Activist Jan Saiz and Native American Heritage Month
Natively Proud
Natively Proud
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 2 of 2
As we meet at her favorite coffee shop, La Baguette, on the far west side
near where she lives, Jan Saiz gave me a big warm smile. She had just
gotten back from a trip to Europe, a trip she made with one of her friends. She
was enthralled with the experience. Saiz, a member of the Ponca Nation and
currently the president of the Wisconsin Women of Color Network, is a
Madison activist who has always felt that education is the key to
advancement in society and to be at peace with ones self.
Like many of the other American Indian tribes, the federal government
did not deal with the Ponca in good faith. “Our original lands are in
Nebraska,” Saiz said. “In fact, our original lands used to extend way up into
South Dakota. That was ceded to the U.S. Government who promised us
protection and that we would always be able to stay on the land that we still
had. Of course that was a false promise. The Ponca were removed by force
to Oklahoma and many died on the trip. They were not allowed to take
anything with them. The Ponca, for the most part, have always been a small,
Part 2 of 2
As we meet at her favorite coffee shop, La Baguette, on the far west side
near where she lives, Jan Saiz gave me a big warm smile. She had just
gotten back from a trip to Europe, a trip she made with one of her friends. She
was enthralled with the experience. Saiz, a member of the Ponca Nation and
currently the president of the Wisconsin Women of Color Network, is a
Madison activist who has always felt that education is the key to
advancement in society and to be at peace with ones self.
Like many of the other American Indian tribes, the federal government
did not deal with the Ponca in good faith. “Our original lands are in
Nebraska,” Saiz said. “In fact, our original lands used to extend way up into
South Dakota. That was ceded to the U.S. Government who promised us
protection and that we would always be able to stay on the land that we still
had. Of course that was a false promise. The Ponca were removed by force
to Oklahoma and many died on the trip. They were not allowed to take
anything with them. The Ponca, for the most part, have always been a small,
Jan Saiz, an activist in the Madison area for almost 40
years, is currently president of the Wisconsin Women of
Color Network..
years, is currently president of the Wisconsin Women of
Color Network..
peaceful farming tribe.”
The conditions in Oklahoma were deplorable with many of its members dying of malaria and hunger. Chief Standing Bear led a
group of the Ponca back to Nebraska where Chief Standing Bear wanted to bury his dead son on ancestral lands. He was arrested for
leaving Oklahoma without permission of the federal government and was put on trial.
“There is a whole story about Standing Bear and his trial in Omaha,” Saiz said. “He wanted to prove to the court and to the
community that Indians were just like them, that our blood ran red just like theirs. All we had left then was the tribal cemetery. And the
tribe had to rebuild itself and get lands surrounding them — similar to what the Ho-Chunk when they came back here had to do.”
The Ponca were allowed to stay and were given a small portion of the lands that were taken form them for a reservation. But by the
1960s, the federal policy of the termination of tribal rights was in full force and in 1966, the tribe was terminated and the reservation
lands were allotted to the individual tribal members. In the subsequent years, most of the reservation lands were sold by the members
who were often swindled by land speculators. Beginning in the 1970s, the Ponca led by Saiz’s cousin, began the long process of
becoming recognized as a tribe once more, which they accomplished in 1990.
The fight continues. Saiz talked about the efforts to suppress Native culture and language over the past 200 years. Native people
are still fighting to protect their culture. For instance, Saiz’s grandson brought a book home that was allegedly about Indian culture. It
was a “New Age” book written by a Euro-American that extensively borrowed from Native culture. Saiz’s grandson had said he wanted
another book because Saiz and her family talk about these issues. Saiz found resources through JP Leary from DPI and gave it to her
son to give to the teacher.
“New Age, I say, is people stealing from Native people their ceremonies,” Saiz said. “It is alright if you want to practice ways that
Indian people follow. But the thing is that you do it in a respectful way. You can go to sweat. You can ask to be a part of something. But
those are not your ways. They are the ways of those people and you should ask permission always if you are going to talk about
something or practice something. Even we do that. I remember when we did the storytelling theater that we asked permission from all
of the tribes to use those stories because that is the way you do things.”
