Marcia L. Gerencser
MAN AND WOMAN STORY
SOUTHWEST-PIMA INDIANS
Earthmaker had been wandering around and going nowhere. He was hot and dirty. When he rubbed the sweat and dust from his brow he made a very small ball. The ball, which was held in the palm of his hand, tipped over 3 times. Finally, it stopped and Earth was created. Earthmaker saw that no one was on Earth, so after he rubbed his chest, he made 2 little dolls with the dirt which rubbed off his chest. He carefully laid them upon the Earth. This was the creation of the first Man and Woman. They increased in numbers until they filled the Earth. They were perfect people and there was never any sickness or death. But eventually, the Earth became too crowded and they began to fight with each other. Many died in battle.
The following questions could be used for discussion.
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Sometimes we need to be alone and we are happy. Sometimes we are alone and feel very lonely. Do you think Earthmaker was lonely?
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When do you like to be alone and when do you feel lonely?
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3.
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How do you think Earthmaker felt when he saw people fighting?
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4.
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What could Earthmaker have done when he saw the people fighting? What could you do when you see your friends fighting?
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5.
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What does this myth teach you?
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One of the major misconceptions about the Indians was that they were exclusively a race of horsemen. The Indians of the Southwest region were the Indians that were mounted on horses. And in this region, the Navajo, Apache and Comanche were tribes regarded as being certainly mounted. The Comanche were a horse-oriented tribe of the type that was depicted in movies from Hollywood. The Apache were regarded as very poor horsemen. They enjoyed eating them as much as riding them and they usually fought their battles on foot. The Navajo were a pacific people. They employed their ponies for tending sheep and cattle as they were pastoralists and herdsmen. These three tribes were a very small part of the 600 tribes of Indians that lived in the North American continent. For 20,000 years they survived without the horse. It was only after the white man introduced the horse to the Indian that they began to use them in any sense.(l 1) How the horse actually came into existence is told through the myth Sky Dogs. The Blackfeet Indians are given the credit for this myth. When the horses first appeared to the Blackfeet people, they thought the strange animals were dogs sent as a gift from the sky from Old Man, creator of all things. The storyteller of this myth is He-Who-Loves-Horses.
THE FIRST HORSES
SKY DOGS
PLAINS-BLACKFEET
A long, long time ago we had to walk and walk from sky to sky, from camp to camp. Our dogs carried our rawhide bags and pulled our travois sleds. We walked so much that we wore out many moccasins going across the plains.
AR of a sudden, one day, coming from Old Man’s sleeping room, west of the mountains, we saw some strange looking beasts. They were as big as elk and they had tails of straw. Lying across the backs of these beasts were two Kutani men. One beast was pulling a travois sled. We became afraid because we did not understand.
My best friend, Jumps-Over-the-Water hid behind his mother’s skirt. The bravest of all of us known as Running Bear, ran behind the nearest tipi to hide. I was so frightened I could not move. I was away from the safety of my father’s tipi. The men in our tribe yelled that we were not to be afraid - that we were the mighty Piegans who took the land sway from the Kutani.
As I looked around I saw that they were afraid. They all had big eyes and four of them had their hunting bows aimed.
Then our chief Long Arrow laughed. He said, “These are from Old Man. They are a gift like the elk, antelope, buffalo and bighorn sheep they are called Sky Dogs”.
Now Long Arrow was very smart because he had walked around the Earth seven times from the Porcupine Hills down to the mouth of the Yellowstone. Everyone became quiet and trusted his knowledge. We waited for the Sky Dogs to reach our camp. We waited bravely with our sacred herb, nawak’osis, ready for smoking. When they reached our camp we saw that there were two Kutani men and a Kutani woman in the travois sled. We took the three ill Kutani in but the medicine man could do nothing for the men. They died before they could tell us about the Sky Dogs and how they came to be from Old Man.
We took care of the beasts. We fed them dried meat as we fed our dogs. We threw sticks to make them fetch. One Sky Dog ran away. Some say he went back to Old Man. Some say that the coyote got him. The two that stayed showed us they like to eat grass.
Running Bear came sway from his tipi and Jumps-Over-the-Water left his mother’s skirt. No one was afraid anymore.
I went up to the smallest Sky Dog. I touched him gently from hoof to mane. I felt his soft, warm skin. He did not flicker. He did not move. I pressed my face close against his face. He still did not move. Long Arrow smiled at me and gave me the name- He-Who-Loves-Horses.
The Kutani woman grew well, married my father and we lived in the tipi as a family. She sang to us the story of the Sky Dogs and her people. I learned how to mount and to comb the mane with a bone comb. And I learned how to ride into battle.
From this I earned a place in the Council of Warriors.(12)
The following questions could be used for discussion.
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When the horses first appeared everyone became frightened. The people were afraid because they had never seen horses before. Do you think that they should have aimed their bows and arrows at them?
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When you are afraid of something new what do you do?
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If you were entering a new school would you be afraid? How would you handle it?
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When a new student enters your classroom are you afraid of him? If so, how would you change your feeling of fear?
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Why was Long Arrow an important person?
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Who is an important person in your life? Explain.
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