Poem about the making of a Lakota Dessert

Lakota Dessert
When I was a small child one of the activities the grandchildren who spent their summers with our grandmother at the Poor Buffalo ranch was gathering traditional food. This was then stored for the winter. I attempted to capture this activity in the following poem. I hope you enjoy it.

Wojapi


I

Just like everything else in our world
there are two kinds of Wojapi the
traditional and the modern kind
I’ve made both.

Because I now live in today’s world
of computers, E-mail, FAX machines
and fast cars,
I can’t remember the last time
I’ve even made the modern kind.

I do remember that several years ago
I taught a niece how to make it over
the telephone
it’s real easy all it takes is a can of
blueberry pie filling (my family’s favorite flavor)
some water and cornstarch.

But to make the traditional wojapi
takes planning especially if you want to fix it
when the snow is blowing at sixty miles an hour
and its forty below and you want to prove
how really traditional you are to some
white sociologist who is sitting at your table
all starry eyed looking beyond your head to 1868
trying real hard to experience the “Real Lakota Way”.

You can’t hardly grab a can of blueberry pie filling
and prove your a real Indian by whipping up
a batch of modern wojapi
No way - he won’t fall for the can.

II

To do it right you would have
had to go out in the middle
of a hot sweaty August day
among the flies, grasshoppers
and rattle snakes
and find a black cherry tree.

You would have had
to spend hours straining
your muscles reaching up
and picking the little black berries
that stain your hands and teeth for
days afterwards.



III

Now if you were really going to do it right
so you could recount the tail to your
starry eyed guest you would have taken
along the proper equipment. An old lard pail
(the two quart variety) hanging on a piece of
string to allow you to use both hands.

If you were a good fast strong Lakota women,
in a very short period of time, you would have
picked several cans but if you were like me
it would take you hours.

Hours of sweat running down the pits of your
arms, down your torso, down the backs of
your legs and all across your forehead while
being bit by every blood sucking insect around
for miles.

IV

Having finished the first phase of making
traditional wojapi you would now be ready
to move on to the second phase.

This, of course-- should have been completed
under a shade assembled next to your house
because no self respecting traditional Lakota
home went without an old fashion traditional
shade where all activity was conducted through
the hot summer months -from cooking to sleeping.

The shade was built using young cottonwood trees,
with the first Y’s in their trunks, these held up
cross logs tied tightly together with more branches
added to make a loosely woven roof. On top of all
these strong limbs, willow branches were added
with their leaves in full bloom.

Babies were hung in their cradle boards and
drifted off to sleep to the rustling of those leaves
and all manner of gossip being discussed
to pass away the hours.

V

The tools we used had been handed down
from great, great grandmothers two sets of
beautifully hand-crafted mortar and pestle
made from Black Hills pink quartz. In the
center was a small indent about the size of
a small fist. This is where you would place
the berries and proceed to smash them
seeds and all making a beautiful purple paste.

If you measured just right each handful of
berries smashed would make a small flat patty
when rolled and patted out.

You would then place all of these little patties
on a flat card board and put them out in the
hot sun to dry. They would eventually become
flat little hard disks – easily stored for the winter.

VI

This is what you would bring out to impress
your sociologist guestthat your
“A Real Indian – of the Traditional Variety”
and make the real wojapi.

But if your like all the rest of us who live on
the fast track. You’ll call for a pizza to be
delivered and still make him believe your
traditional while checking your messages
on your cellular phone.

Mary Lee Johns

Thoughts on Victory Day

Victory Day
(Little Big Horn - June 25, 1876)

I wrote this several years ago and thought it would be appropriate to post it on this day that the Lakota call Victory Day. It's Victory Day because if we had not been successful there are many of us who would not be here. This includes my family - my great grandmother was a six year old little girl who was watching this battle take place. So for the fact that we are here it is a day to acknowlede as a day of victory for all of us who would not be here without the courage of our warriors.

To All My Friends & Relatives:
On Tuesday - "Victory Day" - I wanted to write to everyone with something to say but was unable to. Nothing profound seeped into my thoughts and I didn't want to bore you with anything that wasn't. You know how that can be - when you try to force yourself into being creative what you get is old warmed over two day or even year old thinking. And of course being the day of remembering the heroic actions of our unci's and lala's of our past I didn't want to write anything that would'nt give them honor - so I stayed quite and thought of them instead.

