Lodge-Boy And Thrown-Away's Father

Blackfoot

A man was living with his wife, who was pregnant. He had a large supply of dry meat. Once, before starting on a hunt, he said to his wife, "If you should hear someone calling you, don't listen to him. He will call you four times, but don't look at him." When he was gone, the woman heard someone calling her. The person calling finally asked, "Where is the door of your lodge?" She answered, "You know where it is." Then the man entered. She offered him food. The stranger said, "That is not the way I am used to eating. Put the food on your belly." She obeyed, and he ate from her belly. Then he cut open her belly, pulled out two children from it, then ran around every lodge-post with the woman, went to the fireplace, and thence descended underground with her.

When the hunter returned, he found his twin sons crying. He called the wolves, set up a good lodge for them and bade them guard his children while he went in pursuit of his wife. Then he ran around every lodge-post and descended through the fireplace. After a while, he went above ground and saw lots of people camping by a lake. His wife's lodge was also there. He went to an old woman's tent and asked, "Where is my wife's lodge?" "Your wife is here, but these people are bad, they will not give her up to you. While you are sleeping, they will try to kill you by the aid of their manitous." They tried, but they could not kill him. The hunter said, "Grandmother, tell those people to let me alone." The old woman went to them and returned, saying, "These people want you to swim in the lake." They stuck a big post in the middle of the lake and told him to dive in, shake the post and return to shore. He went in, did what he was told, and returned in safety. They bade him try again. He dove and did not come back to the surface all day. The people thought he was drowned, but in the night he returned to the old woman's lodge. She told him the people were going to cook him. He said, "When I am cooked, take all my bones with some hair, pile them up, cover them with a blanket and cry, 'Wake up!' Then I'll wake up again." His enemies cooked him. The old woman followed his instructions. When the bones were piled up, she cried, "Grandson, you are sleeping a long time, wake up!" He stood up and said, "I will tell you something. When the sun shines into the lodge, you and my wife shall hold my clothes." Then he went to his enemies' lodge. The sun shone in. The old woman and his wife held his clothes. He pulled down the sun, it grew hotter, and all his enemies were killed. He took his wife home. Their twins were beginning to run about. The woman raised them.

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THE ORIGIN OF MEDICINE

Artist: "Healing Bear" by H Kyoht Luterman. https://www.facebook.com/heather.luterman

The Origin of Medicine

At one time, animals and people lived together peaceably and talked with each other. But when mankind began to multiply rapidly, the animals were crowded into forests and deserts.
Man began to destroy animals wholesale for their skins and furs, not just for needed food. Animals became angry at such treatment by their former friends, resolving they must punish mankind.
The bear tribe met in council, presided over by Old White Bear, their Chief. After several bears had spoken against mankind for their bloodthirsty ways, war was unanimously agreed upon. But what kinds of weapons should the bears use?
Chief Old White Bear suggested that man's weapon, the bow and arrow, should be turned against him. All of the council agreed. While the bears worked and made bows and arrows, they wondered what to do about bowstrings. One of the bears sacrificed himself to provide the strings while the others searched for good arrow- wood.
When the first bow was completed and tried, the bear's claws could not release the strings to shoot the arrow. One bear offered to cut his claws, but Chief Old White Bear would not allow him to do that because without claws he could not climb trees for food and safety. He might starve.
The deer tribe called together its council led by Chief Little Deer. They decided that any Indian hunters, who killed deer without asking pardon in a suitable manner, should be afflicted with painful rheumatism in their joints.
After this decision, Chief Little Deer sent a messenger to their nearest neighbours, the Cherokee Indians.
"From now on, your hunters must first offer a prayer to the deer before killing him," said the messenger. "You must ask his pardon, stating you are forced only by the hunger needs of your tribe to kill the deer. Otherwise, a terrible disease will come to the hunter."
When a deer is slain by an Indian hunter, Chief Little Deer will run to the spot and ask the slain deer's spirit, "Did you hear the hunter's prayer for pardon?"
If the reply is yes, then all is well and Chief Little Deer returns to his cave. But if the answer is no, then the Chief tracks the hunter to his lodge and strikes him with the terrible disease of rheumatism, making him a helpless cripple unable to hunt again.
All the fishes and reptiles then held a council and decided they would haunt those Cherokee Indians, who tormented them, by telling them hideous dreams of serpents twining around them and eating them alive. These snake and fish dreams occurred often among the Cherokees. To get relief, the Cherokees pleaded with their Shaman to banish their frightening dreams if they no longer tormented the snakes and fish.
Now when the friendly plants heard what the animals had decided against mankind, they planned a countermove of their own. Each tree, shrub, herb, grass, and moss agreed to furnish a cure for one of the diseases named by the animals and insects.
Thereafter, when the Cherokee Indians visited their Shaman about their ailments and if the medicine man was in doubt, he communed with the spirits of the plants. They always suggested a proper remedy for mankind's diseases.
This was the beginning of plant medicine from nature among the Cherokee Indian nation a long, long time ago.


