Woodland Indians Of Early America (revised, 1980)

[Music] all sh all [Music] [Music] for years without number my people lived in these [Music] forests we are the Chip War Indians and we shared the land with the plants and animals for they are the brothers and sisters of all of us our mother is the Earth and our father is the great spirit Kimu the Creator there were many tribes of Woodland Indians living here long before the first Traders and settlers came from across the ocean my people the chipa lived near the shores of the lake we call Gigi today it is also called Lake Superior imagine a time more than 300 years ago it was the beginning of the month of shining leaves the Autumn season when chipa families went from their villages to gather the wild rice that grows in shallow water every family had its own special place for Gathering wild rice and this family was just arriving at their special place during the month of shining leaves the women of the family usually gathered the wild rice and prepared it to last through the winter the men usually went hunting so the family would have meat and animal skins this father was teaching his two sons to be Hunters their names were quit Fox and little bear but they were usually called older brother and younger brother a person's name was very special not often spoken aloud because one had to be very careful with something as important as a name the family had built a house called The Wigwam where they stayed while the wild rice was being gathered they approached The Wigwam quietly and carefully it had been empty for almost a year and a wild animal or an enemy might be hiding inside last Autumn the father had left behind some magic ch arms to protect the Wigwam it was safe now and they could prepare to move in there was still time before the sun set to go hunting older brother had his bow ready and also his stone tomahawk and younger brother had his bow and arrows and a knife with a sharp blade chipped from a piece of flint everything my people used and everything they ate came from the forest or the land or the water they had baskets called Maks which mother and sister made from the bark of the birch tree sister's name was really bright star they always brought some food with them from their vegetable Garden in the village they had different kinds of squashes and they had beans and they also had root vegetables and corn they would cook their food in a fire pit but first the pit had to be cleaned out and made ready and The Wigwam had to be prepared for the night night they had fine blankets made from Deer skin but the women's most important job was to begin Gathering the wild rice and to try to catch some fish they used fish hooks that the men had made from bone in those days gathering enough food was always important for my people especially in Autumn when they had to prepare for the long cold WI that was why father and his two sons always asked a good spirit a m to to give them success on their hunt the hunters had to think and move quickly and silently like the deer making no sound that would frighten the animals younger brother saw something moving and he was ready but it was only a skunk not good for food and no one would kill an animal just for sport they went on for a long time game was not easy to find and a hunter had to learn to be patient and then near the big tree a wild turkey if the turkey moved toward him older brother would be ready and brother would help in another [Music] way the turkey heard what seemed to be the gobling of another turkey [Music] the arrow had found its mark But if the turkey were only wounded it might still get away no the hunt was a success younger brother had done his job well and there would be plenty of of meat for the evening [Music] meal meanwhile mother and sister had also been busy gathering wild rice chipa women used two sticks to harvest the rice one stick to bend the plant stocks and the other to beat off the grains mother used one of her baskets to catch most of the rice but she let some grains fall into the water so more rice would grow before very long they had gathered a good supply of wild rice and they also had the fish that sister caught as they moved across the lake it was time to return to the Wigwam to prepare the evening meal [Music] the month of shining leaves was a time for my people to gather enough food to last through the coming winter this family had made a good beginning the turkey the hunters brought back could Supply several useful things the bones could be made into needles and Fish Hooks the feathers could be used for head decorations and of course the turkey would also provide them with meat and so after Sunset there was a fine evening meal the corn and beans that mother and sister had grown in their Village Garden the wild rice they had harvested that day and the turkey the hunters had brought back father was proud of what younger brother had done to make the hunt successful and so from that time on younger brother could wear a feather of the turkey as a symbol of honor and a reminder of the [Music] hunt in the days ahead the hunters would work hard to find game and the women would work hard to gather the wild rice that is what our W families did long ago during the month of shining leaves when my people lived in the Woodlands near the shores of Gigi