Reading Week 11: Sioux, Part A

 

(Portrait of Indian Chief Sitting Bull: Wikipedia)

The Rabbit and the Grouse Girls

The rabbit went out in the winter to the side of the hill away from the company of all girls. They were the grouse girls. The rabbit called out to them and told them he could get them a fine skin with bangles on it that tinkles. He ran away to his tepee and brought a skin bag with red stripes and bangles on it. The grouse girls were afraid to get inside it, but the rabbit coaxed them all in. The rabbit then slung the bag over his back and went home. He got to the tepee and told his grandmother he had a bag full of game and the grouse girls began to cry. The grandmother said she would let the grandchildren out. As the old woman opened the bag, the grouse flew up and grabbed her leg. The rabbit got back and was very angry she let the grouse out.

The Rabbit and the Bear

The grandmother and the rabbit were out of arrows and the fall hunt was coming soon. The grandmother told him to make flint arrowheads and the rabbit could get the flint from the old bear chief. The flint was in the bear's body. The rabbit came to the end of the village to a hut where an old woman lived. The woman welcomed him and gave him a place to rest by the fire. The next morning, the rabbit went to the lodge of the bear chief where they smoked awhile. The rabbit asked for flint and the bear opened his robe to show his body was half flint and half made of flesh. He was to bring a stone hammer to the bear to cut off a little bit. The rabbit was struggling chipping off large pieces which made the bear grow impatient. Finally, he hit him with one last blow and the bear broke into two and his flesh fell away. This caused an outcry in the village and the rabbit bounded on top of the snow, helpless and scared. The rabbit killed the bears with a club as he ran away and that's why there are so few bears.

The Story of the Lost Wife

A Dakota girl married a man who promised he would treat her kindly, but he didn't keep his word for the often beat her. She finally ran away and the whole village was looking for the missing wife. The fleeing woman traveled all day and night and the next day she met a man who was the chief of the wolves. He led her to a large village and she was amazed by how many wolves there were. The chief invited her in and gave her buffalo meat to eat. They had prepared the meat by boiling it and by cutting it into slices. The woman lived there for a year and all the wolves were very kind to her. One day they were getting ready for a buffalo hunt when a group of young men came riding up to her on ponies. They were looking for a lost woman and she told them it was her, but they must not harm her village. The young woman went back to the wolf village and the next day there was a long line of warriors and women ready to see her. The young woman's parents were overjoyed to see her. She was disgusted by them for she couldn't bare the smell of humans and they agreed to all go on a buffalo hunt the next day. They brought back so much meat and the woman began to howl like a wolf. They piled into the meat and ate and she finally reconciled with her husband to live together again. 

The Simpleton's Wisdom

There was a man and wife who had one daughter and when the daughter died, the mother was disconsolate. She cut her hair off, cut her cheeks, and mourned over her dead body. She threatened to kill herself from the grief she was feeling. Her husband and family tried to get the knife out of her hand and the only way they could think of was to make a deal with the simpleton. He was a poor orphan. They asked the simpleton to get the knife out of the woman's hand and he went to the tepee and sat beside her. He began to sing and it got louder and louder. He approached the corpse and as he did this, the woman handed him her knife. She said the simpleton had taught her how to forget her grief. The simpleton brought the knife back with him and the family was shocked. The old men of the village found this situation to be very odd for the woman had laughed before a corpse. They decided to let the issue go for it was better to live for the living than to die for the dead. 

A Little Brave and the Medicine Woman

A village of indians moved out of their winter camp and they pitched their tents in a circle on high land overlooking a lake. A little ways down was a grave chocked by cherries. One of the villagers going on a hunt took a short cut through the cherries and when he pushed them aside, he saw the grave. He tried to step over it, but he continued to fall down. He went back to the village to tell the old men and they told him a medicine woman had been buried there. This story spread through the camp and these six little boys were mischievous and wanted to see it for themselves. Brave and his friends got down to the grave, but he wanted to play a joke on them. When they were out of sight, he sped to the lakeshore and rubbed mud all over his face and hair to look like a rotting corpse. The little boys became afraid because they couldn't find Brave. Suddenly, a spooky voice like a woman's came from the grave and they were frightened. Just then, Brave jumped out and the boys screamed in fear and went running away. All the women in the village heard the screaming and they knew it had been Brave at once. Brave dashed into his mother's tepee scaring her. Nobody would come near Brave ever again.

