Come on ==grab you fishing pole lets go to the river==maybe I can stuff some cooked bacon and pones in a bag just so we don't have to quit early==the Walleyes are hitting right now SHADOW BEAR

Shadow Bear, I think we are all here, but just waiting to see if anyone shows up. For the longest time I thought the site was down but BP continued to post:) those wonderful stories. I've been working so much that I can barely function and I haven't been writing to even those in my address book. It's just come home, sleep, get up go to work over and over and over. I have Tues. off work this week so am looking forward to getting some much needed work down around my place. I hear snow may be moving into the area (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) come this Thursday. I am ready for some warmer weather. I know it is really hard to shake that flu bug so hope you continue on to a full recovery. Take it easy, don't over do. Pace yourself and don't be getting around crowds and take a relapse. My prayers are with you and all those here who might not be feeling so chipper. moonsister ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ----- Original Message ----- From: "shadowbear270" <shadowbear270@webtv.net> To: <CHEROKEE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 6:31 PM Subject: [Cherokee Circle] Flu > Let me tell you don't get it==Still feel; funny and I don't mean ha-ha > funny > > SHADOW BEAR > >

GÉHA, The Friend of a Deserted Boy - Seneca Character GÉHA - Wind A PARTY of Senecas went hunting. When they had killed many deer and were ready to go home, they didn't know what to do with a little boy whose father and mother had died while they had been in the forest. The hunters had so much meat they couldn't carry the boy and he couldn't walk so far. At last they decided to leave him in the cabin, leaving plenty of wood and meat. The child cried bitterly and begged to go, but they left him. When the hunters reached home and the report went around that the child had been left in the woods, every one thought it would die. After some days the chief sent a man to see if the child was alive. As soon as the messenger was outside of the village, he changed himself into a bear. The little boy kept a fire, cooked meat, and lived. One cold night he began to cry; the meat was almost gone and the wood was burned up. While crying he heard some one come to the door. After making a noise, as if shaking A snow, a man said, "Little boy, you think you are going I o die, you are not. I am going to take care of you. The chief has sent a man to see if you are alive, but he will not be here for a long time. I will be your friend. When you want me think of me and I will come." The man went away and the boy fell asleep. In the morning he found a pile of wood at the door, and on a low limb of a tree hung a piece of deer meat. Now he was happy; he built a fire and cooked some of the meat. The next night the man came again; he stopped at the door, and shook his feet, as if shaking off snow, but he didn't go in. He called to the boy, and said, "The man who is coming won't help you; he has taken the form of a bear. He will be here at midday, to-morrow. In the morning you will find, between the roots of the old stump near the door, a rusty knife. Sharpen it and kill the bear. When you hear him coming, run to the spring where the tall hemlock stands, and climb the tree; the bear will follow you. Slip down on the other side and as he is coming down stab him in the forefoot." The boy did as the voice told him. When he had killed the bear, he went back to the cabin. The next night the stranger came to the door, and said, "My friend, men are coming for you. Go home with them, they will be good to you. The chief will adopt you and you will become the swiftest runner living, but don't be proud and boast of your power. I am your friend but you will never see me. I am the one who is called GÉHA (Wind). If you are in trouble think of me and I will help you. When the men come they will ask about the messenger the chief sent, you will say, 'I haven't seen a man, but one morning a strong wind went through the woods.'" The next day four men came with food for the boy. They saw that he had wood and meat, but no bow or arrow. He went home with the men and the chief had him brought to his own house, for the child's relatives were all dead. The chief said, "You will be my grandson and live with me." When they gave the boy a bow and arrows, he asked for a club. "What do you want of a club?" asked the chief. "To kill deer." The chief had a club made for him. He chased deer, overtook them hit them on the head and killed them. He killed bird's before they could fly away. GÉHA had told him he would be the swiftest runner living and he always had that in mind. When he saw boys running he laughed, and thought, "That running is nothing. I can run faster than any boy living." One night some one struck on the door near the boy's bed and a man called out, "Who is in here?" "I am," answered the boy. "Well, I challenge you to run a race with me. You think you are the swiftest runner in the world. We will start from the second mountain and run from sunrise till sundown." In the morning the boy asked the chief, whom he called Grandfather," if in the night he had heard some one talking outside. "I did not," answered the chief. "Well, a man came and challenged me to run a race," "I don't think it was a man," said the chief; "it must have been a beast and I am afraid you will get killed." "I've been challenged, and I must go," said the boy. "I must be ready the third morning from this." He made ten pairs of moccasins, put flint in his arrows, and parched corn to eat. On the third morning he started, When near the appointed place he saw a dark mass. At first he didn't know what it was, but when daylight came he saw it was a great bear. When the sun appeared, the bear said, "Now, we'll start." He leaped across the valley and on to the first mountain; where he struck the ground sank. He leaped from mountain to mountain, but the boy had to run through the valleys. At midday the bear was ahead and the boy thought, am lost. I wish my friend GÉHA would come." That minute GÉHA came as a whirlwind and carried the boy far ahead of the bear. As GÉHA traveled he threw down trees and that delayed the bear for it had to jump over them. At last the bear's strength gave out and he called to the boy that he might have his life. The boy killed the bear, then he burned tobacco to friend GÉHA and asked to be taken home, GÉHA carried him in a whirlwind and put him down in front of the chief's house. "I have come, Grandfather," said the boy, "I have killed bear. You must send men to bring it home." The chief sent eight men. They were twenty days going and twenty returning, the boy wasn't half a day, for GÉHA had carried him over the woods and under the clouds. Seneca Indian Myths by Jeremiah Curtin [1922] From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.

Hello: Shadow bear So glad to hear from you. about three days now no mail on this site. Don't know what is wrong. Maybe everyone else has flu as well. I pray for you to get back up and about. It is hard to be sick. The flu. did you not get a shot?? I did. They tell me I have emphzema and so I need the shot every year and a pnemonia shot to. Guess, that what getting old does to me. HA HA. My husky is starting to shed, so I know spring is soon. My animals always tell me these things. But, I wish my husky would tell me not so much. When she sheds she really sheds. Glad you are better, but do take it easy for awhile, don't go to fast. Let your healing come slow and sure. Your friend Barb sc

Hi Shadow Bear........ I've been busy trying to get my house cleaned up as Spring is sneaking up on me & soon I'll be spending many hours outside trying to get my yard cleaned up (geese, dogs, Pine tree) & the garden Everyone's been quiet so I've only concentrated on the chatty list's I'm on :) And focusing on Horse rescue's & such. Alli > Where did every go?I just turned this thing on== I thought there would > be a million letters ==surprise== none===First day they let me get > up==found some wild onions=that means spring is not far away > > SHADOW BEAR > > > ==== CHEROKEE Mailing List ==== > <<>OPEN forum to all Cherokee topics - except Genealogy<>> > <>Culture-History-Language-Folk lore and Truths<> > Good Manners & Language is required to be on the list > ALL the links you will need to sub and unsub or contact listowner below > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Ethnic-Native/CHEROKEE.html > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx >

Let me tell you don't get it==Still feel; funny and I don't mean ha-ha funny SHADOW BEAR

Where did every go?I just turned this thing on== I thought there would be a million letters ==surprise== none===First day they let me get up==found some wild onions=that means spring is not far away SHADOW BEAR

