Interrelated Themes in the Young Adolescent Novels of Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve Jim Charles Introduction The publication of N. Scott Momaday's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel House Made of Dawn in 1968 marks the beginning of a period of artistic, particularly literary, expression among American Indians termed the 'Native American Renaissance' ( ). During this period, which continues to the present, several American Indian writers have earned critical success and popularity. American Indian poets, novelists, story writers, and playwrights, drawing upon a century of tradition among their peoples of writing in English as well as an age-old tradition of verbal arts, depict for readers in a realistic manner diverse aspects of their historical and cultural experience.

• The Medicine Bag By Virginia Driving Hawk
• The Medicine Bag By Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

Nowhere has this expression found clearer, more forceful expression than in novels. Scott Momaday's The Way to Rainy Mountain to James Welch's Winter in the Blood, from Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony to Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine, American Indian writers have contributed much to the continued development of the novel, adding to both form and meaning aspects of the genre. Momaday and Silko connect oral traditions to modern life in intricate ways-Momaday through the use of stream of consciousness and Silko by weaving web-like interconnections between characters, between past and present. Welch's sparse language mirrors with vivid realism the world of his protagonists while Erdrich's novels unfold incrementally, through polyvocal narrative, each character revealing a unique aspect of the story.

To such structural innovations, these and other American Indian writers have expanded the range of themes expressed in American literary works. Among the themes expressed uniquely by American Indian writers through their characters and their artistic technique are identity, heritage, landscape, alienation, racism, ceremony, balance, and healing. A less well-developed category of literary expression among American Indian writers is 'young adult literature,' literature characterized by its inclusion of 'conflicts.consistent with the young adult's experience, themes.of interest to young people, young adult protagonists.and.language that parallels the language of young people' ( ). An important author writing in this genre is Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, a member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe. Sneve, in describing the goal of her writing, has stated: '.I try to present an accurate portrayal of American Indian life as I have known it. I also attempt to interpret history from the viewpoint of the American Indian.

In doing so, I hope to correct the many misconceptions and untruths which have been too long perpetrated by non-Indian authors who have written about us' (quoted in ). Sneve's young adult novels include (1972), (1974 1993), and (1972/1993). I summarize these short novels below, and add a focus on their thematic content. Because of the potential for these works to affect positively the growth and development of young adult readers, I present a case for teachers of English Language Arts to include these works in middle school/junior high literature curricula. Classroom Context When I taught middle school English, one of my most memorable experiences was teaching Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve's short story 'The Medicine Bag.' Teaching the story was memorable for a number of reasons. My students connected with it and responded to it with very little external prodding from me.

Teaching the story allowed me to address simultaneously content of a multicultural and universal nature. The story bridged the experiences of my students (none of whom were American Indian) and those of the Lakota. Written in 1975, 'The Medicine Bag' serves as a useful introduction to Sneve's thematic concerns. Early in 'The Medicine Bag,' Martin, the protagonist, admits to being ashamed of and embarrassed by his Sioux great grandfather who '.wasn't tall and stately like TV Indians, whose hair wasn't in braids but hung in stringy gray strands on his neck, and.who didn't live in a teepee, but all by himself in a part log, part tar-paper shack on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota' (. When his great grandfather comes to visit Martin's family because 'grandpa thought he was going to die, and he had to follow the tradition of his family to pass a medicine bag, along with its history, to the oldest male child,' Martin must come to grips with his identity and his responsibilities to important aspects of his Sioux heritage ( ). For it is Martin who inherits the medicine bag and its teachings from his great grandfather.

In the course of learning the ways of the medicine bag, Martin learns to respect and love his great grandfa- ther; Martin honors his great grandfather's memory and all his Sioux relations by following the teachings associated with the medicine bag: 'That night Mom and Dad took Grandpa to the hospital. Two weeks later I stood alone on the lonely prairie of the reservation and put the sacred sage in my medicine bag' ( ). Thematically, 'The Medicine Bag' focuses on the importance of culture in the formation of healthy identity.

