A firsthand account of how the Indian brave decorated his face cannot but prove of interest. Says a writer who dwelt for some time among the Sioux; “Daily, when I had the opportunity, I drew the patterns their faces displayed, and at length obtained a collection, whose variety even astonished myself. The strange combinations produced in the kaleidoscope may be termed weak when compared to what an Indian’s imagination produces on his forehead, nose and cheek. I will try to give some account of them as far as words will reach. Two things struck me most in their arrangement of color. First, the fact that they did not trouble themselves at all about the natural divisions of the face; and, secondly, the extraordinary mixture of the graceful and the grotesque. At times, it is true, they did observe those natural divisions produced by nose, eyes, mouth, etc. They eyes were surrounded with regular colored circles; yellow or black strips issued harmoniously and equidistant from the mouth; over the cheeks ran a semicircle of green dots, the ears forming the center. At times, too, the forehead was traversed by lines running parallel to the natural contour of that feature; this always looked somewhat human, so to speak, because the fundamental character of the face was unaltered. Usually, however, these regular patterns do not suit the taste of the Indians. They like contrasts, and frequently divide the face into two halves, which undergo different treatment; one will be dark — say black or blue — but the other quite light, yellow, bright red or white: one will be crossed by thick lines made by the forefingers, while the other is arabesque, with extremely fine lines, produced by the aid of a brush. This division is produced in two different ways. The line of demarcation sometimes runs down the nose, so that the right cheek and side are buried in gloom, while the left looks like a flower-bed in the sunshine. At times, though, they draw the line across the nose, so that the eyes glisten out of the dark color, while all beneath the nose is bright and lustrous. It seems as if they wished to represent on their faces the different phases of the moon. I frequently inquired whether there was any significance in these various patterns, but was assured it was a matter of taste. They were simple arabesques, like their squaws’ work on the moccasins, girdles, tobacco-pouches, etc. “Still there is a certain symbolism in the use of the colors. Thus, red generally typifies joy and festivity; and black mourning. When any very melancholy death takes place, they rub a handful of charcoal over the entire face. If the deceased is only a distant relative, a mere trellis-work of black lines is painted on the face; they have also a half-mourning, and only paint half of the face black. Red is not only their joy, but also their favorite color. They generally cover their face with a coating of bright red, on which the other colors are laid; for this purpose they employ vermilion, which comes from China, and is brought them by the Indian traders. However, this red is by no means ‘de rigueur.’ Frequently the ground color is a bright yellow, for which they employ chrome-yellow, obtained from the trader. They are very partial to Prussian blue and employ this color not only on their faces, but as a type of peace on their pipes; and as the hue of the sky, on their graves. It is a very curious fact, by the way, that hardly any Indian can distinguish blue from green. I have seen the sky which they represent on their graves by a round arch, as frequently of one color as the other. In the Sioux language toya signifies both green and blue; and a much-traveled Jesuit Father told me that among the Indian tribes the same confusion prevails. I have also been told that tribes have their favorite colors, and I am inclined to believe it, although I was not able to recognize any such rule. Generally all Indians seem to hold their own native copper skin in special affection, and heighten it with vermilion when it does not seen to them sufficiently red. I discovered during a journey I took among the Sioux that there is a certain national style in this face-painting. They were talking of a poor Indian who had gone mad, and when I asked some of his countrymen present in what way he displayed his insanity, they said, “Oh, he dresses himself up so funnily with feathers and shells; he paints his face so comically that it is enough to make one die of laughing.’ This was said to me by persons so over laden with feathers, shells, green and vermilion, Prussian blue, and chrome-yellow, that I could hardly refrain from smiling. Still, I drew the conclusion from it that there must be something conventional and typical in their variegated style which might be easily infringed.”

Told by J.G. Kohl, Kitchi-gami, (1860)

Lewis Spence.

Enlightenment…

long ago in Napi’s village the people had their homes, their tipi’s, and their lodges situated in the foothills surrounded by mountains out in back. The people didn’t feel really comfortable about their kids going up and playing in the mountains. So they set aside a time when they made a fun day out of it. The children could all go up and climb as high and as far as they wanted to go. When they would turn back they were instructed to bring some vegetation… to pick off something that when they got back the folks could tell how high they climbed. One rule was that they had to get back by sunset. The big day came and they turned loose all the kids and they headed up. I guess there was kind of a chubby young fellow who came on back and he had with him what looked like cactus. The elders said, “Good job, you made it right up into the top of the foothills.” As the day passed some came back and the elders said, “Good job, you brought back the poplar tree branches and you made it up to right up to the springs.” As more of the afternoon passed on some more came back with the pine needles, the pinecones and the elders said, ” Oh, great job you made it up high, way up into the pine trees.” So, they all had reported back in but one. He hadn’t made it back yet and they started to get a little anxious and a little nervous. The sun was starting to go down towards sunset and just as the sun was to go down, this young fellow came into camp. His face was lit up. It looked like he just swallowed a light bulb. He said, “Where I went, I went past the pine up through the shale rock and I climbed to the top. Up there, there were no trees but I felt the wind in my face and I saw a glance of the other side. I heard the murmuring of many waters and I felt… I ‘felt ‘.” So it was this young one who climbed the mountain and was touched. He saw something… he heard something… and he knew something… and he was changed forever.

