Mouse Road

Mouse Road, The Great Warrior

 

When the battle was finally almost over,
All of the Mouse Road's Cheyenne brothers lay dead.

But Mouse Road has fought with such skill and
courage that his Crow enemies sent a word bringer to
his to his rifle pit.

 

 

" We will not kill you " , they said, for
" You are a brave and
honorable man, a worthy enemy.
In you we see the same traits we admire in our men.
We will draw off now while you ride away in peace.
Go, brave one".

 

 

"I will not thank you for your praise," Mouse Road replied,
"for your words are only truth and I have earned them.
I also trust your words.

But, there around me lie my comrades,
dead as stones.
I trained for war with them, learned the secrets
of the hunt with them
and bounced their children on my knee.
How will I return to my village without them?
Why would I want to?
Come and finish this sport.

I am for you."

 

 

And three more of Mouse Road's enemies were sent under
that day before the last Cheyenne brave was slain.

from Blue Panther's archives

JUDGE CLARENCE THOMAS

"Is Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas a credit to his race?" That is the question on the table.


NO is my first answer. But, upon reflection there is an importance to his legacy and life example. Clarence Thomas stood for something and against something of importance to Black Americans at the same time and has remained consistent in that stance. The credit we seem to think due us from Judge Thomas is what? If the answer to that question is obvious then he is credited with teaching us what ails our souls, and what is to be learned from him is too complex to recognize because he mirrors Black Americans in ways we don't want to admit and cannot admit. It is too hard to probe that deep into our tragedies, into our belief systems, our thinking patterns. We enjoy and like our illusions.

We embrace our tragedies and resent and run from everything and everybody that reminds us of our spiritual obligation to unlearn, evolve, and become. Clarence Thomas is important because he tells a side to our story as a people the Cheyenne saw first meeting Black folks in the 1800's. They saw Black White people. Wasicun Sapa they said. Wasicun Sapa.

These are my words. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 9.24.13


http://www.afrikanspeak.com/

DRAGON FLY Medicine

Dragonfly symbolism 

Among the Cheyenne and Dakota
by Peter J. Durkin
Whispering Wind, 1999

American Indians of the Northern plains often depicted animals with special powers on their clothing, shields, horses and tipis, in hopes of sharing some of their special qualities.  The dragonfly possessed multiple attributes that appealed to the people.  It's always a good omen when a dragonfly lands on a tipi cover; a sign that life giving water is nearby.  The dragonfly held wide meaning for the American Indians of the Plains, especially the Cheyenne and Dakota.  However, the Cheyenne did not consider dragonflies as insects.  In their classification of the cosmos they '"consider dragonflies and butterflies to be birds, both hatched from nymphs" (More, 178).  This article will offer a brief overview of dragonfly symbolism among the Cheyenne and Dakota.

Modern biology classifies dragonflies in the order Odanata which includes both damselflies and dragonflies, often nicknamed "mosquito hawk" because of their voracious appetite for mosquitoes and black flies.  Dragonflies have been traced on earth some 300 million years to the Carboniferous era, and "giant dragonflies with the wingspan of a hawk were dinosaurs' contemporaries" (Brody, 7).  The dragonfly possesses 360 vision, can take off at 35 miles per hour; they weave, hover, and can fly backwards.  Incredibly, each of their four wings can operate independently under direct muscular control.  This maneuverability has made the dragonfly a superb feeding machine.  "They are as close to being the perfect predator as anything on earth.  

When you're that good, there's no pressure to change" says Dr. Donald G. Huggins, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Kansas (Brody, 10).  There are more than 4,950 species throughout the world with about 450 species in the US and Canada (Arnett,76).  The blue dragonfly was considered an especially mysterious creature among the Cheyenne.  

Peter J. Powell reported that "The blue dragonflies, who come from the blue waters, symbolize protection from death.  So it is that blue dragonflies were painted upon the covers of shields or lodges, and on the bags and parfleche boxes in which sacred clothing or objects were kept" (Powell, 845).

