Chapter 2

he winter came in hard upon us.  The elders said it would be a harder winter than we’d had in several years.  They had been watching the signs in nature.  The animals that had been brought in for food had thicker fur and extra layers of fat not usually seen.  The wild berries and other wild growing foods and herbs that we collected from spring through fall were very abundant.  Even the crops from our own garden seemed to produce a larger harvest.  These were all part of the signs to watch for; the elders said “The Creator will provide each living thing what it needs to survive.”  We took advantage of their wisdom and worked hard to preserve all the food that we could for the long hard winter months.  “Whenever you have a season of abundance, a season of want will be at hand.  It is for those who prepare, that will want for very little.”

The daylight hours grew shorter and the nights grew colder.  Little Collin was growing by leaps and bounds, independently crawling about the encampment, running his poor mother ragged trying to keep up with him.  Sagehawk was taking longer walks into the woods by herself for prayer and meditation each day.  And the wind had become too chilled for me to lie on the hillside and nap during the quiet time after the noon meal.  I live in a lodge with Walks in Peace and Emeralds’ Fire.  We had become a family unit for the purpose of sharing in the chores associated with life in the lodge.  Now we lay in our bunks and the three of us talk quietly among ourselves about whatever the day may have brought to our lives. Most of the work now centered within the camp.  There was still some hunting going on for meat but, all the berries and mushrooms and other wild foods had already been harvested, and that which was left of the plants had gone to sleep until the springtime. I glance out the window and see Sagehawk returning from her walk, and notice a few small snowflakes drifting silently.  I lay there in my bunk, knowing that too soon it will be time to join in the activity of the main lodge for evening meal preparations, and I close my eyes. 

Out in the distance the hawk cries out as if to warn the villagers that a storm was coming. Sagehawk had noticed in the woods that the animals were scurrying around, as if to prepare for what was coming. The skies were gray with deep billowy clouds as the pine trees swayed with the winter wind. Sagehawk knew it was time to go back to the village to prepare.

Entering the camp, Sagehawk tells the men that the signs were there of a storm approaching. The men gathered up the horses and livestock and secured them in the barn. Sagehawk went to the lodge where Walks in Peace, Emeralds Fire and Ulinawi were resting. Awaking them, she suggests that they all go gather more kindle so they are prepared for what was to come. Everyone working to prepare, the young ones gathered by the fire watching the elders get ready for the approaching snow. Sagehawk looks for Utsonati, as he is in charge of the smoke house and needs him to bring provisions in the lodges for all. The experience we all had in other winter storms is to avoid the elements and have safe shelter, as in the past we have ones who suffered by not being prepared. The Earth Mother gives us signs all the time, and now with living in harmony with nature, the villagers know how to prepare and stay safe.

One full moon had passed and the snows came with a fury. The women in the village were pleased the men brought in enough wood, so the fires remained burning. As the children became restless, Walks In Peace spent many hours with them telling stories that were passed down, about the Earth Mothers sleep time....beneath the heavy snowfall. This is the time that the Earth Mother rested, to reflect and dream of the on-coming spring. A time for the clan to sit and ponder the up-coming year. Which young men will become of age and ride with the hunters, and for the girls it was a time of learning the ways of the Clan Mother. Not only did the girls learn the necessities of cooking, basket weaving and other useful skills, but to also learn the skills that make two leggeds live in harmony with the Earth Mother and all that is living.  Working together as a group, knowing when to protect the village and when to work together with the other tribes in a peaceful manner.