The Boy and the Turtles

A boy went on a turtle hunt and he couldn't find any turtles. Leaving the stream, he cut across the lake and crawled on his hands and knees so the watchful turtles wouldn't see him. On the shore sunning themselves were a pile of turtles, so the boy carefully removed his clothes and jumped into the lake. On the surface, he saw bubbles appear and then an old man and the boy was scared. The boy was so frightened he ran naked home to his grandmother's door. The grandmother asked if he had seen something unnatural and the grandmother got out her medicine bag and prayed the Great Spirit would drive out the evil spirit that had entered her grandson's body. The prayer healed the boy. The grandmother went to the chief's tent and told him what the grandson had seen. The chief sent to brave warriors to the lake to find out the truth. The lake was swarming with little men swimming and the warriors were scared and hurried home. The boy was brought to the council and gave him a seat of honor and was named Wankan Wanyanka. The lake was then called the Truth Lake. 

The Hermit, or The Gift of Corn

In a deep forest lived a hermit and his tent was made of buffalo skins and his dress was made of deer skin. All day, he would wander through the forest studying different plants of nature and collecting precious roots which he would use as medicine. After a long day, the hermit came home and was tired and went dozing off to sleep when something rubbed his foot. A dark object and an arm was extended to him, holding a flint-pointed arrow. The hermit thought it must be a spirit and it invited him into its home. When he got outside, he couldn't find the spirit. Nobody answered him and he went back into his tent and went back to sleep. Then the same thing occurred which made him very angry. The next evening he cut a hole in the tent large enough to stick an arrow through and stood by the door watching. He didn't go out that night to see where the arrow had struck but there on the ground lay a little heap of corn. He followed it far into the woods and the trail stopped at the edge of the circle. He took his bone knife and hatchet and proceeded to dig into the center of the circle. He found a sack of dried meat, turnips, dried cherries, and corn. From this, the hermit taught the tribes how to keep their provisions when traveling and the hermit was thanked. 

The Mysterious Butte

A young man was once hunting and when he got to the east side of the hill, he dropped to a very steep bank where he noticed a small opening. It was large enough to admit a horse or buffalo and the walls were engraved with different animals. He entered the opening and ornaments and pipes were scattered on the floor. It was so dark he couldn't see anything and he became scared and ran home. The chiefs selected four of the most daring warriors to go with the young man to investigate the butte. The four entered the first chamber and they couldn't see anything for it was so dark. On entering the last chamber, they found a sweet odor coming from the opposite direction. They felt around by crawling on their hands and knees to find a hole with the sweet odor. The man said he was going to take the bracelets, but the men warned him not to take what wasn't his. He didn't listen and brought it back on his wrist to the village. Shortly after, the men were fixing traps for wolves when the young man was placing the meat under the log, when it caught his wrist.  He couldn't release it and when his friends finally heard him, they found his wrist had been broken. Then the young man went to the butte and saw engraved on the wall a woman holder in her hand a pole with beef that had been broken in two. He returned to camp and reported the markings. The next day, a herd of buffalo came to the village and many were killed except for the woman holding the pole. Ever since, the Indians paid weekly visits to the butte and considered the butte a prophet of the tribe. 

The Wonderful Turtle

Near the Chippewa village lay a large lake where an enormous turtle lived, but he wasn't an ordinary turtle. He would come out of his home and visit his Indian neighbors. The chief often had the turtle help him make decisions for he was very wise. One day there was a great misunderstanding between the tribes and he called Mr. Turtle to help his solve the problem. The turtle came and listened to both sides and came to a conclusion in favor of both. The whole tribe saw this as a wise decision to avoid bloodshed and they voted him as their judge. The daughter of the chief, very beautiful indeed, would marry the turtle. The turtle was prudent and wise, but she accepted him. The young men of the tribe were very jealous and they would make fun of him for his flat stomach. He explained the cause of his deformity and they saw the turtle as brave and they didn't bother him anymore. Shortly after the Sioux made an attack on the Chippewas, everyone deserted the village and the turtle could not travel as fast and was left behind. Swimming to shore, he found it was summer and he had slept all through winter. He began looking for the Chippewa camp for his wife. She was nursing a baby and when he asked to see the baby, he saw it didn't resemble him at all, making him angry. He left and went to a large lake. 

Bibliography:

Title: Sioux Legends

Author: Marie McLaughlin