Dragonflies, which are strong fliers, form circling swarms over aquatic ecosystems in their predatory search for smaller insects, especially mosquitoes.  These funnel shaped configurations or "whirlwinds" are important symbols in Cheyenne religion and "these swarms are helpful to the people, they often warned of approaching enemies or indicated a good direction in which to travel" (Powell, 845).

Individual warriors often adorned themselves with the dragonfly image.  "The image of the dragonfly was often used by warriors throughout the Plains because dragonflies are quick and are difficult to kill, and when they fly near the ground they create dust that makes them hard to see" (Maurer, 140).  Their horses were likewise painted with dragonflies, an image reflecting the avoidance of danger.  For example, one pictograph is described as follows:  "A yellow horse with clipped ears is painted with dragonflies, recognizable by the long needle-like bodies and double sets of wings.  A powerful creature who darts about and seems always to evade capture, the dragonfly is an appropriate emblem for a war pony" (Berlo, 196).  Indeed, the Dakota said the dragonfly possessed the ability to avoid all danger, the dragonfly "can not be hit by man or animal, neither can the thunder injure it" (Wissler, 261)..............

Knowledge of dragonflies or other species is regarded as "property" of men who have gained it and are qualified to discuss it.  Because of all these attributes, it is not surprising to see the dragonfly as a symbol on Ghost Dance apparel as well.  In the attempt to be protected, especially from bullets, the dragonfly would be worn "invoking for the wearer the associative power of the insects darting flight" (Maurer, 175).

While the dragonfly is enjoying an upsurge in modern-day interest, the record of respect it enjoyed among the American Indians of the Northern Plains, past and present, can be observed in a rich and diverse historical record of artifacts and ceremonies.

Reposted with permission Grandfather Cro

ENOUGH is ENOUGH

a Cheyenne story

One Cheyenne man of long ago had a pointed leg. By running and jumping against trees he made his leg stick in them. When he said the magic word, he dropped again to the ground. Sometimes on a hot day he would stick himself high on the tree trunk for greater shade. However, he knew he could not do this trick more than four times in one day. 

A white man came along, saw him perform, and cried out, "Brother, sharpen my leg!" Cheyenne man said, "That's not too hard. I can sharpen your leg." So the white man stood on a large log, and with an axe the Cheyenne sharpened his leg. "But you must remember never to perform your trick more than four times in one day, and keep exact count." 

White man then went down toward the river and saw a large tree growing on the bank. Toward this he ran, jumped, and thrust his leg into the tree, where it stuck. He called himself back to the ground. Again he jumped against another tree, but only counted one. The third time he only counted two. The fourth time, birds and animals stood by and watched as the white man jumped high and pushed his leg on the tree, up to his knee. But he only counted three. 

Then coyotes, wolves, and other animals came to see him. Some asked, "How did the white man learn the trick?" They begged him to show them, so they could stick themselves to trees at night. The white man became even prouder from all of this admiration, and the fifth time he ran harder, jumped higher, and half his thigh entered the tree and there he stuck fast. Then he counted four. 

He called and called to bring himself down to the ground again, but he still stuck fast. He called out all night and the next day-but nothing helped him. He asked his animal friends to find the Cheyenne who had taught him the trick, but no one knew whom to look for. The white man had forgotten the secret of freeing himself, and after many days stuck in the tree, he starved to death.

Taken from George Bird Grinell. Journal of American Folklore 13 [1900 page 169] 

Wasicun Sapa

New York woman smoking a cigarette in 2007 by the Sartorialist !!!!