Cherokee River Indian Community (CRIC) Presents 2006 Our 6th Annual festival: Kent Ware, Sr. Memorial Homecoming Indian Festival Honoring our Elders that have passed; Our veterans; & our Children March 31 - April 2nd, with Thursday the 30th as setup day for vendors and campers Gates open every day at 8 AM. Activities 9 AM until it is over. Featuring Indian Crafts, Native Food, Intertribal dancing, storytelling, demonstrations, flute playing, blowgun shoot, horseshoes, gold panning, games, vendors & more. Head Staff M.C: TBA Head Man: TBA Arena Director: Charles Lahay Head Lady: TBA Host Drum: Aracoma Lighting Head Veterans: Gene Bagwell, Juanita Lusk & Vernon Jay All Drums Welcome All Dancers Invited Vendors please call, e-mail or write for application. Vendor spaces $40.00 per day or $90.00 for the weekend. A special invitation to all mental health consumers and families, please come enjoy our booth. "HCWC" All Veterans, Dancers, Drums, youth groups and the public are invited to enjoy this weekend with us. Friday is kid's day; all children arriving by school bus or van get in free. Friday night: Trade Blanket, bond fire, bingo Special Door Prizes set aside for our dancers. All dancers are most welcome. Free Primitive Camping A special invitation to all mental health consumers and families, please come enjoy our booth. "HCWC" We are located between Moulton & Double Springs, AL on Hwy 33, between the 15 and 16-mile markers. Moulton is located south of and between Decatur and Florence in the Northwest part of AL at the cross roads of State Hwy. 33, Hwy 24 & Hwy 157. If coming from Interstate 65, exit at the Hartselle, AL onto Hwy 36, go west about 20+ miles and turn left (south) on Hwy 33. Follow the mile markers until you are about ½-mile pass the 16ml.mkr. Turn left (east) at the CRIC sign go 3 miles. Call for more directions Admission $3.00 per day or $5.00 per weekend to help pay The cost of utilities and clean up Dancers in or with regalia Free, Children 12 and under free Seniors 65 and older free Prizes, Bingo, Fun, Fun, fun for everyone Horseshoe pitching contest sponsored by SilverWolf Horse Sanctuary. $1.00 fee, prizes Phone: 256-292-3584 Cell: 256-566-3818 Fax: 256-292-3470 E-mail: kbagwell@cric.org Web Site: www.cric.org Please Foward

Cherokee River Indian Community (CRIC) Presents 2006 Our 6th Annual festival: Kent Ware, Sr. Memorial Homecoming Indian Festival Honoring our Elders that have passed; Our veterans; & our Children March 31 - April 2nd, with Thursday the 30th as setup day for vendors and campers Gates open every day at 8 AM. Activities 9 AM until it is over. Featuring Indian Crafts, Native Food, Intertribal dancing, storytelling, demonstrations, flute playing, blowgun shoot, horseshoes, gold panning, games, vendors & more. Head Staff M.C: TBA Head Man: TBA Arena Director: Charles Lahay Head Lady: TBA Host Drum: Aracoma Lighting Head Veterans: Gene Bagwell, Juanita Lusk & Vernon Jay All Drums Welcome All Dancers Invited Vendors please call, e-mail or write for application. Vendor spaces $40.00 per day or $90.00 for the weekend. A special invitation to all mental health consumers and families, please come enjoy our booth. "HCWC" All Veterans, Dancers, Drums, youth groups and the public are invited to enjoy this weekend with us. Friday is kid's day; all children arriving by school bus or van get in free. Friday night: Trade Blanket, bond fire, bingo Special Door Prizes set aside for our dancers. All dancers are most welcome. Free Primitive Camping A special invitation to all mental health consumers and families, please come enjoy our booth. "HCWC" We are located between Moulton & Double Springs, AL on Hwy 33, between the 15 and 16-mile markers. Moulton is located south of and between Decatur and Florence in the Northwest part of AL at the cross roads of State Hwy. 33, Hwy 24 & Hwy 157. If coming from Interstate 65, exit at the Hartselle, AL onto Hwy 36, go west about 20+ miles and turn left (south) on Hwy 33. Follow the mile markers until you are about ½-mile pass the 16ml.mkr. Turn left (east) at the CRIC sign go 3 miles. Call for more directions Admission $3.00 per day or $5.00 per weekend to help pay The cost of utilities and clean up Dancers in or with regalia Free, Children 12 and under free Seniors 65 and older free Prizes, Bingo, Fun, Fun, fun for everyone Horseshoe pitching contest sponsored by SilverWolf Horse Sanctuary. $1.00 fee, prizes Phone: 256-292-3584 Cell: 256-566-3818 Fax: 256-292-3470 E-mail: kbagwell@cric.org Web Site: www.cric.org Please Foward

TWO WOLVES... Two Wolves One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

