Interview with Chief Bobby Johns Bearheart

Q - Where did your family live when you were growing up?
A - We lived primarily in remote areas of south Georgia, mostly in an old log house provided by my father’s employer. We raised a garden and enjoyed the freedom to hunt and fish very much as our ancestors had. Mother canned and preserved fruits, vegetables, meat and fish. She also made traditional sofkee in a big iron pot in the yard, so we always had something to eat. To me this was an ideal way to live. Everyday was a new adventure, and I was happy in my freedom.

Q - How did the laws against Indians living in GA affect your family?
A - It seems amazing now, but the laws against Indians living in GA were not repealed until the mid-twentieth century. When I was born in 1936, just 100 years after the Creek Removal, the elders of my family still feared the possibility of being sent to Oklahoma. My people lived in isolation and were somewhat protected by the landowners who valued their knowledge and skills. As young children, we were taught early on to keep a low profile on the rare occasions we came in contact with the outside world.

Q - What did your family do to make a living?
A - My father, older brother and other men of my family worked for very little pay in the turpentine and logging industries in the forests and swamps of southern Georgia. My father, a quiet, responsible man, was highly valued for his skills and became head turpentine distiller.

Q -  What native skills and traditions did you/your family use/follow?
A - To my regret, because of the challenges of hiding to avoid removal, my ancestors lost that all-important closeness of a larger Creek community with its continuity of language, ceremony and other traditions. They did retain their survival skills and continued gardening, hunting, and fishing in the traditional ways. In addition, my maternal grandfather was a highly skilled wood carver and craftsman who created traditional carved ceremonial masks, furniture, tools, weapons, and kitchen implements using techniques passed down from his ancestors. He in turn passed these skills on to my clan uncle and brother, and through them, to me.

Q - Who was the most important influence in your life?
A - My Clan Uncle, Alton Evans. Uncle Tone was a generous man and friend to everyone. He was a wise and patient mentor to me.

Q - What important lessons did you learn from this person that helped form who you became?
A - I was very curious as a child and Uncle Tone always responded to my questions with kindness and respect. I still remember every word he spoke. He taught me about my Indian heritage and respect for my elders and ancestors. He taught me how to hunt and fish and make the tools and weapons I would need with my own hands. But most important, he taught me about the importance of the brotherhood of man and how to treat other people – all other people. He taught me to live without bitterness for the wrongs of the past. Uncle said, “The most important lesson you will ever learn is how to live like a real human being.”

Q - What about your formal education? Did you go to school?
A - Yes, I did go to school, but not until I was nearly 9 years old. It was a whole new experience and I was already behind my classmates. I was not very well received because my background was different than the other kids.  I quickly learned there is such a thing as prejudice.

Q - What happened to you at school and how did you deal with it?
A - Most of the kids were pleasant enough, but even in those days, there were bullies in school. I was confused when almost every day a few boys pushed me around calling me “swamp nigger.” I didn’t want to fight, but there seemed I had no other choice. I wasted a lot of time defending myself and often got the worst end of the fights. For that I spent a lot more time in the principal’s office being punished again.

Q - How did this experience in school affect your life?
A - I was unhappy, yet hesitant to tell Uncle what was happening to me, but he knew. Often he was complicit in my skipping school to go off on some peaceful errand with him. In his own kind and understanding way, Uncle convinced me that I should not hold bitterness because of it. I suppose this was my first real experience in applying Uncle’s lessons about the importance of the brotherhood of man and living like a real human being.

Q - What would you like for others to learn from your school experience?
A - Those days are not among my happy memories, and I choose not to dwell upon them. But from the things I see going on today, it seems that prejudice and bullying are just as bad as they ever were. There are many who still have not learned the meaning of Uncle’s lesson, so I hope that by telling my story, I can pass on to others the wise and loving counsel he gave to me. I would like for all people to be able to see through their own negative actions and reactions and learn to become better human beings.

Q - What has most inspired you to dedicate so much of your life to honoring your culture/heritage?
A - My heritage was slipping away before my eyes in so many ways. Our ancestor’s mounds of burial and ceremony were being used to build highways or to make room for agriculture, and looted for artifacts to be sold for profit. We were desecrated by Hollywood and their demeaning a whole race of Peoples. History recorded that just a few existed and they were savages. If you see a wrong, try to fix it. Let your voice be heard and your actions show meaning. I cared enough.

Q -  What would you most want people to come away with reading your history?
A - That I was just a regular person who loved life, family and friends over wealth and honors.

Q - If there was anything you could have done to make things any different or change anything for Creeks not only in your area but across the nation what would it have been?
A - Encourage all Native Peoples, full or mixed blood, to unite for the betterment of all. For those with wealth to help the ones suffering. Educate, Educate, Educate!

Q - What would you tell young people today?
A - Take pride in your culture and self. Surround yourself with like friends. Refuse to be coerced into joining habits and events that would harm your mind, body, and welfare. You, and only you, can make life
good.