A Cheyenne Voice: The Complete John Stands in Timber Interviews
552
A Cheyenne Voice: The Complete John Stands in Timber Interviews
552Paperback
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780806163055 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Oklahoma Press |
| Publication date: | 02/08/2019 |
| Series: | The Civilization of the American Indian Series , #270 |
| Pages: | 552 |
| Product dimensions: | 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.07(d) |
About the Author
Margot Liberty, widely known as an anthropologist specializing in Northern Plains Indians and ranching culture, is the author, coauthor, or editor of Cheyenne Memories, with John Stands In Timber; A Northern Cheyenne Album, with photographs by Thomas B. Marquis; Working Cowboy: Recollections of Ray Holmes; A Cheyenne Voice: The Complete John Stands In Timber Interviews; and Songs and Snippets: Poems of Margot Liberty.
Raymond J. DeMallie is Chancellor's Professor of Anthropology and American Indian Studies at Indiana University.
Michael N. Donahue is the author of Drawing Battle Lines: The Map Testimony of Custer's Last Fight.
Read an Excerpt
A Cheyenne Voice
The Complete John Stands In Timber Interviews
By John Stands In Timber, Margot Liberty
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS
Copyright © 2013 University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the UniversityAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8061-5106-9
CHAPTER 1
The JOHN STANDS IN TIMBER Interviews
1
EARLIER GENERATIONS
I can remember from 1895 up to the present day the ways of changing of their living. I am always sorry that the present generation is not like those people sixty years ago. This change came from the ways of the white man that they taught the Indians, and the Indians tried to live up to.
When crossing from an island they left some of the people behind, and no one knows if they ever came across. They may have come later and landed at a different place; their language would have changed a little in the meantime, like the Southern Cheyennes today talk more like the white man and have forgotten many old words, and use English words in with their own tongue. When these people met, they would have had a similar language only slightly different. Like the Cheyenne and Suhtai language is almost the same, and the Arapaho too has many words almost like them. The Cheyennes call the Crows O-o-otan, the Arapahoes O-o-na-ha. "Come and get it" is he-est-tan-its in Cheyenne; and he-est-ta-i-win-na in Arapaho.
2
COUPS AND SCALPING
You have seen or read books written by some white man where they tell about Indians scalping the white man. Other tribes may have a rule or law including the white man to be scalped, but the Cheyenne warrior ways (were different). Long before the white man discovered the Indian country, the Indian tribes fought one another. They designated the boundaries of land which they claimed, and kept the other tribes off because of the game. And every warrior sought to count coup on the enemy. This coup they called—the first man touches the enemy with bare hand, or stick, Indian club, bow or arrow, he receives the highest award of honor from the tribe; then they count a second and a third. Sometimes one of these three is to scalp the enemy. And when they win a victory when they go back to the village, the chiefs are conduct a marching of honor back to the village. The first they call these three together and point at the ground. Either up at the sky or the ground, or if there is a dead body of the enemy laid there the chief points the body with his finger. "You look at that dead man, he is as a great spirit witnessed who counts the first coup." He ask these three but the one who counts the first coup raise his hand and swear that he did it. And they have him to tell how he did it. And then who counts the second, he raise his hand and says, "I am the one who counted the second coup." And then one of them spoke up who seen him touch the body; that's the way they approve it. And the third, who count third, he raise his hand too and swear he is the man who count the third coup.
And about scalp—who scalp the man? He raise that scalp: "Here I have in my hands!" And the others approve it by saying he told the truth and did scalp the man.
All right. Then when they start the marching they put the first man in the lead, and the second and the third, and then the chiefs behind. When they come into the village—the Cheyennes always camped in order as a horse-shoe-shaped village, and when they come in they come from the right-hand end of the village, and they pray in front of the tepees, and the criers keep announcing the names of the men who counted coups and the man who scalped the enemy. And they rejoiced and they praise these men, women as well as men, and when they finished that praise, these men and the chiefs marched toward the Sacred Hat tepee, and the priest of the Sacred Hat comes out and stands in front of the tepee ready to receive the scalp. They stopped a distance from the door. The crier announced how he counted coup, and also the second, third, and he announced the name of the man who scalped the enemy.
ML: "The first three never scalped him?"
No, a fourth man. And he takes that scalp and hand it to the Sacred Hat priest, and he raise it up and talked, like praying: first toward the right-hand end of the village or southeast; then west, then to north, then to northeast; then he raise it up, then turned around and stuck it under the pins at the front of the tepee.
ML: "They never put those scalps anywhere near the arrow tepee? Always the Medicine Hat tepee?"
No, that's the rule of the Sacred Hat, and the Arrows was quite different because two separate tribes had their own laws and own ways before they came together. And they used to fight, up northern part of Minnesota where this tribe claim they roam around that country, and they also claim their medicine man obtain the Sacred Hat in these mountains they call Timber Mountains.
And now I'll go back to the scalps and the three that counted coup.
