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Oral history interview with Richard Mendez

Title

Oral history interview with Richard Mendez

Subject

Indians of North America

Chilocco Indian Agricultural School

Indians of North America--Education

Off-reservation boarding schools

Boarding school students

Indians of North America--Wars--Veterans

Vietnam War (1961-1975)

Description

Richard Mendez (Shoshone) attended Chilocco Indian Agricultural School in 1964, but left after one year and joined the Marines. He talks about his journey to Chilocco and some of the challenges he faced in his youth. Mendez discusses the regimented schedule of Chilocco and how that helped him learn. He describes his time in the military and some of his experiences working with machine guns in Vietnam during the war. He explains the various positions he held and his service in different conflicts. He then discusses his life after the military and his work with surveying land. Mendez goes on to talk about his later work in the ministry and how it has helped him overcome different issues.

Format

video

Identifier

okso_sok_266

Interviewer

Milligan, Sarah

Interviewee

Mendez, Richard, 1948-

OHMS Object

access interview in full screen

Social Bookmarking

Citation

“Oral history interview with Richard Mendez,” Chilocco History Project, accessed April 19, 2024, https://chilocco.library.okstate.edu/items/show/232.