1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: La Dear Latino USA listener, it's Marino Hossa. Today we 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,480 Speaker 1: want to share a new podcast series. It's called The 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Some of Us. It's hosted by author Heather McGee. On 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: the heels of her best selling book of the same name, 5 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: Heather embarked on a road trip across the US, unearthing 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: stories of solidarity and hope in times of COVID, great division, 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: and frankly peril for our democracy. From rural Maine to 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: the California coast and everywhere in between, Heather meets individuals 9 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: who are crossing demographic, cultural, and political lines in order 10 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: to build a better future for all of us. And 11 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:46,599 Speaker 1: through this journey, she uncovers the secret ingredients to creating 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: the cross racial relationships that make real change possible. So 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: in this episode, Heather takes us to Minden, a small 14 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: town in Nevada. For over a century, there's been some 15 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:04,959 Speaker 1: blaring in Minden. It's a noise, a noise that means 16 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: wildly different things to different people. It's a noise that 17 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: says something deeper about our country and who is welcomed 18 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: in it. Here's the last sundown Siren, and remember that 19 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:20,759 Speaker 1: you can listen to other stories from the some of us. 20 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: Wherever you get your podcasts, and make sure to subscribe. 21 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 2: It looks sedate, it looks look at this place, it 22 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 2: looks so, it looks so inviting. 23 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 3: It's pindon Minden. It's really beautiful. 24 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 4: I mean, can you read that sign right there? 25 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 3: This is our happy place together. 26 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 4: That's Marty Meaden. He's a descendant of the Washo tribe 27 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 4: from the land we now call Nevada and California. And 28 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 4: he's showing me around Minden, Nevada. 29 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 3: But there are a lot of little schools and like 30 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 3: all those old little stites. 31 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 4: It's a small, rural, mostly white town, about a forty 32 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 4: five minute drive from Reno, not far from South Lake Tahoe. 33 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 3: This is old town right here, Minnie. 34 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 4: We're at the town square. 35 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 3: It looks really cute. I mean, it's very welcoming. 36 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 4: This is a picturesque place surrounded by mountains. On the 37 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 4: little main street, there's a bakery, several antique shops, and 38 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:15,679 Speaker 4: a low key casino. 39 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 3: The wood building that's a casino. 40 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 4: Most of the buildings are solid brick. Many have been 41 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 4: restored to look like they did a century ago. 42 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 3: That's the jail and the sheriff stations right to the 43 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 3: front of it. 44 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 4: A reminder of Mindon's time as a Wild West railroad 45 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 4: town full of people. Yea, an actual set for Western movies. 46 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 4: You notice one thing right away. There are a ton 47 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 4: of little plaques everywhere. I mean, there's a plaque because 48 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 4: this used to be the bank. There's a plaque because 49 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 4: that used to be the pharmacy. You know, I've seen 50 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 4: so many different plaques about just little minute details of 51 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 4: the place. I haven't. This is a town that likes to. 52 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 3: Remember, very historic and proud of their history. But do 53 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 3: you know the history. 54 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 4: From the park. One of the biggest structures you can 55 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 4: see is a tower, on top of which is something 56 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,519 Speaker 4: that looks like a giant red train whistle. We walk 57 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 4: up to it. There's no plaque there. Oh man, can 58 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 4: you describe what we're looking at? 59 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 2: It was a siren to alert for emergencies, similar to 60 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 2: like a tornado warning type, but here would be primarily fire. 61 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 3: But it was also. 62 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 2: Used to as a sundown siren to remind the not 63 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 2: just the washer people, people of color to it. Hey, 64 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 2: it's time to move out, get back out of town 65 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 2: and stuff. Only those that had like a working permit 66 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 2: that may have been working. 67 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 5: So loud. 68 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 3: Yes, it's on a. 69 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 2: Still day, you could hear for you probably here almost 70 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 2: halfway to the foothills over there. So only those like 71 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 2: the ladies that were working in the hotels and or 72 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 2: the you know at the butcher shop, all those little 73 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 2: things for here, people that had work permits and all 74 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 2: were allowed to stay after the six o'clock siren. Otherwise 75 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 2: you'd be you could be arrested. 76 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 4: That siren has been sounding from the town square since 77 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 4: the early nineteen hundreds. Twice a day, at twelve noon 78 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 4: and six pm. The noon siren would ring out across 79 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 4: the valley, meant people say, as a lunch bell for ranchers. 80 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 4: While there's no written documentation of the reason for the 81 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 4: six pm siren, the purpose was clear. A nineteen seventeen 82 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 4: sundown ordinance required all Native Americans to leave and returned 83 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 4: to their reservations by six point thirty. To the Native community, 84 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 4: the six pm whale signaled a warning, you've got thirty 85 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 4: minutes to get out of town. Any Washo elders remember it. 86 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,160 Speaker 6: My dad said his grandma was thrown in jail overnight 87 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 6: because she was out a town. 88 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 7: You know, when the whistle blew. 89 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 8: The guys that were caught in town late would get 90 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 8: their hair shaved off, totally shaved off by the cops, 91 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 8: and they would also get beat up. 92 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 2: And so the siren's been around for a while and 93 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 2: we're still living with it. 94 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 4: When you hear that, when I just interrupted the way 95 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,360 Speaker 4: you were talking just now. 96 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 2: It interrupted us. Yeah, that's what it does. It interrupts 97 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 2: our life. 98 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 4: The sound of the siren is overwhelming, and it doesn't 99 00:05:55,839 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 4: just interrupt life. For some people, it's a constant that 100 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 4: they're made to feel less than, that they don't belong. 101 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 4: You can hear it in crowded spaces like the casino 102 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:12,600 Speaker 4: down the street and echoing all across Carson Valley. It's shocking. 