The native north american tribes have many myths of the spirits of the land. One of the most fearsome is the bokwus. It is the spirit that you always feel watching you as you move through he deep woods. Ocassionally you may catch a glimpse of his war-painted face as he peeks around a tree. He appears often near rushing water, using the sound to cover his approach, then when close enough, he pushed the hapless victim into the water. The bokwus also takes the spirits of the drowned to his home in the forest as soon as they are freed from their bodies. What he does with them there, no one knows. A group of fairies called the nagumwasuck are well know to the Passamaquoddy indian tribe. These spirits though ugly, are very helpful and create good luck in all of the tribe's activities. They are rarely seen, since their ugly appearance makes them very self-conscious. So whenever there is a human about they quickly dodge out of sight.
It was the Winter when the Stars fell. The white men said it was November 12th, 1833. It was our Month of the Snapping Trees. The evening started quietly; the stars and constellations turning slowly silently overhead. Every now and then a meteor, like a falling star, would streak across the heavens as on any evening. But this was to be no ordinary night. For now there were falling stars everywhere, and then more; thousands every minute. Beyond all counting. The four-leggeds and the winged ones stirred and moaned and no one slept that night. Our wise men said it was a bad sign, that the falling stars were like the white men falling by the thousands upon our land, coming at first a few at a time, but now coming in great steams, pouring from the east upon the lands promised to us for all time, and still they came. And our wise men were right, for we heard that the white man's president, Andrew Jackson, who was proud of fighting Indians, said that very year, "Those Indian tribes cannot exist near our settlements. They have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor a desire for improvement. Established in the midst of our superior race, they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear." "No white person or persons shall be permitted to settle upon, to occupy, or to pass through any portion of this territory without the consent of the Indians." Treaty of 1868 (who committed suicide while in captivity) "The soldiers cut down the trees; they kill the buffalo and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting. Has the white man become a child that he should recklessly kill and not eat?" "We were born naked and have been taught to hunt and live on game. You tell us that we must learn to farm, live in one house and take on your ways. Suppose the people living beyond the great sea should come and tell YOU that you must stop farming, and kill YOUR cattle and take YOUR houses and lands! What would you do? "They talked and talked for days, but it was just like the wind blowing in the end." "Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? We also have a religion, which was given to our forefathers. It teaches us to be thankful for all the gifts we receive and to love each other. We never quarrel about religion. Brother, we do not wish to destroy your religion, or take it from you, we only want to follow our own." Leader of the Sand Creek Massacre said, "Damn any man who sympathizes with Indians! I have come to KILL Indians, and believe it is right and honorable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians." The world has grown older now, bowed with many winter snows. The ground is no longer young. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors. But the stories are like the stars, they never change. The voices pause, there is scarcely any twilight left. The dying fires seem to draw inward a cool night wind from all directions and on that wind come voices.
It was a clear cold day in the frozen tundra wastelands of what is now known as Alaska, an icy wind was blowing,in the middle of this wasteland was a single tree, sleeping its winter sleep; suddenly a bright flash of pure white light which lasted for a second and no longer occurred, when the light faded all was as it was except that perched on one of the branches of the tree was a large brown hawk. The hawk looked around, as if to get its bearings, let out a screech, then it proceeded to preen its feathers. When it finished with this, it leapt into the air and with powerful wing beats it left to find 'The One' it was meant to search out. I strech out my arms and fly with the eagles.
In the deep subterranean caves of north america there live the ohdows, a race of small tribal
people very much like indians. They have many magical powers which they use to keep certain
gigantic earth spirits and demons from emerging and devastating the earth.
Amoung the Algonquin indians of Northeastern United States and Canada, there is the myth of the
manitou. the manitou is a stoic race of faerie folk who live in tribes similar to the indians.
