Sweet Water sat beside Tekumsila and watched her little brother follow Slow Woman up the dirt road. "Will you always stay with us," Sweet Water asked? Tekumsila looked down at her and smiled, "I will stay until spirit says I should go." "But, when will that be," Sweet Water insisted? Tekumsila smiled and said "when spirit decides." Sweet Water frowned, "how will you know when spirit decides," she asked. "Spirit will tell me," Tekumsila said patiently. Sweet Water fell silent, and Tekumsila waited for the next round of questions. Children were so wonderful, and eager to learn. "Tekumsila," Sweet Water said. "Yes, Sweet Water," Tekumsila said dreamily. "Can you ask spirit right now?" "Yes," said Tekumsila. They were silent for a while, and finally Sweet Water said, "well?" "Well, what?" Tekumsila said in mock surprise. Exasperated, Sweet Water blurted out, "did you ask?" Tekumsila roared with laughter and said, "of course!" "What did spirit say, Tekumsila," she asked anxiously? "To know that, you need to ask spirit yourself," Tekumsila said patiently. "Hmpf," Sweet Water said to herself, then added, "Spirit please tell me how long you will let Tekumsila stay with us?" Tekumsila sat quietly chewing on a blade of dry grass. "Spirit doesn’t answer me," Sweet Water declared. "Are you listening," Tekumsila asked her? "Yes," came her emphatic answer. "Try again," Tekumsila said softly. Sweet Water sat on the edge of the new stump Tekumsila had rolled over for her. She gently rocked back and forth and her legs swung in arches as she listened for spirit to answer her. "Tekumsila," "yes Sweet Water," "I don’t’ hear anything," "that is because you are too busy making words in your head." Sweet Water sighed, "How do I stop making words in my head?" Tekumsila smiled, "you must practice. To hear spirit, you must stop making words with your mouth, and with your mind. Most of the time, people think they are being silent when they are not making words with their lips. But their mind goes on talking about all the things they want to say, think they should say, or wish they had said. Sometimes the words inside become so strong people blurt them out without thinking. With so many words going on, there is no room to listen." Sweet Water thought about this for a short time, "I don’t understand," she said to Tekumsila. "Have you ever been talking to someone and they are so busy thinking about what they are going to say, forming the words they will say next, that they have no idea what you actually said," Tekumsila asked her? "Oh, yes," Sweet Water answered. "That happens with Hawk all the time. Sometimes, I don’t think he hears anything I say, but, he always has something to say back that has nothing to do with what I was talking about!" Tekumsila roared with laughter. Her six-year-old mind constantly amused him. Sweet Water was silent for a while, "Tekumsila," "Yes Sweet Water," "is it like when the white people come and ask us questions, but they never hear our answers?" Tekumsila looked over at this beautiful little girl. "Yes, Sweet Water, it is just like that. The white people who come to our homes are so busy making words in their heads that they never hear us. It is very sad, because if they cannot hear us, then how can they hear spirit." Sweet Water stared down at her toes, "words are very powerful even if you do not say them with your lips," she said softly. "You are a very wise little girl," Tekumsila said as he looked at this six-year-old child with genuine respect.

Slow Woman returned with her basket only partially filled. Hawk peeked out from behind her dress and ran to his sister. "We had to go farther than before to find these roots," she said. "Has Shadow returned?" "No’, Tekumsila told her. "Do not worry, he is a strong warrior." Slow Woman nodded her head and entered the shack. Tekumsila picked up Hawk and took Sweet Water by the hand, "Let us go to the creek and see what brother beaver has to tell us today." Sweet Water skipped along beside Tekumsila and Hawk giggled as she tickled his toes.

