Paging Gazhekwe

[gazhekwe]

We have picked up a tradition that comes from the South. In many ways, Soul Food is a combination of African and American Indian tribal cooking. This recipe reflects both the traditions of American Indians and of Africans, in making a nutritious and healthy meal without a lot of expensive and hard to get ingredients. In my community, the dried bean is a key ingredient and is much relished in any form. Our family in particular is known for its delicious ways of preparing the noble legume.

This particular recipe has become a New Year tradition in many communities, and is supposed to bring good luck for the coming year. Some say the beans represent health and the greens wealth.

Hoppin' John
1 # dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and cleaned and soaked overnight, or 2-3 cans black-eyed peas, or two packages frozen ones
1# bacon
1 or two green peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 T minced garlic, maybe three cloves, or equivalent
1-2 stalks chopped celery
1 bay leaf
1 c raw rice
1 can tomatoes with green chiles
Tabasco sauce and black pepper to taste
1 can low sodium chicken broth or 2 c water

Stove top method
Fry bacon til cooked but not crispy, remove and drain. Keep enough bacon grease in the pan to saute the peppers, onion, celery and garlic until limp but not brown. Cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces. Add black-eyed peas, Bay leaf, tomatoes and broth or water, and bacon. Simmer about 1/2 hour, uncovered. Add rice and cover pan, simmer about 20 minutes. Season to taste.

In a crock pot, you put everything in except the tomatoes and rice. Instead of bacon, you can use a nice meaty ham hock. Cook on high for five hours, add the rice and tomatoes and continue cooking on high for another hour.

Serve in shallow bowls, like pasta bowls, with corn bread.

Eat in good health!

[gazhekwe]

From the Anishinaabe story line:

Many, many years ago when the world was new, there was a beautiful river. Fish in great numbers lived in this river, and its water was so pure and sweet that all the animals came there to drink.

A giant moose heard about the river and he too came there to drink. But he was so big, and he drank so much, that soon the water began to sink lower and lower.

The beavers were worried. The water around their lodges was disappearing. Soon their homes would be destroyed.

The muskrats were worried, too. What would they do if the water vanished? How could they live?

The fish were very worried. The other animals could live on land if the water dried up, but they couldn't.

All the animals tried to think of a way to drive the moose from the river, but he was so big that they were too afraid to try. Even the bear was afraid of him.

At last the fly said he would try to drive the moose away. All the animals laughed and jeered. How could a tiny fly frighten a giant moose? The fly said nothing, but that day, as soon as the moose appeared, he went into action.

He landed on the moose's foreleg and bit sharply. The moose stamped his foot harder, and each time he stamped, the ground sank and the water rushed in to fill it up. Then the fly jumped about all over the moose, biting and biting and biting until the moose was in a frenzy. He dashed madly about the banks of the river, shaking his head, stamping his feet, snorting and blowing, but he couldn't get rid of that pesky fly. At last the moose fled from the river, and didn't come back.

The fly was very proud of his achievement, and boasted to the other animals, "Even the small can fight the strong if they use their brains to think."

[gazhekwe]

Some years ago, I responded to Andy Rooney's rant about the lack of recognized culture from Native Americans. "What literature have they produced, what music, what art?" His answer to his rhetorical rant was, of course, "None." In my response I pointed out that he was looking inside European established cultural standards. Historically, our literature was oral, and our art somewhat transient. Our music was not written but was carried in the hearts of the people. When Europeans decimated our population, they killed a lot of the oracles who would continue the traditions. We have spent many generations retrieving them.

In spite of that, I pointed out that we have many authors of wonderful literature emerging in the dominant culture, and I provided a list. He wrote me back that my letter was the best response he had ever received. I don't know if he gave me any recognition on his show or in any of his writings.

Here is my list of the ones I could think of at the time. There are a lot more.

Natachee Scott Momaday, Kiowa, Pulitzer Prize winner: House Made of Dawn, The Way to Rainy Mountain, and more

Sherman Alexie, Coeur d'Alene, Smoke Signals [[movie also), The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Reservation Blues, and more.

Vine DeLoria, Standing Rock Lakota, Custer Died for Your Sins, Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties, and more.

James Welch, Blackfoot/GrosVentre, Winter in the Blood, Fools Crow, The Indian Lawyer, and more.

Louise Erdrich, Turtle Mountain Ojibwe, Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, The Antelope Wife, and more.