Then in the meantime the servants of each of the military bands were busy cleaning up the center of the village, and dragging logs and dry wood, and pile it up until dead trees were standing up all around. This they call a "skunk" and in the meantime therelatives of these who done a great thing in the battle start dancing in front of the tepees and were happy, rejoicing over their son who has done bravery in that battle. And three bunches out in front of the village, where there's a main gathering women singing, and when they stop about sundown, they all prepared to bring gifts, marching toward the center of the village.
The first one, who received the highest honor, came back—marching in to front and center—and he walks ahead. And old man crier kept announcing what he done. And when he get to the center, the chiefs and leaders of the military bands were already gathered and the relatives of this man who counts the first coup bring in a lot of valuable things—what they call valuable is some beautiful skins of animals, maybe beaver skins made into a blanket, or otters, or used to have mountain lions which were a very valuable blanket; and they packed those things and the priest comes up there, the relative of that man who scalped the enemy, his sister or mother—usually his sister—goes to the Sacred Hat bring a long stick which is trimmed nice, and they tie this scalp on the end. They take that scalp and tie it to the stick, and the first man to go through the ceremony stands in the middle there of the big crowd (keep everybody not crowded in; the military men keep people back so everybody would see what they were doing).
And the man faces the east for this reason, the butte they call Bear Butte or the Holy Mountain (now it's called Indian Shrine because four other tribes, the first five that were allied with the Cheyennes, they obtained something valuable from that mountain), and that's the reason this man faces east. Here from Montana that's about towards where Rapid City is or Sturgis. Then they call on the medicine man who has gone through various religious ceremonies, such as Arrow Worship and the Sun Dance, Animal Dance, and minor ceremonies. This man has gone through all these and is qualified to put this ceremony through. And he stands behind the warrior, and the relatives of this warrior begin to bring in the blankets of skins and put them in the front of the priest and take maybe one mountain lion blanket and put that on the warrior.
3
CEREMONIAL MOTIONS
And the priest kneel down behind this man and clears and Sweet Medicine smooths the ground, and makes a mark. First he touch the ground with the right-hand thumb, and he touch it and marks it in four places and one in the center; when he finish that he rubs his hands and he use his right hand, touches the marks, then touches his right leg up as far as his waist; then he takes his left hand, touches the tip of the right fingers, touches up along arm; then he takes left hand, touches left foot along up to waist; then uses right hand, touches left fingers, then touches up to shoulder; now he rubs bothhands together and puts them over his head, and forehead, and back as far as he can reach; this signified the creator made man with the earth. And then he calls, kind of like calling a certain tribe—back at the very beginning, Cheyennes call themselves "Desert People." First he kind of sounds (a long call) means he is calling the desert people; then he makes the same sound only he says the young generation of the Cheyennes; then he calls on the Suhtai, and then the next young generation of the Suhtai. And then he calls the Apaches, like the first two—the name of that tribe and then the young generation. And the fourth is the Big Lodges, the Sioux tribe; and then he raise his hands above his head on the warrior; he call his old name. For example, to say his name might be Warrior; he call on that twice; and then he call a new name he is to bear the rest of his life. Then he call the old name again; that is dropped where he stands and will remain there forever, and the new name will continue in the future. Everyone is to call him by that name.
And when he finishes the priest steps backward. Then that warrior just stood there and everyone comes, and his relatives make a giveaway for behalf of the great thing which he has done. And all three were likewise the same thing.
And then they start the Victory Dance that the white man calls a scalp dance. They go around—that's the general Cheyenne dance not a special dance. Many other dances are separate from this dance. There are dances of different forms, singing different songs, actions. Only two or three are general dances. Only just certain time and purpose they use these dances, other dances, which they call religious dances. And the dance continued four days and four nights at this victory dance, and they keep bringing in wood, keep light and the dance well protected by the military bands—Foxes, Swift Foxes, Crazy Dogs, Elks, Red Shields, Bow Strings. And the limit of membership is fifty men at least and sometimes more.
The Crazy Dog dance they call Dog Dance, this was also originated by Sweet Medicine. He reorganized the tribe many centuries ago. The old people don't have any counts up to thousands, millions, just say many many generations.
When they finished these dances—they have a feast all these four days and sometimes the same warrior count coup twice; very few ever count three or four first coups.
4
THE CREATION
Stories have been changing. This story had reference to those people who were left on that big island.
ML: "It was those people who later on became other groups?"
Yes.
5
THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF SWEET MEDICINE
These Cheyennes, Desert People, were bad one time, before Sweet Medicine, killing each other. The one time there was a man—someplace I have his name and also his wife—they were middle-age people. They had a daughter. And this man was a very brave man and strong; he could outrun many men, and out throw every one of them. In those days they had foot races and wrestled and put up match races, and their daughter had a dream. In her dream she heard somebody talking, just a voice, just like pointing to her. This voice said, "Sweet Root come to you because you are clean and a young woman." She thought it was just a dream those few words; and the next night she had the very same dream, and the same voice said those things to her. And the third night; and then she began to wonder why the voice told her Sweet Root would come to her. And the fourth night it was the same way; and that morning fourth time she told her mother, and her mother told her it was just a strange dream, there was nothing to it, and told her not to worry about it. And some time later, months, she began to feel kind of different, and she began to feel that she had a baby.
