Lakota Winds (Zebra Historical Romance) (5 page)

All males who were or had been hunter-warriors halted what they
were doing, gathered certain items, and headed for a large clearing
surrounded by verdant evergreens and slowly renewing hardwoods.

The Red Shield leaders-Naca Ominicia-sat together on either rush
mats or folded buffalo hides. The members of the Big Belly Society
included Rising Bear, Nahemana, Strong Rock-the brother of Rising
Bear's wife-and other older men of great worth and wisdom; they were
the ones who made the important decisions for their band. Although all
directives were voted on by each man and it required only one to
disagree and have that matter set aside, usually they followed their chief's
wishes. Another group-the Wicasta Itancans-sat nearby, warriors who
had been chosen by the Nacas to carry out their orders, which included
selecting the Shirt Wearers from among them who were responsible for
the survival of the tribe and the peace amidst it. Next were the Wakincuza,
Pipe Owners, who carried pipes in beaded bags for performing a Peace
Ceremony, the "Making of Brothers." Members of certain warrior
societies sat together. The rest of the Oglala males-mostly younger
men who had not yet joined a society and youths still in trainingtook places around the outer edge of the large circle.

As Nahemana prepared the sacred pipe to begin the smoking ritual
before their talk, he told of how it was brought to them by White
Buffalo Maiden. "Long ago, Pte Skawin appeared to two hunters and
told them she had come with a message from the Buffalo People. She
was so beautiful that one warrior quivered in hunger for her. When his
ears refused to hear his companion's warning and he approached her
in lust, a crash of thunder roared across the sky and a white cloud
enclosed him. When the wind blew away the cloud, nothing remained
of him except his bones. Pte Skawin told the second man to prepare a
place for her in the center of their village. When all was ready, the
people awaited her appearance on the next rising of the sun. She came
and walked around a circle of buffalo skulls, each facing one of the directions of the four winds. She carried a pipe of sacred red stone from
the flesh and bone of our ancestors from the Great Flood."

Wind Dancer, who sat with the Shirt Wearers, gazed at the pipe in
his grandfather's gnarled hands. As with the legendary one, a red stone
bear was carved atop its bowl. Twelve eagle feathers were attached to
its stem to represent the sky and moons. It was secured together by
grass from the Plains where the buffalo roamed and fed, the greatest
necessity for their survival, since it provided food, shelter, clothing, and
tools.

"Pte Skawin told our people to use the pipe and its smoke to make
peace, to make good medicine, and to send word to Wakantanka for
the good of our people. She said that honoring and using the pipe
would make our nation strong. She gave it to the chief to protect and
respect, since through the pipe our nation survives. She also gave them the
Seven Sacred Ceremonies which include Purification, Vision Seeking,
Making of Brothers, Sun Dance, and Owning a Ghost. She lit the pipe
and offered smoke to the Sky, Earth, and each of the Four Winds. After
she left singing, she turned at a distance, looked at the people, then
transformed into a white buffalo which vanished amidst a white cloud.
She who is also called Whope, daughter of the Sun and Moon, had
come to earth with those sacred gifts."

Nahemana stood in the center of the human enclosure and prayed:
"Great Spirit, see us and hear us. We come to honor You and all You
have created. We come to speak what dwells within our hearts. We
come to seek Your guidance and protection. Great Mystery, see us and
hear us." The elderly shaman lit the tobacco, lifted the pipe upward,
lowered it toward the ground, then turned several times to face each
direction to honor Father Sky, Mother Earth, and the Four Winds. He
sat down and sucked upon the stem to inhale smoke deeply into his
body. As he slowly exhaled, his wrinkled hand wafted the gray haze
around his head to bathe it in the breath of the Great Mystery. When
his part in the ritual was done, he passed the pipe to Rising Bear to
draw upon it before the chief gave it to the man beside him to continue
the ceremony for those of worthy ranks to partake.

