Ms. Lillian Weese

Wukchumni Tribal Youth, Commercial Tobacco-Free Champion

Tell me a little about yourself.
My name is Lillian Weese. I am a member of the Wukchumni Tribe. I'm 20 years old. I currently am a full-time student in Fresno State. I'm interested in going into law. I was born and raised in Visalia, California and I have two older brothers.

Please tell me a little about the Wukchumni tribe?
We are a non-federally recognized tribe. We are from the Central Valley. Right now, we are organized as a nonprofit which funds some of our youth activities. We have a farm going on with the goal of adding fresh vegetables and eggs for our community. We give out food to our elders… we also do some plant preserving, like bringing back native plants. On our farm, we have a lot of areas just designated to grow basket materials and other sacred plants and other plants native to California.

Can you tell me one thing that stood out to you from the Red Medicine Youth Tobacco Learning Collaboratives?
The different trainings Red Medicine offered on raising youth awareness of media and its impact on youth. I already know a lot about big tobacco: the history of tobacco and the dangers of tobacco. So, it's cool to see what the Red Medicine Project is doing to help spread that to other youth who don't have the same motivation that I do to do their own research. Not everybody grew up with their parents telling them the dangers of tobacco. I think the Red Medicine Project is doing a great job showing that to other youth who maybe didn't have that same example.

What do you think about commercial tobacco?
I hate it. I feel like it's destroyed many people's lives. I find it offensive not only due to the racist representation that tobacco companies use by having headdresses or an Indian mascot on the logo. They also genetically modified our sacred plant…it used to be a medicine plant, but due to all the genetically modifying… it is no longer medicine, and it is now poisonous, which is just so aggravating. Tobacco companies purposely set up smoke shops in underprivileged communities… next to military bases… Just near any people who are already struggling in life. I feel like it's the best representation of how horrible capitalism can be. I know so many people before they went to the military, they didn't smoke, they didn't drink. But then companies target military people because they're under so much stress and they're struggling. And it's like, really? People protecting your country are the people you want to target?! Children who are young, healthy, and hopeful. You [tobacco companies] just want to start them young. You know? It's all bad. That's just an evil company…

In my immediate family, I don't have any smokers. I'm lucky enough to see people who have quit smoking. The main people I do see smoking are just a few elders, my grandma included. But she's the only person in my immediate family who smokes. Vaping…I feel nowadays, it's harder to find somebody my age who doesn't vape. I'd say probably the majority of kids my age and even younger vape. I know in high school…every time you go to the bathroom it would be foggy. There's so many people vaping or somebody who was just vaping left the bathroom. It's a really common thing, especially for youth, unfortunately.

If you had to share one thing with other youth about the YTLC session topics, what would it be?
How dangerous vaping is because I hear it so often and it makes me angry that vaping is “better” than cigarettes. It's just not. I mean, you shouldn't smoke either, but you shouldn't justify vaping just because you have this illusion that it's better than smoking because it's not. It damages your body even more. It doesn't smell good…

What is the difference between the Wukchumni Tribe's use of traditional tobacco vs what you learned in the YTLC about commercial tobacco?
The way we use traditional tobacco is mainly in offerings and prayers. Let's say, we're going to have a sweat ceremony in the afternoon. My aunt Dar or one of her kids would give me and another youth a bag of tobacco and tell us to gather some sage and make sure you leave an offering from whatever plants you gather from. If we make a trip out to the ocean to visit a coastal tribe, we always stop by the ocean when we get there and make sure that we give an offering, thank them for letting us come into this area, and an offering to the ocean. We use it during prayers. If we're praying, we pray into the tobacco and then throw it into the fire at the start of the ceremonies. We don't use it medicinally, but do use it for prayers and offerings.

Any final thoughts?
It's never too late to quit. I feel a lot of people… didn't know it was bad at first or they knew it was bad, but they weren't very hopeful. And then now they just feel like they have no options. I've seen people of all age ranges quit. From people my age to people in their sixties. People think, oh, I've been doing it for so many years, so now I just have to keep doing it for the rest of my life, and you don't. You just need a good support system.

Ms. Thomas's interview is shared courtesy of the Red Medicine Project. TRDRP is honored to amplify the voices of members of communities who are disproportionately impacted by commercial tobacco in California. The views expressed by these individuals are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of California, nor of TRDRP.