103 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 4: But there are lots of people in Mendon who don't 104 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 4: have a problem with it, like these white residents we 105 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 4: talked to walking around town one Sunday morning. 106 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 9: I understand where it came from and what it signifies, 107 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 9: but I've always kind of enjoyed it. 108 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 4: I'm on the town board. 109 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 3: I don't want to shut down. I was born and 110 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,159 Speaker 3: raised here. It's always been a positive thing for me. 111 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 10: I like it because I know what time it is 112 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 10: when it comes off. 113 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 11: I like that. 114 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 3: I think it's a good thing. Well, we're not shutting 115 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 3: it down. No, that's a tradition out here. 116 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 10: It's been that way. 117 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 11: That's it, all right. 118 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 4: This siren is the only one of its kind left 119 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 4: in this country, and it means very different things to 120 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:06,599 Speaker 4: different people. For the townspeople you just heard from, it's 121 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 4: a benign lunchtime whistle, or even as it's recently been recast, 122 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,920 Speaker 4: a tribute to first responders. But for Marty and the 123 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 4: native elders you heard from, it's a constant reminder of 124 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:25,239 Speaker 4: the brutality faced by their people. I came to Menden 125 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 4: to witness how the persistence of this siren, a remnant 126 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 4: from the past, tells us a lot about our country 127 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 4: right now. You see, our country is struggling to figure 128 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 4: out how to tell our history, all of it. Whose 129 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 4: version of history matters, and who has the power and 130 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 4: agency to tell their stories. But mostly I came to 131 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 4: meet the group of people fighting to silence the siren 132 00:07:55,000 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 4: once and for all. From Higher Ground and Futuro Studios, 133 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 4: I'm your host, Heather McGee, and this is the Some 134 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 4: of Us, a podcast documenting my journey around the United 135 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 4: States in search of hope and solidarity. The Minden Siren 136 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 4: started blaring in nineteen twenty one to enforce a tradition 137 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 4: that Minden was a sundown town. For those who aren't 138 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 4: familiar with the history, sundown towns were all across the US, 139 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 4: and they gave legal force to the idea that the 140 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 4: US was for whites only. The country's first known sundown 141 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 4: ordinance was passed in New Hampshire in seventeen fourteen, targeting Indians, Negroes, 142 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 4: and mulatto or mixed race people. In nineteen twenty one, 143 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,480 Speaker 4: the Minden Siren became the audio version of a whites 144 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 4: only sign. It was an open secret that in Minden, 145 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 4: when the siren rang at six pm, Indigenous people had 146 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 4: thirty minutes to get out or be jailed, fine, beaten. 147 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 12: My mother used to have to come to town to 148 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 12: their parents, would be harassed or would have to come 149 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:29,559 Speaker 12: in the back door be served outside, and they were 150 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:32,839 Speaker 12: always kicked out at a certain time, but they could 151 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:37,559 Speaker 12: never be free, you know. It was always a reminder, 152 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:39,559 Speaker 12: you know, go back to the reds, go back to 153 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:40,319 Speaker 12: where you're from. 154 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 4: That's Benny Fillmore, a Washo elder, who lives in the 155 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 4: closest reservation just about five miles from Minden and down 156 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 4: the block from him lives Andrea James big Goose. 157 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 8: I was born in nineteen forty nine here in Douglas County. 158 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 4: Andrea big Goose is a grandmother now and a lifelong 159 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 4: resident of Dresslerville, the Washoe Reservation that's just outside of Mendon. 160 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 4: She's been hearing the siren her whole life. 161 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 8: As a child, I always remember hearing that siren. There 162 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 8: were no highways and there was no ranchos. It was 163 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 8: just sagebrush, no buildings, no nothing. It was just wide 164 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:31,199 Speaker 8: open space. So yeah, you could hear it. And we 165 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 8: were always told that we needed to make sure that 166 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 8: we weren't around any white people, that we needed to 167 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,719 Speaker 8: be home, that we couldn't be out Indians couldn't be 168 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 8: out in public. As long as I remember, I've always 169 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 8: known it. 170 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,560 Speaker 2: It's just a reminder that people had to leave even 171 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 2: though they were from this community. That's why the siren 172 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 2: shouldn't be on anymore. 173 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 4: I said. This was a story about the meaning of 174 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 4: our history. The version of Minden's history that's well documented 175 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:17,160 Speaker 4: and memorialized with plaques all over town. Focuses exclusively on 176 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:22,439 Speaker 4: the experience of white settlers. In the eighteen fifties, Mormons, ranchers, 177 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 4: miners searching for gold began to push the Washo out 178 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 4: of Nevada, driving them from the shores of Lake Tahoe 179 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 4: and forcing them into colonies in the Carson River Valley. 180 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 4: Minden was incorporated in nineteen oh five and named after 181 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 4: a town in northeast Germany. Andrea big Use remembers the 182 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 4: stories of when German settlers came. 183 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 8: German ranchers that wanted to get rid of us. It's like, 184 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 8: get out of here, or we're going to kill you. 185 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 8: And I'll say that because I'm Washoe, I'm not afraid. 186 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 8: I'm not afraid of them. 187 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:56,679 Speaker 4: Before the settlers came, the Washo people called this land 188 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 4: pah Wahlu, which means people of the valley. The Washo 189 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,440 Speaker 4: were nomadic, moving as far west as Lake Tahoe and 190 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 4: the Sierras and as far east as the Carson Valley 191 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 4: in the desert beyond. They've been living on this land forever, 192 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,439 Speaker 4: as Marty and other Washoe people would say, thousands of 193 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 4: years before the Germans and other settlers came. But there 194 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 4: part of the story is not documented in plaques on 195 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 4: the town square. 196 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 2: This is an issue talking about the acquisition, the stealing 197 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:35,320 Speaker 2: of the land, making the Washo people here refugees in 198 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 2: their own homeland. 199 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 4: Getting history right matters to Marty. He's a lifelong educator 200 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 4: whose Native grandparents left Nevada and went west to California 201 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 4: to work as migrant farmers. In the nineteen eighties, Marty 202 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:00,440 Speaker 4: started teaching fourth grade. He won awards for the curriculum 203 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 4: he developed to teach the role of indigenous people in 204 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 4: California history. He was elected to the board of directors 205 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,839 Speaker 4: of the National Education Association, the country's biggest teachers union. 