Grey Eyes (16 page)

The man shouted in a loud voice, “LONG LIVE THE RED-EYE,” as Brown Shield Man cut his throat in one swift swipe.

23
nīstanaw nistosāp

T
he warriors of the Marten clan began to prepare the body of the Red-Eye intruder for burial. The marten is an animal equally comfortable on land and water; so too were the Marten clan comfortable in both the Physical World and the Spirit World. Therefore, the duty of preparing the funeral rites often fell to them.

Although the intruder had been an enemy of the
Nehiyawak
and had been executed by the sentencing circle, the ancestors demanded they treat his body with the same respect and kindness they would show one of their own. Regardless of this person's mistakes in life, at one point in time he was some woman's baby. The Red-Eye warrior would be prepared for the next life as though he were as innocent as a child.

First, the Martens washed the filthy red paint from the intruder's eyes. They sewed up the wound across his neck and washed the dirt and blood from his body. They brushed and braided his hair and put fine clothes upon him. They covered him and conducted the mourning rituals for four days to purify him for his journey.

During this time, one of the warriors of the Eagle clan had been dispatched to alert the Trader that one of his men had betrayed them. On the fourth day of the funeral rites, the Trader arrived, alone. He came wishing to see the body of the strange man with the scar on his mouth.

“This was not one of my men,” he explained. “He must have come to the village under the guise of being a member of my caravan. I am very sorry to the people of
Nisichawayasihk
that I had any involvement in the terrible tragedy.”

“The clan mothers understand this was not your doing,” said Walking Moon Woman. The other matriarchs nodded in agreement, all but the Eagle twins.

“Nevertheless, I must take some of the responsibility. Is there anything I can do to help restore your harmony?”

“There is something you could do for us,” suggested Walking Moon Woman. “Perhaps it would be best to keep my grandson a secret in order to protect him from further danger.”

“
Tapwe
! I will do my best. But there are many in my caravan I cannot speak for. Many of them saw the Grey-Eyed boy and some of them spoke and traded with him. I am sure they would all understand the need to keep our children safe. I can only promise to speak to each one and try to explain the importance of this decision.”

“That is as much as anyone can ask,” replied Walking Moon Woman. The other clan matriarchs were pacified. The Trader apologized sincerely to all the people of
Nisichawayasihk
and asked
Kitchi Manitou
to bless and protect them. He left, heading southeast, to return to his caravan.

Dark clouds were rolling in from the south and the air felt thick. The light breeze the people had enjoyed these last few days began to pick up, becoming a sharp wind. The people of
Nisichawayasihk
began preparing their lodges for the coming rain.

24
nīstanaw niyosāp

P
ainted Turtle Man administered his healing to Flying Rabbit Boy. The shallow scratch across the boy's chest had formed a wide, white scar—a forever reminder that the Grey-Eyed magic saved his life. The worst damage was to his left arm and shoulder, where he had been cut by the knife. Painted Turtle sewed the wounds shut with sinew and applied a salve to speed the healing. He bound the arm and shoulder tightly.

“You will have to keep your arm tied up like this in order for the wounds to heal,” he informed the boy. “And don't get it wet. I will have to change your wrappings every two days.”

“How am I supposed to use my bow with only one arm?”

“I am afraid your bow will have to wait until your arm has healed. Don't worry. You are young and strong, I am sure it will be as good as new by the time of the next Grandmother Moon.”

“But that will be forever. Now I will never impress the Turtle girls.”

“You must learn patience, my boy,” Painted Turtle Man said, trying not to laugh. “Maybe they will be impressed by the fact that you turned into a turtle.”

This placated Flying Rabbit Boy only a little. He knew from the other children that the attack had not been meant for him. He was comforted by this fact, until he realized how vulnerable his best friend and cousin was. For a boy of only eight summers, it was a heavy burden to carry.

Walking Moon Woman, too, was dealing with the effects of the attack on her family. The Bear Lodge now seemed less of a home than before. There was a long gash in the hide covering the back of the lodge where the intruder had evidently cut his way in. Although she had the damaged hide removed, burned, and replaced with a new one, somehow the safety of her home had been broken. The grey-haired matriarch found it difficult to sleep at night so she would sit up, watching over her family.

