 navigating the journey. And today's journey will be through one of the longest unwritten chapters in American history. So, and that is the Trail of Tears, and about the indigenous people and the enslaved black people come together. But before we get into that, I want you, I want to introduce my very special guest. And those of you that have been with me, you know, I only talk to very special people. This one is more than just special. She is my cousin, another cousin. And she is Darthula. Don't you love that? Darthula Hood Harris. And she is, I'd like to say this, she is the prize of World War II. She is what is what came out of World War II as something very special. So, good morning, sweetheart. Or afternoon in your time. Afternoon in your time. It's evening. It's evening. Yes. Yes. Thank you so much for being willing to take the time to talk to us today. You're welcome. So, tell me before we get into the Trail of Tears, tell me about being the prize, at least that's the way I wrote it, the prize of World War II. Why, how did that happen? My father, which is your uncle, the oldest of the Hood Clam, was stationed in Japan. He met my mother, which is Japanese, and they got married in camp Kifu. And then she immigrated to the United States through San Francisco. And from there, she was able to move on the base, which was for Hamilton base in Brooklyn, New York. And there about a year or two later, my brother was born, then I was born, and then my sister was born. So, in your eyes, I am the prize. You are the prize, yes. Some people may agree with you in a different way because I do a lot of community advocacy for our community. And that's nothing new to us because of our grandmother. On your father's side and on my father's side, Daisy Ernestine Hood, she was a little woman, just like kind of petite little woman, as my granddaughter, my Zion granddaughter was said, you know, your petite grandmother, and our grandmother was also a very petite, but a very strong woman that taught us the importance of community. So, yes, my father and mother married in Japan. And then she immigrated into the United States and became a US citizen. So she was one of those that had to go through a lot. Because when you come through, especially at that time, because she was Japanese, and they considered the Japanese enemies at that time, so it wasn't very easy for her. Nevertheless, coming back into a society where we were called Negroes and were looked down upon. So it was really hard for her, but she made it through, had us wonderful three little children, three little ones, as they used to call us. Well, now, tell us about the quilt behind you. I've been staring at it and staring at it. So tell me about the quilt. The quilt behind us was created by our aunt, Daisy Estelle Hood Anderson, but we always called her on a stale. And she loved to quilt. This one is the family quilt. It has all of, starts with her mother and her father, her brothers, her sisters, and all of us. Yes, all of us. She has the date of the year that they were born and the year that they died. And for us, she was the last living aunt or, you know, yeah, the last, yes, and that was just the last one. Yeah, she died in July of 2019, and we had a memorial for her in Buffalo, New York in December. And so it was very touching, because she also was very involved in the community. And I mean, not just in her younger years or middle years, she was active in her 90s. And in fact, maybe a year or two before, our broker came and surprised her on the NBC's Morning Show for her contributions, because she was chosen as the volunteer of the whole year for the whole Catholic diocese in the whole United States of America. And so it was just exciting. And she was just running up the stairs, this, you know, 94-year-old just running up the stairs and all this just energy. So it was really exciting to see that. So that's the kind of family we're from, because you're very active in Hawaii, too. Oh, yes. Yeah, but, you know, anyway. Now, the reason we're going to talk about the Trail of Tears, which, you know, our conversation doesn't sound like we're going to the Trail of Tears. However, one of our great, great, great grandmothers, Jess Crawford, which is a strange name for an Indian, was on the Trail of Tears, and along which was horrible, the Trail of Tears was absolutely horrible. And that whole issue of the Trail of Tears and the coming together of the enslaved blacks, well, for us, it was, our family was a freed black that took her in from the Trail of Tears. At least that's what your your father told me. So tell us, tell us about, first, let me say that her father was the oldest of the hoods, and my father was his brother, his big brother, even though he was younger. But the physically he was the big one. Yeah. That was a close knit family, eight children, eight siblings. And they were all so very close. So an uncle Ernest, to me, was so special because he told me stories. And everybody said, don't pay attention to Uncle Ernest. He doesn't know what he's talking about. But I love his stories, especially the one about our great, great grandmother, Jess, because she had hiding places, or at least that's what he told me. And being the first grandson or great-grand, he loved her and loved being with her. So tell me, tell us about it. Yes, he loved his great-grandfather, Nicholas Hood, the first, and great-grandmother, Mother Louisa. And his aunt at that time would be our great-aunt Ruth. And there was a time that they put his best clothes on, as my father would tell the story. And they told him to, he knew where to hide. He knew where to hide because there would be people or men looking for him. And what it was is because he was the firstborn of a family that came from Indian chiefs. And at that time, on the books, they still had where you could scout and get money for the scout. And so they sent my father to hide. And he knew the warehouse and he wouldn't see him, but they couldn't see him. And he really didn't realize until later on that they were really there to kill him. But they didn't find him, thank God. And when he finally made his way back home, his grandmother and his aunt just cried because they were so happy that he made it back home safely and alive. There