GÉHA Aids a Deserted Boy - Seneca [Told by John Jimison] Characters GÉHA - Wind NYAGWAIHE -- The Ancient of Bears IN a cabin at the edge of a village lived a grandmother and her grandson. The grandmother was old and the grandson was young and they were so poor that they ate scraps given them by their neighbors. Once, when a hunting party was starting off, the little boy followed it. The hunters traveled five days, then camped and built a bark hut. The boy was too young to hunt; he went out with the men but never killed anything. They called him OTHWÉNSAWÉNHDE from the part of a deer they threw out for him to eat--"the small liver by the side of the large one." When the hunters were ready to start for home, they agreed to leave the boy, not letting him know that they were going; they wanted to travel fast. One day when he came back to the hut, the boy found only the pile of hair left from the skins they had dressed. The men had taken everything and gone. The child didn't know the way home. That night he slept on the pile of hair; the next morning be found the chin bone of a deer and getting out the marrow ate it. When it was night again, he heard somebody coming; the door opened, and a man said, "Well, OTHWÉNSAWÉNHDE, you think you are going to die, but you are not. Get your knife and put it on the stump outside the door, and in the morning go and bring it in. You must hunt, to-morrow." The stranger, who was GÉHA (Wind), went away. The boy had an old basswood knife; he carried it out and put it on the stump. Early in the morning he went to the stump and there he found a new knife. He took his bow and arrow and knife and went into the woods. He saw a deer, ran after it, overtook it and killed it with his knife. Then he threw his bow and arrow away and afterward when hunting used his knife. He killed large game and had plenty of meat. One night he heard somebody coming, then a man pushed open the door, and said, calling him by name, "I am here to tell you that NYAGWAIHE is coming to kill you. To-night put your knife on the stump outside, get it in the morning and go to the top of the tall elm tree at the end of the hut; hide in the branches and wait. NYAGWAIHE will climb the tree and look over into the hut to see if you are there. When he is coming down backwards, stick your knife into a small white spot in his right hind foot; he will fall to the ground, dead. Then pile up wood around the body and burn it." GÉHA went out. The boy put his knife on the stump and in the morning the old knife was gone and a larger and longer knife was in its place. He picked up the knife and climbing the tree hid in the branches. Just at daybreak he heard a terrible roar, and right away NYAGWAIHE was climbing the tree. When he got to the top, he looked into the smoke-hole of the hut, and said, "There is a fire; the boy must be there," and he started down the tree. The boy saw the white spot and stuck his knife into it; NYAGWAIHE fell to the ground, dead. That night, just as the boy was going to sleep, he heard somebody coming. GÉHA opened the door, and said, "I came to tell you that those hunters who left you here are starving. Ten days from now they will come back to the hut. You must be kind to them. Don't feel proud or boast of your swiftness. You felt proud, that is why NYAGWAIHE came to destroy you, "Don't say that there is no one who can outrun you, When they come tell them to help themselves to the meat you have dried. When they are ready to go home, go with them; tell every man to take as much meat as he can carry. Put your knife on the stump." GÉHA went away. The boy put his knife, which was made of basswood, on the stump. In the morning the knife was shorter and smaller. During the next nine days the boy killed many deer, The tenth day he stayed in the hut, watching and listening. At midday the hunters came. When they saw how much; meat the boy had, they asked forgiveness. He told them to eat as much meat as they wanted, then take as much home as each man could carry. They took half of the meat. The boy packed up the other half, shook it till it was as light a pack as any one of the men was carrying, then started on behind them. When they got back to the village, the boy went to his grandmother's house and threw down his pack. That minute it came to its natural size. "Oh," cried his grandmother, "I am happy now. The hunters said you were lost in the woods. But you are back and have brought plenty of meat." "Go, grandmother," said the boy, "and ask all the women to come and get as much meat as they can carry away." The women came and carried away many loads of meat, but the meat in the house wasn't diminished. There seemed to be as much as before any was taken. Now a chief in the East challenged the chief of the village to run a race; whichever side was beaten all the men on that side would lose their lives. The chief called the people together to decide on a runner. The boy said, "I will run with the man you choose and you can decide which is the better runner." The chief was pleased. He chose a man and the two stood apart. Other men also volunteered to run. The chief raised his hand, then dropped it, and the runners started, that minute the boy was out of sight, then off at the end of the opening a small dark object was seen. The other runner was only half way across the opening when the boy was back at the starting place. Then he began to boast that nobody could outrun him; he forgot GÉHA's warning. There was a valley that went across the world; that valley was to be the race course. At the edge of the world was a rock that stood up like the trunk of a huge tree. The rock was white flint and it shone brightly; there was no other rock like it. The runner who reached the rock was to bring back a chip of it. The runner for the challenging chief was tall and thin. At midday the sign was given and the runners started--the boy ran on the ground, his opponent ran in the air. The boy used his full power and soon came back with a piece of the stone in his hand. After a long time the other runner came--the challenging chief and his men lost their heads. The boy was proud and boastful. That night, just as he was falling asleep, he heard somebody coming. The door opened and a man said, "Come out, I want to talk to you." He went out. "I challenge you to a foot race," said the man. "You must wager the heads of all the people of the village, except yourself, against my head. I have no people. We will start at daylight and run till the sun reaches the middle of the Blue." "Very well," said the boy. The man disappeared. The boy told his grandmother what had happened and she started off to notify the people that their heads had been put up as a wager. While she was gone GÉHA came to the boy, and said, "I warned you not to boast and told you what would happen if you did. Now you must do your best or you will be beaten. You must help yourself. I am going home." The people assembled and the challenger came. Just as the sun rose, word was given and the runners started. As the challenger ran he threw up so much dirt that the boy was thrown back, and he fell. The people couldn't see the runner; but off in the distance was a NYAGWAIHE. As the boy fell, GÉHA was there, and said, "Get up and start! Help yourself and I'll help you." The boy ran to the first knoll, looked but didn't see his opponent, reached the second knoll and saw him on a knoll far ahead, then saw him on the fourth knoll. Now a Whirlwind took the boy up and, like a flash of lightning, put him at the runner's heels. He called out, "Hurry, or I'll overtake you!" The runner used all his strength and soon was out of sight. Again a Whirlwind picked up the boy and put him at the heels of his opponent. He shot twice and called out, "Do your best or I'll beat you!" The runner couldn't get out of sight, he was losing strength. Again a Whirlwind came and as it picked the boy up a voice said, out of the cloud, "This is the last time I'll help you." Whirlwind put the boy down at his opponent's heels; the runner, now in his real form, the form of a NYAGWAIHE, said, "You have overtaken me and won the race." Exactly at midday the boy cut off the Bear's head, and taking it started for home. When over three hills he was tired; he hung the head on the limb of a tree and taking the tongue went on. He went over two other hills and was tired; he hung the tongue on the limb of a tree and went on over other hills and knolls. When he reached home and told the people that he had killed his opponent, they said, "We will go and see the body." "You'll find it over the tenth hill. I tried to bring back the head, but seven hills from here I was tired and I hung it on the limb of a tree. I took the tongue, but when I came to the fifth hill I was tired and I hung the tongue on the limb of a tree." It took a long time for the people to get to the first hill. When they had traveled five Summers and five Winters, they came to a hill. On the top of the hill was a tree, and on the tree was the tongue of the NYAGWAIHE. The ground around the tree was trampled down; thousands of wild beasts had been there and tried to get the tongue, the men looked at it and went on. When they had traveled two more Summers and two more Winters they came to the seventh hill and found a skull, all that was left of the head. The ground around the tree was trampled down: thousands of wild beasts had been there and tried to get the head. They traveled three Summers and three Winters, then reached the tenth hill. For a great distance around the ground had been made bare and hard by the trampling of wild beasts. The place where NYAGWAIHE fell had become a deer-lick, not a bone or a trace of the body was left. The men were ten years going home. The boy aided by GÉHA had made the journey between sunrise and midday. Seneca Indian Myths by Jeremiah Curtin [1922] From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.