Leslie Marmon Silko, Laguna Pueblo, The Man to Send Rain Clouds [[short story), Ceremony, Almanac of the Dead, more.

This link will take you to North American Native Authors Catalog:

http://nativeauthors.com/

[gazhekwe]

Published in 1968, this novel won the Pulitzer in 1969. In it, Momaday tells the story of Abel, a taciturn young man steeped in traditional beliefs and customs of his people, based on Jemez Pueblo.

I have always been fascinated by a particular scene in the book, which happens when Abel goes to fight in WWII. He becomes separated from his beliefs and traditions during this time.

The only image the novel gives of Abel during the war is related by a fellow soldier about the day of a heavy massacre. Only three men survived, including Abel. When the enemy’s tank returned to ensure that all the men had been killed, Abel lay still while it passed very close beside him, nearly running over his hair. Once the tank had passed, he jumped up and danced around taunting the tank with his exuberant dance of the living. There is no explanation, just the perplexed fellow survivor's tale.

When he returns from the war, Abel begins drinking hard, and this directs many hard times in his life.

This fascinates me because of the parallels with a Michigan Ojibwe man, Antoine Scott, Wiiyaabimind, from Pentwater. He enlisted in Company K, First Michigan Sharpshooters during the Civil War.

At the Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864, the Union Troops blew a hole in the Confederate defenses. When they rushed in, they found themselves confused in a big crater, where they milled about, essentially trapped. The Confederates quickly recovered and began to fire down upon the Union soldiers who took heavy casualties.

The sharpshooters, from their position on the embankment, kept picking at the Confederate line, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Union casualties as the Union men were unable to climb out fast enough. Antoine Scott eventually jumped up on the embankment and began to dance. The Confederates were distracted and tried to pick him off. Their distraction gave Union troops an opening to clamber out of the Crater to the relative safety of the embankment. He did this repeatedly until the remaining Union soldiers were clear of the Crater, and was one of the last to leave. Because he was not injured despite being repeatedly fired upon, it was believed he had special medicine to protect him.

Antoine Scott returned from the war to Pentwater where he died in 1878. He was 37 years old. He was twice recommended for the Medal of Honor, but did not receive it because at the time, 1896, the Medal was not awarded posthumously. Three white sharpshooters who were there that day, Sidney Haight, Charles DePuy and Charles Thatcher, did live to receive their medals.

[gazhekwe]

Wow! Here is a link to a discussion of Andy Rooney's comments about American Indians to which I also responded in 1992 [[cf Post 228):

http://www.bluecorncomics.com/rooney.htm

Quoting the pertinent paragraph:

While American Indians have a grand past, the impact of their culture on the world has been slight. There are no great Indian novels, no poetry. There's no memorable Indian music. Their totem poles do not rank with the statuary of Greece and there's no Indian art, except for some good craft work in wool, pottery and silver. Their genius was for living free in a wild state...without damaging the ozone layer.

I found a copy of Andy's book, Sincerely, Andy Rooney. He starts discussing this column and reactions to it, and there it is, on page 195, his response to my letter.

Dear Ms. xxxx
I don't know what you do for a living but you might consider writing angry letters full time. You do it very well. Of all the letters I got condemning me for what I said about Indians, none was so judicious and effective as yours. "She's got me there," I thought to myself several times as I read it.

Among other things, I objected to his statement that Indians' impact has been slight. I pointed out the gold and silver that brought wealth to Europe; the beans, chocolate, corn, coffee, maple syrup, potatoes, tomatoes, turkeys that enhanced world diet; Tobacco and other medicinal plants that have been embraced worldwide; not to mention the vast lands and resources that contributed to the making of America. In addition, I talked about and cited music, art, books, and the political influence of the Iroquois Confederacy on the U S Constitution.

[Stosh]

Gaz:

As you have a keen interest in the NA culture and history, I thought of you and BigB when I found this in the Archives of Michigan website the other day. In the archives they have what are called Circulars. This one, #30, is all about the Native American experience interacting with the state and federal governments. There seems to be some interesting items, like the Indian Hymns collection, among others.

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mh...30_50002_7.pdf

[gazhekwe]

Thank you, Stosh!

I was worried to see only two entries from Civil Rights. When I left there a few years ago, we had many boxes of records from the Indian Commission, with very important information probably from 1982.. I will have to find out where those went. The State Archives is the official repository, and I remember advising that the records be sent there.

Oh, my, contemporary records on Company K, that's exciting!
Those DNR records on Indian fishing should be very interesting. I was in the thick of that.