“That’s the way that I took that book, someone creating their own fantasies off of Indian culture,” Saiz continued. “I read the whole
book. It was like ‘Okay, this is his version.’ But he is out there and selling it as children’s literature. And these kids think ‘Oh my, maybe
if I went off, I could see a spirit bear.’ Please! This is insincere. And since I practice traditional spirituality, it is offensive to me. And
then, on the other hand, it makes me feel bad. It makes me feel sad. Enough has been taken from Native people. They could at least
leave our ceremonies alone and the things we hold sacred.”
Another difficult issue has been the use of American Indian icons as school mascots. Saiz began fighting the mascot issue as a
UW undergraduate. “We were the ones who went to the chancellor and the athletic director about Chief Illiniwek, the Illini mascot
dancing at UW sporting events,” Saiz said. “We wanted that removed. And it was, but it took a lot of effort and student time. But those
issues are still there and you still have to fight them. And it is ongoing in Wisconsin. Even though there has been a bill passed, it is still
out there where they are trying to appeal. They want to keep those names. So those are the kind of things that are ongoing. I was telling
someone ‘You have to be ever vigilant’ because these issues are still there. They are still present for us.”
While Native people still fight for and hold their values, culture and language dear, it doesn’t mean that Native people have not
continued to evolve. “There is almost an expectation that Indian people should stay frozen in time,” Saiz said. “It is just strange. We’re
the only group expected to stay the same. When I look around, I don’t see other people rearing their children in their native outfits,
whatever that was, whether they are kilts or a type of headdress. I don’t see that. But for Native people, it seems that they expect to see
us with feathers and bows and arrows and that kind of thing. What needs to be put out there is what Indian people are doing now, the
strides that we’ve made and are continuing to make. I just don’t see that happening enough. We have more people going to school. We
have more people who are professionals. Everyone should know what their roots are. But we hold jobs and positions and are a part of
the larger community like in Madison.”
Saiz has made herself a part of the greater Madison community through her activism. She continues to volunteer on projects like
the All-City American Indian Graduation Ceremony that is held at Madison College each year and enjoys Native culture. And she is also
involved in groups like the Wisconsin Women of Color Network (WWOCN).
“I always wanted to be a part of the community and be active in whatever capacity I can,” Saiz emphasized. “Being a part of the
community means participating in the community. I think too many people sit back and don’t participate and think that they have nothing
to offer. And I think we all have something to offer. I don’t quite remember how I originally got connected with WWOCN. I like the group.
It’s a group of a lot of dynamic, interesting women. We try to help out in the community with scholarships and we bring interesting
speakers to our events to talk about things like education, finances and health issues. I think it is a really good group for women of
color to become involved in. Our membership is really open to everyone. And it doesn’t cost that much. We want others to become a
part of it.”
While she may be “retired,” Jan Saiz is still going strong in continuing the ways of her Ponca culture while embracing what
contemporary life and Madison have to offer. And in so doing, she helps make Madison a special place to live.
The conditions in Oklahoma were deplorable with many of its members dying of malaria and hunger. Chief Standing Bear led a
group of the Ponca back to Nebraska where Chief Standing Bear wanted to bury his dead son on ancestral lands. He was arrested for
leaving Oklahoma without permission of the federal government and was put on trial.
“There is a whole story about Standing Bear and his trial in Omaha,” Saiz said. “He wanted to prove to the court and to the
community that Indians were just like them, that our blood ran red just like theirs. All we had left then was the tribal cemetery. And the
tribe had to rebuild itself and get lands surrounding them — similar to what the Ho-Chunk when they came back here had to do.”
The Ponca were allowed to stay and were given a small portion of the lands that were taken form them for a reservation. But by the
1960s, the federal policy of the termination of tribal rights was in full force and in 1966, the tribe was terminated and the reservation
lands were allotted to the individual tribal members. In the subsequent years, most of the reservation lands were sold by the members
who were often swindled by land speculators. Beginning in the 1970s, the Ponca led by Saiz’s cousin, began the long process of
becoming recognized as a tribe once more, which they accomplished in 1990.