Buffalo Field Campaign Update from the Field February 9, 2006 ------------------------------ View Exclusive Video Footage & Photos: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org ------------------------------ Make a Secure Online Donation to BFC: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/pcshop2/bazaar.html ------------------------------ Support BFC by offering or purchasing auction items: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/bisonmerchandise/bisonauction.html ------------------------------ Why are they killing the last wild buffalo?: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/issueinbrief.html ------------------------------ In this issue: * Update from the Field * Thank You for Making those Calls! * Quarantine Comments Due Monday, February 13 * Last Words ------------------------------ * Update from the Field The Buffalo Nations are coming! Over the weekend, we were blessed with the presence of BFC co-founder, Lakota elder Rosalie Little Thunder. She and her good friend Richard, a Crow tribal member, came to join us on the front lines in Gardiner where so many buffalo have recently been sent to slaughter by the National Park Service. We took part in a gathering of nations, brought together by the buffalo with people from the Blackfeet, Crow, Lakota, Navajo, and Nez Perce tribes. We strengthened our resolve to defend the sacred buffalo, and made clear our intentions to combine our efforts and raise our voices as one in the name of justice for the sacred Buffalo Nation. The Nez Perce came to reawaken their relationship with the the buffalo. Exercising their 1855 treaty rights for the first time in 140 years, the Nez Perce came to their traditional hunting grounds to hunt the wild buffalo. Five buffalo were taken by the Nez Perce, actions understood to be outside of Montana's reinstated hunt. This hunt was done respectfully and with good intentions. Elders and youth joined together in a sacred way to reinsert themselves in the fate and future of the last wild buffalo. Theirs is not only to harvest the buffalo, not just to reclaim hunting rights, but to become a major player in the buffalo's future. As we all do, the Nez Perce see that the government is not doing good for the buffalo, that government actions lack respect and they dishonor the sacred nature of the buffalo. The Nez Perce have been paying close attention and realize that things must change. With their hunt, they have made a powerful statement and in sacrificing these five buffalo, they have taken on the responsibility to be their champions once again. Rosalie let no one forget that to take from the buffalo something more must be given back to them. While Nations gathered in Gardiner, a different reawakening was taking place in the small community of Livingston, Montana. Monica RavenHeart is a brave woman who takes positive action. After hearing about the Park Service's slaughter, in less than a week and a half she organized "A Sacred Drumming for Life." At least 100 people heard Monica's call and gathered at the Livingston Depot, drums in hand, to celebrate hoof-beat and heart-beat. We honored the mighty grizzly bear, we honored the courageous buffalo. We told stories and we drummed. We drummed loud and long. In the drumming you could feel and hear and know that the Buffalo Nation was coming. You knew that the government was not as powerful as the love and honor that the people have for the wild. The heartbeat of the bear was pounding, the hoof-beat of the buffalo thundering. Visualizing, we drummed. We pounded the buffalo and bear into reawakening and returning in strength of numbers, strength of heart, awesome power that mere humans can never take away, but we humans can celebrate and welcome. And we did. Sunday we learned that the Blackfeet had taken a buffalo, their second in Montana's hunt. We gathered together at the kill site, forming a circle of many cultures. Rosalie and Richard led us in prayer and song. We prayed for the buffalo and their relatives, for the spirit of the one who died, and for the future of the wild herds. The next day, Mike and Ken visited the kill site and found an amazing thing: seven bulls walking in a circle around where their brother had fallen. In their own ceremony, the buffalo walked and sniffed and grunted. In their buffalo way, they addressed Mike and Ken; as the buffalo's ceremony ended, two bulls walked within feet of them and stared into and through them as if to acknowledge all that had transpired over the few short days. Then they were on their way. On Tuesday evening, here in West Yellowstone, just before dark, nine buffalo walked down the road in front of our cabin. These nine buffalo were on their way to ancestral lands that they have been kept from for decades: the Madison Valley. This mixed group was sometimes lead by a baby buffalo. Maybe he had a vision. They walked west with determination. Agents spotted them as night fell and pushed them off the highway into a housing area where they were left for the night. But the buffalo had other plans. By morning, our patrols found them ten miles further west, closer to their destination. They had made it all the way to Beaver Creek, just a few miles from the lush Madison Valley and a vast expanse of good grass and little snow where there are no cattle. But the government must control. They came in force with trucks, snowmobiles and ATVs. They trapped the nine buffalo on the side of the road, surrounding them with their machines. The buffalo knew their journey was over. They were trapped, but not defeated. This was a major victory for the buffalo, even though the government halted it. The buffalo almost made it to the Madison Valley! We should have been parading with them, in celebration. Instead we had to document as the Department of Livestock (DOL), MT Fish Wildlife & Parks (FWP), US Forest Service, US Park Service and area law enforcement surrounded the buffalo and sealed their fate. After long waiting, a DOL truck with a livestock trailer pulled up. Behind it, a truck with cattle corral pieces. The agents constructed a make-shift corral and surrounded the buffalo. Then they hooted and hollered and shook noise-makers, forcing the beautiful family onto the livestock trailer. We didn't know where they would go - would they be released or would they go go slaughter? We followed the livestock trailer and it turned towards the Duck Creek Capture Facility. We thought it would be slaughter for sure. But it wasn't. The buffalo endured the trap overnight. In the morning Governor Schweitzer was consulted, and perhaps due to the pressure you have been placing on him, he urged the DOL to release the buffalo. The next morning, they were set free along the Madison River, just a few miles west of Yellowstone National Park. When we skied in to check on them, they had already started heading in their own direction, away from where the agents pushed them. Where were they going? Would they try again to make their way to the Madison Valley? They are attempting to reclaim their ancestral lands. One day they will. The drumming, the gathering, the hoof-beats, and and the heart-beats send a strong message: Change is coming! The Buffalo Nation is coming. With the Buffalo, ~ Stephany & Dan ------------------------------ *Thank You for Making those Calls! Last Thursday's National Call-in Day was a success! Thank you to everyone who participated. When we spoke with the Park Service, they said it was all they could do to keep up with our phone calls. The Church Universal & Triumphant was also overwhelmed with calls. Great work, everyone! Change can take a long time, but it is coming. Your persistence, like that of the buffalo, is strong. The pressure that together we've placed on the Governor encouraged him to make better decisions for the buffalo. He is trying to do the right thing, and you are helping him make these decisions. The same will happen with the National Park Service. When we join our voices together and let the people harming the buffalo know that this is not acceptable and that it must stop, it will. We must continue this persistence. Things may get worse before they get better, but change is coming. As the buffalo continue to reclaim their ancestral grounds, their native habitat, we must continue to place pressure on those who try to stop them. Thank you for being a voice for the last wild buffalo! Help keep the pressure on the powers-that-be and don't let up until the wild buffalo are set free! Yellowstone National Park: 307-344-2022 Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer: 406-444-3111 Church Universal & Triumphant: 800-245-5445 ------------------------------ * Quarantine Comments Due Monday, February 13 Just a few miles north of Yellowstone National Park, near Gardiner, is the Corwin Springs quarantine facility. Here you can see tall electric fences, doubled in strength, surrounding 100 wild baby buffalo that are being held prisoner. The young buffalo are tagged like livestock. They eat hay instead of fresh grass. They are caged. They will be handled, experimented on, forced to breed and then most will be slaughtered. Seeing these little ones over the weekend broke our hearts. They were so alone; their elders absent, no big brothers or sisters, moms, aunts or uncles. All of their relatives have been sent to slaughter. These baby buffalo are being held in confinement because the state and federal governments have a joint plan to create a disease-free herd of buffalo with an intent to release them as "wild" onto yet unnamed public and tribal lands. What an insult to the wild buffalo and to the First Nations who hold them sacred. It's not only buffalo that suffer the presence of the quarantine facility. This past November, BFC patrols observed the presence of at least eight Bighorn Sheep within the upper pasture of the facility . According to FWP, the Bighorns have been using the area since before FWP took over the facility. Last week, agents unsuccessfully attempted to haze the Bighorns out of the pasture. Yesterday, they unsuccessfully attempted to net capture and remove the Bighorns from the facility. As the presence of Bighorn Sheep in the quarantine facility suggests, studies of this nature are simply not appropriate for this region. The agencies have demonstrated that they cannot meet their goals of maintaining an isolated space to conduct the quarantine experiment. Furthermore, there are significant impacts on other migratory wildlife that bring into questions the assumptions of the initial environmental review. While we strongly oppose the purpose and need for bison quarantine as well as the conditions under which the study is carried out, it is clear that the locations chosen are inappropriate and detrimental to the migratory wildlife that inhabit the Gardiner region. The agencies should immediately cease and desist from operating this facility and return the captive bison to Yellowstone National Park for release. If you have not already submitted comments on the proposed Phase II and III expansion of the bison quarantine experiment, please consider incorporating the above information into your comments. Thank you for taking action for the last wild buffalo! More information on bison quarantine is available on our web site at http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/actionalerts.html#bisonquarantine. You can also email Josh at bfc-advocate@wildrockies.org with questions. ------------------------------ * Last Words Why, when we come to staring in at the edges of the land, Do we see only a wilderness separating us from what we desire? The buffalo tread their migration enduring, they're slow, they're deliberate, Like the ancients in the desert toward the promised land Their pilgrimage continues long and long and long through seasons passing into new ages through valleys of shadow But they know: They are already in the temple. They are already home. - Owen Lubozynski, BFC Volunteer, 2006 ------------------------------ -- Media & Outreach Buffalo Field Campaign P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 bfc-media@wildrockies.org http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org BFC is the only group working in the field every day to defend the last wild herd of buffalo in America. STOP THE HUNT! Call Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer: Phone #: 406-444-3111 Stay informed! Get our weekly email Updates from the Field: Send your email address to Stop-the-Slaughter-on@vortex.wildrockies.org BOYCOTT BEEF! It's what's killing wild buffalo. Speak Out! Contact politicians and involved agencies today! http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/politicians.html Write a Letter to the Editor of key newspapers! http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html Help the buffalo by recycling your used cell phones & printer cartridges! It's free and easy. http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/support/recycleprint.html. ************************************************************************ List-Subscribe: mailto:Stop-the-Slaughter-on@vortex.wildrockies.org List-Unsubscribe: mailto:Stop-the-Slaughter-off@vortex.wildrockies.org News Submissions or Problems: mailto:bfc-media@wildrockies.org

