| ORIGINAL | "Catherine Wade"

Choctaw

Catherine’s story is one of a “middle generation”, her wisdom comes from having one foot in the traditional ways and one foot in the new Native American experience.

Catherine knows the difficulties associated with the movement of her people from their “home” to the new “home” in Oklahoma. She has experienced the prejudice of trying to fit into a “non-Indian” culture but grasped the opportunity to seek advanced education in the health field as a nurse, which suited her innate kindness. Yet, she observed the next generation eschew the traditional ways and therefore she grieves a bit for this “lost generation”. The sadness is reflected in her quiet face. Yet she also smiles in relating that this “second generation of grandchildren”, are embracing the native ways and combining these inherited skills with modern technology to seek an alternative path.