The sleeplessness began to take a toll on Walking Moon Woman's health. Her grey hair began to show streaks of pure white and she moved about the lodge restlessly, doing and redoing chores or fidgeting with the centre fire. She wrung her hands constantly, producing a sound like a rope being stretched. The children had also been affected. Now they slept very close to their parents, waking often from troubled dreams.

Brown Shield Man was a warrior broken. Although a successful hunter who had killed many of his brother animals, he had never taken the life of a human being. The people of
Nisichawayasihk
began to avoid him, and the village children ran away whenever they saw him. Being a person who instilled feelings of fear in those around him weighed heavily on Brown Shield Man's heart.

The situation was hard for Singing Doe as well. She could not bear to see her husband in pain, but whenever she tried to console him with a hug or a simple touch, his body tensed and he pulled away. Try as she might to understand what he was going through, she could not accept that her once loving and affectionate husband was now distant and stony.

Under her mother's guidance, Drifting Butterfly Woman looked after the day-to-day needs of the
Nehiyawak
. She made daily rounds to make sure all the people of
Nisichawayasihk
, especially the children, had hides for warmth and food to eat. The hunters were staying close to the village for fear of leaving their families unprotected from the Red-Eye and his followers. The people now ate mostly small game such as rabbits, birds, and berries as the men would not go on long hunts after bigger game.

The Crane clan matriarch and Drifting Butterfly Woman expressed their concern to the Circle of Clan Mothers that the food supplies around the village would soon be exhausted. The Eagle twins could not be bothered with such mundane issues. These were the concerns of the poor and did not affect their clan.

It didn't help that the Eagle twins also made rounds every night at sunset, going from lodge to lodge asking each family if proper security protocols had been observed. Were it not for these nightly reminders of the attack, on some days Brown Shield Man and the people of
Nisichawayasihk
might have forgotten the incident for one evening and slept soundly. Fear was becoming a way of life for the
Nehiyawak
.

25
nīstanaw niyānosāp

T
he changing colours of the forest told the warriors it was time to go south and join the great buffalo hunt. But with no way of knowing if the Red Eye, Dark Cloud Man, knew of Little Grey Bear Boy's existence or if the intruder had acted alone, Blue Elk Man and Brown Shield Man felt it was not a good time to leave the village. The Bear lodge would be vulnerable without them. They decided not to join the hunt, though it would be a hard winter without the meat and hides from it. Warriors of the Wolf and Marten clans offered to share their spoils with their brothers, provided the hunting was good. Painted Turtle Man made charms and offered prayers for the blessing of Grandmother Buffalo.

The women were filling the soft, soaked water skins down at the river. They always came to the same rocky spot where they could sit on the round rocks at the river's edge without getting their feet too wet. The water was calm here, but not so still as to become stagnant.

“Mother,” said Singing Doe as they dipped their skins. “We can't rely on the generosity of others. We need our own meat and hide for winter.”

“What do you expect me to do?” Walking Moon Woman said, sloshing water as she dipped her water skin into the river, not hiding her agitation.

“We have to do something. Our husbands are not the only ones who did not go south. Those who return will have to share with many more than just us.”

White Willow Woman lifted up her water skin and bobbed it up and down. It was about half full. “We are worried about you, mother. You haven't been sleeping.”

“There will be plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead.”

“That's what we are worried about,” snapped Singing Doe, splashing water as she worked.

Walking Moon Woman did not respond. White Willow Woman tied off her water skin and reached for one of her mother's.

“Mother, you aren't comfortable in the Bear lodge right now,” she said as she submerged the dried out water skin. “That's understandable. Why don't we leave
Nisichawayasihk
for a while? Maybe our husbands will find a moose.”

“And what about Flying Rabbit Boy? He can't go anywhere while he is hurt. Should we leave him behind?”

“You know I wouldn't go anywhere without my son,” said Singing Doe, her eyes wide.