Each time they came to the small creek, Sweet Water would take Hawk to the spot where mother had buried his umbilical cord. "It is here that part of you is buried," she would tell him. Hawk always smiled broadly and pointed to the ancient Oak tree, stating "I am there!" Sweet Water laughed each time and reminded Hawk that when mother had buried his umbilical cord it was because Hawk was very special, just like his Grandfather had been. "You carry special medicine inside of you," she stated matter of factly. Hawk pointed his finger at his chest, and said "me!" "Hey you two," Tekumsila said in mock seriousness as he caught up to them. "What are you giggling about?" "This is the spot where mother buried Hawk’s umbilical cord," Sweet Water said with pride. "Ho," Tekumsila said with amusement. "And what is so special about that," he said pretending not to know. Sweet Water stood up and dusted off the dried leaves from her knees. "Father says that Hawk is a very special person, he carries the same medicine as Grandfather did when he was here with us. Father says Hawk will grow up to be a strong medicine man," she finished with childish pride. Tekumsila grinned widely and bowed before Hawk, "I am honored to make your acquaintance," he said. Sweet Water and Hawk both giggled at this and Hawk bowed back at Tekumsila. " I think Father might be wrong though" Sweet Water added. "Why is that, little one," Tekumsila said with surprise? "Because the only thing I can see that’s different about Hawk is that he is always doing things backward, and making a mess," she declared. Tekumsila gave out a big belly laugh, "That’s part of what makes’ him so special," Tekumsila explained when he caught his breath. "Why is that special," she asked? "Because it makes us look at things from a whole different point of view," Tekumsila said with a sparkle in his eye. "Doesn’t it make you stop and try to figure out what it is he just did, when he does it completely different than what you think it should be" Tekumsila asked her with mischief? Sweet Water thought for a while about this, and remembered all the times she had been exasperated with young Hawk because he had done just the opposite of what she thought should be done. "Yes," she said, "it does make me think about things differently. The most frustrating thing about it is that it usually works very well his way, even though it is not a way that anyone else would do." Tekumsila roared with laughter once more, and said, "that is the point!" "Sometimes we all get stuck in our own way of thinking, and we begin to believe that our way is the only right way. Then along comes someone else, who does it very differently, and easier, and it works perfectly! Then we spend a lot of time trying to find the fault in what they did, because it wasn’t done the way we thought it should be done. When we have exhausted ourselves from the effort of trying to find fault with the other person’s actions, and have finally decided that it doesn’t matter how the person did it, only that they accomplished the goal, we have finally come to a clearer understanding of how the mysteries of life work. People who do things backwards from what others consider normal have very important medicine for the world. They let us know to stop taking ourselves and situations so seriously, to allow things to happen as they should, not as we believe they should. Do you understand," Tekumsila asked Sweet Water? "I think so," she replied in an uncertain voice. "Well, we will talk more about this on another day, for now, I say we should enjoy this special place," Tekumsila told her.

Tekumsila loved the small creek that ran behind the village. The water flowed softly over the rocks, rich green ferns lined the bank and the rich green leaves of the trees cast soft shadows on everything as the sun filtered through them. Brother beaver had built a fine lodge for his family in the center of the creek and this made a fine deep pool that the children could play in.

Tekumsila sat on the bank and watched the beaver floating a freshly cut pole out to his lodge. He could see the flat tails of three smaller beavers swimming along behind. Sweet Water and Hawk played at the edge of the water and for this moment in time, it was easy to forget the hard black days that had swept over his people.

The beaver strategically placed the pole in his lodge, and Tekumsila watched as the three youngsters crawled about next to their father. They watched his every movement and the hoop of life was being fulfilled. By watching their father they would learn to build strong lodges of their own, know which trees to fall, and precisely how to fall them. The hoop of life would continue in this way of living for all of their future generations. Father beaver stopped his maneuvering of the pole and took the time to play with his children. A smile swept over his face as Tekumsila heard the chattering noises of the baby beavers playing tag with their father. Each one hurried to get away after a surprise attack, and the father beaver rolled atop the poles in feigned defeat. The water splashed with great joy, and Tekumsila and his human children sat on the bank with peals of laughter.

Father beaver stopped so instantly the three babies bumped into him from behind. He stood at full attention, listening deeply to an alarming sound. One chirp, and a flick of his ears sent the babies instantly into the safety of the lodge. Tekumsila straightened his back and rose to his feet. What was it that father beaver was alarmed about? Tekumsila held his breath while he listened harder. He saw father beaver’s ears twitch to the left. Tekumsila followed the direction of the ears. He saw nothing. Father beaver jerked his head in Tekumsila’s direction, chattered a warning and quickly disappeared into his lodge.