206 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,679 Speaker 4: In twenty nineteen, he moved to the area to take 207 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 4: a job as the education director for the Washo tribe, 208 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 4: and immediately he started thinking about ways to teach people 209 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 4: about the Washo's missing history, especially the sundown siren. 210 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,679 Speaker 2: How do I do a presentation about the siren to 211 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:33,319 Speaker 2: people that is just an everyday occurrence to them. How 212 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 2: do you educate folks to really understand the significance of 213 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 2: what it means. 214 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 4: Marty is an educator, and he's also a keeper of 215 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 4: Washo cultural traditions. He didn't grow up speaking Washo, but 216 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,920 Speaker 4: he's teaching himself the language and assembling a family tree 217 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 4: that he can scroll out across his kitchen table. Even 218 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,840 Speaker 4: though he's not an enrolled member, he's closely connected to 219 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 4: the Washoe tribe. He's also a crafts person dedicated to 220 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 4: the art of Native beating. He's part of a beating 221 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:15,080 Speaker 4: circle with Native women. The first thing I noticed when 222 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,080 Speaker 4: I went to his house was a row of baseball hats, 223 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 4: intricately beaded with colorful native beads sewn through the brims 224 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 4: in traditional patterns. He's used his passion for crafting to 225 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 4: get the word out about the Siren. There are beaded 226 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 4: stop the Siren hats, Stop the Siren t shirts, and 227 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 4: a hand drawn poster that Marty keeps in the trunk 228 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 4: of his car. 229 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 2: I carry my sign with bead wherever I go and 230 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 2: excuse it's getting kind of worn, because I never know 231 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 2: when I'm corn and need it. It might be a 232 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 2: tribal event and I can put it out something or 233 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,240 Speaker 2: to remind folks that this is still an issue. 234 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 4: This is great, It says, turn it off, And it's 235 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,760 Speaker 4: a picture of a sort of yelling siren that has 236 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 4: six o'clock on the top. Marty told me that when 237 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 4: he moved here just three years ago, tribal members had 238 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 4: already been working to silence the siren. Marty's not technically 239 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 4: a tribal member, though he is working on his enrollment, 240 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 4: so he only has limited pull within the tribal government. 241 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 4: He doesn't speak on behalf of any Washo community, but 242 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 4: that insider outsider status also freed him to do what 243 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 4: he does best, organize. In just a few short years, 244 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 4: he's been able to bring new energy to healing this 245 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 4: century old wound. 246 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 2: I think people see me as the point person, and 247 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 2: or at least one of the point people. I just 248 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 2: saw myself as helping to get people together, organizing and 249 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 2: get people there at all. I'm not leading this cause, 250 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 2: I am just in it. 251 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 4: Marty rarely misses the chance to take out his sign 252 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 4: at a protest or parade, but most of the work 253 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 4: he does is behind the scenes. He's got decades of 254 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 4: experience doing person to person organizing that he gained with 255 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 4: the Teachers' union back in California, and of course he's 256 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 4: got a teacher's skill for educating people about uncomfortable history. 257 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,520 Speaker 4: The problem is, despite the efforts on the part of 258 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 4: the tribe to silence the siren, the town of Minden 259 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 4: and its all white board want to keep the siren blaring. 260 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 4: There was actually a brief moment in two thousand and 261 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 4: six when, after decades of washoed tribal advocacy, the town 262 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 4: leaders finally shut off the siren, but that victory didn't 263 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 4: last long. Almost immediately after the siren was silenced, White 264 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 4: local residents complained about its absence, saying the siren was 265 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 4: a Minden tradition. So after that backlash, the siren was 266 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 4: back on two months later, blaring twice a day as 267 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,920 Speaker 4: it had since the sundown days, and to protect the siren. 268 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 13: A resolution then established the siren's new purpose of honoring 269 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 13: the area's first responders. But for the Washoe people, there 270 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 13: will never be a new meeting to the siren, which 271 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 13: haunted many generations. 272 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:21,240 Speaker 4: Menden town officials passed a resolution rewriting the sirens history 273 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 4: and purpose, saying it commemorated first responders and emergency workers 274 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 4: like the local volunteer firefighters. When I got to Menden, 275 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 4: I wanted to see what Menden's first responders thought about 276 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,679 Speaker 4: this siren that's supposedly meant to honor them. So we 277 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 4: stopped by the town's volunteer fire station, a brick building 278 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 4: says Station one sixteen oh six Highway three ninety five 279 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 4: East Fork Fire and Paramedic Districts, Douglas County, Nevada, which 280 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 4: is literally twenty feet from the tower that the siren 281 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 4: hi on. My name is Father, and this is Matt 282 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 4: and Marty, and we are doing a story around some 283 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:13,440 Speaker 4: of the stuff that's going on with Indian Country and 284 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 4: the siren and everything. And I was wondering if you 285 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 4: could tell us what the siren's all about. 286 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 5: Go off the record real quick, and I'll just give 287 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:26,719 Speaker 5: you a quick answer. 288 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:33,920 Speaker 4: Yeah, the firefighter didn't want to go on the record 289 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:38,119 Speaker 4: about the siren, and by the way, neither did Minden 290 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 4: Town manager John JD. Frisbee, though he did speak to 291 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:45,439 Speaker 4: local news about it a few years back. There's a 292 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 4: form of respect for that, you know. 293 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 11: It's almost like when it goes off, it's a time 294 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 11: for a moment of silence. 295 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 4: For the record, we never saw anyone pause for a 296 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:06,920 Speaker 4: moment of silence during the siren. Attitudes about the siren 297 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:11,960 Speaker 4: and Mendon seemed pretty racially polarized most white folks for 298 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 4: most Native folks against A chance encounter at a supermarket 299 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 4: one day reinforced this point for Marty. A white guy 300 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 4: he'd never seen before took him aside. 