Fascinating!

[Stosh]

Thank you, Stosh!

I was worried to see only two entries from Civil Rights. When I left there a few years ago, we had many boxes of records from the Indian Commission, with very important information probably from 1982.. I will have to find out where those went. The State Archives is the official repository, and I remember advising that the records be sent there.

That's an interesting question. They should have been sent there but where are they? I saw 1981 there. Maybe these are different records. I think once the weather clears up I will go up there and look at the records while I am up there researching something else. It should be very interesting.

[gazhekwe]

I'll call the Librarian and see if she knows anything. With all the funding difficulties, who knows what could have happened. Maybe they just didn't get entered into the Archives records or someone missed hitting the Indian so they would be sorted that way.

[gazhekwe]

I don't see a Civil Rights Circular at all, and I was the one who authorized sending things to the Archives before we moved to the GM Building. We sent records going back to the start of the Civil Rights Commission in 1967. When we find those, we will probably find the Indian Commission records as that was part of Civil Rights beginning around 1992.

This is probably what is happening, they have been put into State Government Records storage and not the Archives. I worked on the Records Retention Schedule and then searched the records identifying the ones that could be sent to storage. I thought a bunch went to Archives, but I wasn't working on the Indian Commission records. They were taken care of in the Library.

All state agencies are required to have a Records Retention and Disposal Schedule that lists individual records or records series. The schedule defines how long each record should be retained, and it explains how that retention period is divided between the creating office and the State Records Center. The State Records Center provides off-site storage for many records which are not actively used by the creating agency. Retention and disposal schedules also indicate which records have potential archival value, and when those records should be transferred to the Archives of Michigan.

[Stosh]

Well, I didn't want to cause any trouble for you.

In any event, I was more interested in the historical records that were listed. Some of these aren't very well known, and I thought that perhaps they should be brought out. The Company K files are a good example. I for one had never heard of the Company, much less known that they were NA.

[gazhekwe]

I have been working with a historian who is interested in Company K. I heard about them a long time ago but never really got into it. This guy is trying to locate the graves of the soldiers who didn't make it home. He found one in the Negro Cemetery at Arlington, and dropped some tobacco for him. He says he can't stop thinking about him. That gives me chills. That soldier wants to come back home. There are more lost ones, some who were buried without recognition for their veteran status. The historian found one of them in Boyne City and got a military recognition for him. This Veteran's Day, this soldier had his name, rank, service record and a flag on his grave for the first time.

It isn't any trouble. I have been wanting to get into the Commission records for the last year, this will get me going.

[Stosh]

I have been working with a historian who is interested in Company K. I heard about them a long time ago but never really got into it. This guy is trying to locate the graves of the soldiers who didn't make it home. He found one in the Negro Cemetery at Arlington, and dropped some tobacco for him. He says he can't stop thinking about him. That gives me chills. That soldier wants to come back home. There are more lost ones, some who were buried without recognition for their veteran status. The historian found one of them in Boyne City and got a military recognition for him. This Veteran's Day, this soldier had his name, rank, service record and a flag on his grave for the first time.

It isn't any trouble. I have been wanting to get into the Commission records for the last year, this will get me going.

Good for you. I'll look forward to hearing about what you find. And if I happen to get a chance to snoop around, perhaps I can post some stuff here as well.

[gazhekwe]

Lots of great comments on this one from Indian Country Today. Link at the end.

Steele should apologize for racist remark
By Leeanne Root
Story Published: Jan 8, 2010
Story Updated: Jan 8, 2010

So much for the GOP’s “big tent� strategy.

Republican National Chairman Michael Steele last week put his foot in his mouth during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show. Describing a Republican Party platform that he contends is “one of the best political documents� in the last 25 years, Steele underscored his point by adding, “Honest Injun on that.� Ironically, he followed by listing core conservative values.

A public apology is well overdue. Steele and the RNC must address his terrible choice of phrase. Disgust and outrage has turned into adamant calls for an apology. Michigan Congressman Dale Kildee, Democratic co-chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, issued a statement in response to Steele’s “racist comment.�

“For those of us who have been fighting to reverse decades of mistreatment of Native Americans, we all know what Mr. Steele said and what he meant,� said Kildee. “His insensitive comment undermines and threatens to reverse the progress we have made to correct those wrongs. A cursory look through a dictionary or even some knowledge of Native American history would show Mr. Steele that the term is a racial slur for Native Americans.� He then urged the head of the RNC to publicly apologize to the Native American community “for his derogatory comment.�

It is particularly disturbing that Steele, who has endorsed a “big tent� Republican strategy that broadens its party, would so blatantly and easily offend American Indians. Steele’s use of this racist phrase – on a widely viewed national program, no less – disrespects a community that works hard to educate about the true history of the United States and wants to participate in its productive future.