Gauô' - Tshimshian A very long time ago there were two villages (one) on each side of the great Nass River. One village was on the east side, and one village was on the west side. Both were very wealthy, and in both were many people; and (in) both were very brave warriors, and they fought much against their fellow-tribe. That was where a wealthy chieftainess lived. Her name was Gauô'. She had four sons and one daughter. The boys were very good hunters. One day they went to hunt marmots, for the marmot was very useful in those days. The four brothers staid away for two months, and only three had good luck with the animals. Only the eldest one was unlucky; and one day they went to where beavers were, and they reached the beaver-dam. Then they began to break the dam to dry [the water of] the lake. As soon as they began to break the dam, the great one broke down, and it fell on the eldest one, and he was dead. Then he lay under the broken dam. Then the three who were left over were very sad. They searched in the mud and among the broken wood. While they were searching, the youngest one went down, going right down to the house to see what the wife of his brother who was dead was doing. When the day went down, he went out of the woods to the place behind the house. Then he staid in the woods, waiting for the night to come. When it was night and it was dark, he went slowly down to a place near the house. When he came to the rear of the house, he heard in his ear secret talking at the place where the wife of his brother lay, and they laughed and whispered. Then the young man knew that a person lay with his sister-in-law. He waited until they slept. When it was midnight, they slept. Then he entered very slowly. He went to his mother. Then he wakened his mother, and the man asked his mother, "Does not a man lie near the wife of my brother?" Then his mother replied, "I don't know." Then the young man told his mother all that had happened. He said to his mother, "Don't cry! I shall kill the man who lies with my sister-in-law." Then the chieftainess cried very much. She cried aloud alg*a'lg*alg*al. Then her daughter-in-law asked her why she was crying and she said that she had dreamed that her son was dead. Then he stopped his mother. He lighted a torch of pitch-wood and slowly went towards the place where his sister-in-law lay. Then he took a large knife in his right hand and the torch in his left. He came to the place where his sister-in-law lay. When he came near, he saw the arm of the woman as a pillow of the youth who lay with her. Then the young man put down the torch. He took the man by the forehead and cut off his neck with his knife. Then he went out with the head,--the head which was covered with abalone ear-ornaments and killer-whale teeth, very expensive ones. That man whose head he had cut off was the son of the master of the other village. Then the woman took the body of the young man who had been with her, and buried it under the place where she had lain. He had also wounded her hand which had been a pillow of the young man who had been with her. The next day the hunters returned carrying what they had hunted. Then they told their people that their brother was dead under the beaver-dam; and the people cried because the man who had gone under the beaver-dam was dead. Then the head with the abalone-shells was put up on the beam over the door of the house, but the chief missed his son. Then his heart was heavy because he did not know what had happened: therefore the father said that his tribe should be without fire, and that they should wail while darkness was on them (?). Then all the people in the two towns obeyed. Only the people of one house, that of the brothers, were those who did not obey. Every morning they kindled a fire. Then the chief sent a slave across to get fire from the house of the brothers who had killed the prince who had come to the young woman. Then the slave entered, carrying that with which he was to get fire. Then he placed the end of that with which he was to get fire in the great fire of the murderers. Then he looked about in the house, but he did not see anything; but when that with which he got fire was burning, the slave took that with which he got fire and went out. When he was about to open the door, blood suddenly dripped on his instep, therefore he looked down. Behold, there was blood on his instep: therefore he suddenly shoved that with which he took fire into the snow and extinguished it. Then he entered again. Then he lighted again that with which he got fire. Then the murderer asked, "What is the matter"--"Nothing, chief. I really fell down on the ice. Therefore that with which I carried fire has been extinguished." Then he took again that with which he carried fire, and he went out slowly. Then he looked up above the doorway, and he suddenly saw the head of his master. Then he ran across. Then he threw away that with which he had taken fire, and he told his master about everything. Therefore the chief called together the great town, and they dressed in their war garments and (took) their weapons. Then they went across over the ice. Then they asked why they had done so to the young man, and the brothers said because he had done badly to their brother's wife. Then the chief asked them if they wanted to fight. The brothers agreed. They called together their own town, and the warriors met. Then there was a great battle. It lasted a very long time, and after some time the murderers were defeated. The great town of the chief won. Then they burned the town. Nothing was left except one chieftainess and her daughter, who had hidden in a cave. The name of the chieftainess was Gauô'. When everything in the town was burned up, then the chieftainess and her daughter went out from where she had hidden. Then she went inland among the trees, way in the interior. She walked about, crying and wailing on account of her people and the four youths who had perished in the war. Then she cried going about, and said, "Who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then a little bird flew suddenly towards her. "I am the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'," said the little Wren. Then the chieftainess asked him, "What can you do, son-in-law?" Then the Wren said, "When the hunter gets near an animal, I fly around." Then she said, "Let me see what you say!" Then the little Wren flew about; and the chieftainess said, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the little Wren went away slowly. Then Gauô' said again what she had said before: "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then the Humming-Bird came. "What can you do, son-in-law?" Then the Humming-Bird said, "I pick the hair of people off their heads." Then Gauô' said, "Let me see!" Then the Humming-Bird went to Gauô' and picked off her hair. Then Gauô' said, "Finish what you are doing, son-in-law! Go!" Then the Humming-Bird went away slowly. Then Gauô' shouted again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then the Sparrow came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then Gauô' asked him, "What can you do, son-in-law?" Then the little Sparrow said, "When the dawn comes, I sing and waken the sleepers." Then Gauô' said, "let me see!" Then the little Sparrow sang. His voice was beautiful. Then Gauô' said, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the little Sparrow went away slowly. Gauô' shouted again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then the Robin came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then Gauô' said, "What can you do, son-in-law?" The Robin said, "When I just begin to sing, the people know that it is summer." Then Gauô' said to the Robin, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the little Robin went away slowly. Then Gauô' shouted again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'? Then the Mocking-Bird came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then Gauô' said, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" Then the Mocking-Bird said, "I sing when the weather is bad." Then Gauô' said, "Let me hear your song!" Then the Mocking-Bird sang; and Gauô' said to the Mocking-Bird, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the Mocking-Bird went away slowly. She shouted again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" and the Bluejay came. He said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'" and Gauô' asked him again, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" and the Bluejay said, "I foretell good luck to the people when they go picking berries." Then Gauô' said to the Bluejay, "Let me see!" Then the Bluejay showed what he could accomplish. Then she said, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" and the Bluejay went away slowly. And she continued to go about crying, and all the different kinds of birds came; last of all came the Eagle. He said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then Gauô' asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" and the Eagle said, "I pick out the eyes of my enemies." And Gauô' said, "Let me see!" Then the Eagle stretched out his talons, caught an animal, and pulled out its eyes before Gauô'. Then she said to the Eagle, "Stop what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the Eagle went away slowly. Now all the different kinds of birds had come; and first Gauô' would ask them what they could do, and all answered in a similar way. Then she cried again, and said, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then the quadrupeds came. The Squirrel came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then Gauô' asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" and the Squirrel said, "I go up a tree, and I scatter pine-nuts. Then the people are afraid when they see it." Then Gauô' said, "Let me see!" The little Squirrel ran up a tree and scattered about pine-nuts. Then Gauô' said to the little Squirrel, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the little Squirrel went away slowly. Then she shouted again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then the little Rabbit came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then Gauô' asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, Son-in-law?" and the little Rabbit said, "I just open my eyes, and the people are afraid." Then the chieftainess said, "Let me see!" Then the Rabbit opened his eves, standing on his hind-legs. Then Gauô' said to the Rabbit, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the little Rabbit went away slowly. Then she cried again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" The Porcupine came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then Gauô' asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" and the Porcupine said, "I strike my enemy with my, tail, and his whole body is full of my quills, and he dies." Then Gauô' said, "Let me see!" Then the Porcupine struck about everywhere with his tail; and Gauô' said, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the Porcupine went away slowly. Then Gauô' cried again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then the Marmot came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then the chieftainess asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" and the Marmot said, "I look into the sun when I wish to know what weather it will be the next winter." Then she said also to the Marmot, "Let me see what you are talking about!" Then the little Marmot jumped suddenly right up on a stone and looked into the [inside of the] sun. Then Gauô' said, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the Marmot went away slowly. Then Gauô' cried again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then the Land-Otter came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then she asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" and the Otter said, "I dive with my enemy until he is drowned." Then the chieftainess said, "Let me see what you are talking about!" Then the Otter took a marten and dived with it in the water. It was not long before the marten was drowned. Then Gauô' said, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the Otter went away slowly. Then she went about again crying, and said, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then the Beaver came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Thus said Beaver. Then the chieftainess asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" and Beaver said, "I know how to cut trees with my teeth over my enemy." Then Gauô' said, "Let me see what you are talking about!" Then Beaver cut across trees with his teeth; and the chieftainess said, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then Beaver went away slowly. Then Gauô' cried again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Then Wolf came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then Gauô' asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" Wolf said, "I use my teeth to kill all my enemies." Then Gauô' said, "Let me see what you are talking about!" and Wolf bit everything. Then Gauô' said, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then Wolf went away slowly. Then she continued to do so, and all kinds of animals came, who wanted to marry the daughter of Gauô'. Then she questioned them, and all answered in a similar way what they could do. Then the great Grizzly Bear came, and said, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." And the chieftainess asked him, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" and the great Grizzly Bear answered, and said, "I do not spare my enemies with my great claws, and I eat them up, and I tear their heads and their bodies." Then Gauô' said, "Let me see what you are talking about." Then the great Grizzly Bear suddenly got angry, and pawed the ground, and tore up the roots in the ground. Then the chieftainess became afraid, and (Grizzly Bear) threw (the roots) upward. Then she did not make any noise; but after some time she said again, "Finish what you are talking about, son-in-law! Go!" Then the Great Grizzly Bear went away slowly. Then nobody came and answered. All the birds and all the animals were finished. Then she shouted again, and again no answer came. Then she shouted again a third time, and again no answer came. Then she shouted again a fourth time. Then suddenly lightning flashed. She shouted again, "Who is the one who will marry the daughter of Gauô'?" Again it suddenly flashed right across her face. She shouted a fifth time. Then lightning flashed just for a moment, and suddenly a young man stood near her. His garments were like tongues of fire. Then he said to the chieftainess, "I am the one who will marry your daughter, Gauô'." Then she was very much afraid. But she asked the young man also, "What can you, on your part, do, son-in-law?" Then the young man said, "When I meet warriors on the battle-field, I go near, turn over my hand, and the earth turns over." Then Gauô' said, "Let me see!" Then he stretched out his hand and turned it over suddenly. Then the earth turned over, and all the trees turned upside down their roots. Then Gauô' said, "It is good if you marry my child." Then the young man married her. He took first his mother-in-law and put her under one arm, and then he took also his wife and put her under his other arm. "When I fly up, don't look out!" (This young man had come down from the sky.) Then he flew up towards the sky, but the chieftainess suddenly looked out. Then the youth dropped down again to the ground. Then he advised them strongly that they should not look out. She disobeyed a fourth time, therefore the young man became angry. Then he went up to the top of a tree, pulled out a branch, and that was where he put the woman in. Then the young man said, "Travellers shall always listen to you." Then he flew up to the sky, and he arrived up above at the place where he had come from. Then he remained married to the daughter of Gauô' in the house of his father. After they had been married some time, the young woman gave birth to children,--four boys and two girls. The name of the eldest boy was Gumxmalad (?), and the next one A'aiyâ'wuxk (?), and the next one was named Gumdasû'mada (?), and the next one again Ligi-yû'0n (?); and the name of the first girl was Hamhâ'm-Woman, and the youngest one was named G*ilaxwilô'gôn-Woman. And their grandfather built four houses. For the eldest one he made the carving of the moon; for the next one, the carving of the stars; for the next one, the rainbow; and for the youngest one, the Lax-ôm in the form of a man. Of the enemies of the town that had been destroyed, one of them who had done it always played outside. Almost every night he played outside in the moonlight. One night they began to play again. Then a heavy fog lay over the whole town. Suddenly they heard a loud noise where the old village had been destroyed, like thunder from the sky. Four times they heard the noise. Four times it did so. Then suddenly one of the young men said, "Hurrah! There is just a noise in the village of the silly people, of the brave people without minds, in the old town." 1 Then the old people forbade the young people to say so, lest something strange might happen. Much fog always remained. When it began to be morning, the people went out again and looked across to the old town. Behold! suddenly they saw four houses standing there,--that of the eldest with the carving of the moon, the next one with the carving of the stars, the next one with the carving of the rainbow, and again the next one with the carving of the Lax-ôm like a man. These houses had come down during the night, when they had heard in the fog the great noise like thunder from the sky. The chief in the sky was the one who had made the houses of his grand-children. They had come down during the night to their former dwelling place to take revenge on those who had destroyed their grand-parents. And thus also (came) the two little girls who should cure them in the battle. And their grandfather had also given them a little box, which was called "ts!uwa'n;" and their grandfather had strongly advised them, "When you come to the meeting of the warriors and your heart gets discouraged, then open it again. Then the earth will suddenly turn over, and your enemies will be under it." This was the beginning of the clan G*ispawutwa'da. They came from the sky, and the various clans,--the G*ispawutwa'da and the Eagles and the Ganha'da and the Wolves. And the people of the town who had won the victory in olden times saw them, and wished to see them very much: therefore they went across on a visit. And the young men were very kind to those who had destroyed their grandfathers. So one day the people went across to the town to gamble with the four newly-arrived young men. Then they agreed. Therefore the young men who had just arrived went across to gamble. When they started to gamble, the youngest one, Ligi-yû'0n, staked against the great chief. Then the youngest one took out his little club which his grandfather had given to him when they had come down. Then the chief said to the boy, "You cannot even kill little birds with what you have;" and then he smiled and he made fun of him and laughed at him. Therefore the boy took his little club, because the chief had made him ashamed. "Suppose I should hit you, you would be dead!" and the chief said at once, "Go ahead!" Then the boy struck him over the head, and the brains of the great chief dropped out, and he was dead. Then they fought again. The whole town fought together against the four youths; and the two women were the ones who at once cured their brothers; and when the four men lost courage, they took the little box and opened it, and suddenly the earth turned over, and their enemies were lost. Thus they gained the victory over the great town. Then they went about among all the villages to make the clans in every village. If the people of a village refused, they made war again. Then they went from one village to another, and they tried again to make the clans among them. When they agreed, they went to them. Then they did not fight. Then they went to the Tlingit everywhere and came back. Then they went southward along the coast to force all the villages of the Tsimshian to make the clans. Thus began the four clans: first the G*ispawutwa'da, then they are together like one company,--Bear, Killer-Whale, Moon, Star, Rainbow, and many others; and next there are the Eagles, and they are also like one company,-- Eagle, Beaver, Halibut, and also others. Raven and Frog and Sea-Lion and Starfish and others are the crests of the Ganha'da; Wolf and Crane and others are the crests of the Wolves. These young men were expert warriors, and fought in all the villages, and they won victories almost everywhere. Therefore they consented together to form the clans, and therefore every clan has its own crests, and all the towns have their crests in the four companies, and they have the customs regarding their relationships. They must not marry among their own relatives, although their languages are different in different villages. And they made all the living beings that are in the water, and in the woods, and that fly, signs of the clans, as tattooing on the chest and on the hand, to be their own crests. The name is also a sign of the clan. Therefore the other tribes know that it is very shameful when they marry in their own clan. Then they finished giving clans to all the tribes. Then they made a great potlatch. After it was finished, they had still another war. Again they vanquished their enemies. Then their grandfather in heaven became uneasy, and took them up again to himself after they had finished making the clans in all the villages on our side. Therefore the law of relationship is very sacred, because the chief in heaven has given it to us; and if we stop acting accordingly and if we break the law, we are afraid that the chief will be angry with mankind. Therefore the former people observed the law rigidly. And there are also expert singers. They have their own songs for victory in battle when they know the victors of all of those who met in battle; and they have certain songs for canoes, and songs for the potlatch, and songs of longing for friends; and they have mourning songs for the dead; and they have songs after the hunter has killed an animal, and lullabies for new-born children; and they have songs for gambling, and they have songs for dances, and they have songs for taking a name, and for ridiculing clan fellows; and they have songs for young people playing, and songs for trout-fishing and for everything. The songs have tunes only, and even long songs contain only two or three words. And they have wooden drums like large boxes, and they beat the drum with the hand. One expert singer leads the song; and however the song-leader swings his rod, the singers follow. And only women are useful in songs; they do not use men much, only in the canoe and at the end of wars. In the house the women sing, and outside the men. Only when there is a great chief's dance, they make a platform in the rear of a large house. Then all the women of the town of the chief sit in rows on the platform, and move like crests of waves on the platform, and sing almost the whole length of the night, until all the mysteries of the chief are at an end. And every clan has its own songs. Another clan does not use their songs. If they do so, they fight again, and there are battles again, with the foreign clan which uses their songs. If they do not fight, they scatter their wealth to get back their song. And if one clan uses their crest, they fight, or then also they scatter their goods to get back their crest; and also when a foreign clan uses their name. Each clan has its names. A foreign clan cannot use the names of another family. My 2 child is not named from the names of my relatives. Its name is (that of) one of the relatives of its mother, and so are the other names. And another thing: every person has three names until he grows up. That is their own custom. When a child is born, if it is a boy, it is named G*inâ's; if it is a girl, it is called Ga'0wus; and a relative of a man gives the child the name of a relative of its mother. And when it grows up, it is named with another name; and when it is really full-grown, then it names itself with a great name. They make a potlatch in the house when they take the names; and first they give away cloth, and then the person takes his name. This custom has come down from generation to generation since the world began, before the Deluge, and comes down until now. There are nine tribes, and each has its master. When a people increases, a chief takes charge of it. These are the tribes: G*îspaxlâ'0ts, G*ît!andâ', G*inax'ang*î'0k, G*it-lâ'n, G*idzaxlâ'0l, G*it-dzî'0s, G*it-wulg*a'0ts, G*iludzâ'r, G*inadâ'îxs. These are the nine towns. And there are only four clans, and they are all relatives. In the middle is the Tsimshian town Metlakahtla. There they live in winter; and when it is summer, they go to their hunting-grounds. In spring they go to Nass River. And all the villages around the Tsimshian towns sometimes meet,--G*it-xâ'la, G*it-q!â'0ta, G*it-ts!Elâ'sEr, Nîsqa'0, G*it-ksa'n. The G*idEsdzû are half Tsimshian, half Wik*!ê'na; and all these towns have nearly the same language and also these towns have these customs. This is the end of the story of Gauô' and part of the customs of the Tsimshian. Tsimshian Texts By Franz Boas [1912] From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.

