GBIA Video: Delores Cummings (Duck Valley Reservation, NV)
Delores Cummings discusses many of the traditional practices that her mother taught
her in becoming a woman. Delores also explains the practices and procedures they do
for the deceased, describes how her grandmother and the Sopes were her relatives,
and the tradition of making cradle boards and how it still being taught by the new
generation. Some advice that Delores offers for the new generation is to respect your
elders and the people around you. Delores discusses her family’s early years in Nevada,
how they lived and how her father got the name Jones.
Delores Shaw Cummings was the daughter of Maria Jones and Kelly Shaw Sr. Her lineage is that of the Dosa Wihi (White Knife) clan. She explains her family’s journey towards Duck Valley Reservation by means of a horse and buggy. She describes growing up on the Duck Valley Reservation, and the native traditions that were practiced in regards to the rights of passage and death. She also tells us a story of the Mother Bear and the Mother Doe and Her Fawn as told to her by her mother. She also speaks of the traditional practices associated with the Fourth of July gathering in Duck Valley and the peyote meetings. She goes on to leave a message for the younger generations – respect. (GBC VHC Description, 08/02/2017)
Transcript (PDF)