301 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 2: Say hey, are you Marty meeting? And yeah, well I 302 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,320 Speaker 2: want to talk to you. And I was like, oh, well, 303 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 2: you know, I'm thinking, okay, how does this guy know me? 304 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 14: And what happened you? 305 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 2: So I won't talk to you about the siren. What 306 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 2: I want to say is nothing's going to happen on 307 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 2: that siren until you guys start reaching out and get 308 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 2: white support. 309 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 4: And yes, I was Larry, why would a white person 310 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 4: stick his neck out and go against overwhelming white opinion 311 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 4: in the town? What might they want? And return? But 312 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 4: as a relative outsider himself and a lifelong coalition builder 313 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 4: for Native rights, Marty knew that white privilege could open 314 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,119 Speaker 4: doors that had been slamming in the Washoe community's face 315 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 4: for generations. 316 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 2: And I told him I agree with you. 317 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 15: Hello. 318 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,320 Speaker 4: Hello, Hello, Hi, I'm Heather. 319 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 5: I'm Matt. 320 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 4: Good to meet you, very nice to meet you, Matt. 321 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 4: When I first met Matt Niswanger, he and I walked 322 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 4: over to the tower that holds the siren. He's a tall, 323 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:44,959 Speaker 4: white guy, a broad shouldered electrician who climbs telephone poles 324 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,199 Speaker 4: for work and climbs rocks for fun. He half jokes 325 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 4: that he'd like to climb the siren tower. 326 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 11: I mean I'd like to climb up there, and I 327 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,120 Speaker 11: mean I'm an electrician by trade. I could just cut 328 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 11: those wires and it's quiet. 329 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,080 Speaker 4: You know. He's got the skin of somebody who spends 330 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 4: most of his time outdoors. He lives in Santa Cruz, California, 331 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 4: about a four and a half hour drive west of Minden. 332 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 4: He likes to visit nearby Lake Tahoe about five times 333 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 4: a year. His real passion is mountain biking, and he 334 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,359 Speaker 4: spent the better part of two decades publishing a monthly 335 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 4: journal about the outdoors with his wife. 336 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:25,480 Speaker 11: I'm a family man. I have three kids, I have 337 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 11: a good job and all that, and I love my wife. 338 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 4: But on February twenty third, twenty twenty, everything changed for Matt. 339 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 4: That's when Ahmad Aubrey, a black jogger in Georgia, was 340 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 4: killed by a group of white men. If you could 341 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,639 Speaker 4: take us back to the moment when you heard about 342 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:51,360 Speaker 4: Ahmed Abrey's case and what that meant to you. There 343 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,240 Speaker 4: was a silence as Matt gathered himself. 344 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:56,880 Speaker 3: He was jogging. 345 00:21:58,160 --> 00:21:59,160 Speaker 4: And that's not okay. 346 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 11: White people some white people, and that just the angers 347 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 11: right there. 348 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,439 Speaker 4: It is so right there for me. That anger flipped 349 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 4: a switch for Matt right then and there he decided 350 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:15,480 Speaker 4: there was more for him to do with his life. 351 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,480 Speaker 11: It was missing this, It was missing this sort of 352 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 11: way for me to plug in where I felt like 353 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 11: I was making a difference in the world, you know, 354 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 11: beyond just the regular ways we all do, right, you know, 355 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 11: And my question is, where's the outrage? Why aren't we 356 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,640 Speaker 11: just tearing this down like a Confederate statue? 357 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:34,200 Speaker 5: Like really. 358 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 4: Along with a few other outraged cyclists in Tahoe, Matt 359 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 4: formed Riders Against Racism. 360 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 11: Which is a mountain bike group that's dedicated to diversifying 361 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 11: outdoor participation on public lands. 362 00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:02,639 Speaker 4: In August twenty twenty, Against Racism participated in a Black 363 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 4: Lives Matter rally in Mindon. 364 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 16: Members of the Carson City Black Lives Matter movement hosted 365 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,439 Speaker 16: a demonstration and the counter protest was held in support 366 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 16: of Sheriff Coverly and law enforcement. Nearly one thousand people 367 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 16: showed up in support of the sheriff, composed to one 368 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 16: hundred were there to support Black Lives Matter. 369 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,119 Speaker 4: There in the crowd was Marty Meeten with his sign 370 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 4: about the siren turn it off. Matt saw him, and 371 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 4: afterward it stuck with him. He started doing some research 372 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:37,560 Speaker 4: on his own. 373 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 11: You know, I had been coming up to this area 374 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 11: for a long time, you know, for the Lake tah 375 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,400 Speaker 11: and the kind of the mountain biking and all that stuff. 376 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:49,199 Speaker 11: But I started getting more into the history because my 377 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 11: sister in law grew up near here and she told 378 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,440 Speaker 11: me about this, and I was just like flabbergasted, and 379 00:23:55,520 --> 00:24:00,439 Speaker 11: it just seemed really insensitive and almost mean spirited to 380 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 11: keep the siren going. 381 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 4: So he launched an online petition to stop the Minden Siren, 382 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 4: and he used his newsletter and press contacts to get 383 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 4: the word out. He found Marty on Facebook. 384 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,560 Speaker 11: So I decided to just kind of get involved, and 385 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:18,200 Speaker 11: I teamed up with Marty. 386 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 3: And we seem to be a good combination. 387 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,879 Speaker 11: You know, like he's a wise he's a wise person. 388 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,639 Speaker 11: He puts up with me, so it works. 389 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 4: The petition gained steam online and the press started calling. 390 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 17: With twenty twenty full of conversations around racism and social injustice. 391 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 17: A longstanding and long sounding tradition in Douglas County is 392 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 17: once again the topic of debate. 393 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:49,199 Speaker 11: I've said, Wow, white privilege is amazing. You know, the 394 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 11: first time a white guy gets involved, all of a sudden, 395 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 11: it's on the news. People have been trying to get 396 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:55,640 Speaker 11: this thing stopped for a long time. 397 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,960 Speaker 4: Matt and his group, Writers Against Racism started planning a 398 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 4: protest against the siren. They would start in Minden Park 399 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 4: and do a mountain bike ride nine miles of hills 400 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 4: and a fifteen hundred foot climb into the Sierras overlooking 401 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:20,160 Speaker 4: the Washo's sacred Lake Tahoe. But there was an elephant 402 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 4: in the room. While totally well meaning Matt was coming 403 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 4: into Minden to try to right some wrongs, and he's 404 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 4: a white guy and an outsider. In fact, until he 405 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,879 Speaker 4: got involved, he had never even met a Washo person. 