An Eskimo Story....

Okay, here is a story from the Labrador Eskimos.... I hope you all enjoy it! ^_^

Once there was a hunter who lived all alone. One day after being away hunting for a while, he had found that upon his return that his place had apparently been visited, and everything put in order as though a dutiful wife had done so. This happened rather often, after a while, but with no visible signs or tracks that the man could find. Finally one day, he had decided to watch and see who would scrape his skin clothing and boots, hang them out to dry, and cook nice hot food ready to be eaten when he returned.

One day he went away as though going off on a hunt, but secretly hid himself so as to see if anyone would enter his house.

After a while, he saw a fox enter the place. He figured that the fox was after food, so he quietly sneaked up to the house, and upon entering, he saw a most beautiful woman dressed in skin clothing of wondrous creation. Inside the house, on a clothes drying line, hung the skin of a fox.

The man asked the woman if it was she who had done these things. She told him that she was his wife, and it was her duty to do these things, and was hoping that she had done so in a manner that was satisfactory to him.

Well, he was fine with they way everything was, and was delighted to have company and companionship, where before he had none. So, he decided to leave things be, and that they live together. Now, after they had lived together for a little while, the husband had noticed a musky smell about the house, and with a disturbed face, asked her, "Wow.... what is that smell??"

She told him that it was her scent, and that if he didn't like it, she'd leave. Upon saying this, she tossed off her clothes, and taking on the skin of the fox, she quickly and quietly ran away, never to be seen by him again. She also has never been inclined to visit any man ever since.

Now.... what does this story mean? Is there some moral to it? It's a mite hard for me to figure it out myself, but I found it somewhat interesting, so I included it in today's post!

That's all for now - until next time, have a nice night! ^_^

- Falls-Down-Laughing ^_^

Some More Native Humour....

Okay, this here joke isn't very politically correct, as it uses the term "squaw", wich has many controversies around it.... but heck, it *is* a necessary part of this particular joke, so try to lighten' up y'all, and feel free to laugh....

It's also a play on words (the punch-line, that is), of a mathematical nature.... if you never paid attention in geometry class, well then, you ain't gonna get this one LOL.... here we go;

There was this one Indian warrior who had three wives, and each one was pregnant. The first gave birth to a beautiful, cheerful baby boy. He was so excited, that he built her a teepee made of deer hide. A couple days later, the second one gave birth, also to a wonderful baby boy. This warrior was quite happy, so he built her a teepee made of antelope hide. The third wife gave birth a few days later, but the father kept the details a secret. He had built this one a two story teepee, and made out of a hippopotamus hide. The warrior then challenged the tribe to guess what had occurred.

Many tried, many failed.

Finally, one young brave declared that the third wife had given birth to twin boys.

"Absolutely right!" said the proud father. "How the heck did you figure it out, though?"

The young guy answered, "It's easy - the value of the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squaws of the other two hides."

Get it? :P lol

Seeya next time!

- Falls-Down-Laughing ^_^

Mmmm-mmm! Good Old Native Molasses Bread!

- recipes -

Try out this nifty bit of Native American cookery.... you'll love it! ^_^


Molasses Bread:

This uses the quick one-rise method, which doesn't require any kneading.

Adding the black strap molasses gives it a hint of sweetness and also makes it more nutritious.

This recipe makes 3 large loaves (about two pounds each).

6 1/4 cups of tepid (slightly warm) water
1 slightly heaping tablespoon salt
2 packets of instant yeast
13 cups whole wheat flour
1 heaping tablespoon molasses
butter or pure vegetable margarine

Have the oven preheated to 400°F.

With the butter (or margarine), go ahead and grease up three large bread loaf baking pans - or cake pans, if you'd rather. Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and add the yeast. Mix gently. Dissolve the molasses in about 1/4 cup of slightly warm (tepid) water. Add this to the flour, then mix in the rest of the water, pouring slowly, a little at a time, in case you don't quite need every last bit of it. The finished mixture needs to be just a little too wet and sticky to leave the sides of the bowl clean - it should feel "slippery" but not completely sloppy. Half fill the pans with the mixture, cover them with plastic wrap or a damp dish towel, and let it rise.

When the loaves have risen to within 1/2 inch of the tops of the pans, toss 'em into the oven.
Bake large loaves for 45 minutes, and small ones for about 35 minutes, or until they are brown and firm to the touch. After taking the loaves out of the loaf pans, set them on a wire rack to cool.

