Rita Jane Many Guns- And Then Another Time
And the other thing was Sundays… like, we go home Friday, Friday after school. and we get back on Sunday morning and we go to church. I always fell l asleep in church and Mrs., Miss Gillespie, I don’t why but I always have to sit in front or sit beside her. When I fall asleep, she would pull my hair or pinch me and that too, I hated to go church when I get home, oops, when I get back to school.
And then another time, I went to the bathroom we were already in bed, I got caught for getting up and I had to kneel outside, outside the door. I don’t know how long, my knees were really hurting from kneeling down. So, I don’t if that’s what you call abuse but those are the few things that I went through.
Another time we were outside, it was recess, me and my friend snuck back in and of course I got caught. I was sent to the office, then… there, Mr. Wheatley strapped me. I went with my friend; they had not even begun to start to strap, she was already crying. Mr. Wheatley told her “I haven’t even touched you and you’re already crying”. We got strapped, it wide what he strapped us with, three times on each hand.
Then another time we skipped class, me and my friend, the same one. We walked down to where they have track and field. I think it was a science class, we were just sitting there, we were just playing there. We knew, when the bell rang, we went back to the school and here as we walking back there was Mr. Wheatley already waiting for us. Again, we were sent, same thing we got strapped.
– Monoot’taki, Rita Jane Many Guns
Notes:
Oral interview with Monoot’taki, Rita Jane Many Guns. Conducted, translated, and transcribed by Gwendora Bear Chief. Old Sun Community College, May 6, 2022.