Gau-wi-di-ne and Go-hay - Haudenosaunee The snow mountain lifted its head close the sky; the clouds wrapped around it their floating drifts which held the winter's hail and snowfalls, and with scorn it defied the sunlight which crept over its height, slow and shivering on its way to the valleys. Close at the foot of the mountain an old man had built a temporary lodge - "for a time", he said, as he packed it around with great blocks of ice. Within he stored piles of wood, corn, dried meat and fish. No person, animal or bird could enter this lodge, only North Wind, the only friend the old man had. Whenever strong and lusty North Wind passed the lodge he would shriek, "Ugh-eeeeeeee! Ugh-eeeeeeee! Ugh-eeeeee!" as with a blast of his blustering breath he blew open the door and, entering, would light his pipe and sit close by the old man's fire and rest from his wanderings over the earth. But North Wind came only seldom to the lodge. He was too busy searching the corners of the earth and driving the snows and the hail, but when he had wandered far and was in need of advice he would visit the lodge to smoke and counsel with the old man about the next snowfall before journeying to his home in the north sky ... and they would sit by the fire which blazed and glowed yet could not warm them. The old man's bushy whiskers were heavy with the icicles which clung to them, and when the blazing fire flared its lights, illuminating them with the warm hues of the summer sunset, he would rave as he struck them down, and glare with rage as they fell snapping and crackling at his feet. One night, as they sat together smoking and dozing before the fire, a strange feeling of fear came over them; the air seemed to be growing warmer and the ice began to melt. Said North wind, "I wonder what warm thing is coming; the snow seems to be vanishing, sinking lower into the earth." But the old man cared not and was silent. He knew his lodge was strong, and he chuckled with scorn as he bade North Wind abandon his fears and depart for his home. And North Wind went, drifting the fast-falling snow higher on the mountain until it groaned under its heavy burden and, scolding and blasting, his voice gradually died away. Still the old man remained silent and moved not and, lost in thought, sat looking into the fire. Suddenly there came a loud knock at his door, "Some foolish breath of North Wind is still wandering," he thought, and he heeded it not. Again came the knocking, louder still, and a pleading voice begged to come in. Still the old man remained silent and, drawing nearer to the fire quieted himself for sleep. But the rapping continued, louder, fiercer, and he became angrier. "Who dares approach the door of my lodge?" he called. "You are not North Wind, the only one who can enter here. Begone! No refuge here for trifling winds. Go back to your home in the sky!" But as he spoke, the strong bar securing the door fell from its fastening and the door swung open. A stalwart young warrior, straight, tall and handsome, stood before him, shaking the snow from his shoulders as he quietly closed the door. Once within the lodge, the warrior did not heed the old man's anger and, with a friendly greeting, drew near the fire, extended his hands to its ruddy blaze. A glow as of summer lit the lodge up, but the kindly greeting and warm glow of light served only to make the old man angrier still and, rising, he ordered the young warrior to leave. "Go!" he exclaimed. "I know you not. You have entered my lodge bringing a strange light. Why have you forced entry here? You are young, and youth has no need of the fire's warmth. When I enter my lodge, all the earth sleeps. You are strong, with the glow of sunshine on your face. Long ago I buried the sun beneath the snowdrifts. Go! You have no place here! "Your eyes bear the gleam of the summer stars ... North Wind blew out the summer starlight many moons ago. Your eyes dazzle my lodge; your breath does not smoke in chill vapors but come from your lips soft and warm - it will melt my lodge. You have no place here! Go! "Your hair, so soft and fine, streaming back from your face like a summer breeze, will weave its tresses into my lodge. Go now! You have no place here! "Your shoulders are bare; you have no furs to cover them and neither do you have need of them. Depart from my lodge! See, as you sit by my fire, how it draws away from you. Depart, I say, from this place ... go back to whence you came!" But the young warrior only smiled and asked that he might remain to fill his pipe, and they sat down by the fire where the old man became garrulous and began to boast of his great powers. "I am powerful and strong," said he. "I send North Wind to blow all over the earth, and the waters everywhere stop to listen to his voice as he freezes them so they sleep. When I touch the sky, the snow comes down ... the hunters stay home by the lodge fires and the animals stay warm and asleep in their caves. When I put my hand on the land, I harden it, making it still as the rocks - nothing can forbid me or loosen my hold. You, young warrior, though you shine like the Sun, you have no power. Go! I give you a chance to escape me while you still may ... I could easily blow my breath upon you and fold around you a mist which would turn you to ice forever! "I am not a friend to the Sun, who pales, grows cold and flees to the south land when I come - yet I see his glance in y our face, where no winter shadows hide. My North Wind will soon return ... he hates the summer and will bind fast its hands. "I see that you have no fear of me ... you smile because you know me not. Listen to me, young man ... I am Gau-wi-di-ne, winter! Now fear me and go ... leave my lodge and go out to the wind." But the young warrior moved not, only smiled as he refilled the pipe for the trembling old man, saying, "Here, take your pipe; it will soothe you and give you strength a little while longer." And he packed the o-yan-kwa deep and hard into the pipe. Then the young warrior said, "Now you must smoke for me ... smoke for youth and for the springtime! I have no fear of your boasting; you are old and slow; I am young and strong. I hear the voice of South Wind, and your North Wind hears too ... Gah-oh is hurrying back to his home. Wrap yourself up good and warm while the snowdrifts cover the earth path, and flee to your lodge in the north sky. I am here now and you shall know me. I too am powerful! "When I lift my hand, the sky opens wide and I waken the sleeping Sun which follows me, warm and glad. I touch the earth and it grows soft and gentle and breathes strong and swift as my South Wind ploughs under the snows to loosen your hold on the land. The forests welcome my voice - the trees bud to the touch of my hand. When my breezes blow my long hair to the clouds, they send down gentle showers that call the grasses from their sleeping places under the earth. "I came not to tarry long in my peace talk with you, but to smoke with you, and let you know that the Sun is waiting for me to open the way for him to enter here. You and North Wind have built your lodge strong, but each wind - the North, East, West and the South - has its time for the earth. Now South Wind is calling me - it is her time. And it is your time to return to your big lodge in the sky. Travel swiftly on your way that you may not fall in the path of the Sun. See how even now it is sending down arrows that will weaken you, kill you, if you wait?" The old man saw, and he trembled. He seemed to be fading, growing too weak to speak, and could only whisper, "Young warrior, who are you?" In a voice that breathed soft as the breath of wild blossoms, he answered: "I am Go-hay - spring. I have come to rule and my lodge now covers the earth. I have talked to your mountain and it has heard; I have called the South Wind and it is near. The sun has awoken from its winter sleep and summons me now. Your North Wind has fled to his north sky; only you are late in following. You have lingered too long over your pipe, and its smoke now floats far away. Make haste while there is still time, so that you may not lose your trail." And Go-hay began singing the Song of the Sun as he opened the door of the lodge. Hovering above it was a great bird whose wings seemed blown by a strong wind, and while Go-hay continued to sing, it flew down to the lodge and, folding Gau-wi-di-ne to its breast, slowly winged away to the north, and when the Sun lifted its head in the east, it could see the bird disappearing in the faraway sky. The Sun glanced down where Gau-wi-di-ne had built his lodge whose fired had burned but could not warm, and a bed of young blossoms now lifted their heads to the touch of the Sun's beams. Where the wood and the corn, the dried meat and fish had been heaped, a young tree was budding and leafing, and a bluebird was trying its wings for a nest. And the great Ice Mountain had melted to a swift running river, which laughed as it rushed through the valley, bearing its message of the coming of springtime. Gau-wi-di-ne had passed his time; Go-hay now reined over the earth! From the archives Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.

