Washoe boy stands up to bullies with history lesson

Peers of 9-year-old Silas Jim, a Washoe boy who was bullied into cutting his hair, joined him in the Round Dance song Wednesday at Meneley Elementary School and opened their hearts to his culture.

Silas had been bullied about his long hair. Some of the children had teased him so much, he cut his hair in November.

“It made me really mad and sad, and I just had enough,” said Silas.

Silas’ family gave his classmates a presentation on the history of the Wa-she-shu and why their people grow their hair out.

“The hair is a part of our culture,” said Silas’ uncle Art George. “It contains memories, and it makes a strong.”

Silas’ grandma Joreen George read the story “Thunder’s Hair” to educate the students why Wa-she-shu consider their hair sacred.

In the book a boy is bullied about his long hair, and he decides to cut it, but his grandmother reminds him about the power of having long hair.

“These teaching have been passed down for thousands of years,” reads the story. “We say that our hair has a special part of us in it. Our spirit. It is our connection to the ancestors before us and to the spirit world. Each of these three parts remind us of the three parts of us; the mind, the body, and the spirit. This is why we take care of our hair and why our people continue to wear our hair long. If we cut it, we lose that special connection.”

The children in Teresa Rose’s third-grade class, listened with interest and excitement to learn something new about their classmate.

“It was very sad what happened to Silas,” said Rose. “Last year there was an opposite thing that happened. There was a student who had to cut her hair very short for some personal reason and she got called a boy. A lot of it is they just don’t understand and it’s important to show them and teach them.”

Meneley Elementary School Principal Blaine Spires said he hopes to bring more Wa-she-shu experiences to the school.

“Silas’ family coming in was very educational,” said Spires. “We want to create a big umbrella of learning and improve the culture of our school so that we have a better understanding of where we come from.”

Spires said he is working with Culture and Language Resources Director Herman Fillmore for the Washoe Tribe of California & Nevada, to have a presentation for the whole school soon.

“One of our goals is to always increase the community in our school,” said Spires. “The Washoe are a big population in our school, so we want them to be included and understood. We want to improve the culture of our school. When we have a better understanding of where we came from it builds a stronger community.”

Spires said Meneley Elementary School prides itself on having trust and transparency with it’s community.

“We share celebrations and concerns and I hope our families know they can reach out at any time,” said Spires.