Sharing this sentiment, Ronnie Washines, president of Native American Journalists Association, issued this statement following the televised incident: “I am thoroughly outraged that the leader of the National Republican Party would use such repulsive language on national television. Those of us in journalism have tirelessly worked to ensure that political leaders, newsrooms and the public be respectful to all cultures when speaking publically. Michael Steele’s scurrilous tongue does no service to his group and only undermines the positive work of those who sincerely seek to respect one another in all of our working relationships. I urge Michael Steele to carefully word a sincere apology to the Native American community, which could help stop such uneducated archaic racist remarks from being made in the future. We here at NAJA are available to assist him and his organization with obtaining an accurate understanding of Native America.�

We urge Steele to exhibit better leadership than this if the GOP truly wants to become more inclusive. In this age of instant media, it will be an uphill battle to overcome this image in the minds of Native peoples.


http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/archive/81000177.html

[jams]

From one of the "Quiet" readers of your stories, THANK YOU for sharing those stories.

And that recipe, fantastic. I passed it along to our "soup chef", and he was excited, as I was, to add it to our rotation of soup du jour.

So every time I make it in the future, I'll think of you and what you have shared with us.

[gazhekwe]

Hi, Jams! Great to hear from you. I am so glad you are still enjoying this thread. It's fun for me to revisit a lot of these also.

Which soup is that, the Sobaheg? It's a good full meal kind of stew. What a great idea to have an indigenous dish on the rotating menu. I fantasize some time about a whole menu themed to indigenous recipes. It would be a heck of an eclectic menu. What a restaurant! Too bad I don't want to spend my days running a restaurant.

At the National Museum of the American Indian in DC, the cafeteria has four or five themed stations with all different menus. You can have an appetizer from the NW Coat, an entree from the Southwest, a salad from the Southeast and a dessert from the Woodlands. Come back next day and switch them all around. It's fun and always packed. Here's a review from 2007:

http://kellytheculinarian.blogspot.c...-american.html

Here is a book full of recipes from the Museum:

http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?s...=FoodsAmericas

[gazhekwe]

The days are truly starting to get longer now. It is no longer dark by 5:00! It is so tempting to think ahead to warmer days. Here is a story about perseverance.

Every winter, the birds fly south. One winter, Shingebis, a hell-diver [[also called a grebe) told all of the other birds that he would stay for the winter to take care of two of his friends who had been injured and couldn't fly south. Both of his friends, Ajiijaak, a whooping crane and a mallard duck, had broken wings.

To feed them, he got fish by diving through a hole in the ice. Kabibona'kan, the Spirit of Winter got jealous of his success at fishing and froze the water after Shingebis had dived through his hole below the ice. But Shingebis swam to shore where there were a lot of reeds and bulrushes. He pulled one of them down through the ice with his bill to make a hole in the ice and so he got out and flew home.

When he got home, he saw that someone was peeking in the door of his wigwam. It was Kabibona'kan, the Spirit of Winter, who did not like him and who was trying to freeze him out. Shingebis got a big fire going, but it was still cold in the wigwam because Kabibona'kan was right there making it cold. Shingebis tricked Kabibona'kan by mopping his face with a handkerchief and saying, "Gee, but it's hot in here!" Kabibona'kan thought the fire was hot enough to melt him, so he ran away.

Kabibona'kan was angry that Shingebis seemed unaffected by the cold and he determined to make it even colder every day. He blew icy winds and made the snow very deep. He blew drifts completely over Shingebis' lodge. Shingebis had put in a lot of wood to keep him and his friends warm, and he just built up the fire and the three birds sang happy songs, told stories and laughed inside. Eventually Kabibonak'kan grew tired of storming and the weather grew calmer, but it was still cold. Shingebis went out to go fishing, and he had to break new holes in the thick ice. He got through by pulling reeds as he had before. He made sure to get a lot of fish in case the weather got bad again. Kabibona'kan saw him emerging from his hole in the ice with a long string of fish and he was angry again. He blew up another big storm. Shingebis got home just as the wind hit, and more snow. Laughing, he went inside and told his friends, "It's a good thing I got all these fish!" Once again the three birds kept warm and happy as the storms raged outside. It took a lot longer for Kabibona'kan to calm down this time, but he finally did.

