__._,_.___There was a Shawnee warrior named Waupee, or White Hawk, who lived in
the forest alone. This was long, long ago. He liked animals and
birds. He was tall, strong, and one of the most well-known hunters of
his tribe. He liked the forest, for to him it held all the spirit
that lived within man.
Waupee traveled through the forest finding new animals. One day,
Waupee traveled farther than he had before. There, beyond the forest,
he saw a clearing; and when he walked out into it, he found a perfect
circle. He studied the circle and noticed that it had been made by
footprints. The prints, however, did not leave the circle: there were
none coming into the circle and none going out. Waupee thought this
was strange.
That night Waupee slept in the forest near the clearing. He heard
music in the night. He looked up, and descending from the sky was a
basket filled with twelve beautiful sisters. They were the daughters
of the Star Chief, and the basket was their way of coming down and
going up to the sky. Waupee watched the basket. It touched the ground
and the sisters got out and began to dance. They had a round magic
ring which one of them hit with a stick, making the sound of a drum.
Waupee admired these women.
One especially caught his attention. It was the youngest daughter of
the Star Chief. She had a round face that shone in happiness. Her
smile, her eyes, her round cheeks reflected the joy she felt in her
heart as she danced. Waupee could not watch any longer. He ran out of
the forest to the women. They saw him.
The women jumped back into the basket and were lifted out of his
reach by the time he got to the circle. Waupee watched them. He felt
great remorse for scaring them away. He decided to wait until the
next night.
The music woke him as he lay waiting. He looked up and the basket
came down to the circle. The women were cautious. Waupee did not
move. The women danced, laughing and beating the ring. Waupee thought
of how he could get close to the youngest sister. He changed into an
opossum.
He scurried near to the edge of the forest, then turned with his tail
towards the sisters and backed to them. The sisters laughed. "Look at
the opossum. He has come to show us a new game."
The youngest sister called out, "No, let's get out of here. It is a
trick!" The sisters climbed into the basket and disappeared. Waupee
returned to his own shape and walked back home.
The next night he returned to his hiding place in the forest. On the
way he came across an old stump. He kicked it and out came a handful
of mice. Waupee called them. Then he carried the mice filled stump to
the sisters' dancing circle and turned into a mouse himself.
The sisters descended and saw the stump. "Look," said one, "I don't
remember that stump. What is it doing there?" Another went to the
stump and started hitting it as the mice ran for their lives. The
sisters grabbed sticks and killed all the mice except for one. The
youngest sister chased it, and as she was ready to hit the mouse with
the stick, it changed into Waupee. He grabbed her and did not let her
go. The other sisters jumped into the basket and rose up into the
sky, leaving their youngest sister behind.
Waupee took his woman home. He tried to make her happy. He missed
that glow of joy that she had on her face when she danced. Now she
did not dance at all.
In time, his woman gave birth to a boy. She asked if she could return
to her father and show him the son. Waupee felt for his woman, for
sadness was constantly in her. He took her to the place of the circle
in the clearing, let her get into the basket with his son, and
watched as she ascended into the sky.
Waupee went back to the circle every night. His woman did not return.
He felt a sadness enter into his spirit. He missed his woman and hurt
with the pain of not seeing his son. As time went by, Waupee stopped
going to the circle. He stayed home and sang of his son and of his
woman.
Waupee's woman played with her sisters up in the sky. She taught the
boy her own father's ways. But when the son grew to resemble Waupee,
she remembered her man. She went to her father and asked him if there
was a way she could bring Waupee up to live with them. The Star Chief
told her that if her man could bring a piece of every animal that
lived in the forest with him, he could live in the sky.
Waupee's woman left her son with her sisters and came down in the
basket. She went to Waupee and told him of his testing. Waupee spent
four days gathering bits and pieces of the mammals, birds, and snakes
that lived in the forest. On the night of the fourth day, he went to
the circle.
The basket was lowered. He was lifted up to the Stae Chief's home.
There he saw his son. The Star Chief told all the people to pick a
part of an animal, bird, or snake from the basket. Some choose a
foot, some a wing, some a tail, and some a paw. Those who choose
tails or paws were changed into animals or snakes and ran away. The
others turned into birds and flew away.
Waupee chose a white hawk's feather. His woman and son did the same.
They spread their wings and descended with the other birds to the
earth. Their families are still living in the forest today..
__,_._,___
"Indian blood is like gold, no matter how thinly spun it shines just as bright."
"Only if we stand together as one people can we hope to overcome all the injustices suffered by our people. We have to learn to agree to disagree, and stand as one people regardless of our personal differences."
Strong Heart Woman
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