406 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 4: Marty knew that it was strategically important to grow the 407 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 4: movement beyond Native people, but Matt had some work to 408 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 4: do with him and others to gain trust. 409 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 2: For many of us were leary when folks that don't 410 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:59,879 Speaker 2: look like you offer to assist because it's like, well, yeah, well, 411 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 2: but yeah, what's your motive behind it? May never know 412 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 2: what the ask is going to be of you. 413 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 4: After the fact, other members of the Washoe community were 414 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 4: skeptical of Matt. Here's Washo tribal chairman Surrel Smokey. 415 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 6: He's not getting the full picture. He's taking things at 416 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 6: face value and just running with it. He's willing to 417 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,240 Speaker 6: spread the awareness and this like that, But at the 418 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 6: same time, he was not working with the tribe. You know, 419 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 6: he's never actually came to the tribe or myself and 420 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 6: wanted to work together on this. 421 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,640 Speaker 4: Matt pulled off the Siren ride, but it was not diverse. 422 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 11: About twenty or twenty one of us did the actual 423 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,920 Speaker 11: mountain biking. That was all white folks. We couldn't get 424 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 11: any persons of color to jump on mountain bikes and 425 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 11: go with us. But you know, really, the. 426 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 4: Whole purpose of this is to get a native participation. 427 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 4: If it's just a bunch of white people on their 428 00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 4: mountain bikes. 429 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 11: What are we really accomplish. 430 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 4: Through his friendship with Marty, Matt began to understand that 431 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:07,480 Speaker 4: at times it would be more helpful if he could 432 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:10,520 Speaker 4: lend support to the cause, but not try to set 433 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:11,560 Speaker 4: the terms. 434 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 11: Being like, Okay, there's already a movement happening. We don't 435 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:16,480 Speaker 11: need to like reinvent the wheel. We just need to 436 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:17,600 Speaker 11: like plug in. 437 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,760 Speaker 4: But despite the missteps, Marty always felt that Matt's heart 438 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:22,760 Speaker 4: was in the right place. 439 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 2: He's been a great person to work with. He's genuine, 440 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:31,639 Speaker 2: he's very humble. When Matt starts talking, people stole to 441 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 2: listen to what he has to say. 442 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:35,720 Speaker 11: I get a little more stressed out than he does. 443 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 11: He's very calm, which is good for me too. 444 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 4: So it works. 445 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 11: You know, we have a good team. 446 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 4: Less than a month after the Simen ride, in June 447 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:54,920 Speaker 4: twenty twenty one, Nevada's Governor, Steve Sisilac signed Assembly Bill 448 00:27:55,040 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 4: eighty eight to ban racially discriminatory mascots and sundown sirens. 449 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:04,480 Speaker 4: Marty was there at the bill, signing in the front 450 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,200 Speaker 4: row wearing a stop the Siren t shirt. 451 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 18: ABAD eight also prohibits the use of sundowner sirens. 452 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 2: I like for sure. 453 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,199 Speaker 4: That was the governor spotting Marty in the crowd. 454 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,399 Speaker 15: This provision is a critical stout starts confronting our past 455 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,199 Speaker 15: and moving forward together in unity. 456 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 4: The law was aimed at the Minden siren. Of course, 457 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 4: finally a state law was banning the siren. 458 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,439 Speaker 2: There was a lot of energy, things were really moving, 459 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,880 Speaker 2: and then with what Srell did, it was just like 460 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 2: what the hell. 461 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 4: Crell is Currel's Smokey, the Washoe Tribal chairman. After the 462 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:55,160 Speaker 4: state law banned sundown sirens, Chairman Smokey met with Minden's 463 00:28:55,200 --> 00:29:00,280 Speaker 4: town manager, JD. Frisbee. Frisbee offered to move the evening 464 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 4: siren up an hour from six o'clock to five PM. That, 465 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 4: in combination with the ordinance from two thousand and six 466 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 4: that had recast the meaning of the siren as a 467 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 4: tribute to first responders, gave Mindon a rationale for keeping 468 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 4: the siren despite the state law. Chairman Smokey told me 469 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 4: that he expected that after their conversation Frisbee in the 470 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 4: town would formally recognize the sundown siren's racist history, but 471 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,000 Speaker 4: he says that hasn't happened. 472 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:38,840 Speaker 6: Acknowledging they did wrong or their ancestors have done wrong, 473 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:41,480 Speaker 6: and acknowledging the hurt that it brings to Washo people, 474 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:46,600 Speaker 6: that's what we need. And so he ended up proposing 475 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 6: the idea of changing the siren to five o'clock instead 476 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 6: of six o'clock, and I said, you know, that's fine. 477 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,880 Speaker 4: Other Washow leaders said they were disappointed and frankly angry 478 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 4: at Chairman Smokey's decision to approve this time change. They 479 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 4: say that Smokey just handed mend In city officials away 480 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:11,000 Speaker 4: around Nevada's new law. Here's Irvin Jim, the chairman of 481 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 4: the Woodford's Washoe Community Council in the neighboring county. 482 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:19,720 Speaker 14: I didn't like it. I'd seen it as basically the 483 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 14: town boarded out what they wanted. It pissed me off. 484 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 14: I mean i'd signed off. I was like, man, I 485 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 14: don't want to talk about this. 486 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,960 Speaker 4: And Chairman Smokey gets why people, even the members of 487 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 4: his own tribal council, question his decision. 488 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,400 Speaker 6: A lot of Washo tribal members believe that I should 489 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 6: have did more, and I agree we should do a 490 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,280 Speaker 6: lot more. But we have to do more. It can't 491 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 6: be me as one person. I can only do so much. 492 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 6: The tribe as a whole needs to come together and 493 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:55,479 Speaker 6: be the ones to all be on the same page 494 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 6: and shut it down. 495 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 4: The was Sho and nearby tribes had been organizing for decades, 496 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 4: but without much traction. And once these unlikely allies came together, 497 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,400 Speaker 4: the protest movement grew, began to make headlines. 498 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:18,800 Speaker 11: It was a powerful, spontaneous, pretty amazing thing to happen. 