh.

Grandma: Uh huh.

Bill: Where were you born?

Grandma: Yeah, I was born down to, ole orchid, they call it.

Bill: The what?

Grandma: That’s where I was born.

Bill: Where?

Grandma: Orchid, right along that Quapaw Creek, they call orchid. Uh, a few apple tree there, that’s where we live. That’s where I was born, they said.

Bill: Did they name that Tall Chief Creek (1) after grandpa?

Grandma: Huh?

Bill: Tall Chief Creek, did they name that after ….

Grandma: Up there to the house.

Bill: They name that ….

Grandma: Out country (Maude’s Osage allottment).

Bill: Yeah! They named that after him?

Grandma: Uh, we live out there, and the white people come, they name it Tall Chief Creek.

Bill: Oh!

Grandma: That little branch go up there.


(1) Located west of Skiatook, Oklahoma.
   

Maude “Grandma” Supernaw
Interviewed by: Bill Supernaw, Jr.
Interview Date: 1965
Transcribed by: Rise Supernaw Proctor & Billy Supernaw Proctor
Subject: Hunting Otter

Hunting Otter
 IBill: This recording is by Grandma Supernaw. Did there ever used to be any otters around here (1)?

Grandma: Who?

Bill: Otters. You know where you get the otter tails and otter hides.

Grandma: Well, one time my father, we going to Pawhuska, we camping, somewhere up there Bull Creek, and, and he, I don’t know how he come to find out otter around there in that, uh, deep water there, on the ice, under the, ice out over the water, and my father find out where otter is so, and he cut hole in that, so it gets fresh air when they come out. He cut two hole in that, uh, one on the side, one on that side and, and the other one, west side. So, he told my mother, uh, he told my mother, watching at the other hole, so he watching the other side, and he had a gun, pistol with it, so whenever otter come out of hole, sticking nose out and get fresh air, and uh, he, he shot him in the head, and so he got one and next time he, he watching again so, another one come up for get fresh air, so he, he kill it too with uh, pistol. So, so he killed two that time, so, and uh, so he skin it, so, we take, he took that, we went Pawhuska, so he sold them otter hide up to Pawhuska, for, uh, for two for eight dollar, that’s the way he got it for. That’s why I know, I know what kind of otter is, so, I can tell otter hides. I guess that’s all there is to it.

Bill: Hmmm.

Grandma: Huh.


(1) Quapaw Creek, West of present day town of Skiatook, Oklahoma.