GÁQGA´ AND SKAGÉDI - Seneca [Told by George Titus] Characters GÁQGA´ - Raven SKAGÉDI - One-half of Anything, A BROTHER and sister lived together. The brother never let his sister go out of the house. When he went hunting, he told his dog to stay at home and get whatever the girl wanted. One day when the brother was away the girl wanted water, and, not seeing the dog, thought, "What harm can it do? I'll go to the spring and get back quickly." She ran to the spring, stooped down and filled the bucket, but as she straightened up and rested, putting the bucket at the edge of the spring, someone grasped her from behind, lifted her into the air and carried her off. The dog followed, barking loudly. He made a spring into the air to catch the girl, but he couldn't reach her. The brother, hearing the dog bark, hurried home and finding his sister gone, said to the dog, "You have caused great trouble." The dog felt so badly that he bent his head down, curled it under and became stone. GÁQGA´, the man who stole the girl, took her to an island in the middle of a lake. Every day GÁQGA´ went away and came back with dry fish that he found on the shore of the lake. Sometimes he brought pieces of human flesh which he ate himself, sending the girl to get water for him to drink. one day when the girl went to the edge of the island to get water, a man stood before her, and said, "I have come here to tell you that GÁQGA´ is very hungry and he has made up his mind to kill you to-morrow. He will tell you to bring water and fill the kettle. As soon as this is done he will take up his club to kill you. You must run behind the post that the kettle hangs on. He will strike the post and break his arm, then come to this place as quickly as you can." The next day GÁQGA´ did as the stranger said he would. When he struck at the girl she dodged, his arm hit the post and broke. She ran to the lake; the stranger was there and had a canoe. They sat in the canoe and the man pushed out on to the lake. This man was SKAGÉDI (One-half of anything). When he stepped into the canoe he divided and one-half sat at each end. They crossed the lake and as they touched land the half of SKAGÉDI at the rear end of the canoe was raised up and thrown across the canoe. It struck the front half and joining it became a whole man. The girl was sitting on the bottom of the canoe. SKAGÉDI's mother was at the landing. She went to the girl and saying, "My daughter come with me," led her to a house. The girl was now SKAGÉDI's wife. Every time he went out in his canoe he divided himself and one-half sat at each end of the canoe. As soon as he touched land he became one again. SKAGÉDI had all his life been traveling around on the lake, liberating persons captured by bad men and wizards. After a time SKAGÉDI's wife gave birth to twin boys. As soon as they were born, the grandmother threw them into the lake. As they touched the water they began to paddle and quickly came to shore. She threw them in a second time; in a minute they were back; she threw them a third time, and far out. When they swam to shore, she said, "That will do." They began to run around and play. The boys grew quickly and after a while said to their father, "You ought to stay at home and let us go out in the canoe and do your work."xx "Very well," said SKAGÉDI. The boys started and after rowing some distance one said to the other, "See, there is something off there on land that looks as if it were breathing. Let us go ashore and find out what it is." They landed, and going to the spot, found an old house lying flat on the ground, but inside something was breathing and soon they saw that it was a very old man. They got him out from under the house and one of the boys said, "This is our uncle. We must take him home." The man was willing to go. As they were leaving the place he pointed to a large stone, and said, "That is my dog," and striking it with a switch he called out, "Get up!" The dog rose, shook, stretched himself and followed the man. When they reached home, the boys said, "Mother, we have found our uncle." She looked at the man and sure enough he was her brother. The boys said to their grandmother, "You must marry our uncle." "Very well," said the woman. After that they all lived together happily. Seneca Indian Myths by Jeremiah Curtin 1922 From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.