Tekumsila looked in the direction the father beaver had indicated and a chill ran down his spine. "Come children, we must return to our home," he said. Sweet Water took his hand as he bent down to pick up Hawk. "What is it, Tekumsila," Sweet Water whispered? " I do not know, but father beaver has sent us a warning. It is great enough for him to send his children deep into their home. We will do the same," Tekumsila told her.

Tekumsila cautiously walked up behind the row of shacks and carefully surveyed his surroundings. The gramma’s were sitting outside their shacks, and children were playing in the dirt road as usual. Tekumsila could detect nothing wrong. But, he felt certain that brother beaver would not send him such a warning if there was no danger. "What is it," a grandma asked as Tekumsila rounded the corner of the shack? She could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong. "Brother beaver has sent his children deep into his lodge to protect them," Tekumsila told her softly. "We should follow his advice and do the same with our children also." The grandma looked at Tekumsila then the realization hit her as well. She turned and called to the children playing in the road. Tekumsila could hear her telling others as she made her way down the row of shacks. "Slow Woman," Tekumsila shouted as he entered the shack. She turned in surprise, "Quickly, we must send the children to the safe place," Tekumsila demanded. Slow Woman sprang into action. She took Hawk from Tekumsila’s arms and led Sweet Water to the trap door at the back of the shack. Like the wind she was gone.

Tekumsila stood in the quiet shack and listened very hard. Still he heard no noise which would cause alarm. I must help the others he thought and left the quiet room. He was met with the silence of the empty road as he stepped outside. He went from shack to shack and saw that all the children were gone. "What is happening," an old woman asked him? " I do not know," Tekumsila told her. " I only know that brother beaver has hidden his children deep into his lodge and gave me a warning before disappearing himself." A distant shouting brought them both to full alert and Tekumsila stepped out of the door way. He saw Shadow running up the dusty road. Tekumsila stepped into the road and Shadow said, "where are the children?" "I have sent them away," Tekumsila told him hurriedly. Shadow caught his breath and told Tekumsila that he had been on his way home when he saw the white’s parking their cars just over the hill and it looked as if they were trying to sneak up on the village. Before he could catch his next breath there was a long yell from the top of the hill and many white men ran down the slope. Shadow and Tekumsila stood in the road as they watched the white men rushing the village. When the men reached the road in front of the shacks, several cars came flying over the hill and slid to a stop in front of Shadow and Tekumsila.

Shadow watched as the women in the black robes got out of the cars. The men who had run down from the hill were now inside the shacks and he could hear them throwing things around while they searched for the children. "Ain’t no kids in these shacks," a man called out to the leader who was standing very menacingly in front of Shadow and Tekumsila. "Where are your young," the man demanded? Shadow and Tekumsila remained silent. "We’ve come to take them to a proper place to live," the man said with a coldness that went to Tekumsila’s very bones. Shadow watched the men who had been destroying the contents of each shack as they herded the other villagers out into the street. The women of the black robes stood defiantly next to the cars. The man in front of Tekumsila yelled out to the crowd, "we know you got young in this village, if you don’t give them up we’ll burn down your huts!" The crowd was silent. The man in charge spoke to one of his companions and Shadow and Tekumsila watched the man walk to the rear of a car, then return with a gasoline soaked cloth. "Last chance heathens," the man bellowed out. Several of the women began to cry, some of the young men spoke out in anger, but Shadow and Tekumsila remained silent. "Torch em," the man in charge said to his companion. With a wicked grin the man with the torch approached Shadow’s shack, lit the cloth and threw it inside. Flames began licking at the dry wood of the walls, in a few moments Shadow’s home would be totally engulfed in flames.