And the parents noticed, and asked her; she had never met nobody, only the dream. But this couple was ashamed, and kept it from other people. They lived in huts you know, of skin, and she stayed inside all the time and they watched her all the time.
This Sweet Root is used for Indian medicine—root medicine they call it. It grows in Idaho and here in Montana. They used it for almost every medicine. They have two or three different kinds of roots for medicine, and experimented before they used this medicine. And sometimes when the Desert People were going to camp the same place for a few nights it was announced for the reason that the people could go out, bring in wood, and use rye grass and slough grass for a soft bed—lay the buffalo hides on it.
Well this woman she went down to the village a little ways and saw two old people, more old than young, and there were just the two with no children. They were camped a few days at that same place. And the old woman told the old man, "I'm going out and bring some grass so we have a soft bed." They used strings of deerskin to pack things with to carry. They had no horses to carry things, just dogs. She went down below where this creek emptied into the river, and she seen slough grass there. Usually where all creeks empty into a big river there is a lot of slough grass. She started to cut the grass using antelope hind shanks and front shanks, cut in such a way to use as a knife, and flint stone. And she heard a baby cry below where she was piling up this grass. The baby kept crying so she went down to investigate. She thought maybe some woman came over there be doing the same thing; but when she got down there, she could see nobody though the baby kept on crying. And they found the little baby under the grass, and she picked it up and never thought about the grass but wrapped up the baby in that rope and skin and took it home. And she went into her hut and said, "Old man, I found a baby boy that somebody throwed away." And the old man got up praising and was happy and put his hands up kind of thankful, and this old woman says, "He shall be our grandson." And the old man said,
"That's right. That's our grandson, and his name shall be Sweet Medicine."
And they don't tell the details of how he grew, but he was bright. And she takes the baby and goes to some girl that has a baby, and let it nurse, and bring it back; and next time it wanted milk, she takes it to another girl; and he was raised that way.
After he was able to play around and play with the boys, the very first story was told about him.
There was a big village and the people was camped there. And the people were hungry; the men had come back without bringing any meat. Sometimes it happened that way; it seemed like the animals were scared away. This old woman told him: "Grandson, I went out to get wild turnips and we will eat them and nothing else." Everyone was out of wild fruit, it had not ripened up.
6
THE HOOP AND ARROW GAME
Sweet Medicine told his grandmother: "I am going down to the village. See if you can find a buffalo skin; if it's all wrinkled up and dried bring it anyhow." She went out and found a calf hide that had been thrown away, all wrinkled up and dried. She said, "My grandson wants it," and she took the hide to Sweet Medicine. He said, "Take it down there a ways from the river. There's a pond, lake, put that under water, with rocks on top." She did that and put it under water with rocks on top so it would not float up.
She came back and Sweet Medicine says, "Grandmother, walk down to the river and gather cherry wood about the size of your finger. You're going to find straight ones down there; there's a lot of straight ones. Don't cut it. Bring the whole thing and I'll tell you what to do with it."
She walked down and there was a lot of cherry bushes there. She saw some nice straight ones, and pulled it out of the soft ground and brought it to Sweet Medicine. He said, "Now trim it." There was just a few limbs, and she trimmed it and took all the bark off and made it round like a hoop. "And tie with a dry buckskin, and hang it on the outside and let the sun dry it." She took it outside and did it. "Now go down again and get another cherry stick, same way only a little taller." She brought one, and trimmed it down and took the bark off, and made a sharp point almost to his height, and left a fork of two or three limbs on, and did not cut them off. They made four of them, with one limb and two limbs and three limbs, and took them outside and put in the sun to dry.
About that time it's the fourth day, he told her to go down and get that hide; it had soaked clean, and she took off the hair and brought it to the boy. He said, "Cut it about the size of your thumb around and round until it is all cut." And she did cut a long string that way. And he told her to get the hoop, and she did. And they put the rawhide in such a way that it would not come off, straight across the diameter and fastened it around, and made a cross back on this other string on this side, and keep doing it—around and around. When he finished one side, bring it on this side and go around, and then crossways just like woven string of the blanket. And then make it so there is a little round hole in the middle.
After he got this fixed, he told his grandmother to go down and find red earth paint; that they use to paint themselves. And she went down and the first family she came to gave her a buckskin sack with earth paint in it. She brought it and he told her to paint the rawhide all over with it, and hang it and let it dry. There was one of them throwing sticks, he told her to paint them red too and hang them on a tree. During that time, people came over and asked the old woman what was the boy making, what was he going to do? And when they asked him, he said they would find out.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Cheyenne Voice by John Stands In Timber, Margot Liberty. Copyright © 2013 University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University. Excerpted by permission of UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS.
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Table of Contents
Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,LIST OF MAPS,
FOREWORD, by Raymond J. DeMallie,
INTRODUCTION, by Margot Liberty,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, by Margot Liberty,
A NOTE ON THE MAPS, by Margot Liberty,
MAPS, with commentary by Michael N. Donahue,
THE JOHN STANDS IN TIMBER INTERVIEWS,
NOTES,
INDEX,