Chapter 2

All went well for the first month. It was summer break and I was getting used to the system and how everything worked. I was invited to the chief’s house for Sunday dinner to meet his family. His twin daughters had graduated college and were going to start teaching this fall in one of the grade schools.

I arrived on time and was introduced around. His daughters were nice looking and very well educated. We talked about the coming school year and how I was enjoying living on the reservation. We were called into the dining room and sat at the table when things went to hell. The wife of the chief asked why I had taken this job. She told me I was the only applicant who got to the interview stage. When they had found out how little it paid all had politely backed away.

I told them that I had always wanted to teach and I was especially interested in the Apache because I had some Apache blood in me from my great-grandmother. The conversation stopped. All eyes went to the chief.

“So, your great-grandmother had high cheek bones, and you think you are part Apache. Typical white man ‘wanna be’. Did you claim to be an ‘Indian’ on your college admission form?”

I calmly took out my phone and scrolled down through my pictures. I found a picture of great Grandma Dove and my great Grandfather John. I handed the phone to one of his daughters who looked at it then handed it to the chief.

“Who are these people?”

I explained the story of Trooper John and Dove (you can read the story in ‘The Beginning of a Dynasty’). He took the phone into another room. We could hear him making a call. He spoke in his native language, so I did not know what he was saying. I asked if I had offended him and was assured that I had not. Minutes later he sat back down at the table.

“After dinner we are going to have company, I think you are going to be surprised.”

We finished eating and as the girls helped their mother in the kitchen the Chief and I sat on the front porch. He lit a pipe and watched the road. He did not say anything. I was getting a little uncomfortable when we saw a car approaching in the distance. It stopped in front of the house and a man about my age got out and went to the passenger side door. He helped a man that looked to be 100 years old, out of the car and up on the front porch. I was introduced and we went back into the house.