But today I do have some things I want to share with you. I was reading an article written by a brand new friend, Charles Peek, professor of English at the University of Nebraska - Karney. He writes about the day Crazy Horse was assassinated. He quotes Touch the Cloud and Nebraska State Poet - Bill Kloefkorn. I want to share these with you and some of my thoughts.

Touch the Cloud - remarks after covering the body of Crazy Horse. (Crazy Horse refused to lie down on a cot he chose to lay on the floor - defying the U.S. Government even as he was dying from the fatal wounds inflicted on him by one of his own.)

"That is the lodge of Crazy Horse. Lying where he chose, Crazy Horse showed the rest of us where we are standing."

Bill Kloefkorn, in his poem "Crazy Horse, Final Reflection, Number 7"
It does not matter where his body is,
for there is grass;
but where his spirit is,
there it will be good
for all of us to be.

My thoughts are:
We need to realize that our great leader Crazy Horse did show us not only where we are standing but how to stand. He admonished the weak hearts, the fools, the selfish and any of those who did not think of the people to stay in the rear - he only wanted the Brave Hearts to be in the front to meet the full force of the enemy. If we take his statement and use this as a way of living. We can use this as a standard to measure the men and women who want to lead our people. Are they willing to meet the challenge of today's enemies do they have the skills to be in front with our leaders from the past. My great grandfather, Edward Dupris' Indian name was "Eats No Meat" which meant He made sure everyone was taken care of before he took care of himself - he fed everyone first and if there was no meat left then he ate no meat.

Crazy Horse thought always of the people - he showed us how to stand, he showed us how we are standing. When we think of how we are standing would he want us to be beside him facing our greatest enemy or would he tell us to go to the rear.

Bill Kloefkron's poem is a reflection of the fact that the Spirit of Crazy Horse is still here among us - "but where his spirit is, there it will be good for all of us to be." Could we feel good to be where Crazy Horse's spirit is? Would we feel able to stand without feeling shame?

It is good to be a Lakota, it is good to walk this road but while we are walking we need to ask ourselves are we living the true life of a Lakota. When we pray, or when we speak - is it for the good of our people. The Sundance Prayer "Hecel Oyate Kin Nipi Kte" --- "So that the people may live." - should be one of our guiding principals for our work and our commitment to our people. Sitting Bulls statement "Let us put our minds together to see what life we can make for our children" should be another.

The old Lakota war cry "It is a good day to die" can be used as a third principal. We need to live to the fullest so when we do leave to be with our relatives "who live beyond the ridge" will they welcome us knowing that our lives were lived in a manner that we would not regret or leave things un-tended or that we lived a life creating strife, chaos and disruptions - and instead of love we were jealous hearted and made people feel bad.

We need to be a good relative to each other - but most important we need to be good to our children and our grand children. This does not mean that we let them do anything we need to give them good advise so when they become adults they can take their place as strong Lakota - they are who will lead our people in the future and will Crazy Horse want them beside him or to the rear.

Yes Crazy Horse - showed us where we are standing - and it will be good for us to be where his spirit is.

With wishes for your good health and safety this summer.
Your relative and friend,
Mary Lee
Grows in a Day
(Touch the Cloud was my great grandfather, Matthew Poor Buffalo's first cousin)

Poems about the Plains -

Poems from the road.....
I wrote the first one in the 1980's after driving towards Eagle Butte on Hwy 212. This is where you can enjoy the plains in all of its glory. Espically in the spring and there has been a lot of rain and the grasses have grown tall. It looks like a green sea. I love this time of year and want to be there on driving. What is so great is the beauty and the fact that I'm driving towards a meeting with family. What a wonderful sence of freedom can find you.

The second was also written about the same place when I observed the hawks.

