“Okay. Rule number one is NO TALKING. Rule number two is NO TRICKS. Rule number three is NO LOOKING DOWN.”
“Ehn! Ehn! Ehn!” responded Nanabush. “Those rules are super easy. This is going to be fantastic. When do we leave?”
“If you break the rules, Nanabush, we are going to drop you. If there are tricks in Zhaawanong, Nanabush, we are going to leave you there, and you’ll have to walk home. Meet us here tomorrow at dawn.”
“This is no problem at all. I’ve got to go home and pack and make some snacks for the road trip! Baamaa aapii!”
The next morning they left, and even though Nanabush had over-packed, the flight to Zhaawanong was pretty good. Nanabush followed all of the in-flight rules. All winter long they all had a wonderful time in the south visiting with those southern relations, learning about their lands and nations.
Soon it was time to return to Giiwedinong. The Nikag came to where Nanabush was staying and picked him up for his flight home.
Nanabush was pretty excited about going home. Spring was his favourite time. He knew the Nishnaabeg would be busy in the sugar bush, hunting muskrat, and spear fishing, and he could not wait to see all of his friends and relations. The closer he got, the more excited he felt. He was so excited, his body was shaking. Still, the Nikag held on tight to him as they flew north.
When he reached the land of the Nishnaabeg, he was so excited he could barely stay still. Then he heard the Nishnaabeg say, “Look up in the sky, it’s Nanabush flying with the geese!”
Looking down, he waved at his friends and relatives proudly. And the geese let go of him.
Nanabush fell to the earth and landed with a thud. Reaching around for the hard ground, he instead felt soft fur. Reaching around for the cold rocks, he instead felt warmth. Listening for the quiet of the spring morning, he instead heard loud snoring.
“Who is interrupting my nap? Who is lying on top of me? What is that weird smell?” exclaimed a sleepy Makwa.
Quickly Nanabush scrambled to his feet and out of the Makweesh, and he ran as fast as he could towards the Nishnaabeg. He couldn’t wait to tell them all about his fantastic adventures.
The next dagwaagin, Nanabush was feeling kind of lazy and not paying attention to things. He had forgotten all about what happened last winter.
“Oh, the winter is so hard. It is so hard to hunt. Ice fishing is so boring. The wind is so cold. The nights are so long. Winter is so much work.”
Just then, a flock of Nikag flew overhead in a V, heading to Zhaawanong for the winter.
“Hmmmmm,” thought Nanabush. “It would be kind of nice to spend the winter in Zhaawanong. Fishing would be easy with the ocean right there. I could spend most of my time just lying on the beach!”
So Nanabush headed down to the minomiin beds to wait for the Nikag to land.
“Aaniin, Gimaa Nika,” Nanabush said to the leader of the
geese.
“Aaniin, Nanabush,” she said back.
“I see you are flying to Zhaawanong. Oh, yes, very good for you. I’m sure it will be very warm and sunny in Florida. I’m sure you’ll have a great time on the beach with all the sun and the sand and the sea. You see, I was wondering if I might come along with you this year. I am old and tired, and I can’t possibly go through another winter here.”
Gimaa Nika felt suspicious. She remembered what happened last spring.
“Ehn, Zhaawanong is beautiful. But, Nanabush, last spring, you didn’t follow the rules,” replied Gimaa Nika.
Nanabush realized he needed to butter Nikag Gimaa up a little bit.
“But, Gimaa, your nation is so strong and powerful. Your wings and navigation are high-end. I am sure together you could fly me to Zhaawanong. I am sure this time I can follow your rules!”
“I’ll speak to my people,” said Gimaa.
The Nikag had a big meeting. Everyone showed up—moms, dads, children, aunties, uncles, grandparents, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. They all spoke what was in their hearts and minds. Then they sent Gimaa Nika back to tell Nanabush their decision.
“Nanabush, my people have reluctantly decided that you may come with us to Zhaawanong. But you MUST follow the three rules. We are going to give you one more chance.”
“That’s perfect!” shouted Nanabush, “I LOVE rules and I am very, very good at following them right down to the letter!”