499 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:20,000 Speaker 4: I felt like it. 500 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,160 Speaker 11: Was like there were forces at work that were larger 501 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 11: than Marty and I were just everything. 502 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 2: It's one of those like if you build, it had 503 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:29,120 Speaker 2: able come. 504 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 4: One of the things that helped to turn things around 505 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:38,320 Speaker 4: was when Matt decided to change tactics. Marty told him 506 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 4: that Indigenous people weren't into mountain biking like he was. 507 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:48,080 Speaker 4: A more traditional Indigenous sport is running, and that decision 508 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 4: would result in Matt and Marty crossing paths with Nevada's 509 00:31:52,400 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 4: most impressive athlete, a young Indigenous runner who Stevens. About 510 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 4: twenty minutes outside of Mendon in Carson City, Nevada. Is 511 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 4: where we met Coo Stevens at a place that had 512 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:20,800 Speaker 4: once been the site of immeasurable suffering. When we drove up, 513 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 4: I felt it immediately. So it's a big science is 514 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:30,240 Speaker 4: Stuart Indian School to little campus of buildings, but it 515 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:31,440 Speaker 4: just feels wrong. 516 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 7: I can't really describe it. There's like a nott at 517 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 7: the top of my stomach, like at my sternum, like 518 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,280 Speaker 7: a thickness in the back of my throat. It's I 519 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 7: felt this way. I felt this way when I visit 520 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,240 Speaker 7: a plantation. I felt this way in the killing fields 521 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 7: in Cambodia. It's just like a sight of. 522 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:00,920 Speaker 14: Pain. 523 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 7: I don't know, Captain describe. 524 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:16,959 Speaker 4: During Stuart's ninety years of operations as an Indian boarding school, 525 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 4: thousands of children from tribes all across the Southwest were 526 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 4: taken here against their will. I'm going to tell you 527 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,240 Speaker 4: about one of them, a boy from the Yarrington Payute 528 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:38,240 Speaker 4: tribe named Frank Quinn. In nineteen fourteen, Frank Quinn was 529 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,920 Speaker 4: eight years old. He was snatched from his family and 530 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 4: taken to Stuart, where he faced disease, abuse, overcrowded dorms, 531 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 4: lack of food, conditions that many children didn't survive. Frank 532 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:59,320 Speaker 4: ran away. He ran fifty miles day and night over 533 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 4: mountain and rolling hills alone, trying to get home to 534 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:07,880 Speaker 4: his Payute village. He got there, and he was captured 535 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:13,440 Speaker 4: and taken back to Stuart. Then he ran away again 536 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:18,400 Speaker 4: and was taken back after his third escape. His third 537 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:26,200 Speaker 4: fifty mile run. He was finally allowed to stay at home. Today, 538 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:31,120 Speaker 4: Frank Quinn's great great grandson is the keeper of his legacy. 539 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 18: Hello, I'm Kittavin Stevens. Most of you know me from 540 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:40,399 Speaker 18: my running. I'm the fastest distance runner in Nevada at 541 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:40,759 Speaker 18: this time. 542 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:45,960 Speaker 4: Basically, who like his great great grandfather is Yarrington Pyute. 543 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:50,640 Speaker 4: Historically they've been neighbors to the was Show. Who's just 544 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,040 Speaker 4: nineteen years old. He's a high school senior with shoulder 545 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 4: length dark hair, and he's treated like a rock star 546 00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:01,839 Speaker 4: almost everywhere he goes. Sometimes strangers walk up to him 547 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:05,920 Speaker 4: and ask for his autograph. After all, he's the fastest 548 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:11,960 Speaker 4: kid in Nevada. His name, Kutoven means one who brings 549 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:16,160 Speaker 4: light from the darkness, and in a way, his gentle 550 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:20,879 Speaker 4: demeanor seems to fit his name. Ku is also extremely 551 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,080 Speaker 4: light on his feet, and he says running connects him 552 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:25,839 Speaker 4: to his ancestors and the. 553 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:29,319 Speaker 18: Land where I live Now on the res I'm half 554 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:33,719 Speaker 18: a mile away from these huge mountains, and yeah, I 555 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 18: love going up there. And I'll go up to the 556 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 18: top of this hill and then I'll just sit up there. 557 00:35:39,719 --> 00:35:39,880 Speaker 8: You know. 558 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,600 Speaker 18: It's almost the way releasing and just meditate. 559 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:49,360 Speaker 4: In twenty twenty one, eighteen year old Coup decided to 560 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:54,200 Speaker 4: organize a remembrance run starting at the Children's graveyard at Stuart. 561 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:58,200 Speaker 4: The remembrance run recreated the escape route that his great 562 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:02,560 Speaker 4: great grandfather Frank quint Oh so many years ago, across 563 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:07,360 Speaker 4: fifty miles of rocky, mountainous terrain. Everyone who came to 564 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,120 Speaker 4: the run was encouraged to bring a friend from a 565 00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:15,160 Speaker 4: different background. Dozens ran, covering the fifty miles over two days, 566 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:18,360 Speaker 4: with a night of camping and communing together in between. 567 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:23,520 Speaker 4: Who says the remembrance run honors not just his great 568 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:26,960 Speaker 4: great grandfather, but all the Native children who were taken 569 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:31,640 Speaker 4: to boarding schools like Stuart, children from different indigenous backgrounds 570 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:34,920 Speaker 4: who were brutalized and intentionally stripped of their cultures. 571 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 18: When I finished the remembrance run, coming down from the 572 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:43,960 Speaker 18: hill and seeing everybody gathered there, and it was just overwhelming, 573 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:47,839 Speaker 18: you know, there was goosebumps last two miles and like man, 574 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,080 Speaker 18: I finally did it. And you can just imagine yourself 575 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,799 Speaker 18: as an eight year old finishing this long journey that 576 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:56,640 Speaker 18: you just completed to see your family and those feelings 577 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:57,880 Speaker 18: compared to mine, would. 578 00:36:57,640 --> 00:36:59,520 Speaker 4: Be just multiplied exponentially. 579 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,239 Speaker 18: To be like, man, my that's my family, that's my 580 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:03,480 Speaker 18: that's my house, that's. 581 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 4: My dad out there. 582 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,640 Speaker 18: To go through that, you gave me a sense of 583 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:13,480 Speaker 18: what my people all over the country, all over this 584 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:14,959 Speaker 18: continent had to go through. 585 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:22,560 Speaker 4: Ku is just a kid. He should be competing in 586 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:28,080 Speaker 4: meets and playing video games and not worrying about history. 587 00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:31,480 Speaker 4: But to him, the life he knows today, the poverty 588 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:36,480 Speaker 4: and isolation on the res doesn't make sense if you 589 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:42,239 Speaker 4: don't remember what this country did to his ancestors. And 590 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:46,240 Speaker 4: learning that history and being a part of righting those 591 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:51,440 Speaker 4: wrongs was important to Matt as well. Matt was a 592 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:55,400 Speaker 4: mountain biker with fifty year old knees, but he participated 593 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:59,719 Speaker 4: in Koh's remembrance run. The night after the first day 594 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:04,520 Speaker 4: of running, there was a circle and Ku remembers Matt there, 595 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:09,920 Speaker 4: remembers him as being angry, angrier than anyone else there. 