The fight continues. Saiz talked about the efforts to suppress Native culture and language over the past 200 years. Native people
are still fighting to protect their culture. For instance, Saiz’s grandson brought a book home that was allegedly about Indian culture. It
was a “New Age” book written by a Euro-American that extensively borrowed from Native culture. Saiz’s grandson had said he wanted
another book because Saiz and her family talk about these issues. Saiz found resources through JP Leary from DPI and gave it to her
son to give to the teacher.
“New Age, I say, is people stealing from Native people their ceremonies,” Saiz said. “It is alright if you want to practice ways that
Indian people follow. But the thing is that you do it in a respectful way. You can go to sweat. You can ask to be a part of something. But
those are not your ways. They are the ways of those people and you should ask permission always if you are going to talk about
something or practice something. Even we do that. I remember when we did the storytelling theater that we asked permission from all
of the tribes to use those stories because that is the way you do things.”
“That’s the way that I took that book, someone creating their own fantasies off of Indian culture,” Saiz continued. “I read the whole
book. It was like ‘Okay, this is his version.’ But he is out there and selling it as children’s literature. And these kids think ‘Oh my, maybe
if I went off, I could see a spirit bear.’ Please! This is insincere. And since I practice traditional spirituality, it is offensive to me. And
then, on the other hand, it makes me feel bad. It makes me feel sad. Enough has been taken from Native people. They could at least
leave our ceremonies alone and the things we hold sacred.”
Another difficult issue has been the use of American Indian icons as school mascots. Saiz began fighting the mascot issue as a
UW undergraduate. “We were the ones who went to the chancellor and the athletic director about Chief Illiniwek, the Illini mascot
dancing at UW sporting events,” Saiz said. “We wanted that removed. And it was, but it took a lot of effort and student time. But those
issues are still there and you still have to fight them. And it is ongoing in Wisconsin. Even though there has been a bill passed, it is still
out there where they are trying to appeal. They want to keep those names. So those are the kind of things that are ongoing. I was telling
someone ‘You have to be ever vigilant’ because these issues are still there. They are still present for us.”
While Native people still fight for and hold their values, culture and language dear, it doesn’t mean that Native people have not
continued to evolve. “There is almost an expectation that Indian people should stay frozen in time,” Saiz said. “It is just strange. We’re
the only group expected to stay the same. When I look around, I don’t see other people rearing their children in their native outfits,
whatever that was, whether they are kilts or a type of headdress. I don’t see that. But for Native people, it seems that they expect to see
us with feathers and bows and arrows and that kind of thing. What needs to be put out there is what Indian people are doing now, the
strides that we’ve made and are continuing to make. I just don’t see that happening enough. We have more people going to school. We
have more people who are professionals. Everyone should know what their roots are. But we hold jobs and positions and are a part of
the larger community like in Madison.”
Saiz has made herself a part of the greater Madison community through her activism. She continues to volunteer on projects like
the All-City American Indian Graduation Ceremony that is held at Madison College each year and enjoys Native culture. And she is also
involved in groups like the Wisconsin Women of Color Network (WWOCN).
“I always wanted to be a part of the community and be active in whatever capacity I can,” Saiz emphasized. “Being a part of the
community means participating in the community. I think too many people sit back and don’t participate and think that they have nothing
to offer. And I think we all have something to offer. I don’t quite remember how I originally got connected with WWOCN. I like the group.
It’s a group of a lot of dynamic, interesting women. We try to help out in the community with scholarships and we bring interesting
speakers to our events to talk about things like education, finances and health issues. I think it is a really good group for women of
color to become involved in. Our membership is really open to everyone. And it doesn’t cost that much. We want others to become a
part of it.”
While she may be “retired,” Jan Saiz is still going strong in continuing the ways of her Ponca culture while embracing what
contemporary life and Madison have to offer. And in so doing, she helps make Madison a special place to live.