“The Medicine Bag” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve. Objectives: To be able to interpret a symbol & distinguish between flat and round & dynamic and static characters.

It speaks to the need for intergenerational harmony in healthy adolescent development. Fundamentally, it is a story about respect.

As Martin learns respect for family and heritage, he learns ultimately to respect himself as an individual. Readers, too, engage in their own reflective search for self.

In the three young adult novels examined here, Sneve develops these same themes, adding depth and complexity to her treatment of characterization and complexity to plot. The primary audience for these works is young adolescents, approximately ten to thirteen years of age, in grades five through eight. On the basis of the Fry Readability Graph ( ), and the potential for interest in the themes and actions in the books, I believe that following reading level for the books is as follows: Jimmy Yellow Hawk: 7th grade; High Elk's Treasure: 7th/8th grade; and When Thunders Spoke: 5th grade. Jimmy Yellow Hawk In Jimmy Yellow Hawk (1972), Sneve portrays a young protagonist fully enveloped in a struggle to achieve a sense of his own personal identity. The story follows Little Jim Yellow Hawk from youth through a rite of passage to achievement of young adulthood. At the outset of the novel, Little Jim is too closely identified, as suggested by his name, with his father (Big Jim).

While an endearing name to family members and other adults, the name 'Little Jim' is a source of embarrassment for the protagonist. He is ridiculed by his friends who feel his name is indicative of not only his physical stature, but also his emotional attachment to his parents. Along the way to Little Jim's maturation, readers witness aspects of contemporary Sioux life. The Yellow Hawk family works hard at maintaining a ranch on the allotted tribal land they own. The family feels the tension created by trying to maintain traditional Sioux ways (symbolized by the powwow) while meeting the demands of running a ranch.

The presence of Grandpa Little Hawk heightens this tension. Little Jim's grandpa tells stories of the old ways while he expresses discontent over new ways of doing things. Grandpa shares with Little Jim the tradition of Sioux naming. When Little Jim, because he 'does not like being called 'Little Jim' anymore,' asks his grandfather, 'How can I change my name?' ( ), Grandpa relates the story of Goes-Alone-In-The-Morning, a Sioux boy who was able to provide food for his famine- stricken people by trapping rabbits during the dead of winter. Little Jim's initial attempts at trapping end disastrously as he is overcome by the odor of a skunk. Grandpa explains that '.in the old way.

This boy would have been given a name as a result of what had happened with the not so dangerous animal. Such a name might be Skunk Face and he would go by that whether he liked it or not' ( ). By the end of the novel, Little Jim demonstrates independence, persistence, fortitude, and pride. He learns the subtleties of trapping and successfully traps a mink, 'one of the deadliest animals for its size that we know' ( ).

In so doing, Little Jim reconnects symbolically with traditions of the Sioux people. After his father, with '.pride in his voice.' Publicly declares, 'My son, Jimmy, trapped it,' ( ) Little Jim earns the right to a new name. Adapting the Sioux naming custom to contemporary times, 'Little Jim' becomes 'Jimmy' Yellow Hawk, a name reflecting his newly achieved young adult status. High Elk's Treasure High Elk's Treasure (1972/1993) is story rich in thematic content. Primarily, the short novel traces the emotional growth and identity development of Joe High Elk, the young protagonist. As a result of increasingly complex responsibilities he undertakes, Joe comes to understand more fully his role within his family.

He comes to realize what being a big brother to his sister is all about. He learns the value of family and of heritage. Two parallel stories comprise the plot, each story describing a 'treasure' alluded to in the novel's title. One story details Joe's efforts to recover a pony lost during a tornado. More largely, this story relates to the line of horses developed by High Elk, the boy's great grandfather. The other story centers on solving the mystery of the hide-wrapped bundle Joe discovers while in a cave as he and his sister sought shelter from the tornado. He speculates that the bundle was left in the cave by his great grandfather, High Elk.

Unlocking its mystery proves pivotal to Joe's identity development and that of his cousin. After losing his pony during the storm, Joe feels ashamed. He enlists the help of his neighbor Mr.