“Okay. Let’s go over this one more time. Rule number one is NO TALKING. Rule number two is NO TRICKS. Rule number three is NO LOOKING DOWN.”
“Ehn! Ehn! Ehn!” responded Nanabush. “Those rules are super easy. This is going to be fantastic. When do we leave?”
“If you break the rules, Nanabush, we are going to drop you. If there are tricks in Zhaawanong, Nanabush, we are going to leave you there and you’ll have to walk home. Meet us here tomorrow at dawn.”
“This is no problem at all. I’ve got to go home and pack and make some snacks for the road trip! Baamaa aapii!”
The next morning they left, and even though Nanabush had over-packed, the flight to Zhaawanong was pretty good. Nanabush followed all of the in-flight rules. All winter long they all had a wonderful time in the south visiting with those southern relations, learning about their lands and nations.
Soon it was time to return to Giiwedinong, and the Nikag came to where Nanabush was staying and picked him up for his flight home.
Nanabush was pretty excited about going home. Spring was his favourite time. He knew the Nishnaabeg would be busy in the sugar bush, hunting muskrat and spear fishing, and he could not wait to see all of his friends and relations. The closer he got, the more excited he felt. He was so excited, his body was shaking. He needed to take a little peek just to see how much longer the trip was going to take. Just a little peek.
Boom! Nanabush fell to the ground.
Instead of hitting the ground hard, though, Nanabush fell into a muddy marsh. The landing was pretty good, considering, but he was then covered from head to toe with thick mud. He had to get himself fixed up before the Nishnaabeg saw him!
Nanabush ran to the nearest lake. The water was freezing because the ice was barely off, but he jumped in anyway and kicked and splashed around until he was shiny.
Nanabush got dressed and looked at the lake. It was muddy. It was very muddy. It was so muddy that Nanabush thought it would never be clear again.
“I’m going to name this lake Wiin nibii aang,” said Nanabush, “the place of muddy water.”
And people today call that place Lake Winnipeg.
Nishnaabemowin: Dagwaagin is the fall; bboon is winter; gitimi means s/he is lazy; zhaawanong is the south; aaniin means hello in Mississauga Nishnaabemowin; minomiin (manomiin in other parts of the territory) is wild rice; nika is a goose; nikag is geese; Gimaa (Ogimaa) is Chief or leader; zhiishiibag is ducks; ehn is yes; baamaa aapii is see you later; makweesh is bear den.
13
IT’S A VERY GOOD THING TO BE YOURSELF
There are a lot of good stories and good songs about old Baapaase, Woodpecker.
There is the one about Baapaase always telling everyone else’s stories before anyone else could tell them. In that one, Nanabush gives Baapaase a very loud knocking sound so that everyone will know when Baapaase is coming.
There is the one about Baapaase helping Nanabush and Nanabush giving her a beautiful red crest as a thank you.
There is the one about Baapaase helping Nokomis teach everyone about sharing. Owah! That’s a good one too.
But this one, this one is more about Nanabush than Baapaase. One day, a long time ago, Nanabush was in the forest, and, of course, he was feeling hungry.
“Nbakade! Nbakade! Nbakade!” he yelled and then listened.
All day long, knocking!
Then Nanabush watched. She saw Baapaase flying from tree to tree, knocking on each tree with her beak and then eating. The very loudest tree in the woods was even named after Baapaase, Baapaagamag, the White Ash.
Nanabush watched some mo
re.
“That looks pretty easy. Pretty easy,” thought Nanabush.
She got to work right away. She carved a beak out of cedar. She made straps out of leather and then attached her Baapaase face to her Nanabush face and climbed up a tree.
When she was near the top, she tipped his head back and then smashed it into the trunk as hard as she could.
“OUCH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” she screamed. “OOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEE!”
Nanabush fell to the ground with a thud and screamed, “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Nokomis came to see what all the commotion was about.
“Nanabush, are you all right? What were you doing? Why are you on the ground? Why is your face all bloody and your nose blown up like a red balloon?”