That's all for tonight - until next post, have a nice day! ^_^

- recipes -

Porcupine and Beaver....

- stories -

Here is a story which, like many, takes place some time long ago, when the world was still in its infancy, and still somewhat forming....

Now, Beaver and Porcupine were great friends and went about everywhere together. Porcupine would often visit Beaver's house, but Beaver did not like to have him come over very much, because he always left quills laying about here and there.

One time, when Porcupine said that he wanted to go out to Beaver's house, Beaver said, "All right, I will take you out on my back - hop on." He started off, but instead of going to his house, he took him to an old, long-dead tree stump in the very middle of the lake.

Then he said to him, "Okay, this is my house", left him there on the tree stump, and went back to the shore.

While Porcupine was stuck upon this stump he began singing one of his medicine (magic) songs, "Let it become frozen - Let it become frozen so that I can cross to Wolverine-man's place." He wanted to walk ashore on the ice, so he called it to do so. Soon the surface of the lake froze, and he walked home.

Some few days after this, when the two friends were again playing together, Porcupine said, "You come with me now. It is my turn to carry you on my back." Then Beaver carefully got up on Porcupine's back, and Porcupine took him to the top of a very high tree, after which he came down and left him up there.

For a good, long time Beaver did not know how to get down. Finally, after many long hours, he clumsily climbed down, hap-hazardly clawing and slipping on the way, and soon was on the ground again.

This story explains what gives the broken appearance to tree bark.

Hehe.... pretty cool, huh? ^_~

- stories -

Maple Sugar Goodies....

- recipes -

HEY!! I'M STILL HUNGRY!!

How about a good native treat?

Happy Springtime, everyone! Well, almost - 'nother week or so yet.

Yep, the days have started to get longer!

Thought I'd mention a good old Native American late Winter/early Spring treat.... you remember "sno-cones" from the neighborhood ice-cream truck? Well, that's another NA invention! Those in the New England area, or other parts of America and Canada who do maple sugaring, might know what I'm talking about here.

Probably from as far back as when we first started tapping maple trees and boiling down the sap for syrup and sugar, however many thousands of years ago it was, we had our version of the 'sno-cone'.... a curled-up piece of birch bark (the 'cone'), packed full of freshly fallen snow, and all drizzled over with warm maple sap, that's been boiled down, half-way to syrup.

GOOD STUFF, LEMME TELLYA!

Try it sometime.... you could even pack some snow into a coffee mug, and add some (real) maple syrup, and eat it with a spoon, if so preferred.

By the way.... did you know that maple trees weren't the only trees used for sugaring their sap? We also did this with birch trees as well, but they took a lot more work.

That's all for today's post - see you all next time! ^_^

- recipes -

Native Corn Casserole....

- recipes -

HEY!! I'M HUNGRY!!

Let's try some more native cookin'....

This is served as a main dish, for 4-5 people.

3 cups of sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack, or similar grated cheese
6 slices or whole wheat bread, ripped up into pieces
1 pound canned cream corn
1 cup of whole kernel corn
3 beaten eggs
1/4 cup hopped onion
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry yellow mustard.
a couple of shakes from a tabasco sauce bottle

Fry up the celery and onion, and in a casserole dish, layer the bread on the bottom - next, the veggies, then the cheese - pour the creamed corn on top of all of this, then the beaten eggs over that. Let it stand for about a half-hour, then bake at 350 for an hour, placed in a pan of hot water.

As a main course dish, this supplies about 40% of the minimum daily requirement of protein.... if you dont mind crunchy stuff in your casserole, you can increase this to well over 50% by adding 3/4 cup of sunflower seeds.


Pretty cool, huh? That's it for today.... see y'all next time! ^_^

- recipes -

A Little About the Old Ways....

- old ways -

Hello, all! ^_^

Today, I'd like to talk a little bit about our dieing culture. Yes, it thrives here and there, but it is not without it's situation of endangerment.

Now, one of the biggest responsibilities for all of us NAs out there, is to keep the old ways from disappearing. While we may be not so few in number, we do face extinction - particularly culturally.

And actually, our numbers are few, relatively. For example, if I remember right, there's maybe one or two of us NAs out of every 300 or so "Americans" - and that isn't only full-bloods.