A poor orphan boy lived with a large family of people who were not kind to him and mistreated him. He could not go to play or hunt with the other boys, but had to do all of the hard work. Whenever the camp broke up the family always tried to steal away and leave the boy behind, but sooner or later he found their new camp and went to them because he had no other place to go. One time several families went in boats to an island in a large lake to hunt eggs, and the orphan boy went with them. After they had filled their boats with eggs they secretly made ready to go back to the mainland. In the night, while the orphan boy was asleep, they stole away in their boats, leaving him to starve on the lonely island. The boy wandered about the island, eating only the scraps that he could find around the dead camp fires, until he was almost starved. As he did not have a bow and arrows, he could not hunt, but he sat by the water’s edge and tried to catch fish as they swam past him. One day as he sat on the lonely shore he saw a large animal with horns coming to him through the water. He sat very still and watched the animal, for he was too frightened to run away. The monster came straight to him, then raised his head out of the water and said: “Boy, I have come to save you. I saw the people desert you and I have taken pity upon you and come to rescue you. Get upon my back and hold to my horns and I will carry you to the mainland.” The boy was no longer afraid, but climbed upon the animal’s back. “Keep your eyes on the blue sky, and if you see a star tell me at once,” the animal said to him. They had not gone far when the boy cried, “There in the west is a big star.” The monster looked up and saw the star, then turned around at once and swam back to the island as fast as he could. The next day he came and took the boy again, telling him, as before, to call out the moment that he saw a star appear in the sky. They had gone a little farther than they had the day before when the boy cried out, “There in the west is a star.” The animal turned around and went to the shore. The next day and the next four days he started with the boy, and each time he succeeded in getting a little farther before the boy saw the star. The sixth time they were within a few feet of the opposite shore when the boy saw the star. He wanted to reach the shore so badly that he thought he would keep still and not tell the monster that he saw the star, for he knew that he would take him back to the island at once if he did. He said nothing, and so the monster swam on until they were almost in shallow water, when the boy saw a great black cloud roll in front of the star. He became frightened and jumped off of the animal’s back and swam to the shore. Just as he jumped something struck the animal with an awful crash and he rolled over dead. When the boy came upon the shore a handsome young man came up to him and said: “You have done me a great favor. For a long time I have tried to kill this monster, because he makes the water of the lake dangerous, but until now I could never get the chance. In return for what you have done, I will take you with me to the sky, if you care to go.” The boy said that he wanted to go, as he was alone and friendless upon the earth. The man, who was Evening-Star, took him with him to the sky, and there he may be seen as Orphan-Star who stands near Evening-Star.

Traditions of the Caddo, By George A. Dorsey, collected 1903-1905, under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington

When a hunter has killed a male elk far away, then twelve men go to fetch it. When he has killed a female elk, eight go to fetch it. When a hunter has killed two elks, many people go to fetch it. When he has killed many, then it is dried in the woods [it is not carried away]. The people go home when it is dry, and the hunter distributes the meat among all the people.

A menstruating woman must not take the head of an elk. Women do not eat the tongue; only men eat it. They do not break the bones of the forelegs. These are carried faraway, else a menstruating woman might see them. When such a woman eats the feet and hoofs, the hunter will be unlucky. When she steps over an elk’s head, she will be sick with dropsy. Just so a girl who has just reached maturity. She does not look at an elk, else she will be sick with dropsy. When a hunter is unsuccessful, his child must not go near the water. When it goes near water, it will fall sick and die at once. When he goes hunting, his wife and children sit motionless. His wife must not go anywhere. When his children make noise, one of them will fall sick if the hunter is unsuccessful.

Chinook Texts, by Franz Boas; U.S. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin no. 20; US Government Printing Office; [1894] and is now in the public domain.

Whenever Wankandon went hunting on the mountain, he took care to think as little as possible of the Spirit of the Bear. For it is well known that whoever can see Bear without being seen by him will become the mightiest hunter of his generation, but he can never be seen by anybody who is thinking about him.

On the other hand, if a tribesman should himself be seen by the Spirit of the Bear Walking, there is no knowing what might happen. Hunters who have gone up on the mountain and never come back are supposed to have met with him. So between hope of seeing and fear of being seen, it is nearly impossible to hunt on the mountain without thinking of Bear.

Wankandon alone hoped to accomplish the impossible. He might have managed it at the time his thoughts were all taken up with wondering whether the daughter of the Medicine Man could be persuaded to marry him, but at that time he did not hunt at all. He spent his time waiting at the spring where the maidens came with their mothers to fill their water bottles, making a little flute of four notes and playing on it. After he was married, however, he tried again to dispossess his mind of the thought of Bear. “For”, he said, “when my son is born he will have pride in me, and keep a soft place in the hut for the man who was the mightiest hunter of his generation.” Thus it was that he never went out to hunt on the mountain without thinking both of his son and the Bear Walking.

In due time the son was born and thought Wankandon had not yet become the mightiest hunter, he was very happy. Always when he went on the mountain he remembered his wish and so missed it.

In the course of year the tribe fell into war with the people of the north and the son of Wankandon went out to his first battle. But, as it turned out, the battle went against the tribe and the son of Wakandon was brought home shot full of arrows. Then the heart of Wankandan broke when he buried him. He said, “Let me go, I will build a fire on the mountain to light the feet of my son’s spirit and then I will lament him.”

Clad in all his war gear he went up on the mountain and all the way he thought only of his son and how he should miss him. So, when he had lighted the spirit fire, he said “Oh, my son, what profit shall I have of my life now you are departed.” And as he wept he saw something moving on the slope before him. He looked, for his eyes were by no means as keen as they had been, and behold, it was the Spirit of the Bear Walking.