One day Shingebis decided to have a feast. He got some wild rice and sent a duck to invite Kabibona'kan, but it was so cold that the duck froze to death before he got there. Then he sent Partridge with the invitation. She got very cold too, but she dove under the snow to warm up and then went on again. She reached Kabibona'kan and invited him to Shingebis' feast.

When Kabibona'kan came to the feast, it was like a blizzard coming in the door of the wigwam. He had icicles on his nose and face. Shingebis built the fire higher and higher, and it began to get warm inside the wigwam. The icicles began to melt on Kabibona'kan's face. He was getting awfully warm, but he liked the wild rice that Shingebis had at his feast and wanted to keep eating.

Shingebis said, "Whew! It's very warm in here. It must be spring already." Kabibona'kan got scared and grabbed his blanket and ran out of the wigwam. With his fire, Shingebis had brought the spring and outside, things were already melting and there were just patches of snow here and there. Kabibona'kan had a hard time getting back to his home in the north, where there is always snow.

[[Adapted from Victor Barnouw, 1977, Wisconsin Chippewa Myths and Tales and Their Relation to Chippewa Life, Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.) [With some additions by Gazhekwe, from memory]

[gazhekwe]

I love the story of Shingebis and Kabibona'kan so much! The little duck is so happy, he takes pleasure in what he has, and what he can do. He doesn't see the weather as an enemy, just something to live through, and he sings and laughs through the whole story. That is a way to look at things.

Rolling Thunder, I think someone mentioned him here, was a great teacher who didn't mind sharing his wisdom outside his people. In a book about him, Doug Boyd shares a moment when he was with Rolling Thunder and his son getting some medicine. A ceremony was under way and they were all being eaten alive by mosquitos. Boyd was so miserable he could not stand it. Rolling Thunder looked over at him and said, "There is a way to look at these things." A simple teaching, but a very powerful one. Attitude is everything, and only you can change your attitude. That is basic to Indian philosophy to live in harmony with the earth and her children.

Some information about Rolling Thunder is here:

http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Medi...g-Thunder.html

and here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling...r_%28person%29

[gazhekwe]

This comes from Leif Ericson YMCA Camp by Big Cheese [[AKA Mick Zerr) © 2006. It has a mix of things in it including some actual Anishinaabe lore and words. I had a lot of fun reading it, and have always loved wondering about the Vikings and how far the got into our country, so will share it with you. If you want to read it all at once, it is here:

http://www.leifericson.org/id27.html

Part I, How Leif Ericson came to travel to Vineland.

Around the year 986, a Viking trader from Iceland named Bjarni Herjolfsson got lost after a terrible storm blew him off course. When the storm ended, a thick fog set in for two days. As the fog finally lifted, Bjarni and his crew saw a large forested land with no ice. When he returned to Greenland he met Leif, second son of Eric the Red. He told Leif what he had seen when the fog lifted. Leif never forgot the story, and told it to his father, Eric the Red, who was so named because of his bright red hair.

His father told the story to his friend, King Olaf Trygvesson, the king of the Norse Vikings. The Norse king said he would like to send an expedition to find the land, but no one was brave enough to go. Eric the Red told him that his son was the best sailor around, but knew that Leif felt it was too dangerous to search for Bjarni’s mysterious forested land

The two Viking leaders thought for a while and came up with a plan to trick Leif to sail to try and find the new land. It is said that Leif had a crush on the Norse King’s daughter, Thorgunna, so the plan was to have her ask Leif to take her to the west shore to see the beautiful sunset, but not have him ask permission of the King Olaf, which was against Viking law. When the King was to find out about the “date”, he was to demand punishment, which would be to either paint all the houses in the Olaf’s city, or take the dangerous trip to the mystery land.

Thorgunna played her part well, and upon coming back from watching the sunset, the King saw the couple and demanded punishment. Eric the Red agreed, and the choice was given Leif, who promptly took the challenge of sailing to the mysterious forested land to the west. He was given the best of ships, including the same dragonboat that Bjarni had used years earlier when he first caught sight of the mysterious land.