For another example of looking at things relatively, let's compare with other peoples of the world - we know that the Chinese - now, that's just those within China's borders, mind you - make up a little more than 1/3 of the Earth's population.... that's a mite more than two BILLION people.... compare that to those of us from the Mohawk tribe, for example - including full-bloods, half-bloods, and quarter-bloods, there are only about 10,000 of us.... that's in the US *and* Canada together.

Now, not all of us out there who are Native American actually care much about our culture - and this is a very sad thing indeed. So, while our numbers grow fewer, and our blood gets thinner, our culture also draws very near to becoming extinct.

What's more, is that our culture is becoming polluted - and terribly so.

For instance, we often see books being sold out there that claim to teach "Native American shamanism" (a foreign concept, by the way - the word, I believe, coming from Russia).... most often, if not all the time, these books have some Native American wisdom, mixed in with a lot of "New Age" culture. Another thing, I always notice that these are not written by Native Americans. Sure, some of these autors claim to be "adopted" into one tribe or another, but.... well, this humble one has his doubts.

All the "New Age" crud keeps creeping into it all. Things such as "crystal healing" - [which, by the way, we already had a knowledge of.... stones and shells and objects were often used for meditation and such ("iniskims", in the Blackfoot language) before any European influence, though these objects' meanings to us seem largely different] - or reincarnation creep into our culture and mix things up, changing things all around.

Why??

And that's one of the biggest things that really confuses me. These "past life regression therapists" claim to have "patients" who have been NAs in a past life....

Well, we never had reincarnation!!!!

At least, not like the Hindu-Asian kind. The closest thing to reincarnation that we ever had, was that sometimes - sometimes - if we were a very brave and strong warrior (and sometimes, women as well, were warriors), and if we were still needed after death, then instead of going off to the Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky Kingdom, we would come back again.... as ourselves.

Not as a bird, or a fish, or a cow, or another human being, but as our same selves that we were before.

And according to our culture, this was done through family bloodlines.

But I digress.... my main point is that our culture as well, is becoming vastly watered down.

We all, in my very humble opinion, need very much to grasp hold of the old ways, and to continue to keep them in our present lives. And, if possible, retrieve those ways that have become long lost. And also, not just to live stuck in the past with these old ways, in a way that would stagnate us as a cultural people, but to apply them to our present lives, and to continue to evolve along our cultural path into the future.

We all need to teach our children the ways of our peoples. What is the meaning of the pipe, and where did it come from? Who made us? Is the Earth alive and truly our mother? How did the stars get in the sky? Who are the Manitous? What is the meaning of the four directions? The six powers? The sacred hoop? What is a longhouse, and why is it important? Or about the tepee? Or wicciup? Or hogan? Who are the Kachinas? Who is Iktome? Who is Napi? Who is Glooscap? Who is Manibozo? Or Mendo and Mendoska? Who is Maheo? Eawawonaka? Wakantanka? Shunkwiatason? Who is Coyote Old Man?

Whatever nation(s) of NA we are born into, we need to know these things, and to teach them to our children, each according to his or her nation(s) and tribe(s) - and yes, even some of the ways of our neighboring nations and tribes as well.

We also need to learn, and apply to our lives, the basic truths - for example;

Mitakuye Oyasin; we are all blood relatives.

We Do Not Inherit The Earth From Our Ancestors.... We Borrow The Earth From Our Line Of Future Offspring.

Always walk the path of a True Human Being.

Okay, my eyes are getting screen-shrivelled - until then, have a good night! ^_^

- old ways -

Some Confusing Concerns On My Mind....

- issues -

Hello all! ^_^

Today, I'd like to write about something that's been bothering me quite a bit, for quite a long time. I've tried to discuss this in a NA forum or two before, but either got responses from those who had little or no opinion, or no response at all.

This is about the ongoing project at the Black Hills in South Dakota, the one commemorating the Lakota warchief, Crazy Horse.

Now, the black hills are very sacred, and were promised by treaty to never be touched by the white man - that they would belong to the Native Americans who hold that area sacred forever and ever.

When gold was discovered there, the treaty was naturally broken, and the land-rape began.

To further desecrate these sacred lands, the Mt. Rushmore monument was created, depicting the faces of four presidents - in the eyes of many Native Americans, these were the faces of war criminals that, through the mass killings of many native peoples and nations - men, women and children - and "relocation programs", stole our land and took over the country by force.

Besides all this, there is the factor of carving up the Earth Mother to display these faces, a most sacrilegic act of ego, if nothing else.