“Oh, Nokomis,” Nanabush snivelled. “I thought Baapaase had it so easy gathering food as easy as pie, so I made a face just like hers and I tried it and this is what happened.”
“My Nanabush,” Nokomis said, giving Nanabush a big, warm Nokomis hug. “It didn’t work because you are not a Baapaase. You are a Nanabush, and a Nanabush is a very good thing to be. There is no one else in the world like you.”
Then she took her Nanabush home and cleaned up her face and gave her some nice warm soup, because a Nokomis is also a very nice thing to be.
Nishnaabemowin: Baapaase is a woodpecker; Nbakade means I’m hungry; Baapaagamag, the White Ash.
14
HONOURING OJIIG IN THE NIGHT SKY
One day Ojiig was out hunting with his Daanis.
Ojiigag are great hunters, but life was very difficult at this time because it was always bboon. Always. No spring. No summer. No fall. Only bboon.
One day, Daanis and Ojiig are out hunting and hunting and hunting, and finally Daanis, even though she is very tough, has had enough.
“Ojiig, I am freezing,” she says. “I can’t stop shivering. I don’t think I can go on.”
“Oh, my Daanis,” Ojiigag says, looking ahead and into the snow. “I can see things are so very difficult for you, but we must keep going and find some food for our family.”
“Nahow, Ojiig. But isn’t there anything you can do to bring some warmth to our land?”
Well, this happened to be a very good question. It had been bboon for so long, though, that no one else had even thought to ask if warmth was possible!
Ojiig thought for a minute, then interrupted the silence. “Let’s get everyone together and see if anyone can remember a time when the land was warm.”
That is exactly what they did. All the animals came. The old ones brought their pipes. The young ones helped to smudge. Everyone thought and listened and tried to remember. After a long time, and together, they decided that the warmth must be in the Sky World.
Ojiig, Nigig, Bizhiw, and Gwiingwa’aage volunteered to go on the journey to the Sky World. After prayers and ceremony, they left, heading for the epingishimog. They travelled across the deep snow of the forest and the prairies until they came to the tallest mountain. Then, they climbed up that mountain to get as close as possible to Giizhik.
Nigig jumped first, but he jumped with such force that he busted right through the sky. He hit the ground hard, sliding all the way down the mountain.
Bizhiw tried next, but when he jumped he knocked his head so hard on Giizhik that he lost consciousness.
“Gwiingwa’aage!” exclaimed Ojiig. “You are the strongest among us. You are our last hope!”
Gwiingwa’aage did little pogo-stick bounces towards Giizhik again and again and again, until she cracked open a tiny hole. The three relatives jumped through the small hole together. Gwiingwa’aage jumped through the hole in the Giizhik, with Ojiig close behind.
The Sky World was beautiful. It was warm and lush where trees, medicines, and flowers grew. Gwiingwa’aage and Ojiig worked together to make the hole bigger so the warmth of the Sky World would flow down to their mother.
After they worked for a long time, the snow started to melt, the waters started to flow, and the world began to wake up. Gwiingwa’aage and Ojiig continued to make the hole bigger and bigger.
Finally, a little Sky-Kwezens asked them to stop. “Excuse me, you are making a big hole in my world. Why? I’d like you to stop because my world is losing a lot of heat and light, please and thank you very much.”
Gwiingwa’aage was so startled, she fell all the way back to earth. Ojiig and Sky-Kwezens decided that, if they made the hole the right size, both worlds could share the heat and light at the same time. Ojiig chewed at the hole to make it just the right size.
But some of the Sky people weren’t as kind as Sky-Kwezens. These beings started to chase Ojiig with their arrows. One struck her and made her fall backwards to the earth.
Gzhwe Manidoo watched all of this. Honouring her for her work, the Creator picked up Ojiig and placed her in the stars for trying to help everyone on earth. So, while a lot of people look up in the sky and see the Big Dipper, the Nishnaabeg look up and see Ojiig, the great hunter. Every winter Ojiig is struck by the arrow and falls over on her back, but during the summer she rolls onto her feet to bring warmth back to her people.