596 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:14,319 Speaker 18: When he came to the remembrance run. We were all 597 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,520 Speaker 18: gathered up in a circle at one point and he 598 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:23,759 Speaker 18: like apologized for being white, and that kind of caught 599 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:26,760 Speaker 18: me off guard. He was just doing what he thought 600 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:28,520 Speaker 18: was best at that time. You know, it was what 601 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:32,160 Speaker 18: he could It's what he could say. So by doing this, 602 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:34,359 Speaker 18: you know, actions speak louder than words. 603 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 4: At least in my opinion, this isn't uncommon, this awkwardness 604 00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:44,800 Speaker 4: of a white ally with a newfound zeal for justice 605 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:49,000 Speaker 4: coming in and not knowing how to be, not knowing 606 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:53,120 Speaker 4: how to bring the self awareness of your identity and 607 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:56,920 Speaker 4: the weight of history into the room without taking up 608 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:03,480 Speaker 4: all the space. Reflecting on the Remembrance Run, Matt feels 609 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:05,040 Speaker 4: like he's learned some lessons. 610 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:07,359 Speaker 11: It was like a chance to sort of sit with 611 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:11,120 Speaker 11: like native point of views as opposed to more white 612 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,360 Speaker 11: point of view about history and. 613 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:15,280 Speaker 4: Kind of just listen more and learn more. 614 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:17,840 Speaker 11: And yeah, so it kind of set me on a 615 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:20,720 Speaker 11: path of more just like just making friends of building 616 00:39:20,719 --> 00:39:23,680 Speaker 11: community as a really important piece of this kind of 617 00:39:23,719 --> 00:39:24,960 Speaker 11: less intellectual and. 618 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:36,680 Speaker 4: Angry Distance running is important to many indigenous cultures, mountain 619 00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:41,600 Speaker 4: biking not so much. After Matt's life changing experience with 620 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:46,080 Speaker 4: KU's Remembrance Run, Matt trained for six months to be 621 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:50,560 Speaker 4: able to do another mountain run, this one for the 622 00:39:50,600 --> 00:40:01,040 Speaker 4: Siren Usye On Memorial Day twenty twenty two, Matt, Marty 623 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:06,320 Speaker 4: and Ku came together in Minden right before the twelve 624 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:11,240 Speaker 4: o'clock siren to participate in Minden's first annual siren run 625 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,040 Speaker 4: organized by Matt and Writers against Racism. 626 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:20,360 Speaker 11: I'm here today to be on this journey of building 627 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,720 Speaker 11: community around making the sirens stop. 628 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:28,080 Speaker 4: This time, it wasn't just white folks on mountain bikes. 629 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:31,799 Speaker 4: It was a multi racial gathering of people, including from 630 00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:36,120 Speaker 4: tribes all over Nevada and California, even someone from Hawaii, 631 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:41,200 Speaker 4: all coming together to protest the sirens daily reminder of 632 00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:44,439 Speaker 4: a painful past, and then run up the steep hill 633 00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:49,080 Speaker 4: together into the mountains. There was a smudging ceremony led 634 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:50,120 Speaker 4: by KU's father. 635 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:53,920 Speaker 10: Near del Mar Stevens me and Nania Tubusi da Katta. 636 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:57,720 Speaker 10: My name is del Mar Stephens. I'm Payou from Arrington 637 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 10: from my family. Heard today we stay here proudly with 638 00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:04,520 Speaker 10: this community and support of and in the siren. 639 00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:06,280 Speaker 6: There we go. 640 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:17,600 Speaker 4: Hyut and Shoshone women wearing traditional clothes and running sneakers, 641 00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:19,760 Speaker 4: danced and played traditional music. 642 00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:23,799 Speaker 18: I'm a member of the Washo tribe and I'm here 643 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:26,400 Speaker 18: to stand with my people and everybody who's come to 644 00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:26,959 Speaker 18: stand with. 645 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:29,160 Speaker 19: Us to end the injustice in this community and move 646 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:30,239 Speaker 19: forward in a good way. 647 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:34,880 Speaker 17: So I'm here to support the Washo tribe, stop the siren, 648 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,839 Speaker 17: and hopefully go the right way with history on this one. 649 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:43,280 Speaker 4: Looking around, we could see that the anti siren movement 650 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:48,320 Speaker 4: had grown and it wasn't just cross racial, it was intertribal. 651 00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:51,719 Speaker 4: Ku gave voice to that solidarity. 652 00:41:52,239 --> 00:41:53,960 Speaker 18: Me and my family, we like to stand up for 653 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:56,680 Speaker 18: social industices that happen all over the country. Now it 654 00:41:56,760 --> 00:41:58,640 Speaker 18: hurts my heart, you know, it hurts a lot of people, 655 00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:01,879 Speaker 18: and it really affects us community. So yeah, I'm here 656 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:05,200 Speaker 18: to stand with the Washow community and Matt for what 657 00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:08,319 Speaker 18: he's doing here. And my family's here too, so it 658 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:10,080 Speaker 18: means a lot to me. So thank you all for 659 00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:10,760 Speaker 18: coming out. 660 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:12,040 Speaker 4: So did Marty. 661 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:15,520 Speaker 2: No matter if you change it to three o'clock, you 662 00:42:15,719 --> 00:42:19,239 Speaker 2: change it to ten o'clock, it's still the siren that 663 00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:23,000 Speaker 2: was there to begin with, the siren telling all of 664 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:27,080 Speaker 2: us people of color to go home, You're not wanted. 665 00:42:29,239 --> 00:42:33,480 Speaker 4: Other elders and community members pledge their support too. Like 666 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:35,640 Speaker 4: Elder Art Martinez. 667 00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,960 Speaker 5: The thing that keeps trauma going is the reminders of 668 00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:44,160 Speaker 5: trauma that trigger us, and that siren every day is 669 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:48,400 Speaker 5: that trigger for our community. It's that thing that keeps 670 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:53,000 Speaker 5: the injury going, along with our murdered and missing people, 671 00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:58,040 Speaker 5: the inability to protect our lands, our sacred places. And 672 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:00,759 Speaker 5: so in this way, I'm proud to stand here with 673 00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:03,920 Speaker 5: you today in this circle. Thank you for the prayers 674 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:28,600 Speaker 5: that you bring here today, in this way, Start. 675 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:40,840 Speaker 15: Shop, shut de side shops, shop, design, shop beside. 676 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:45,560 Speaker 18: Awesome. 677 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 4: After the siren run, we walked through Mindon again. I 678 00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:54,960 Speaker 4: want to see. It's the largest and most diverse protest 679 00:43:55,040 --> 00:43:58,600 Speaker 4: against the siren held to date. Had inspired any of 680 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:02,680 Speaker 4: the white townsfolk to reconsider their viewpoints on the siren, 681 00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:06,840 Speaker 4: but most people we spoke to still weren't convinced that 682 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:10,759 Speaker 4: shutting down the siren would be the right choice. 