By the way I am Cherokee and Tuckahoe with no Apache blood. I am a quarter proven, and all my lines go back to NDN of one Eastern tribe or another.

Hey, Jim, I am answering with goose bumps on my arms and tears in my eyes. I have had the same feelings. My family always said," thoughts are things", so I felt when I came to my for-bearer's former homes. Go as soon as you can. There will be objects there meant for you. You will know when you touch them. Julia P.S. I am so far from my tribal people, on Friday, I went to the Mescalero Reservation and since my father was a blood-brother to the chief in 1935, asked to be given a name in Apache as the old people remember my father and me. They whispered together, then, refused. I believe they called me ' the little girl with the white hair'. What would have been the problem,since they heard I only wanted the name they called me when I was five years old? Julia

It has been a bit colder this weekend. Most of my people on my Dad's side are from North Carolina and Tennessee. Most of my people on my Mom's side came from just on the North Carolina side of the line around Poke County, but came to South Carolina now I have tons of cousins living in the upstate. I have one group of family that came out of Cataloochee North Carolina which is now the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. That group was Caldwell's/Colwell and I believe this group is where I get my Cherokee blood. My Great Great Grandfather Levi Caldwell spoke Cherokee. I had been to Cataloochee many years before I found that out that was my ancestor home. I walked through some of the old houses that were there and just felt so at home. Mary year later while doing my research I found that my Caldwell came out Cataloochee, so I took a trip there and as I came into the valley I realized it was the same that I had been to many years before. It turned out that the house I was in was my Great Uncle home. Then I understood why my feeling for the valley the first time there. I intent to take another trip there this year, but I will have to see. Jim in SC -----Original Message----- From: EVERETTLATTIMORE@aol.com [mailto:EVERETTLATTIMORE@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2006 6:16 PM To: CHEROKEE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [Cherokee Circle] hey In a message dated 2/1/2006 10:19:11 AM Eastern Standard Time, jwaddell@greenvillewater.com writes: Jim ============================ Hows things in Greenville Jim??? I think you got a little colder than here in Anderson. We have an azalia bush near the patio at work. It has buds, I think Mother Nature has been fooled. So, glad to see you are still here. By the way Jim are your people from here??? Barb sc ==== CHEROKEE Mailing List ==== <<>OPEN forum to all Cherokee topics - except Genealogy<>> <>Culture-History-Language-Folk lore and Truths<> Good Manners & Language is required to be on the list ALL the links you will need to sub and unsub or contact listowner below http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Ethnic-Native/CHEROKEE.html ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx

In a message dated 2/5/2006 5:11:07 PM Central Standard Time, iamcheroke@filertel.com writes: Sounds good to me ;) Alli > Yea a combo, like a pizza, well baked too <G> Well baked, then drowned, mixed well, proped up and struggling to move forward.

Well.........can we leave out the drowning part........I like swimming but panic if I feel like I'm going to drown..... Alli :0) > Well baked, then drowned, mixed well, proped up and struggling to move > forward. > > > ==== CHEROKEE Mailing List ==== > <<>OPEN forum to all Cherokee topics - except Genealogy<>> > <>Culture-History-Language-Folk lore and Truths<> > Good Manners & Language is required to be on the list > ALL the links you will need to sub and unsub or contact listowner below > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Ethnic-Native/CHEROKEE.html > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx >