[or-roots] Obit of interest: Eggsman/Klamath Indians

[Anne Billeter]

Mabie Eggsman
Helped preserve Klamath tribe's language; 95
	Mabie "Neva" Eggsman, a Modoc Indian who helped preserve the Klamath
language, has died.  She was 95 and died in Klamath Falls, Ore.
	Mrs. Eggsman was born June 2, 1908, at Whiskey Creek, a Modoc Indian
settlement near Beatty.  She was the daughter of Guy and Martha Schonchin.
	She attended elementary school at the Klamath Agency Reservation boarding
school and went to high school in Phoenix.
	Mrs. Eggsman survived the flu epidemic of 1918, witnessed the end of
tribal status for the Klamath Indians in 1954 and saw the tribe's federal
recognition restored in 1986.
	She married Wilbur Eggsman in 1926.  They lived in the Modoc Point area
until moving to Chiloquin in 1959.  He was a rancher and logger.
	Mrs. Eggsman raised her family until 1978 and served as a volunteer at
Chiloquin Elementary School from 1978 and served as a volunteer at
Chiloquin Elementary School from 1978 to 1985.  She later worked for the
Klamath Tribes as a master language instructor, developing a Klamath
language phrase book.  She was the last living elder who had been involved
in creating the Klamath language program.
	Although a Modoc, she learned the Klamath language and worked to preserve
it out of respect for her husband, who died in 1982.
	The Klamath tribe released a statement after Mrs. Eggsman died Sunday,
which said:  "The passing of our tribal elder, Neva Eggsman, is a huge blow
and loss to our tribe.  Over the years she has given herself and her
knowledge to people, both Indian and non-Indians alike.
	"Her wisdom and knowledge is invaluable, and we can only hope to carry on
her teachings, by continuing to share the things she taught us."
	Mrs. Eggsman also was a member of the tribal cultural committee and a
committee for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
which helps coordinate the return of Indian remains and cultural items from
museums and universities to tribes and family members.
	Survivors include her two sons, nine grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
--San Diego Union Tribune, September 19, 2003

shared with or-roots by Anne Billeter
billeter at entwood.com