The Short Story Collection

When the Tribe Was Young

When the tribe was young, there was a man, one who reminds me of you. He had grown up hearing of the vicious northern tribes, just like the snow they lived in; the free living eastern tribes, just like the wind; the wise western tribes, who were like the stones littering their lands; and the broiling and intense southern tribes, as fiery as could be. This man loved hearing about these tribes, he would ask to hear stories whenever possible. He found it fascinating that they could live in such manners, they didn’t even live in lodges! He could not fathom not living with the trees, it was the trees that gave life! It was the trees that gave the animals shelter

One day, the man heard of the far off Lummi tribe, they were said to be the wisest of the western tribes, and the coldest of the northern tribes. It was said that they knew all answers, and that anyone that traveled there would be enlightened. It was for this reason that with little more than his bow and arrow, given to him by an elder in the village, that Tiraawaahat left his Kansa tribe.

After he left, he decided to follow the birds north, as they were the masters of direction. Coming back and forth every summer cycle. After four days of following the signs of the birds, he looked at the sun, and it became apparent to him that he was travelling east the whole time. He continued to walk, and noted that he heard thunder in the distance. It was at this time, that the Wakinyan appeared before him. The Wakinyans are a race of giant eagle, whenever they flap their wings lightning is formed. It caused the very earth to shake when it hit the ground. The giant eagle let out a thunderous caw, and spoke these words. “Only the weak rely upon others, do you think that I need help to make the thunder roll? No, for that is my duty, and my duty alone. Do you think that Musquash needs help to light up the earth with her glow? No, as that is her duty and her duty alone.”. With this lesson taught, the Wakinyan took flight, and left with a mighty caw.

After the Wakinyan had left, Tiraawaahat set off once again, this time using the light of Musquash to set his course. As he walked, he thought about the Wakinyan’s words, he wouldn’t rely upon others, he would do it all by himself. All he was focused on was making sure that he didn’t rely upon others, and he walked like that for forty days, until eventually he came across another tribe hunting. Fortunately they were merciful, and just sent him on his way.

And so he walked further still, until he reached a giant river, with rapids so roaring that he couldn’t swim through it. He took a second to think on how he would cross. His first thought was to ask for help from the tribe he had crossed earlier, yet instantly shot it down, this was his problem, not theirs. He had to do this alone. With that thought, he lept into the water and started to swim. As he was swimming, he could practically feel the fingers of Sedna pulling him down into the river. He tried his hardest, but there was no way he could resist the pure might of the river. The warm, swirling water pulled him down to the bottom, where he was slammed against a large boulder.

Tiraawaahat woke up to ants scuttling around him, and he jumped, as the anu were completely new to him. As he was jumping back from the ants, he heard a deep, buzzing voice. “Only the prideful do everything themselves, do you believe that our ancestors picked up the moon and put it in its rightful place themselves?  Do you believe that the Coyotls took the flesh from Deelgeth that made your people alone?” It was at this point that the sounder of the voice stepped out.

He was surprised to see the creature behind the voice. It looked almost like an ant that had bred with a human. This anu-human creature took him in for a few months, and Tiraawaahat met the whole colony. He was very surprised at the ‘machines’ the anu used. They were able to do so much, they were using the power of their people to move water upward! Eventually, however, he had to leave to continue on. He left with several gifts from the people, one of which was a gift of a single seed, which was of an unknown plant.

Tiraawaahat walked for another 42 days, when he finally reached a tiny village on the coast. He saw that there was noone there, and that noone had lived there for many years, as there was holes in each and every house. He ruled that this most certainly could not be Lummi. No enlightened person could live HERE. At this point, a wizened old man stepped out from behind the buildings. He walked towards Tiraawaahat at a pace that his body shouldn’t have been able to achieve. Tiraawaahat started to backpedal, but froze when the man spoke. With a voice much too deep and rumbling for any human, he said “ You, Tiraawaahat, have travelled far too long to be having second thoughts about your enlightenment. You may ask any one question of the Lummi tribe, and we shall answer.”. Tiraawaahat took a second to think on this offer, as he had only one shot at this.

He thought on this for several minutes, before he used his long unheard voice.

“I know how humans succeed, through a mixture of working together, and not relying solely upon others. But why do we do this, why do humans care so much, yet so little about each other?”

The Lummi responded for the last time with his wizened old voice

“This is because this is how we created you. When we were young beings, we realized that we did not have the optimum level of cooperation. And as such, we used different models of beings to do such. We made thunderbirds, which almost always work alone to make their storms. We made the anu, which need each other to survive. But last of all we made you, beings who can do things yourselves, but can do them better with help from the world around you. You can take a stick and make a spear, you can take leaves and make a house, you can take a seed and make a crop. You, you are our greatest creation.”

With this being said, the Lummi disappeared into the air around him. Tiraawaahat left back to his tribe. Halfway there he realized the true gift that had been given, he had reached enlightenment just on the way there. He stopped right there, and planted his seed the anu had given him. In an almost instant array of gold and greens, an entire field of corn grew. It was that place where he lived the rest of his life. He had married a woman who had came through his territory, and their descendents stayed there with them, and their descendents with them. The village was eventually given the name of Osage, meaning middle waters, as the village never involved itself in wars. This, this is how our village got its start, and its name. We are the descendents of Tiraawaahat. We know what is important. We are the Osage. And we know the lessons taught to us when our tribe was young.