They can be recognized by the small horns or antlers on their foreheads. Though neither
particularly kind to the tribes intheir areas, they were neither as malicious as some of the
traditional faeries. They were often depicted as being tricksters. One manitou whos original
name: Wee-sa-kee-jac, has been europeanized into Whisky-Jack, was said to have the head of the
coyotee, and was especially known for his tricks. The manitou possed strong magic, which the
indians believed came from their music, produced through drumming.
The Winter When the Stars Fell
Could the ashes of the council fires that once stretched across this continent be given the power to speak, what stories they would tell; stories about the time long ago when the world was young, when animals could speak and share their wisdom with us.
"The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians: their lands and property shall never be taken from them." U.S. Congress, 1789.
Santanta...Kiowa
General Phil Sheridan "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead."
Red Jacket, Seneca
Gall
Black Elk, Sioux
General John Chivington
There must always be stories. But now, the wind and voices whisper, their windsong now among the stars. I look upward to the stars, into the fire and beyond. I do not forget the stories, nor the stars.
Brookie M. Craig
What is a Warrior?
The Spirit Hawk
As it flew it took one last look at the tree, its place of birth, knowing it would never see it again. It passed over a village of eskimos, and circled once, as it did so the people looked up and their hearts filled with awe and wonder at the sight of the magnificant creature.
The hawk, upon seeing that 'The One' was not in this village, let out a screech and continued its journey. The people, while sad to see it go, wished it safety and speed. They knew it had a mission and it was not meant for them.
The hawk continued south, circling each village letting out a screech each time it saw that 'The One' it was meant for was not there. Its animal brothers the deer, elk, wolves, and so forth would each give their own cry to their brother as a symbol of luck to him in fulfilling his destiny.
The Hawk travelled for many weeks never resting, always searching..never finding, when it reached the center of what is now California it felt within its heart that it must turn east, that it would find what it was meant for in the grasslands, so it turned and made its way over the mountains, and across deserts, each time circling any village it came upon, each time screeching when it didn't find 'The One.'
During a warm summer day it happened upon a tribe in the grasslands, it circled once, and this time it did not screech. 'The One' was here, it felt it was, so the hawk gradually
decended and landed upon a large wooden frame holding tapestry painting made from buffalo hide, and waited.
The people of this village were in wonder of this creature and felt blessed to have such a magnificant animal visit them. They all stopped to admire the bird but none dared to approach, except for one indian boy whose name meant Empty One.
Many of the tribe members speculated he had no spirit, that he was no more than an empty shell. They cared for him since his mother died while birthing him, even though he did not talk or smile or show emotion he was a member of the tribe, and they would not shun one of their own.
The boy made his way to stand before the frame upon which the hawk was perched. He looked at the bird and the bird at him, each measuring the other, their eyes met, and they searched each other's souls, for the first time in his life the corner of the boy's mouth started to lift in a slight smile, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. The hawk spread its wings and the boy mimicked the actions by spreading his arms, the boy then turned to face the people and took a few steps toward them with his arms still outstretched. Then he stopped, the hawk beat its wings and flew straight at the boy. Just when the bird was about to collide with the boy there was a brilliant flash of light and the hawk screeched for the final time knowing it would be truly home.
When the light faded the hawk was no more, but the boy remained, his face turned toward the bright sunlight, tears streaming down his cheeks, a smile full upon his face, and a light within his eyes; a light that was missing before, the light of his spirit, the tribe then renamed the boy "Spirit Hawk."
There is a spirit hawk meant for all of us; some of us have it and let it fly, some have it within but refuse to let it free, for fear of where it may take them. Others await the hawk's arrival. For those who fear to let it fly, don't. If you allow your hawk to fly with your spirit you will see heights never before imagined, depths never before realized, and you will see things within yourself and others you never knew existed.
It will allow you to see the wonder and magic that still exists in the world around us. For those who await the arrival of your spirit hawk, it will find you, and when it does embrace it, and what it stands for. It may come in the form of another person, or it may come from insight within yourself, but it shall find you eventually. To let your spirit soar beyond the flesh and blood, and believe in things you otherwise might not is to truly live and be free.
"Fly with the Eagles"
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