Frequently Asked Questions
December 7, 1928 - May 1, 2007
Birth of the Intertribal Deaf Council
~by Jerry Hassell
In the summer of 1938, when I was 9 years old, my mother casually told me that I was part-Indian. I was totally shocked as I visualized myself as part of those who burned down the settlers’ houses and even scalped them, according to the stereotypical images of Native Americans I had at that time. In a daze, I slowly sank to my knees and clutched my mother’s legs. I looked up to her and cried out, “Mama, Mama, please tell me that I am not an Indian” while sobbing uncontrollably. She paused and finally said, “If you insist, you are not an Indian.” I felt a sudden flood of relief and joy to hear that.
We moved to Houston, Texas when I was14. There my mother introduced me to the members of my family on my father’s side. She explained that my grandmother was a full blooded Chickasaw, my father, aunts and uncles half, making me one-fourth. At that point, I became fascinated by the discovery, and afterwards I was anxious to know more about it.
Fifty-two years later I wrote to the Chickasaw Bureau of Indian Affairs in Ada,
OKlahoma and requested a certificate verifying my exact claim to Native American heritage...one-eighth Chickasaw. I was depressed to learn that I was not actually one-fourth Chickasaw, ironic considering my initial nine-year old’s reaction.
In the 1980’s, I met Walter Kelley and Tony McGregor, two individuals very involved in Deaf Native Americans. Finally, in the fall of 1993, Walter, Tony, and I made plans to establish an organization in Oklahoma. The first convention of the National Association of the Native American Deaf was held in Oklahoma City on June 8-10, 1994. Later, the name changed to Intertribal Deaf Council (IDC) and incorporated as a non-profit in Oregon.
IDC’s mission is to provide a place where American Indians, Alaska Natives and First Nations Indians (Canada) who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing or late deafened can have access to information about their heritage, traditions and cultural beliefs. Members get together at biennial conferences or biennial spiritual gatherings to learn from each other. IDC welcomes non-Indians and non-members to assist them in working toward their goals and attend events, which they maintain is the best way to learn about the organization.
