A Chief of a Great Nation

Gangs

Art by Jillian

Education Day in Makato
by Jordan

How to Hold a Native American Cultural Education Day
By Solomon-Grade 8

Every year for the past 14 years, a Native American Education Day has been held on the Friday before the annual Mahkato powwow that is held in Mankato, Minnesota, on the third full weekend of September. The Education Day offers third graders in the Mankato school district a brief glimpse into a different culture.

The Storytelling Stone
Told By: Aurora187 - age 12

Many many times ago when the world was still kind of new, life was hard for the people. The worst time was when old man winter and his friend the north wind were sitting hard on the people. They spent long days with snow piled against their shelters. Of course they had to out and hunt for food or they would starve.

There was one boy who was especially good, he was respectful to his elders, he always told the truth, and his heart was very kind. He went out to hunt one day for his people.

He shot several things as he was a good hunter. As he was walking home through the deep snow, he got tired and sat down next to a huge rock to rest. The rock was different than any he had seen, it almost looked like a head of a person.

All of a sudden, he jumped up when a voice deeply said, "I will now tell you a story."

The boy looked around to see if someone was tricking him. He could not find any body. "Who are you, where are you?" he said.

"I am going to tell you a story" said the voice.

The boy said, "ok."

The rock said, "first you must give me something."

So the boy put one of the birds he had killed on the stone. He called the stone grandfather and asked it to tell the story.

The stone told about how the earth was created--it was a long and wonderful story.

The boy thanked the stone when it was over and said that he was going to tell the story to his family and that he would be back the next day.

As the boy was walking home he realized that the whole time the stone was telling the story he had not been cold at all, and the snow seemed to have gone away.

The boy ran into his home feeling very happy. Every one came to see what he was so happy about he told the story the great stone had told him.

The story kept them from being cold, it made them happy, they slept and dreamed good dreams that night.

The next day the boy brought another bird back to the stone, and the stone told him another wonderful story.

Each day, of the cold blowing wind and snow, the boy went back to the stone and heard many wonderful stories. The stories were not just stories. The boy was being given important things to teach the people. How to live right and how they should do it.

One day spring was coming, and the boy brought his gift as usual. But the stone said nothing.

He asked for a story. He said, "Why wont you tell me a story?"

The stone said, "I told you all the stories I have. I gave them to you to keep for the people. If you remember and share with those to come, then the people will always know how to live right. Then more stories will come as you have lived your lives and these you will pass on to others so that all may know and remember the right way to live."

The boy shared all his story so that everyone could be happy and people thanked him. And every one that told stories that they may know and live by these many good things.

THE END

John - age 9, Louisiana

this is a poem I wrote on a road trip to Cheyenne River

You been down this road seven times
yet you never seen it before
a place where everything and nothing
becomes Indian Folk lore
The place where spirits dance
in the night under the sky
filled with my fore fathers
whose wisdom is wise
No treaty or reservation
can stop their voices of red
of the suffering and the ones
who fought and who bled
There is a circle that has power
and when you see it clear
always understand
our people are near
it occupies rooms in the greatest form
filling your veins with a beating drum
remember your ancestors
and secure the future for our young
this is the place where everything joins
its your heart, your voice, and the air in between
respect everything and everyone
because its you who knows what our people mean!
Mi-iw

My name is Nate, and I am 18.
I am Anishinaabe and Lakota.

Blue Eagles
sent to Canku Ota by Jaime, age 10, grade 5

One day when the continents were connected and the Earth was new, a young Cherokee warrior called Running Bear went to hunt in the magical woods.

While he was hunting, he looked up in the trees to see if any animals were there. He didn't see any animals. He saw something even better, something that no one had ever seen before. A blue eagle was flying eight feet above Running Bear. Running Bear turned to see if any other blue eagles were flying in the other direction, but there were no other blue eagles.

Running Bear turned back to hunt, and then he noticed a beautiful young Indian lady.

<Running Bear asked, "Who are you"?

She answered, "I am the blue eagle you just saw. I am your animal guide, and I am here to deliver a message to you".

" I don't believe you are my animal guide. How can a blue eagle transform into a human being? If you are my animal guide why are you here? ", he questioned.

She replied, "I am appearing as a human because you need to see me as a human to understand my message. The message is that to find your true love, you need to find and open your heart. What you seek is right in front of you".

Running Bear then asked, " What do you mean by that?" She replied, "When your heart is open, you will understand."