And one more thing: Gwiingwa’aage has a really special name. Gwiingwa means a shooting star, and ‘aage means emerging from. A long, long time ago, four crazy stars were racing towards the earth. Things got a little out of hand, and one of the stars crashed into the earth, making a big crater. Eventually, that crater filled up with water. After even more time, vegetation started to grow around it. After even more time still, the trees grew, and it eventually looked like any other lake. One day, out of that new pristine lake, a creature crawled out of the water, and that’s the one we call Gwiingwa’aage, Wolverine—the one that emerged from a shooting star.
Nishnaabemowin: Ojiig is a fisher; daanis means daughter; bizhiw is a lynx; nigig is an otter; bboon is winter; nahow means okay; epingishimog means west; gizhiik is sky; kwezens (ikwezens) is a girl; and gwiingwa’aage is a wolverine, the one that emerged from a shooting star; Gzhwe Manidoo is the Creator, the one who loves us unconditionally.
15
GWIIWZENS MAKES A LOVELY DISCOVERY
Gwiiwzens is out walking in the bush one day
It is Ziigwan
the lake is opening up
the goon is finally melting
he’s feeling that first warmth of spring on his cheeks. “Nigitchi
nendam,” he is thinking, “I’m happy.”
Then that Gwiiwzens, who is out walking
collecting firewood for his Doodoom
decides to sit under Ninaatigoog
maybe just stretch out
maybe just have a little rest
maybe gather firewood a little later.
“Oowah, Ngitchi nendam nongom,”
“I’m feeling happy today,” says that Gwiiwzens.
And, while that Gwiiwzens
is lying down, and looking up
he sees San’goo up in the tree
“Bozhoo, San’goo! I hope you had a good winter.
I hope you had enough food cached.”
But San’goo doesn’t look down because she’s already busy.
She’s not collecting nuts.
Gawiin.
She’s not building her nest
Gawiin, not yet.
She’s not looking after any young.
Gawiin, too early.
She’s just nibbling on the bark, and then doing some sucking.
Nibble, nibble suck.
Nibble, nibble suck.
Nibble, nibble, suck.
Nibble, nibble, suck.
Gwiiwzens is feeling a little curious.
So he does it too, on one of the low branches.
Nibble, nibble suck.
Nibble, nibble suck.
Nibble, nibble, suck.
Nibble, nibble, suck.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
This stuff tastes good.
It’s real, sweet water.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Then Gwiiwzens gets thinking
and he makes a hole in that tree
and he makes a little slide for
that sweet water to run down
he makes a quick little container
out of birchbark, and
he collects that sweet water
and he takes that sweet water home
to show his mama.
That doodoom is excited, and she has three hundred questions:
“Ah, Gwiiwzens, what is this?”
“Where did you find it?”
“Which tree?”
“Who taught you how to make it?”
“Did you put semaa?”
“Did you say miigwech?”
“How fast is it dripping?”
“Does it happen all day?”
“Does it happen all night?”
“Where’s the firewood?”
Gwiiwzens tells his doodoom the story.
She believes every word
because he is her Gwiiwzens
and they love each other very much.
“Let’s cook the meat in it tonight,
it will be lovely sweet.”
“Nahow.”
“Nahow.”
So they cooked that meat in that sweet water
it was lovely sweet
it was extra lovely sweet
it was even sweeter than just that sweet water.
The next day, Gwiiwzens takes his mama
to that tree, and his mama brings Nokomis
and Nokomis brings all the aunties, and
there is a very big crowd of Nishnaabekwewag
and there is a very big lot of pressure
Gwiiwzens tells about San’goo.
Gwiiwzens does the nibble-nibble-suck part.
At first there are technical difficulties
and none of it works.
But Mama rubs Gwiiwzen’s back
she tells Gwiiwzens that she believes him anyway
they talk about lots of variables, like heat and temperature
and time
then Giizis comes out and warms everything up
and soon it’s drip
drip
drip
drip
The Gift is in the Making Page 5