Poverty, Race, and Cultural Sensitivity

Children learn about all three of these responsibilities by observing parents.
Around 1920 my mother, Amanda Dahlenburg, was in elementary school. One day on the playground she and all her friends reported what they had eaten for dinner the previous evening. A couple of Lakota children reported they had eaten chicken. Everyone was surprised.

“Where did you get the chicken? ” All the white farmers knew that Indians didn’t raise chickens. “We got the chicken from Bill.” Bill was my grandfather.

Upon reaching home, the Dahlenburg children asked their Dad, did you give a chicken to the Indian family who live across the creek?”

“No,” he said. Everyone looked at each other with a strange, knowing look.

“Oh well,” my Grandpa said. Those Indians have done so many kind things for us, I certainly won’t complain if they help themselves to a chicken now and then when they are hungry.”

When I was a child, my youngest uncle on Dad’s side had a business that failed. After that he and his wife rented a farm. In 1958 when I was a teenager, my aunt came to my parents and said, “We’d like to start paying off our debt.” How about if we give you a chicken every week at $1.00 per chicken? In one hundred weeks we’ll be paid up.”

“That will be fine.” my mother said.

I had no idea that some years past my parents had loaned $100 to Dad’s youngest brother and his wife. Later at dinner, Mom said to Dad, “It would be fine with me if they never paid the money back.” I would never even bring up the topic if I thought it might make things more difficult between us and them.

Around 1975 as a young married man I was traveling with my best friend when he said to me. “You know, my grandfather was a fool. During the depression he loaned money to half the farmers in this area, and when they couldn’t pay it back, he just wrote off all the loans. Today, I know these guys around here would not still be in business if my grandfather had demanded payment. He could have taken all the land and now it would all be mine.” I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say.