Now, let's look at Crazy Horse.... he was a brave warrior, and a very spiritual one as well. On questing for his life's vision, he received help from the spirit world, but was told that as a warrior, and as a person, he should not seek out recognition or reward - for example, he would wear no eagle feathers denoting courageous deeds done on the battlefield.

He never sought out recognition or reward, and kept himself unadorned of war trophies or emblems of courageous deed doing.

Now it seems, to this humble publisher of this blog, that many of us natives have forgotten all of this, our stand on the Earth Mother, Crazy Horse's stance of selfless duty without display, and indeed, ourselves.

There is a project that has been underway for some time now, to sculpt, out of the same sacred Black Hills, in the town of Custer (good grief), 17 miles from Mt. Rushmore. This sculpting project depicts Crazy Horse, on a steed, pointing forward, and wearing an eagle feather.

Now, I am merely a humble Human Being, and not always in touch with other fellow Native Americans (currently, I am in Japan), and I do not pretend to understand everything there is to know about current native thought. But I was raised - and, being fatherless from birth, raised myself - in Native American ways, morals, and spirituality.

Growing up, I listened to the words of my elders, be they through the mouths of those in the pow-wow circuit, in the writings of Native American newspapers, or from the writings of those such as Lame Deer, Black Elk, and others of note, and I try to keep my mind and heart along the lines of those who were long before myself.

These days, it seems to me more and more that we have become complacent and too accepting.

Yes, we Native Americans have heroes too.... but we have kept our heroes, and their deeds, and their teachings alive by word of mouth, educating our children and grandchildren, and, more recently within these last two centuries, with writings, as we always have done, and it works out just fine. I have no bad feelings about remembering those who came before us, nor with the continuance of such memories for future generations to benefit from them. We need them - our heroes and their memories.

But now there is more carving up of the Earth Mother, on sacred lands, to depict this brave man of Native American history.

What is wrong with this?

Here is how I see it;

#1 - It carves up the Earth Mother.... and for egotistical purpose - it serves the Earth Mother no purpose at all.

#2 - Everything is sacred, including all lands and waters and skies and creatures.... but some places are especially sacred. The Black Hills is one of these places.

#3 - Crazy Horse shunned outward displays of pride - he didn't necessarily think they were bad for people to engage in, such as a brave warrior wearing an eagle feather honourabley earned, but such just wasn't for him, and so he never did so. This carving depicts him wearing an eagle feather, and the sculpture itself is already something vastly huge, carved out of the Earth Mother.

#4 - When the Mt. Rushmore monument was starting to be built, Native Americans protested it, saying that it was desecrating the Earth Mother, and sacred lands. Now, while this monument depicting Crazy Horse has been going on for quite some time, none of the native peoples seem to have protested this.... at least, not to this humble one's knowledge (maybe they have? I'm so dreadfully far away here).... in fact, this was proposed by a Native American!!!!

What has happened????

What has happened to us????

If Crazy Horse himself were able to come back to life and see this going on, what do you suppose he would think? What do you suppose he would say? What do you suppose he would do?

How do you suppose he would feel??

Would he be happy?

C'mon, would he?

Really. You know, I could just see him grabbing dust from the ground and throwing it upon himself, weeping heavily.

I wonder how many people thought about that.

Things like this really worry me about the state of morals in today's Native American community - I mean, the fact that a Native American came up with this idea in the first place.... aiyaaaa....

Well, okay, I wrote it all out. I'm sure it does no good other than to vent out my confusion and anger - not that that helps any. Maybe I'll get some angry responses telling me I'm some crazy ignorant bastard - and maybe I am - but I'm only confused.... and concerned.

Anyways, I guess I'll end today's post here. See you all next time.

- issues –

Native American Place Names....

- lore -

Do you realize how many places have Native American names? Here's a few;

Massachusetts - "Place of the big, little-mountains"/"Hilly place".

Delaware - named after the Delaware tribe.

Milwaukee - "The good land"

Utah - named after the Ute tribe.

Lake Webster/Webster Lake, is actually called, in the Nipmuck language, "Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg" - this is the world's longest name for a body of water, and as a place name (name of any kind of place, land, sea, etc.), it is the 6th largest in the world. It means, basically, "we fish on our side, you fish on your side, and nobody fish in the middle".

Wow, that was a mouthful and a half!

Alabama - from the Alabama, or Alibamon people, members of the Creek Confederacy.

Alaska - Aleut language; "Mainland".