After taking his turn, Wind Dancer watched the pipe pass from man
to man. His gaze paused on his best friend who sat with their society,
the Strong Hearts. His gaze lingered longer on his brother, War Eagle,
who sat with the Sacred Bows and was one of the four Bow Carriers,
as he himself had been before he was chosen as a Shirt Wearer and
Strong Heart, as a Sacred Bow member-whose society goals were
making successful war, and peace when possible-left that society only
by death or for an honorable reason. As a Shirt Wearer, his group helped
settle disputes between band members, made sure no person went hungry
or unsheltered or unclothed, sought the best camping grounds during
travels, planned travel paths and guarded the people during journeys,
led the annual buffalo hunt, and carried out any commands of the
Nacas. The Strong Hearts Society was comprised of fearless and skilled
warriors who were first to confront any unforeseen peril, to help and
protect those in need and alone-the old ones and families of braves
who had been slain or injured or died and could no longer provide for
their loved ones-and to do nothing to dishonor himself and his rank.
That first goal had taken him away from camp two winters ago when
a second band of Crow pulled a sneak attack on the village and claimed
the lives of his wife and son while they were out gathering wood in the
foothills. But he did not want to think of that great loss which still
troubled his heart. Since the smoking ritual was over, he focused on
his grandfather's words.

"When the men with pale skin and hairy faces came to our land
many seasons past, our fathers and grandfathers smoked the Wakincuza's
peace pipe with them and let them hunt on our grounds and trap along
our rivers. We have done the same with those called Spanish, French,
and American. We traded with them and called many friends. It was
the same with most bands and tribes. We were told they would not
remain in our land for many seasons, but their words were false. Many
stayed and others came to take the place of those who left; with each
passing season, more come and stay. Eight trading posts sit along the
great river; four are only a few days' ride from our camp. They have
many trade goods, but we can live without their knives, kettles, cloth, beads, axes, and such. The Great Spirit and Mother Earth provide all
we need for survival. If we turn from the old ways, grow lazy and weak,
we will be destroyed."

Nahemana paused as many men nodded or verbally concurred. "They
build wooden tepees and places with standing trees to hide within. They
cut into the face and body of Mother Earth to plant strange seeds and
grow their food; they do not seek it from the land as we do. They do
not believe in and respect the Great Mystery; they bring words of a
God unknown to us and say He made all things. The Lakota know
Wakantanka made all things. The words of peace and sharing on the
white man's lips do not match his actions. We honor the spirits in the
Four Winds, grasses which give life to the buffalo and other creatures,
trees, Mother Earth, Father Sky, two-leggeds and four-leggeds. Wakantanka gave each creature special colors or markings to help it hide from
its enemies, and a means of defense against them. Now, the white man
craves their hides and pelts; those in the land of the rising sun send for
more buffalo robes and tongues. The white hunters slay our brothers
for them and leave their meat and bodies to rot and waste on the Plains.
They bring fire-water to make our wits dull, our minds crazy, and our
bodies weak. They bring strange illnesses to slay us, such as the one
which took the life of Badger and others. They bring thundersticks that
kill with loud and small stones, hard stones which travel a great distance.
They cross our lands in wagons and use them at will in passing. Many
have come on long journeys to draw the face of our lands, to learn its
secrets and where our strengths lie. They have taken bones of the ancient
creatures from the sacred Paha Sapa and Makosica. Others take old or
pretty stones and shiny rocks which reflect the sun's golden light which
the white man craves."

Wind Dancer remembered the tales his father and grandfather had
told him about what happened in the Black Hills and Badlands when
those strange whites collected old bones and rocks and made "maps"
from twenty to two summers past. He believed the whites should not
be allowed to enter those sacred regions again to steal Wakantanka's
possessions.

Nahemana continued. "Soldiers follow or make permanent camps
to protect the wasicun from people they call `savages' and `hostiles.' Our
fathers spoke of a big thunderstick which spit forth many powerful
stones in a hurry, a weapon the whites called a `howitzer.' It roared
across the land and sky when treaty was made with those at Fort Pierre.
Nineteen winters past, the post was destroyed when fire touched the
black powder in a keg, powder the white hunters use in their thundersticks. Their weapons are powerful and evil, my people, and can destroy
us.