Prairie Wind



Wind across the prairie,
blowing, intertwining,
touching everything
in its breath

caressing each blade of grass
as it passes whispering to the flowers
weaving through the branches

moving,
ever moving
flowing over all

creating the beautiful music
for the dancing of the grasses
green and green and green some more

it awakes me to my reality
reminds me of my tomorrows

my thoughts are as the wind
the wind as it is
the substance of the high plains
the strength of the land

my dreams are as the wind
cascading across the night
seeping into my sleep

caressing my thoughts
blowing the past into my memory
whispering about the future

the wind ever moving
ever changing
ice in winter
fire in summer

the wind the music
of the high plains
it makes the land sing

I know the song it is written in my heart
and the heart of my people
hear it softly sing

it whispers

listen to the whisper
it tells of our loved ones

who heard its voice
and have gone on
to walk upon the clouds

hear its mournful cry
crying for our people

it tells of places and
old forgotten names
names that still call out
the existence of our land

wind you are the freedom
that was stolen long ago
you blow it in our faces
whisper it in our dreams

the freedom that is still there
if we want to take it
reach out and grasp it

let our hearts flow
let us join our brothers
as they fly using the wind
to roam across the sky

sky and earth joined together
by the breath of our creator
who blows his blessing upon us

the wind
the beautiful wind
blowing across forever


Mary Lee Johns

Hawk



I fly on Hawk wings caught up
on strong currents across this mighty land.

Looking down my heart grows heavy
I see black ribbons that slash the earth.

I search for my strong black brother he is gone.
Only small herds of his children are left
In prisons of green pastures.

I search for and listen for the howl of my wise
gray brother and hear his song no more.

I search for my red brother and find him huddled
in lost dreams and hovels of loneliness.

The land is lonely for her children
who once fed upon her bosom and bounty.

Only feeble, weak little creatures are left,
their hearts and spirits are strange and sorrowful.

They do not know the language of our songs.

The strong and powerful who knew the songs of our land
have been cast aside driven out by strangers.

My wings grow weary in my search. I find only emptiness
the wind cries for our losses and I am alone.

Lakota Concept of the Family

The Lakota Family

These are excerts taken from a much larger paper I wrote for a class I took on the Family at the University of Lincoln.

The Lakota world had order and structure, decisions were made through consensus and because harmony was essential no one was ever forced to follow against their will. The social organizations were built around the intricate needs of the families and their relationships to each and were based upon long standing traditions developed over a long period of time. Although the individual was important the needs of the family was paramount. Individuals were always happiest when they were with their families—to be isolated was worse then death.

The family was a closely related group of siblings working together to assure the survival of their children and relatives. In their closeness lay their strength.

"…The Sioux conceived the family as an ever-living yet ever changing entity. As a body of individuals related through descent, it was enduring. Membership was a matter of consanguinity where each person reckoned his affiliation with respect to lineage of grandparents and parents, and with relatives—uncles and aunts, brothers, sisters, and cousins. While the individual might literally choose between belonging to his father's or mother's family, he was nevertheless, a member of both families.." (Hassrick 1964).

"The core of all kinship training" was the correct teaching of behavior and loyalty that was to be shown between brothers and sisters and boy and girl cousins. It was the responsibility of the boys to never "…embarrass his girl relatives but strive to only spare them and make them happy." They were taught, "Your sisters and cousins depend on you, and you must never fail them…" They were also responsible, as men, to train the sons of their female relatives in the ways of becoming warriors. In this way they continued to show honor to the "women of their generation who (they) had been taught to respect, protect, and aid." (Deloria 1988).

Girls were trained to always place their brothers and sisters and cousins above everyone else. A sister was the proper woman who carried her brother's war trophy, won in battle, in victory processions. (Deloria 1988). When a man dressed well—it was an indication that his sisters and female cousins loved him, because they were the ones who made his clothes (White Hat 1993). The women showed their male relatives honor by making them beautifully adorned clothing and making things for their children.

The respect shown between brother and sister was observed by complete face-to-face avoidance after they reached a certain age. They, however were expected to be completely loyal to each other and be prepared to help each other when necessary. Older siblings were responsible for watching their younger brothers and sisters. If a child did something that was considered inappropriate the older one was always admonished in its place. The older children were willingly to be scolded in this manner because of their obligation and love for the younger—knowing that this was the way younger children learned what was considered proper behavior without feeling discouraged. They then observed how their behavior caused problems for their older siblings and would behave accordingly from then on.