Connecticut - Algonquian language; "Place of the long river".

Canada - Iroquoian language; "community", or "village".

Arizona - "Place of the small spring".

Dakota - Siouxan (Lakota/Dakota/Nakota) language; "friends/allies".

Manitoba - "Great Spirit's strait".

Oklahoma - Choctaw language; "red people".

Michigan - Algonquian language; "big water".

Quebec - Algonquian language; "place where the river narrows".

Ohio - Iroquoian language; "fine river".

Minnesota - Siouxan (Lakota/Dakota/Nakota) language; "cloudy water".

Mexico - Aztec language; from the city of Metz-xih-co, built on an island in a
lake, the name meaning, "In the center of the waters of the moon".

Ontario - Iroquoian language; "beautiful lake".

Texas - Caddo language; "friends".

Wisconsin - Ojibwa language; "gathering of water".

Poughkeepsie - Algonquian language; "a little reed lodge by a water place".

Wow, that's a lot so far.... and there's quite a lot more, but, well, my typing fingers are gonna fall off! Haha :P Okay, that's it for today.... uhm, I suppose I should have put all of that in some sort of alphabetical order.... oh, well. Please have a nice night, everyone!

Mitakuye oyasin - Lakota; "We are all related".

- Falls-Down-Laughing ^_~

- lore –

Some Cultural Fun At Powwows....

- powwows -

Howdy! ^_^

Here's some information on camping at events known as powwows.

I remember one weekend, my friends, my son and I, were off for a weekend of camping and fun at a Native American inter-tribal powwow.... now, I realize that most of you out there know what I'm talking about here, but if you're someone who is unfamiliar with what a powwow is, I'll give you a brief description;

Basically, it is an event, usually over a weekend (though some big events can last up to five days around a weekend), where there are campers, and day-visitors, who gather to observe, or take part in, the events that ensue - such events include drummers and dancers performing, fancy-dance contests, shawl dances, story tellings, archery, tomohawk throwing, vendors offering hand-made goods; necklaces, beads, leather items, instruments such as drums, rattles, Native American flutes, etc., GOOD FOOD - such as deer and elk hot dogs, buffalo burgers and ribs, and the list of fun happenings, culturally educating experiences and wonderful goodies to be had goes on and on.

One of my favourite things for my children to take part in, is the "candy dance" - the children all go into the dance circle, which, on the ground therein, has been tossed tons of little candy goodies - the children all go in with their dance costumes and regalia, and have belt pouches to put the candy into.... in a sort of "musical chairs" fashion, the drummers play and sing and the children dance - every time the voices and drums stop, the children scatter to pick up some candy until the music starts again, when they resume dancing until it's time to pick up more candy. A very fun participatory event for the children indeed!

For an online directory of where the next inter-tribal cultural event ("pow-wow") will take place near you, please click here.

For other pow-wow calendar websites, use your favourite search engine (I use Yahoo! or Google, mostly, myself), and input, "powwow calendar" (in quotes), and click 'search'.

Now, if you're looking for a wonderful camping experience that is very culturally enriching for you and the whole family, I very much recommend powwows. If you've never been to one before, some things along the lines of etiquette to consider when you attend these events are; never take someone's picture (or video) without first asking their permission - and receiving it - this comes from a cultural belief that when you take someone's picture, you hold a piece of their soul - we NAs hold everything in high respect and view everything as sacred, so please take this into consideration.... also, keep aware, if you are a smoker, of where you toss your cigarette butts - it's best to have a personal ashtray, and clean up after yourself, taking care of Mother Earth.... be mindful of personal trash disposal, 'less-than-clean' language, and be mindful of childrens' behaviour, as you would in any other place. Be as peaceable as you know you can be.

Alchohol (and any other "mind-altering substances") is *strictly forbidden* - no beer, wine, etc. - such things are strictly monitored. These events are exceedingly CHEM-FREE.

You will find that most (if not all) of these events have 'peace keeper' staff - any problems or questions you have will be happily answered and tended to by these kind people.

One other thing you might consider.... and this is by no means necessary, mind you, but is just something I personally like to do - before I go to these events, I take my spending money that I use to buy my buffalo burgers, bead supplies and gifts for myself, family and friends, and I bring it to the bank and exchange it for the "gold" Sacajawea dollar coins.... when I buy things using these, I always get smiles and words of appreciation - we NAs are proud of this ancestor being portrayed so artfully on this commemorative coin, so when vendors receive these in payment for goods, it very often brings a smile to their faces.

