"Ruby" Bonus Content
Thank you for listening to my story “Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?” (If you haven’t listened yet, click here and follow along in the text for some great pictures.) Please spread the word by sharing my stories!
As usual, I had a lot on my mind with “Ruby.” The Osage Nation, naturally. I’m so encouraged that attention has been paid to the Osage Nation in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Congratulations to Lily Gladstone on being the first Native woman Oscar-nominated for leading actress.
I became aware of the book when my mother read it—devoured it—and reported the story to me in detail. She recounted all the details of the plot, the history and implications of the story. Why would I read it when I could hear her tell it to me? Similar to the way I would read aloud every word I wrote to her before anyone else. It was our way.
“Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?” was a favorite of Mama’s. I wrote it before she read “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and she enjoyed hearing my story about an Osage character. Mama had strong opinions on the complicated history of Native people and mineral rights. I’ve had a good bit of experience with that issue myself. I have land and mineral interests passed along to me from my father and his mother—my grandmother, Lucinda Gibson Blackwood—and their allotted land in Oklahoma. Allotted land. Land allotted by the federal government to Native people that had belonged to them in the first place. A loaded topic.
I hope you found other things in the story that interested you. Woody Guthrie, for instance. He was indeed a great man as Ruby’s mother Seely believed.
When young Ruby becomes aware of all the cars heading west fleeing the Dust Bowl, then notices that some were heading back from where they came, turned away at the state line by California state police, it strikes me hard to realize how slow our progress really is. Migrants are migrants, no matter where they’re coming from, and migrants wouldn’t take on the tough trek to another place if there wasn’t a good reason for them to leave their homes and all they know.
I have relatives who came to California from Oklahoma. “Okies.” The term still carries a stigma, and that’s a shame. They were a strong bunch of people, and I daresay they infused California with a lot of Oklahoma humor and personality, the ability to turn a phrase with an accent that many stubbornly clung to, good food, a strong work ethic, and a sense of who they were and where they came from. And most, I’m sure, didn’t give a good goddamn what people thought about any of it. Like Ruby.
The Oklahoma ballerinas. Did you know about them? The Five Moons—the Indian ballerinas of Oklahoma—revolutionized ballet across the globe. Rosella Hightower did us Choctaws proud. Her distinguished career included the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the New York City Ballet. She once took over the role of Giselle when Alicia Markova fell ill and, amazingly, learned the role in five hours, dancing it to a thunderous ovation. She gave a series of performances with Rudolf Nureyev, opened one of Europe’s leading schools of dance in Cannes, and directed major companies including the Marseilles Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet and La Scala Ballet in Milan. Maria Tallchief was the first star of the New York City Ballet, and her sister Marjorie Tallchief was a standout of the Paris Opera Ballet. Yvonne Chouteau was the youngest dancer ever accepted to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Moscelyne Larkin also danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as well as the original Ballets Russes.
I don’t want to leave this out—the Big D Jamboree. I went to the Big D Jamboree when I was just three years old. With mama and daddy and my aunt, Annette. I have the vivid memory of sitting in the front row and a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. I came home with this lapel pin that I still have—
Terriers! Fox and otherwise. You wouldn’t need to look hard to find a terrier in our house. A big note of thanks to all my little terriers: Midge, June, Rusty. Spitfires, hellions, loves of my life.
Thanks, y’all.
Lucinda
Thank you for the great personal, historical insights!
Loved the history of your family. My mom is from Bartlesville, OK and I related to what you wrote. Stories of the Osage provides a fascinating history of how the US and local governments, such as they were at the time, were antithetical to serving Indian rights. Unfortunately it blatantly continues in OK (Indians pitted against Indian - primarily initiated by the Cherokee who have taken lessons from the US 'Colonialism' playbook. ) I haven't yet listened to your story, "Rudy, Are You Mad at Your Man" but I intend to. Just wanted to say hello.