Thus in the year 1000, the Viking sailor Leif Ericson, second son of Eric the Red of Greenland, set sail with a crew of 35 men in search of the forested land seen by Bjarni, son of Herjulf back in 986. After retracing Bjarni’s route, the Leif expedition encountered a great storm that almost sank them. When the storm was over, a great fog descended, and Leif got out his signal horn and blew it. The Vikings had discovered that they could hear the horn of another ship and judge its distance by the sound. He knew that if land or ice were ahead, the sound would reflect back as an echo, so they would not accidentally run aground. After two days in the fog, an echo was heard after the blowing of the horn.

Shortly after, the fog lifted but land was not seen, so as was the custom of Norse sailors, they released a Raven, for Ravens always flew toward land, and if there were not land, the bird would return. After a few hours, the Raven did not return and Leif sailed toward the Raven’s direction. After a few hours they sighted land. But it was not the beautiful forested land that Bjarni saw; so Leif named it Helluland, meaning “flat and stony land”, probably present day Baffin Island

They continued sailing south and came upon more land, which they named Markland, or wooded land, likely present day Newfoundland. The ship sailed further south and came upon land with more trees and wild grapes and grains, which Leif named Vineland. They spent the winter there and in the year 1001, returned to Greenland with stories of adventures and samples of the rich plants and trees.

Leif married Thorgunna, and became a famous leader, but never went back to Vineland. His adventures were recorded in the famous “Greenland Sagas”.

Tomorrow: Part II, Wherein Leif tells a story.

[gazhekwe]

About five years ago, a woman walking the beach at Iroquois Island, a community west of Bay Mills, found a small stone inscribed with mysterious characters in relief. Some scholars who have seen it think it is a Viking rune stone. Some Anishinaabeg think it is an Anishinaabe rendition. Shall we find out if Leif talks about traveling along the south shore of Lake Superior?

[gazhekwe]

Part II -- In which Leif tells a story

One of the stories the explorers told was of a venture inland following the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes. The Vikings were so awed by the size of the Great Lakes, that they decided to explore them. By now they had learned Indian sign language, and could communicate with most Indian tribes. The natives told them the biggest of the giant Auwa [[waters) was many days to the setting sun. Leif could not believe another lake could be bigger than those they had seen, so he set sail toward the west. After many days they came to the largest of lakes. The natives called it Gichigami, meaning “big water�.

Leif and his men were sure the giant lakes were the greatest thing so far in their adventure, but in talking with the Ojibwe peoples they told him of a sacred place where there is a great river that is broken and surrounded by blood that has turned to rock. Now this place really interested the Vikings, since there was no such place in all of Viking lands. They wondered how a river could be broken, and how blood could be rock. The natives told the Vikings that the broken river is 30 suns march to the south and west, but in their excitement, the Vikings read the sign for 30 as 3, so they thought it was only three days march. The Ojibwe chief offered to send a guide with them, but the Vikings, thinking it was only a three day march, said they could find the place by themselves, and thanked the Indians for their hospitality.

The Vikings left some men to tend their Dragon ships near the present port of Duluth and they marched southwest toward the Broken river and Blood rock. After three days march, there was no sign of the magic place, but the Vikings continued on until they were almost out of food. They decided to have a discussion and vote to go on or head back. They were tired as well as hungry, and while they were worrying if they would starve, they heard a loud movement in the forest nearby. It turned into a loud, almost deafening laugh as a giant Indian appeared out of the forest. He was very tall, nearly seven feet, and had a great lance and shield. His face was painted in bright reds and yellows and his shield had a great golden bird painted on the leather. The Vikings themselves were not very tall, most closer to five feet, so the native chief loomed as a giant to them.

The Vikings gathered in a circle, shields held high, swords drawn, ready for battle, but Leif, the wise leader he was, told them that the Indian showed no sign of attack, and perhaps he had a few more tall warriors behind him in the forest. Besides, Leif cautioned, the Vikings were weak from hunger and the long march. The cautious Leif put his sword down and looked at the tall warrior, who was raising his free hand, palm out, the universal symbol of peace.

“Oh strange men with red hair,� he signed and said in a deep, concerned voice, “I am not laughing at you, but at your lament. May I join you around your fire?� Leif waved him over, and they sat around the warm fire. The Chief asked if a few of his warriors could join them, and Leif said it was okay.

Out of the forest came at least 50 tall warriors, and the Vikings were thankful that Leif was wise enough to not fight.

Leif asked the chief what he mean about laughing at their worries, and the chief told them that no one who is good ever starves in this land. Leif asked how could that be, and the chief told the most wondrous story to explain.