ANYWAY, I remember one weekend at a powwow, where we were looking for a place to set up camp. We arrived a bit late in the day on Saturday (many, especially vendors, set up camp the previous Friday late afternoon/evening, to secure a good spot - contact the person in charge of the powwow for permission to do this), and so there were very few good spots left. There were enough places to set up camp to be had for sure, but allow me to describe the situation;

As many of these events do, this one took place on someone's spacious farmland, and everyone camped in a huge, grassy area - this was in the heat of the summer, so some grassy spots were greener, while others were yellow-gold with dry, dead grass. The spots that remained for us to choose from were of the latter variety, and as a result, our camping situation was a very, VERY hot experience.

In many areas like this, where broad open fields of grass grow, where it may be slightly rolly and hilly here and there, there occur tiny little "micro-climates" - those areas where the grass is green, are MUCH COOLER than those other dry-grass areas.... where it is green, it is much moister, below the ground at the grasses' roots, and at the leaves where the circulation of cool moisture rises and swirls with the above air.... the dry-grass areas have no such moisture circulation, and so it is very hot - where we were, you could just sit there, and fry an egg on your forehead. Really. I ain't kiddin' ya. And it was like that for us for the entire weekend. Keep this well in mind when choosing a spot to set up camp in the summertime.

Anyways, enjoy your trip to any of these events, and until next time, have a nice night! ^_^

- powwows –

Some More Native Humour....

Native American jokes -

Hey! Here is a few jokes to tell your friends....

A Mohawk named Two-Feathers was sitting in a chair in an office during a job interview.... the personel manager asks, "Do you know any foreign languages?" to which Two-Feathers said, "Only one - English".

Haha :P

An old Blackfoot woman traveled to the city to visit her grandson. Upon arrival, they had lunch together, chatted a while, then elected to go for a walk together in the city. The grandmother was looking at all the tall buildings and was overwhelmed at how many there were, and how close together they were, in this "concrete jungle", and her eyes lit up when she saw that they arrived at a small park with beautiful trees.

She asked her grandson, "What is this place?", and he said, "This is a park.... a place set aside for city folk to enjoy a little nature."

To this, she sighed and said, "I see.... so they even put trees on reservations, too!"

True, huh?

What did the Lakota woman say, the first time she went to pizza hut?

- "Who threw up on my fry bread??"

^_~

Did you know that "vegitarian" is an Indian word? It means "can't hunt".

O_o

A Northern Cheyenne guy, goes to the general store to buy some toilet paper. The clerk offers him three kinds; Charmin, Scotties, and generic. The guy chose generic, bought it, and went home. About a few days later, he comes back, and tosses the remainder of the unused roll of toilet paper at the store clerk, saying, "I don't want this damned Chuck Norris toilet paper!" - To which, the clerk laughs and says, "That isn't Chuck Norris toilet paper, it's generic!" The Cheyenne guy then says, "You can call it whatever you like, but it's rough and tough and won't take crap from anybody!"

Hehe :P lol ^_~

An Anglo family was visiting an Indian reservation when they came upon an old Indian man laying face down off to the side of the road, with his ear pressed firmly to the pavement.

The father of the family asked the old man, "What are you doing?", and the old man replied, "Woman.... late 30's.... three kids and one barking dog.... all in a late model, four door station wagon.... traveling abouuuut - 65 miles an hour."

Taken by complete awe and amazement by this, the father said, "That's astounding! You can tell all that just by listening to the ground??", to which, the old man replied, "No.... they just ran me over a few minutes ago!"

That's all, folks! Seeya next time! ^_~

- Native American jokes –

Good Eats....

- recipes -

Here is a very popular Native American favourite that I personally like very much - fry bread!! *^_^*

This also, by the way, is very good camp food, if you're very careful with a small pot of cooking oil.... it's certainly nothing you'll want sitting on top of any rickety-old, wobbley grill, so be careful.

FRY BREAD -

You will need;

4 cups of all-purpose flour,

2 teaspoons of baking powder
(not baking soda - there's a very big difference here - remember that),

1 teaspoon of salt, and

2 cups of water.

Take all of your dry ingredients, and mix them all up good in a bowl.

Now, slowly pouring in the water as you mix everything together, keep mixing until it's all nice and soft and not sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Knead it all together (wash your hands first!) on a lightly floured surface, getting it all good and worked up, and then sit it in the bowl again (you might lightly flour the bowl before doing this), cover with a clean, damp cloth, and let it sit for about a half an hour or so.