Wind Dancer wondered if defeating such powerful weapons was part
of the challenge which loomed before him and his people. If so, how
could such an awesome deed be accomplished?

"Such times and events have been painted upon our tribal hide by
the Story Catchers so we will never forget them. The whites crave all
that was given to us by the Great Spirit. If we do not send them away
while their numbers are few and their powers grow stronger than ours,
all is lost. They will steal or slay the companion of the Old Woman
Who Quills At The Edge Of The World. If the dog does not unravel
her work each sun when she adds wood to her fire and stirs her soup,
she will complete her quilling upon the sacred buffalo hide and our
world will cease to exist. If we do nothing, the whites will become as
another Great Flood and their evil waters will flow over us and destroy
us. Already they seek to make allies with our worst enemies, the Crow;
together they will be stronger than we are. We must find a way to plant
the war lance between them so no truce is possible." He took a deep
breath before concluding. "On the next full moon, I will go to Mato
Sapa to seek a sacred vision to ask Wakantanka how and when we can
defeat such enemies, for surely the time has come when the whites must
be called and viewed as great perils to us."

A long distance away in the White Shields' camp, Chief Tall Elk of
the Brule Lakotas said to his daughter, "Come, sit, my child. SeesThrough-Mist has words to speak to you."

Chumani could not surmise the reason why her father and their shaman had summoned her from her chores when she needed to complete them before night blanketed the land. She took a seat on a rush
mat and allowed her dark gaze to shift from man to man as she awaited
the answer.

"On the last full moon, an owl appeared to me in a dream," SeesThrough-Mist revealed. "The messenger from Wakantanka said I was
to bring this garment and moccasins to you as a gift. I waited until
Snowbird made them from the sacred white buffalo skin which was
given to me during the last cold season. The owl told me you will wear
them two times in the coming seasons and both will be big medicine.
They are yours, Dewdrops, so you may help the Great Spirit save our
people from our enemies. They are not beaded so the enemy will not
read our tribal markings upon them."

Chumani accepted the dress and moccasins, each beautiful and soft
and unadorned. The lengthy fringes on the end of the sleeves and
bottom of the dress tickled her arms and calves as she placed the garment
in her lap with the moccasins atop it. After she thanked him and told
him to tell his wife the same, she said, "I do not understand your
meaning, Wise One. How will these gifts help me save our people from
evil? And why was I chosen?"

"I do not know, Dewdrops. The messenger owl did not tell me, but
the Great Spirit has been at work in your life for the passings of twentyfour circles of the seasons to train and prepare you for these challenges.
The owl said you will take another mate and together you will ride
away and do great deeds for us. I saw you standing in our camp dressed
in white, but the face of the warrior beside you was kept hidden from
me. Then I saw you dressed in white and standing on a high hill with
a hawk upon your arm."

Chumani felt apprehension shoot through her body like swift and
deadly arrows as she heard those awesome words. Why had she been
chosen for that great honor? How could only two people defeat their
enemies? She knew the white garment was made from a sacred white
buffalo who appeared and died near their camp, but what great magic
did it possess? Who was the man she must be bound to before meeting that challenge together? Would she find him desirable or repulsive?
Would she bear another son to replace the one she had lost? Before she
could ask more questions, a shout was heard outside the tepee, whose
flap was closed to signal privacy, then a familiar voice called out to the
chief.

Chumani put aside the gifts and followed them to observe the action
when Tall Elk and Sees-Through-Mist joined the four men who were
standing there, sweaty and almost breathless from an apparent swift
ride. Their attention focused on the chief's only son as he spoke first,
and members of their band gathered around them.

"Great evil walks in the white man's village, Father. It came on the
boat which breathes fire and smoke. All who went near it or tended
those who became sick fell prey to its power. We did not go to trade,
so we camped a short distance from the post and waited for our friends
to return. After they became too weak to ride or walk to our campfire,
we did not go near them. One of the hairy faces warned us it was
certain death to touch those whose bodies spewed forth watery evil.
The hairy face said it was the same danger even after their spirits left
their bodies, so we could not bring them home with us. We must not
go near the white man's village again."