are a lot of stories that are very sad during that period of time because also it was a period of time when people were mobile. And it wasn't that far from when slavery was abolished. And he used to raise chickens. And I said, well, daddy, where did you raise all these chickens at? He says, well, people would pack up and just leave their homes and he would raise the chickens in there. And he would sell the eggs just like grandmother would do. And I was just, you know, you can't fan them in your mind, whole cities or towns or communities just empty. Just people get up and move. But that was the time. You know, that was the time. And yes, for us, great-grandmother, we were told at the time she was a Black foot. But in reality, that was to protect her because we found out many years later that she was really Cherokee. And grandfather married her and she intertwined in the Black community. And a lot of Indians did that. And that is how they survived, you know, a lot. Well, now what I've learned, of course, in this whole process is that, from the time that the Europeans arrived in America, they started enslaving Native people. And that was 150 years before slavery, from what we call slavery. But they took them, all up and down the East Coast, as these Europeans arrived, they just took these people for house carrying. And because they knew how to grow things and all of that kind of stuff, 150 years of that. And then as the time went on, the newly arrived Blacks did not, they, you know, said, oh, no, we're not going to do slavery. So they intertwined with the indigenous people. And they also worked for the Europeans. But at that time, it wasn't slavery. It was just housework and carpentry and the things that it takes in those days to build a house, to cut the wood, to do all those things that they had to do. So there was a lot of intermarriage intertwined in the cultures. And of course, is learning these languages and all that goes with it. We have Uncle, cousin, Carl, gave me this book. Now I was supposed to have it right in front of me. What did I do with it? Okay. Oh, come on. Anyway, I'll find it. Keep talking. It is called The Black Indian. The Black Indians. Yes. Here it is. Here it is. The Black Indians. And that tells the story of all of this that happened before the Trail of Tears. And for anyone that you can get it on Amazon, I'm not, I don't make any money on this. But it does tell the story of the long ranger was a Black man and not this guy you see on television. So this story that we know because she's part of us is not unusual. It's not, you know, all of those years from, for 400 years, of course, there was a lot of intermarriage. And that was survival for both the Native Americans and the African people brought, the people brought from Africa. Just, just survive in a new world, in a native. And at least the Native, the Indians understood the land, knew what the land was, knew how to grow the crops, knew understood this. So this, this, our story, of course, because it is our story. I felt we needed to tell it. So tell us more about your father and his various stories. Now, let me say this. He told me, he said, you know, it was easier to be Black than it was to be Indian. And I thought, okay. And I thought about that. And then I said, well, what, do we have a question here? Okay. And so I thought, well, because we have a great, great grandfather who was from India, I assumed that that was what he was talking about was that Indian only to find out it was Native American. So, which would be sense though, Marsha, because we, quote unquote, had nothing, but the Native Americans, it was their land that they were encroaching upon, stowed, and claimed for their own. So it was a real threat where Blacks were not, you know, not to that extent. But for, in the very early part, and even towards your later 1800s, it was still an issue, you know, very big issue. So it did make sense that it was easier to be Black, because quote unquote, in the Caucasian world, we weren't that much of a threat. But from a Native American point of view, you were, because they knew they had certain treaties, they had certain rights. And also, this was truly their land. Okay. So yes. Yeah. From that point of view, or rather my point of view, that's how I look at it. Well, yes. And they did take it, and we don't have enough time to talk about all of the things that happened to the Indigenous people, not only in, across the United States, but they did it here in Hawaii, in Brazil, you name it. Mexico. Yes. All, everywhere that they land, they took the land. Yeah. You know, we are just about out of time. I can't believe it went that fast. But I am so glad that you came, that you agreed. Oh, incidentally, she's in Gary, Indiana. Yes. Yes. And so this is a long way away from us. And I thank you so much for doing this. And so we'll have to do it again. Yes. Thank you, Marsha. I really enjoyed this conversation. And it's something that needed to be told. All of us have a wonderful rich history, and we just need to talk to our children and our grandchildren so that the stories could continue. It's very important. Very. Well, and about your quilt in the background. Yes. I'm the oldest of all of the grandchildren. Thank God my ending date isn't on there. No, it's not. And neither is my goodness. There are a lot of Nicholas's. There are a lot of Ernest's. There are a lot there to Dora Thula's because we had Aunt Dora Thula, which was also known as Dolly. And I'm fourth generation because Aunt Dolly was named after her aunt and her aunt was named after her aunt. And it goes back to grandmother's side of the family. Her father had a sister by the name of Dora Thula. Then he named his daughter Dora Thula. And then Aunt Grandmother had her daughter and named her Dora Thula. And when I came, I got named Dora Thula. And I believe our time is almost up. Yeah. My father, of course, was Marshall. And I have another cousin who was, we had the same name at the same time, Marsha Hood. And then there's a lot of Marshall's. Lots of Marshall's. So they keep passing these names down. But I thank you again. We are out of time. And I am so delighted to talk to you, to see you in person since we talk a lot. And we will see everybody again next time.