“I have long been baffled by the notion of Black Americans finding and speaking their language as if there is one lost somewhere. In the 1960's it, the notion, awoke something deep within that generation. Back in the 1920's there was a move towards those kinds of discoveries, but there has been no significant advancement towards that end. During the years of slavery history reports the efforts of Africans to keep their languages on the Southern plantations. Each generation had its own challenges, and each generation lost a bit more until it appears to be a glimmer overshadowed by an urgent need to be validated by White Americans. The Cheyenne met Blacks in the late 1800's and called them, in their own tongue, Wasicun Sapa, Black White People. The Cheyenne saw something very clear today's Black American apparently does not, or cannot see…” – Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories

New York man's style reminiscent of Thelonious Monk by the Sartorialist in 2007

How the First White Man Came to the Cheyenne

The grandfathers have told several versions of this story for many generations. It is a simple, straightforward story revealing the kind, giving, open and free spirited character of the people prior to the invasion of vast hordes of greedy white men.



Many generations ago during the hot summer, the Cheyenne camped along the cool flowing tributaries of the upper Missouri River. Awakening from their sleep one morning, Gray Wolf and his wife saw a strange creature lying in their tipi. The woman was frightened and was about to cry out, but Gray Wolf quieted her and went closer to the strange being, which was slowly rising to a sitting position. Gray Wolf saw that this creature was a man who looked something like a Cheyenne, but he had a white skin and hair on his face and spoke in a strange language.


The man was so thin that he had scarcely any flesh on his bones, and for clothing he wore were in shreds. ‘He near death.’ Gray Wolf gave him something to eat, but at first the man was so weak and exhausted that his stomach would not hold it, yet after a little while he got stronger.


Gray Wolf told his wife to keep the presence of the stranger a secret. He feared that some of his tribesmen would kill the man, believing that he might bring them bad luck. A few days later, the chiefs sent a crier through the camp, announcing that the Cheyenne would be moving camp the next day.


Knowing that the stranger could no longer be concealed, Gray Wolf revealed his presence. "I have taken him for my brother," he said. "If anyone harms him I will punish them. The Great Spirit must have sent this man to us for a good reason."


And so Gray Wolf clothed him, fed him, and led him back to life. After a time the man learned to speak a few words of Cheyenne. He also learned the sign language of the tribe. In this way he was able to tell Gray Wolf that he came from the East, the land of the rising sun. "With five other men I started out to trap the beaver. We were on a lake in a boat when the wind came up suddenly, overturned the boat, and drowned all the others. After I struggled ashore, I wandered about, living on roots and berries until all my clothes were worn and scratched off. Half blind, and nearly dead with hunger, I wandered into your camp and fell into your tipi."


For the hundredth time the man thanked Gray Wolf for saving his life, and then he continued: "For many days I have watched how hard you and your wife work. To make a fire you must use two sticks. Your wife uses porcupine quills for needles in sewing. She uses stone vessels to cook in, and you use stone knives and stone points for your spears and arrows. You must work hard and long to make these things. My people, who are powerful and numerous, have many wonderful things that the Cheyenne do not have."


"What are these wonderful things?" Gray Wolf asked.


"Needles that keep their points forever for your wife to sew with. Sharp knives of metal to cut with, steel to make a fire with, and a weapon that uses a black powder and sends hard pieces of metal straight at any wild game you need to kill. I can bring you these things if you and your people will help me get beaver skins. My people are fond of beaver fur, and they will give me these wonderful things for you in exchange."


Gray Wolf told his tribesmen what the stranger had said, and they collected many beaver skins for him. The skins were loaded on several travois drawn by dogs, and one day the stranger went off toward the rising sun with his dog-train of furs.


Several moons passed, and Gray Wolf began to wonder if the stranger would ever return. Then on a bright sun shiny morning, the Cheyenne heard a noise like a clap of thunder near their camp. On a bluff to the east, they saw a man wearing a red cap and red coat. Above his head he lifted a strange weapon that resembled a black stick, and then he shouted a greeting to them in their own language.


As he approached, they recognized him as the stranger who had taken away the beaver skins. He had brought the Cheyenne all the wonderful things he had told about--knives, needles and steel -- and he showed the people how to use them. Then he showed them the black powder and hollow iron with which he had made the noise like thunder. And that is how the first white man came to the Cheyenne - Indigenous Peoples' Literature

from archives of Glen Welker