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Coyote helps create Man

Artist unknown

Navajo

In the beginning Great Grandfather Spirit had just finished creating  Earth and all the animals, and he felt pleased with his creationsthe Earth and all the animals, and he felt pleased with his creations.  After some time the animals fighting each other over which of them  be the leader of all the other animalswill be the leader of all the other animals.
was not into fighting asked Grandfather Spirit to make a  and a to rule over all the animals of the Earth. and a to rule over all the animals of the Earth. Grandfather Spirit loved the idea and went to work on the man and woman right . Grandfather Spirit was having a hard time coming up with . Grandfather Spirit was having a hard time coming up with an  to make man and woman in. came to him to see how to make man and woman in. came to him to see how the  were coming. When he saw having were coming. When he saw having trouble  man and woman, Coyote with all his magic turned himself man and woman, Coyote with all his magic turned himself into  man. When the creator saw this, he thanked Coyote and went . When the creator saw this, he thanked Coyote and went to  the man in the showed himwork the man in the image Coyote showed him.

Once he created man out of the Earth he then blew life into man  came to life. Grandfather Spirit told the he will man came to life. Grandfather Spirit told the he will make  a mate. Grandfather Spirit started making an image that a mate. Grandfather Spirit started making an image that looked  like the man. Coyote and said" no, no, no, Grandfatherexactly like the man. Coyote and said" no, no, no, Grandfather Man won't find a woman who looks like this . Here is . Here is how  woman should look like." then Coyote again transformed woman should look like." then Coyote again transformed himself  of a woman. Grandfather Spirit studied this of a woman. Grandfather Spirit studied this image  went to work on creating woman out of the Earth. done the  looked just like the image of the woman that Coyote showed  Creator.

Grandfather blew life into the woman and man and creator  this was good. The Creator told Man and Woman that they are  the new leaders of the land and to treat the Earth and all who  on because they all come from Mother Earth.  Grandfather Spirit thanked Coyote for his help and to show his thanks  gave Coyote the more magical powers than any other animal.

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WHY CROWS FEATHER ARE BLACK

“The Rainbow Crow was beautiful to hear and to see, back in the days when it never got cold, back in the Ancient Days before appeared in the World.

When the Snow Spirit, all the people, and animals were freezing and a messenger was selected to go up to, The Creator Who Creates By Thinking What Will Be. The messenger was to ask The Creator to think of the World as being warm again so that they would not all freeze to death.

Rainbow Crow was chosen to go and he flew upward for three days. He got the Creator’s attention by singing beautifully, but even though he begged the Creator to make it warm again, the Creator said He could not, because He had thought of Cold and He could not it. But He did think of Fire, a thing that could warm the when it was cold. And so He poked a stick into the Sun until it was burning, and gave it to Rainbow Crow to carry back to earth for the creatures. The Creator told Rainbow Crow to hurry before it burned all up.

Rainbow Crow dove down and flew as fast as he could go. The burning stick charred all of his beautiful feathers until they were black and since he was carrying the stick in his beak, he breathed the smoke and heat until his voice was hoarse.

And so the Rainbow Crow was black and had an unpleasant cawing voice forever after, but all the creatures honored him, for he had brought Tindeh, fire, for everyone to use.

The Crow is to this day, still honored by hunters and animals, who never kill it for food and, if you look closely at the Crow’s black feathers you can still see many colors gleaming in the black.” 

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