Tomorrow: Part III -- The Chief's story

This is excerpted from a legend by Big Cheese [[AKA Mick Zerr) © 2006
For Leif Ericson YMCA Camp

[gazhekwe]

Sorry I'm late! Here is the wind-up of the legend by Big Cheese [[AKA Mick Zerr) © 2006, for Leif Ericson YMCA Camp.

Part III -- The Chief's story

“As many seasons ago, as many as the buffalo has hairs, my people first came to this land. The Ice Giant to the North made the winters cold, and the summers cool, resulting in difficulty for my people to find food. [[The Great Lakes area was settled as the great Ice Age ended, with the ice sheets [[ice giants) retreating to the north into Canada about 11,000 years ago.)

One Cold Season was very bad, and my people were running out of food, much as you, strange red haired men, and they too were lamenting, but they did not know that watching them from the top of a Chi Wajiwan [[big mountain) were two giant Banaysheug [[birds). One of the birds was totally Mukaday [[black) even his eyes were black. The other giant bird was Zooniyawbik [[golden), in color. The great birds had been sent by Manitou [[God) to see how the humans were doing during the cold winter. They were directed to see if the people were following the three great rules of Manitou:

1. Be kind to elders.

2. Treat nature with respect.

3. Follow the Golden Rule.

If they were practicing them, they were to get food to keep them alive during the terrible cold.

As the great birds watched, they saw that the people were following the three rules. The great golden bird told the black one that he should give the people food, as directed by Manitou, and he would fly North to tell the great Manitou the people were following the rules and were being given food.

Upon hearing the news of the good people following the three rules, Manitou sent the Golden Bird back to help his black brother distribute the food. When he arrived back where the starving people were, he saw the great Black Bird sitting on an overlooking mountain, looking very full. He asked the black one if the food had been given to the people. The Black Bird said, “I was hungry and ate the food myself, for the puny humans can starve for all I could care.� The Golden Bird was angry and told the black one that great Manitou directed that the people be fed. The black one answered, “I am greater than the people, I am greater than you, and I am even greater than Manitou.�

He then attacked the golden one and the two giant birds fought for 7 days and 7 nights. They fought high in the sky, where they blocked the sun out and caused the first eclipse. They fought at night and their talons smashed against each others causing giant sparks. This became the first lightning. The hit so hard that the sound was deafening. This was the first thunder. On the seventh day, five miles up into the sky, the great Golden Bird moved back 40 miles and headed straight at the black one at great speed. His talons hit the black bird so hard that it killed him instantly. He started to fall faster and faster. Soon he was falling as fast as the spirit of sound travels. He hit right in the middle of a great river, which split in two, causing a giant waterfall. He hit so hard that the ground cracked and moaned. This was the first earthquake. His body exploded in a mass of blood and black feathers as wide as a day’s walk. The blood fell down to the earth and instantly turned in to rock the color of blood.

At this point in the Chief’s story, Leif Ericson commented to his Viking warriors that it was indeed the place they were searching for. All the Vikings now were excited to hear the end of the story.

The Chief continued by telling the Vikings that not only did the blood turn to rock, but the thousands of black feathers turned into crows, all cawing endlessly and flying away in different directions to populate the world so as to remind everyone of the power of good over evil. One of the black feathers fell upon the top limb of a great, white dead tree. The chief said, “To this day, when you see a crow cawing, small birds will be chasing it because they know that the crows came from the feathers of the evil Black Bird, and if you are sharp of eye, you will see, at the top of a giant dead tree, a lone, large crow sitting, watching…

Leif Ericson jumped up and said, “What a great story, can you take us to the broken river with the blood red rock?� The Chief said, “Iit is only a day’s march toward the setting sun,� so they all headed west.

Soon they arrived at a great waterfall with the rock the color of blood. The Vikings were very pleased to finally see this sacred and beautiful place. Leif asked the Chief how they were to get food for the hungry Vikings, and the Chief asked them if they had been practicing the three rules of Manitou. The Vikings always practiced the rules, so the Chief told them to listen for the 7 calls of the giant golden bird, and they would go to the direction the calls came from and they would find all the food they would need.

And suddenly the whole forest became still and 7 great calls came from the west. The Vikings ran over to the cliffs of blood red rock and found food everywhere. They thanked the great Chief for sharing his wonderful legend and helping them get the food. They all sat in a circle together, held hands and the Indians quietly thanked Manitou, and the Vikings thanked Odin.

