Tchin <<chin>> is an artist and metalsmith. He’s created designs for brands like Cartier <<CAR-tee-yay>>.

He belongs to the Narragansett tribe. Growing up, he moved between foster homes in Rhode Island and Virginia.  

And as he told his daughter Xiao Hui Star <<shah-way-star>>, he was often one of the few Indigenous people in town.

Transcript TRT: [3:18]

Tchin (T) and Xiao Hui Star (XS)

T: I looked different than everybody else. There was either white people or Black people, and there was me. And so, I stood out. And the cops would stop me sometimes, even as a young kid, they would stop me and go, ‘You know, you don’t belong in this neighborhood.’

I was living in Rhode Island and Rhode Island School of Design had a, like, summer scholarships. So I entered the competition and the art teacher said, ‘They don’t want people like you.’ And uh, I stopped drawing ever since then. 

XS: Wow. 

T: Yeah. It, it, it hurt. 

XS: How old were you?

T: I might’ve been 13. 

XS: Hmm. 

T: And, uh, people would say, like, ‘You know, you’re gonna end up in jail,’ or, ‘You’re not gonna ever become anything’ or anything like that. And I was, ‘I’m gonna prove them wrong. I need to go somewhere. I need more than this.’ And I went to New York. And I slept in hallways, and I slept in the subways, and I slept in Grand Central Station.

I really couldn’t read and write very well, and, uh, when I did have jobs, I usually weren’t able to keep those jobs. And then I learned to read and write by forcing myself to read an encyclopedia. And I applied to go to an art school.

XS: I would like to hear more about how you built the confidence to pursue an artistic career, which I see as quite risky. 

T: It was a little scary, but because Mommy did so much supporting us, it wasn’t as scary as if I was the only breadwinner. And my joke was always that I did all the cooking and the sewing. And Mommy did the brickwork and the plumbing. 

And when you girls were growing up, I made it a point that we would always have family meals on the weekend. And I wanted to raise my girls as really strong, powerful women. I would always say, ‘What can I do? As a parent, to make your life better?’ You girls would say, ‘I didn’t like when you raised your voice.’ And then I would learn to not be so tough on you. But you’re navigating the world very well, all of you.

XS: I’m 38, the age that you were when you had me. What advice do you have for me? 

T: The sad thing about human beings is that we tend to remember the unhappy things. And I think my advice to you is just try to be happy. The longest life is short.

BACK ANNOUNCE:

For StoryCorps in Philadelphia, that’s Tchin and Xiao Hui Star.

Their conversation is archived in the Library of Congress.