White Willow Woman touched her shoulder to calm her, then said: “Flying Rabbit Boy will heal faster if he is able to sleep. So will all the children. None of us feels safe right now. We need a change.”

“Where would we go?” barked the matriarch.

“We can go to
Otowhowin
,” said Singing Doe.

Walking Moon Woman paused. “We only have two canoes,” she said after a moment.

“We can borrow two more from the Cranes,” said White Willow Woman. “I can talk to Drifting Butterfly Woman. I'm sure she will understand.”

The matriarch scoured her daughters' faces. “I see the two of you have thought a lot about this. Is this how decisions will be made in the Bear lodge?”

“We are only thinking of your health and harmony,” said White Willow Woman. “And that of our families.”

“I need this, mother. For my son and my husband.” Singing Doe lifted her water skin and tied it off tightly. The wet rawhide strap she was using snapped and she discarded the broken piece.

“We all need this,” added White Willow Woman. “We will have food for winter and will be able to restore our harmony.”

When the women had returned to the bear lodge, Walking Moon Woman put down her water skins and picked up her old elk hide satchel. She dusted it off and walked around the lodge, looking at their meager belongings. When her eyes settled on her daughters, she frowned. “Well…pack then.”

White Willow Woman smiled and Singing Doe heaved a sigh of relief.

After two days of careful preparation, the four canoes were ready. To balance the canoes and ensure the best use of rowing power, Singing Doe, Brown Shield Man, and their injured son took the lead canoe, followed by Walking Moon Woman and Little Grey Bear Boy in the next, then White Willow Woman and Blue Elk Man and most of the supplies in the third. Painted Turtle Man paddled the fourth, with Yellow Hawk Girl as his passenger.

As the autumn wind could often be treacherous, the Bear clan decided to paddle north along the shore, rather than straight across the large lake. It would be a longer journey, but a safer one. The canoes travelled at different speeds, ensuring the hunters would be spread out should a moose or elk come to the shore for a drink. The canoes paddled along at a slow but steady pace—they were in no rush to get to their destination. As Grandfather Sun climbed the sky, the wind was calm and the lakeshore still. The rhythmic dip and splash of the paddles lulled them. Flying Rabbit Boy fell into a deep sleep, the kind that had eluded him since the attack.

“This is nice,” said Singing Doe.

“
Tapwe
,” answered Brown Shield Man curtly.

“It will be good to return to
Otowhowin
,” she continued. “Do you remember the last time you took me there?”

Brown Shield Man cleared his throat.

Singing Doe smiled as she raised the paddle over to the other side of the canoe and dipped it back into the water with a deep, smooth stroke. “It was before our son was born. My mother was annoyed every time I was thrown into your arms by the Grey-Eye magic.”

“I'd rather not talk right now. I am hoping we will find a moose.” He scanned the shore line, squinting deeply.

“We didn't find any moose that time,” she reminded him. “Of course, that wasn't why we went, was it?”

Brown Shield Man only grunted.

////

In the second canoe, Little Grey Bear Boy was doing most of the paddling from the front. Walking Moon Woman seemed to paddle only when the canoe veered too far to one side. He was trying in his mind to find the words to ask the only question on his mind since the attack. He finally gave up thinking about it and decided to ask plainly.

“
Nookum
, why did that man want to hurt me?”

Walking Moon Woman's heart tightened. She did not want to have this conversation, but as the matriarch of the Bear clan, she knew it was her duty. She would have to explain the danger to her young grandson. “Well my boy,” she began, taking a wobbly stoke of the paddle and banging the shaft against the side of the canoe. “Not every person on Turtle Island walks a path of gentle kindness. There are those who wish to see fear spread throughout our villages. There are those who want to control the lives of all the people around them.”

“Why would someone want to control other people?” asked Little Grey Bear Boy, pulling his paddle out of the water and turning to look back at his grandmother. “Wouldn't that go against the Seven Teachings of the Peace Pipe?”

“Not everyone follows the Seven Teachings, my boy.”

“But…why wouldn't they? Isn't it the best way to live one's life?”