All was quiet as the chief and Leif noticed a shadow cast on the water and they looked up to see a glimpse of a giant golden bird flying fast and far toward the north, while across the broken river, far above the blood red rock, a lone crow watched from a long dead tree……

[gazhekwe]

I've been having some fun trying to identify the place where the blood turned to rock and the river is broken.

One possibility is Red Cliff, near Cook, MN. It's on the north shore of Lake Superior at the western end. This site describes and maps the outcropping:

http://www.mountainzone.com/mountain...sp?fid=7431756

http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterf...tismhigh.shtml

On the south shore of Lake Superior opposite the Red Cliff, is Bayfield, WI, close to Madeline Island, center of Ojibwe power. The Red Cliff Band of the Ojibwe has a reservation nearby, Red Cliff Reservation.

http://redcliff-nsn.gov/Tourism/tourism.htm

Red Cliff on the north side of the lake rises to 640 feet. The terrain on the south side is the same height, about 600 feet.

What makes the cliffs red? I originally thought pipestone, which is the perfect color and consistency, but that is in the SW part of Minnesota. The likely red factor on the west end of Lake Superior is iron.

Because they were several days march from where they left their boats, it makes me wonder if perhaps they made it to the Mesabi range near Hibbing.

And then there is the broken river. A good look at a map of northern Minnesota, surrounding the headwaters of the Mississippi, shows a scattering of lakes that clearly resemble a big splat! Could it be that river? But there is no big waterfall there. The two highest waterfalls in MN are both called HIgh Falls, one near the Red Cliff and one farther east on the Canadian border.

http://gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls...innesota.shtml

Anyone interested in a little sleuthing to discover the location?

[gazhekwe]

Fisher goes to Skyland

Fisher [[Ojig) was a small animal but a great hunter. Hunting was difficult in those days because it was always winter. "Come with me," he told his friends, "We will go where the Earth is closest to Skyland. The Skyland is always warm and we will bring some of the warmth down to Earth."

The Otter, Lynx and Wolverine traveled with Fisher up the mountains, closer and closer to Skyland. When they were very close Fisher said "We must jump up and break through to the land above the sky."

The Otter jumped up and bumped his head on the sky. He fell on his back and slid all the way down the mountain. Lynx jumped up and bumped so hard it knocked him unconscious. Wolverine jumped up and bumped hard against the sky. He jumped again and again until the sky cracked a little. He jumped again and broke through. Fisher jumped through after him.

They found Skyland to be a beautiful place, full of warmth and plants and flowers. They found cages full of birds which they released. The birds flew through the crack in the sky to the world below. The warmth of Skyland began to flow to the Earth and melt the snow.

The Sky-People came out of the lodges and said "Thieves! They are taking our warm weather!"

Wolverine escaped back through the crack but Fisher started working to make the crack bigger. He knew that if it were too small the Sky-People might be able to patch it. The Sky-People began chasing him and shooting arrows. Although he was powerful, they eventually hit a fatal spot.

The great Gitche Manitou took pity on poor Fisher because he had tried to help his friends. He healed him and placed him in the sky [[Big Dipper). Each autumn as Fisher is falling towards Earth the Sky-People try to patch the crack and Winter comes. Then in spring Fisher climbs back high in the sky and reopens the crack and Summer comes.

From the Archives of Blue Panther

[gazhekwe]

This is the Abenaki version of the Story of the Drum. The Abenaki are part of the great Algonquin Nation, as are the Anishinaabek.

It is said that when Creator was giving a place for all the spirits to dwell who would be taking part in the inhabitance of Mother Earth, there came a sound, a loud BOOM, from off in the distance. As Creator listened, the sound kept coming closer and closer until it finally it was right in front of Creator.

"Who are you?" asked Creator.

"I am the spirit of the drum" was the reply. "I have come here to ask you to allow me to take part in this wonderful thing."

"How will you take part?" Creator questioned.

" I would like to accompany the singing of the people. When they sing from their hearts, I too will sing as though I was the heartbeat of Mother Earth. In that way, all creation will sing in harmony. "

Creator granted the request, and from then on, the drum accompanied the people's voices.

Throughout all of the indigenous peoples of the world, the drum is the center of all songs. It is the catalyst for the spirit of the songs to rise up to the Creator so that the prayers in those songs reach where they were meant to go. At all times, the sound of the drum brings completeness, awe, excitement, solemnity, strength, courage, and the fulfillment to the songs. It is Mother's heartbeat giving her approval to those living upon her. It draws the eagle to it, who carries the message to Creator. It changes people's lives!