683 00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:15,160 Speaker 19: I think that would be a tragedy if it were 684 00:44:15,200 --> 00:44:18,200 Speaker 19: shut down. I think that it's a lot more of 685 00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:22,560 Speaker 19: our history than just the natives, And although I'm sensitive 686 00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:26,319 Speaker 19: to their thoughts and their opinions, I feel like there's 687 00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:29,680 Speaker 19: more to it than just that, and by shutting that down, 688 00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:32,239 Speaker 19: it's shutting down a piece of our own history. I 689 00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:35,040 Speaker 19: think we all grew up hearing it. I mean, just 690 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:37,520 Speaker 19: now we're sitting here and having lunch and it goes 691 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:38,960 Speaker 19: off and we look at the kids and we're like 692 00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,560 Speaker 19: it's new, and we're laughing and we know the sound, 693 00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:44,640 Speaker 19: and it's like a piece of everyone's childhood. So it's 694 00:44:44,719 --> 00:44:48,040 Speaker 19: not just ancient history, it's recent history, and I think 695 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:49,520 Speaker 19: that we need to preserve as much of that as 696 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:50,400 Speaker 19: we can these days. 697 00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,440 Speaker 4: To be clear, not every white person who talked to 698 00:44:55,520 --> 00:44:59,600 Speaker 4: us was an avid supporter of the siren. In fact, 699 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:02,920 Speaker 4: some town residents have joined the fight to shut it down, 700 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:07,520 Speaker 4: like Laura Caddout, a first responder who used to work 701 00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:11,120 Speaker 4: dispatch for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office right. 702 00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:15,319 Speaker 9: Here in this valley, and I was trained to use 703 00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:20,719 Speaker 9: that siren for fire. We would alert the volunteers by 704 00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:22,040 Speaker 9: setting off the siren. 705 00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:26,320 Speaker 4: She told us that first responders already have other tributes, 706 00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:30,200 Speaker 4: and she'd rather support them by improving their pay than 707 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:33,120 Speaker 4: by honoring them with a siren that's attached to such 708 00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:33,960 Speaker 4: a hurtful past. 709 00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:39,399 Speaker 9: You know, the reality is that the siren has a 710 00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:43,839 Speaker 9: history of traumatizing the Indians that live here, and it's 711 00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:48,640 Speaker 9: time that we honor them. So, you know, I know 712 00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:50,840 Speaker 9: there are other people who feel the way I do. 713 00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:56,640 Speaker 9: This community has grown tremendously since the seventies, and there 714 00:45:56,680 --> 00:46:00,160 Speaker 9: are many who have no idea what that siren means. 715 00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:03,600 Speaker 9: So I think, you know, bringing that history to the 716 00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:07,759 Speaker 9: forefront is important and telling people that we have the 717 00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:11,800 Speaker 9: power to make a difference and to change it, because 718 00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:16,200 Speaker 9: nobody should be traumatized. We want to be a welcoming community, 719 00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:19,800 Speaker 9: and this puts a blight on that right out the gate. 720 00:46:20,080 --> 00:46:29,600 Speaker 4: You know, getting the real history right matters because the 721 00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:34,480 Speaker 4: American story is so complex and often so brutal, but 722 00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:38,440 Speaker 4: it belongs to all of us. In the ongoing debates 723 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:42,920 Speaker 4: about monuments and what we teach, some people say talking 724 00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:46,239 Speaker 4: about history keeps us mired in the past. But we 725 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:49,319 Speaker 4: have to get on the same page so we can 726 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:54,880 Speaker 4: turn it. The kind of multiracial coalitions that Matt and 727 00:46:54,960 --> 00:47:01,360 Speaker 4: Marty help to build require self awareness, grace, and earned trust. 728 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:06,800 Speaker 4: It's not always easy, but it is necessary to make progress. 729 00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:18,799 Speaker 4: The state of Nevada has so far declined to take 730 00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:23,440 Speaker 4: action to enforce its new law against sundown sirens. Menden 731 00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:26,880 Speaker 4: sirens still blairs through the town and the foothills of 732 00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:30,760 Speaker 4: the mountains surrounding it. But the people I spoke to 733 00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:34,200 Speaker 4: say that's not the only thing being heard on this land. 734 00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:40,200 Speaker 4: Their stories are now reverberating too. They refuse to be forgotten. 735 00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:46,240 Speaker 4: Here's Irvin Jim, chairman of the neighboring Woodford's Washoe Community Council. 736 00:47:47,160 --> 00:47:52,120 Speaker 14: We are America's family secret. They do not want anybody 737 00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:56,040 Speaker 14: to know the injustices, the tragedies, everything that they've done 738 00:47:56,080 --> 00:47:59,400 Speaker 14: to us a Native Americans. But it's coming out slowly. 739 00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:06,880 Speaker 4: I am hopeful for a future when the original people 740 00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:09,400 Speaker 4: of this land no longer feel that they are America's 741 00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:14,400 Speaker 4: family secret, when the atrocities that our government committed in 742 00:48:14,480 --> 00:48:18,839 Speaker 4: trying to erase Native culture are known to everyone who 743 00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:24,240 Speaker 4: lives on this land. As Marty teaches, that knowledge should 744 00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:29,080 Speaker 4: move us to take responsibility as Matt has, for the 745 00:48:29,160 --> 00:48:34,880 Speaker 4: harms done to Native communities today, and to safeguard and frankly, 746 00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:39,319 Speaker 4: to learn from the next generation of Indigenous youth. 747 00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:43,360 Speaker 18: We have a long ways to go. These kind of events, 748 00:48:43,360 --> 00:48:46,560 Speaker 18: and these kind of interviews and these kind of runs 749 00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:50,520 Speaker 18: are needed for people to interact and connect with different 750 00:48:50,520 --> 00:49:02,719 Speaker 18: people who feel differently than them. 751 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:14,359 Speaker 4: Next time, on the some of Us, I'm taking you 752 00:49:14,400 --> 00:49:17,960 Speaker 4: on a journey across state lines from Texas to New 753 00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:30,360 Speaker 4: Mexico to meet an underground network of religious people. A 754 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:35,000 Speaker 4: community joins together to fight for abortion rights. Rooted in faith, 755 00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:45,760 Speaker 4: they worked across race and religious beliefs, standing up together 756 00:49:46,120 --> 00:50:00,840 Speaker 4: to support reproductive freedom. On our next episode from Higher Ground, 757 00:50:01,040 --> 00:50:04,319 Speaker 4: This is the sum of Us, created and hosted by 758 00:50:04,320 --> 00:50:09,040 Speaker 4: me Heather McGee and produced by Futuro Studios. Our producers 759 00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:13,600 Speaker 4: are Kossum Shepherd, Ryan kyloth, Emil Seikiros, Joaquin Cutler and 760 00:50:13,719 --> 00:50:18,080 Speaker 4: Juan Diego Ramirez, with help from Liliana Ruis, Sophia Lowe, 761 00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:23,240 Speaker 4: Susanna Kemp, and Alyssa Vladimir. Our senior producers are Nicole Rothwell, 762 00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:27,920 Speaker 4: Genie Montalvo and Fernanda at Chavary. Were edited by Sandy 763 00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:32,279 Speaker 4: Ratley and Maria Garcia. Additional editing for this episode by 764 00:50:32,280 --> 00:50:36,720 Speaker 4: Fernanda at Chavery. Executive produced for Futuro by Marlon Bishop. 765 00:50:37,239 --> 00:50:41,319 Speaker 4: Mixing by Stephanie Lebau and Julia Caruso with help from 766 00:50:41,320 --> 00:50:45,640 Speaker 4: gabrielle Bias. Recorded at the Bridge Studio in Brooklyn, New 767 00:50:45,719 --> 00:50:50,680 Speaker 4: York by Urash Jovanovich and Greg Talk. Research by Lynn 768 00:50:50,719 --> 00:50:54,839 Speaker 4: Canter and Carolyn Lipka. Executive producers for Higher Ground are 769 00:50:54,960 --> 00:50:59,560 Speaker 4: Mukta Moohan, Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes and Janet Marrable. Jenna 770 00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:03,839 Speaker 4: leven Is our editorial assistant. Executive producers for Spotify are 771 00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:09,279 Speaker 4: Daniel eck, don Ostrof, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard. Our 772 00:51:09,320 --> 00:51:12,360 Speaker 4: original music and theme song is by these sacred Souls. 773 00:51:13,440 --> 00:51:16,279 Speaker 4: Join us for the next episode of The Sum of Us, 774 00:51:16,800 --> 00:51:21,960 Speaker 4: a podcast in search of hope and solidarity.