After the waiting is done, grab little throwing-stone-sized chunks of it, and on a lightly floured surface, roll them out flat to about a half inch thick.

Flip these from hand to hand, like working pizza dough, until it's about 8-10 inches across.

Now, having had a pot of about a couple of inches of cooking oil, or vegetable shortening heating up in it over medium heat, carefully place the dough in, flipping them over half-through, browning them on each side. They should bubble up a mite, also.

Take these out to drain, drizzle melted butter on them, and sprinkle some powdered sugar and cinnamon on them (or anything you like), and there you go! Enjoy! ^_^

There is a variation on this, well known as "Indian Tacos" - both this, and the fry bread above, are often eaten up at powwows quite a bit.... it almost isn't a powwow, without these treats available!

Indian Tacos -

After making the fry bread, try any of these toppings, and fold it up, or roll it up, and eat it like a taco....

FOR SWEET/DESSERT VARIETIES;

Honey and dried fruits.

Maple syrup and crushed walnuts.

Blueberry pie filling (or other such, found in cans).

Strawberry (or other) preserves.

Apple butter and brown sugar.

Whole berry cranberry sauce (not the jellied kind).

Fruit yogurt.

FOR MORE HEARTY/MEAL-TYPE VARIETIES;

Buffalo (or beef) chili and cheese.

Rabbit or venison (or beef) stew.

Mashed potato and elk dogs (or hot dogs) with butter or mushroom gravy.

Rice and beans.

Buffalo burger (or ground beef) and cheese.

Scrambled eggs and sausages.

Roast beef and mushroom gravy.

As you can see, these can be very filling, and quite a crowd pleaser at any campsite, barbeque or picnic. To help preserve used cooking oil, whisk out any dough fragments or crumbs, thinly slice up a large, cored apple, and fry it in the oil. This cleans and preserves the oil for next use, but I wouldn't do it more than two or three times.

Try this recipe out! You'll love it!

Okay, that's it for today's post - until tomorrow, have a nice night! ^_^

- recipes –

The Story of the Two Wolves....

Native American stories -

This is a wonderful story that teaches inner morality. Great for telling around a campfire, especially from parent to child, in a one-on-one situation, but also good for group tellings. This story is not only for children, however - indeed, it is for us all. I hope you all enjoy it.

A grandfather and grandson were out hunting one early morning, and they came upon a ridge on the mountain they were walking on.... over the ridge was a large clearing below, where at a distance, they could see two wolves - a black one, and a white one - fighting furiously.

They watched as the wolves attacked eachother in battle. The grandfather narrowed his eyes, and said slowly, "Ah, yes.... this is the way with all of us Human Beings, within our hearts, each and every day."

The grandson asked, "What do you mean, grandfather?", to which the old one replied;

"Always in our hearts, every day, is a struggling battle, like those two wolves down there.... one is the wolf in us who wishes to do bad things, and the other is the wolf who wishes to do good and honourable things."

The grandson listened more intently now, with a look of slight recognition, and deep concern. The grandfather continued....

"Sometimes, the bad one seems to win.... and other times, the good one seems to take a stronger lead. When we see honourable people who do great deeds, and make great sacrifices for the good of others, we know that the good wolf's spirit is strong within his heart, and is the winning spirit in that Human Being. Each good and honourable deed he does gives this spirit more power within him. This in turn, empowers the Human Being to be more honourable."

The boy smiled, as the grandfather continued to speak....

"But when we see those people who turn to badness, and hatred, doing terrible and dishonourable things, we can know that the bad wolf within him is strong - and each bad and wrongful deed he does, gives the bad wolf more power over him, until it has won, and has utterly consumed him."

The young one's face fell with a look of slight, shuddering inner fear.

So the boy thought long and hard on these things, as he continued to watch the wolves battling below. They both battled fiercely, giving no quarter - neither one backing down. Seeing this, he looked within himself, and saw the truth of his wise grandfather's words, and it made him very concerned for himself with a great, deep fear.

"But grandfather," said the boy, "How will I know which wolf will win within me??"

The grandfather smiled, looked at him with an understanding eye, and after a moment, told him,

" ....the one you FEED."

Now.... do we all know what the grandfather is talking about here? I hope you all enjoyed this story. until next time, have a nice night! ^_^

- Native American stories –