I was raised with these same values and behaviors and have incorporated them into the way I raised my children. I remember taking pains to iron my brothers' shirts and pants so they would be perfect. I was the one who ironed because I did the best job. They never left our house without looking like they were loved. They in turn did things that proved on a daily basis how much they cared for their girl relatives. We still flock around and try to outdo each other when they are around us. My sisters are my very dearest friends and their children are cherished and loved as well as their grandchildren. There are people who think the Lakota ways are found only in the past but this is totally incorrect. We still live these ways.

WORKS CITED

Deloria, Ella C. 1988. Waterlily. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln, London.

Hassrick, Royal B. 1964.The Sioux: Life And Customs Of A Warrior Society University of Oklahoma Press: Norman and London

White Hat, Albert, Sr..1993. Lakota Iyapiun Wowapi Nahan Yawapi (Writing and Reading the Lakota Language), edited by Jael Kampfe. Unpublished Document. Available from author at Sinte Gleska University. Rosebud, SD.

Two books on Leadership

Two summers ago I took a class that is required to receive a Masters Degree in Lakota Leadership and Management at the Oglala Lakota College. The class was "Lakota Foundation for Leadership". It was an excellent class taught by a very skilled and knowledgeable instructor that I thoroughly enjoyed. The following is part of an essay that was a required assignment for the class. I mention two books that I recommend for anyone interested in the topic of leadership.

Lakota Foundation for Leadership/Management
06 July 2007
Essay

At the beginning of the class my understanding of leadership was basically in regards to what traits and values a good leader should have. I believed that great leaders were “servants” to their people and how a person achieved this altruistic ability was what we would be covering in the class. I also thought the Lakota concepts of Leadership would be the main area of study.
I still believe in the idea of the “servant leader” but my understanding of leadership has significantly expanded. Both books, Leadership Without Easy Answers (1994) by Ronald Heifetz and Real Leadership: Helping People and Organizations Face Their Toughest Challenges (2005) by Dean Williams gave me tremendous insight into what a leader had to do when dealing with difficult situations. The examples they used were excellent. I learned about the idea of adaptive work and how it’s a leader’s responsibility to find ways to help their followers began the process. The idea of real leadership requires getting people to face reality and dealing with tough problems was not new – but many of the ideas on how to accomplish this were. The manner in which both Heifetz and Williams broke the process down into understandable concepts gave me a better understanding of the role of leadership.

Granduation

I'm on vacation – but will post some of my poetry when I get an opportunity. Today I'm leaving the readers with two poems I wrote for a niece when she graduated with her undergraduate degree and one when she recently graduated with her masters. This is for all of those who are graduating these next few weeks. In fact I will be attending my oldest grandchilds graduation this week. A very important occassion for my family.

Star Watcher

(In honor of my niece Marcella Gilbert for her college graduation)


I am Star Watcher
daughter of Rides the Wind

Who looks to the stars
to guide my heart

The stars they say
are the holy speech of Tunkasila

If your heart is pure
and your vision is strong

The way of life will come to you
at night in the dream world

Or in the early morning
when you first awake

The possibilities are endless
to those who dare

Swim out into the channels
that flow by

I am Star Watcher
daughter of Rides the Wind

I dare to watch the stars
and listen for the way

I have gone far from home but I know
the path of my returning for

I let the stars guide me
I am Star Watcher

(Lakota translation - Tunkasila : The Creator of all Things)


Honors

(for my niece Marcella Gilbert for
Attaining a Masters of Science in Nutrition)

The old Lakota saying
"the honor of one is the honor of all"
is in the song we sing today
for our daughter

this daughter
who has traveled many, many miles
towards goals that were as high
as the highest mountains

she's traveled
this road with the
same determination of the
old grandmothers
who knew they had to
learn new skills
so we could live

her vision
for her future was sure
it was connected
to the future of our people
she knew
this was the way
she could help

now our
family sings an honor song
for a medicine woman
who knows the secrets
of our food

the secrets
we need so our people and nation
will live

our daughter
has brought many honors
but for me
it’s the love she gives
that warms me

Mary Lee Johns
December 5, 2008