“Keep paddling.” She tilted her chin towards the front of the canoe. “It is the best way the
Nehiyawak
know. It is the way our ancestors have lived for many generations. We believe each person has the inherent right to choose their own destiny. There are those who wish to take away our birthright and decide our fates for us.”

“So that is what Soaring Star Woman was trying to tell me the day she went back to the Spirit World.”

“
Tapwe
, that is exactly what she was trying to explain. I wish she were still with us, but it was not
Kitchi Manitou
's will.”

“But this man could not have been her son, he was too young,” Little Grey Bear Boy pointed out.

“
Motch
. He was not himself a Red-Eye, he was one of his followers. We have heard rumours that there are others, but I know only of Dark Cloud Man. The one who attacked us had chosen to follow the Red-Eye teachings.”

“He chose to follow the Red-Eye?” exclaimed Little Grey Bear Boy. “But isn't the Red-Eye evil?”

“We perceive the Red-Eye and his followers to be evil, because their way of life is opposite to our own,” she explained as she raised the paddle over her head to the other side. “Some are drawn to the power of the Red-Eye magic. The magic they use is beyond imagining, they have a terrible ability to destroy. Some misguided people see this as power and the Red-Eye feeds off their selfish desires. The Red-Eye tells his followers that they too can harness the magic if they devote their lives to his teachings.”

“Is it true?” asked Little Grey Bear Boy.

“
Motch
, I don't believe it to be so,” answered Walking Moon Woman. “I have seen firsthand the destruction the Red-Eye and his followers can bring. They have only the ability to destroy, not to build, and to deceive, not enlighten. Dark Cloud Man killed your grandfather.

“I know this,” said Little Grey Bear Boy, switching his paddle to the other side. “I asked Painted Turtle Man about it after our Eagle mother passed. He told me not to ask you about it because it would make you sad.”

“I am very grateful my cousin Painted Turtle Man has grown so wise,” she said through teary eyes. “It is not something I like to talk about.”

“I am sorry,
Nookum
. I didn't mean to make you sad.”

“No, no,” laughed Walking Moon Woman wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “It is time you knew the truth.”

She took a deep breath and searched for the right words.

“Dark Cloud Man was once a Grey-Eye just like you. For some reason that I still do not understand, he thought he was better than all those around him. When I was a young woman, he admired me. I was considered beautiful back in those days.”

“You are still beautiful,
Nookum
.”

“Thank you, my child,” she said. “Dark Cloud Man wanted me to choose him to be my husband, even though we were cousins. I knew he only admired me for what I looked like on the outside and was not interested in knowing who I am on the inside.”

“Like the elder brother in the White Buffalo Calf story?”

“I guess that part would be similar,” said Walking Moon Woman, taken aback by the comparison. “So when I chose Rising Hawk Man, he became very jealous and angry. He began using his magic to try and kill my husband so I would have to choose again. Your grandfather was too quick and too smart for Dark Cloud Man's tricks and traps. Eventually, one of the traps at the buffalo hunt was going to work, but your namesake, Grey Bear, used his magic to trade places with my husband. Dark Cloud Man had unwittingly killed his own father. After that he was banished from the village by his mother.”

////

“Paddle faster. They are too far ahead,” ordered White Willow Woman, accidentally splashing water back at her husband.

“They are okay,” said Blue Elk Man, trying to shield himself from the cool water with his paddle. “We must also stay near Painted Turtle Man. He's not a young man anymore. We need to go at his pace.”

“We should have taken them both with us.”

“Little Grey Bear Boy is too big to sit in the middle. Your mother needs him paddling. She's not young either.”

“Maybe we should have stayed home.”

“My love, don't let your harmony be disturbed. We will all be together at
Otowhowin
. The hunting is always good there and we will have lots of things to occupy our time. It's better than hanging around the village listening to everyone talk like scared children.”

“Can you blame them?” said White Willow Woman. “The Red-Eyes could come back. It was our son they were after. What if they come to
Otowhowin
? What will we do without the protection of the village?”

“They will never find us,” Blue Elk Man assured his wife. “Most of the village wouldn't be able to find us if they came looking. This place has been my family's hunting grounds for generations. I know this area better than my father did. We will have nothing to fear.”