Tohatchi woman recalls a scary moment from her childhood
In 1982, on the reservation land of Tohatchi, just north of Gallup, little 5-year-old Geneva B. Wheat had a favorite doll she adored. She received it as a gift from her father who often was gone most of the time due to working on the railroad.
The Sun spoke with Wheat about her childhood memories of her doll and the strange incident that happened to her when she was 5, that still to this day sends shivers down her back.
Her father came home from working on the railroads one day and gave her a very special gift.
Wheat: Lots of ideas ran through my head just trying to guess what it could be. We didn’t have many toys back then, in fact we didn’t even have much growing up poor, so that’s why I was excited to be getting something.
Sun: Wow, to have your dad come home and bring you and your sister something was definitely something to be happy about, wasn’t it?
Wheat: It sure was, a very happy moment in my life - till what happened.
[Ms. Wheat’s hands begin to clutch and her demeanor becomes still.]
Sun: What happened?
Wheat: My dad reached around and grabbed his old Army duffle bag and pulled out our gifts. He started first with my little sister and gave her a purple stuffed teddy bear. My sister quickly grabbed it and screamed so happily and took off with it. My mom called her back and told her to say thank you to our dad and she took off again with her new friend.
Sun: Now it was your turn, huh?
[Ms. Wheat wipes a tear from her cheek.]
Wheat: It was like the whole world stopped as I couldn’t wait for my dad to pull out my gift. He began joking with me and saying in Diné where was my gift and saying he might have lost it. I remember telling my father it’s probably way in the back of the bag and I could get it. He nodded his head and I quickly lunged forward and reached into the bag.”
[Ms. Wheat begins to cry.]
Wheat: I’m sorry, it still affects me to this day and I wish I never went into that bag.
[Ms. Wheat wipes away more tears.]
Wheat: I reached into the bag and pulled out this huge life-size doll dressed in a Bilagaana’s (Anglo) dress in pink. I just stared at it. I started to cry and told my dad thank you over and over again. I clutched onto that doll and wouldn’t let it go. She had shiny blond hair, a chubby face, and she was about 24 inches tall. I just called her Baby and she was my first and only doll I ever owned. After what happened, I never had a doll after that, not even to this day.
Sun: I know this is hard, please go on.
Wheat: My sister and I would pretend we were teachers, her bear and my doll were the students. We would come up with all sorts of games with our new playmates. My mom would be constantly washing and cleaning up our buddies from all the mud and dirt on them, along with us too. When school began, I would put my doll on my blanket and tell her goodbye and couldn’t wait to play with her after school.
Sometimes my little sister would be playing with her when I got home from school and I would get mad at her. I would tell my sister that Baby doesn’t like her and only likes me, then I would get into trouble with my mom. One day, I came home and my sister was playing with her again and I got mad and said the same thing to her. I was only 5 and didn’t think much of it when my sister said that the doll likes her better.
[Ms. Wheat stops and begins again.]
Wheat: I hate telling this next part because I can still remember every little detail. One night my little sister and I were on the floor playing school with our playmates like we always did. My sister said again that Baby likes her more and I said she likes me more because I’m her mama. I had Baby sitting right next to me and said to the doll, “You like me more because I’m your mama, huh.” But this time the doll moved its head toward me. I got up so fast and screamed in terror and ran toward my mom.
Sun: Wow, are you serious?
Wheat: I couldn’t stop screaming, crying, and I couldn’t believe what just happened. My mom thought I was just joking, but I kept telling her that the doll moved. I was so scared that I clung on to my mom. She got up and went toward the doll, and I quickly let go of her and ran outside. I was freaking out so bad and didn’t want to go near that doll.
It just slowly turned its head and looked at me. Oh my God, I can still see it in my head. It was frightening, and being only 5-years-old at the time, it felt so much worse.
My mom went to pick it up and I began to scream even more and she kept telling me it’s going to be OK. No matter what she was saying to calm me down, I was so scared that nothing could calm me down. My mom eventually threw the doll outside in the trash that night. I had many sleepless nights as a kid because of that doll.
Sun: I appreciate you telling us your story, but what happened to that doll?
Wheat: I remember my mom taking the doll and throwing it in the trash can outside. The next day she checked to see if it was there still for my benefit - it was. She built a fire and threw it in it and that was it, my first and only doll.
I still get freaked out when I see dolls like her. I have daughters that play with dolls, but nothing like what I had. Be careful when you buy things like that, because you never know what you are bringing into your home. I’m a grown woman and as funny as it sounds, that incident that happened to me as a child still haunts me…I mean it just slowly turned its head towards me and looked at me.
By Dee Velasco
For the Sun