A horn honked and startled everyone standing in the street. Shadow saw a big car weaving its

way through the maze of hastily parked cars the dust that had just settled was once again filling the air. The man in front of Shadow swore under his breath. The big car stopped just feet from the man in charge. The door opened and a man in a uniform stepped out. "What’s going on here," the man demanded? "Just roundin up the young of these heathens," the man in charge said with an edge to his voice, "Damn Indians keep breedin, and we have to escort these fine sisters from the Catholic Church out here to do what they can to save the souls of the Indian offspring." The man in the uniform stepped up to the man in charge. " I thought that practice ended years ago," he said. The man in charge swallowed hard, and said, "Well, I guess we’re a bit behind the times out here, Captain." "Put out that fire and let these people go back to their homes," said the captain, "In case you hadn’t noticed mister, this IS the 1950's, we no longer live in the stone ages." The man in charge barely held his temper in check, "I wasn’t aware that you had any authority out here on the reservation, Captain," he said with sarcasm. "I am on official government business, Mister," the Captain said, "and unless you want to be arrested for interfering with a government official, I suggest you get yourself and your people packed up in those cars of yours and head on home." The man in charge gritted his teeth, and Shadow could see the pale white skin of his face burn crimson. He stood staring at the Captain for only a moment longer before he gave the order to his men to put the fire out and return to their vehicles.

Shadow and Tekumsila were amazed. It was the first time either of them had seen the white man from town back down to anyone. When the fire was mostly out, the man in charge ordered his companions back to their vehicles. Shadow watched as the women in black robes clucked to each other and spat out curses from God on the Captain and his men.

When the last of their tail lights disappeared over the hill the Captain turned his attention to Shadow and Tekumsila. He stepped up to them and said, "The United States is at war. We need men to fight in that war. For each of you who will agree to fight for your country, we will send money to your women and children each month. Each man will be issued a new name and will be registered as a white man." Shadow and Tekumsila looked at each other. What kind of words were these? It must be some new trick of the white man! The Captain stared hard at Shadow and Tekumsila, "well," he demanded, "will you fight for your country?" Shadow finally found his own words and said, "we have many questions." The Captain gestured with his hand and a man came running with wooden folding chairs. Shadow and Tekumsila watched as the man unfolded the chairs and went back to the car to retrieve a table with legs that folded as well. When the man had the table and chairs set up in the road the Captain took a seat and gestured to Shadow and Tekumsila to sit on the others. At first the chair felt very awkward to Shadow, he squirmed around on the seat causing it to partially fold. The man standing at the Captain’s side hurried over and helped Shadow adjust the seat back into the unfolded position. Shadow carefully sat on the wooden seat and did his best not to move.

Shadow and Tekumsila listened to the words of the Captain. When he was done speaking Shadow said that he and Tekumsila needed to speak with the people. The Captain nodded his head and gestured for them to do so.

Shadow stood in front of the remaining occupants of his village. " As you know, the white man has made war with us. They have taken our homes, our land, and our way of life. Now the white man has gone across the great waters to make war there as well. The Captain says that his government will send white man’s money each month to our families if we agree to go and fight in his new war. He says that his government will bring something called commodities each month while the men of our village are gone. The money our families will receive can be used in the white man’s stores and shops to buy food and clothing. The Captain says that each man who will go to fight the white man’s war across the great waters will be given a new name and will be registered as white men. I do not know if these strange words of this white man are another trick, but each one of us must decide, and if we agree, we will make our mark on the white man’s papers. He has also said that when we are done with the war across the great waters, his government will send our families to live in a new place where we will no longer be hungry or cold."

As Shadow spoke to his people there was much shock and distrust of this offer. The people also had many questions for the white Captain, and Shadow asked him to come and speak with the people himself. In the end, for the starving people of this little village this seemed as if it was the answer to their prayers. Shadow shared with his people what Creator had told him when he stood at the top of the mountain. "I see now, how Creator will hide each of us in front of the white man. If this Captain’s words are true, we will be hidden from them as a nation, because we will stand among them as individuals." His people listened to his words, and eventually agreed to make their mark on the white Captain’s papers.

When the last man had made his mark on the papers, the Captain explained that a bus would come to the village the next day. The Captain told the men that the bus would drop off food and blankets for the women and children then take the men to their training camp.

That night Shadow, Slow Woman, and Tekumsila sat up until the sun rose the next morning. Tekumsila assured Shadow that he would stay with Slow Woman and the children until Shadow returned. He also promised to keep the old ways alive in his heart and pass this knowledge on to Shadow’s children. Slow Woman clung to Shadow and was torn between her fear of him going, and the relief of believing her children would no longer go hungry.