Running Bear replied, "How do I find and open my heart?"

At that, she vanished, and he looked up in the sky and saw a blue eagle flying again.

Running Bear thought to himself: Is this happening, is this a dream? Open my heart? What does that mean? No way can a blue eagle turn into a human.

Running Bear continued on his hunt. The sun was setting as the sunlight streamed through the forest carving paths of light. Running Bear decided this was a good spot to make camp for the night. Running Bear gathered grass and pine needles for a bed, Running Bear gathered kindling for a fire, and he found some berries and water from a near by stream. After eating, he was full, so he went to bed so he could rise with the sun.

Running Bear had a dream about the paths of sunlight he saw as the sun set earlier in the day. One of the paths almost seemed to says "follow me, follow me". Running Bear didn't understand why he should follow the path, but he did. As Running Bear was following the path, the path got brighter and brighter as it went on. He didn't understand why the path was getting brighter as the sun was going down.

At the end of the path were thirty-six blue eagle feathers and a heart!

Suddenly, Running Bear woke up and realized he had had a dream. Running Bear thought to himself, "I shall follow the path I saw in my dream. It all seems so clear to me now. I shall find my heart at the end of the path."

Running Bear proceeded along the path he saw in his dream. As Running Bear was walking, the sun was rising and getting brighter, the birds were chirping louder, and animals were roaming in the forest. In the distance, Running Bear saw something that caught his attention.

As he got closer it became clearer, until finally he arrived to see before him, lying in the path, these magnificent blue eagle feathers. Running Bear exclaimed, "This is what I saw in my dream, but where is the heart?"

Running Bear picked up the feathers and laid them on a tree stump, as a gust of wind lifted the feathers and they transformed into the beautiful young lady he saw a day ago who was standing before him. Running Bear's animal guide told Running Bear that his heart had been with him all along, and he just didn't listen to his heart.

Running Bear finally realized that all along his heart had been speaking to him. When he found that he had his heart, he learned to listen to the voice inside of him, for it is the voice inside of us that can answer all of our questions.

Gangs
by Leo J., Age 17, Northern Pomo (Sherwood) and Pit River (Amjumawi band).

Alryte check it out people, i'm a young native amercian male, i'm 17, i come from the Northside of California, an here in my county gangs i guess are a problem, there's mexican gangs, an then there's us, the indian ones...for some reason people think indian gangs lost their culural idenity?...but if wer'e "native american gangs"..then how is that true?...*just a note, no, i'm not illiterate, but i'm just typing this message as i think it out*..anywayz

A Chief of a Great Nation
The following is a report by Patric, a nine-year-old Ojibwa boy. The assignment was to write about a famous leader. He wanted to share it with you.

Bozhoo nigi, hello friends. My name is Chief Sitting Bull. I was born in 1831 or 1832, into a wealthy Hunkpapa family, which is part of the Sioux Tribe. My mother's name was her Holy Door and my father's name was also Sitting Bull.

Art by Jillian, Age 6 - Minnesota

This drawing was one of the two chosen in her first grade class at Breck School by the Pentel Corporation this year. The drawing traveled to many countries around the world, including Mexico and Japan in the International Children's Art Exhibition. The subject of the art was to draw of picture of your home and it was great to see that Jillian thought of our tipi (that is our exact tipi) as her home. She said, "we live in it all summer and camp in it " and her parents, Ramona and Charlie and her Grandpa Reuben take it around and tell people about how it is put up and how it was used by the Plains Indians. "My sister Deanna even made a video about it. That is why I think of it as home". Jillian says her heroes are her Grandpa Reuben, her mom and Dad her sister Deanna and everyone else who keeps the traditions of our ancestors alive today.

ToDay we went to education Day at Makato Wacipi. Makato means Blue earth in Dakota, that is where the City of Mankato is. Wacipi means Dance or Powwow. Today I learned Winuna is my Dakota name. it means I am the frist Born girl. I also leared in a tipi grils sit on the left side, Boys on the right. in Dakota ina means mom and ate means Dad. in the car on the way here my grandma tought me how to say I came with my grandma in Dakota "mi coon-ci kci wa-e." We went to a place were we got to here storys, one was about an old man, the other about fire. also we saw a cradle board and some bead work, a few insramints, some druming, some Indian things like wepons, cloth and a Dancing strick. We also saw some quilting.
BY,

Jordan
5th Grade