Blue Shield in recovering the pony. They come upon horse thieves who attempt to steal Joe's pony. Joe recognizes that one of them is an Indian boy. Unbeknownst to Joe, he is a long-lost cousin, Howard High Elk. After confronting the thieves, Joe befriends Howard and helps him reconnect with both his Sioux heritage and his family by insisting that they both be present for the 'unwrapping' of the bundle. As Joe says, 'Come with us, Howard.

This is your heritage, too' (86). The bundle turns out to be a 'winter count,' a Sioux historical calendar, handpainted by High Elk, both boys' great grandfather. At the end of the novel, the mare Sungewiye has a male colt which Joe names Otokahe, Sioux for 'beginning.' The High Elk line of horses can continue.

Symbolically, the Lakota people, one individual and one family at a time, continue. When Thunders Spoke Norman Two Bull, in When Thunders Spoke (1974/1993), encounters race-based hostility from a white shopkeeper as well as the more subtle racism of a white minister. With the help of his father and grandfather, he is able to confront anti- Indian racism and to better understand himself as a result. Norman learns to value the ways of the Lakota as espoused by his grandfather, Matt. At the same time, Norman, like most young adolescents, struggles to mature and come to understand himself more fully. Locksmith sierra vista az. Through the influence of his grandfather, he moves toward knowledge of traditional Lakota ways.

He gains greater self-awareness and a more secure sense of himself as he is forced to confront differences between himself and Brannon, the non-Indian shopkeeper who sees the world in terms of profit and materialism. 'You Indians are just a bunch of superstitious heathens.

I'm surprised at you, Mrs. You belong to the church and should know better. No wonder you people never get ahead in this world' ( ). Norman reconciles the identity conflict within himself as he confronts his mother, a converted Christian, and decides to honor traditional Lakota spiritual and familial values: 'A prayer before I leave you,' the minister said, bowing his head. Sarah lowered her head and closed her eyes. Norman looked at the coup stick' ( ).

Even though this inter-generational conflict plays out in an American Indian context, non-Indian adolescents can relate directly to the antagonism between Norman and his parents. Norman rejects his mother's attempt to mold his spirituality. At the same time, he realizes he can continue to love her. Conclusion Among the important developmental tasks accomplished by protagonists in the young adolescent novels of Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve are the achievement of personal identity, acceptance of familial and social responsibility, and adoption of adult roles.

Sneve's adolescent characters, after initial skepticism, even embarrassment, grow to exhibit pride in their American Indian (specifically Lakota ) identity. Jimmy Yellow Hawk, Joe High Elk, and Norman Two Bull express profound respect for sacred ceremonies, accompanying teachings, and the objects used to perform ceremonial rites. In addition, these characters reconcile differences between themselves, their friends, siblings, and their parents. They grow to respect their elders, especially their grandparents, further strengthening ties to family and community and to cultural heritage. Sneve portrays Sioux families in a realistic rather than romantic and nostalgic manner as they struggle with contemporary life. These families must cope with life on reservations, balancing tradition with the frequently conflicting demands of the modern world. The Lakota who people Sneve's novels are real; they are not warriors mounted on horseback or 'squaws' carrying a 'papoose'; rather, they are students, teachers, homemakers, ranch hands, parents, and grandparents.

In portraying Sioux life with humanity and realism, Sneve dismantles prevalent stereotypes of American Indians. Reading and studying Sneve's novels broaden students' worldviews, exposing them to a truthful treatment of the American Indian experience. Undermining the mythic image of Indians presented on television and in movies, Sneve's protagonists are real-students, both Indian and non-Indian, can relate to their interactions with parents and friends, their motives, introspections, concerns, and fears. In short, through vicarious experience and personal reflection, readers grow in their understanding of self and 'other.'

Works Cited, Gretchen M., ed. Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Garland, 1993., John H. And Kay Parks Haas. Using Young Adult Literature in the English Classroom, 3rd edition. New York: Merrill, 2001., Edward. 'Fry's Readability Graph: Clarifications, Validity, and Extension to Level 17,' Journal of Reading, 21, (1977): 242-252., Kenneth.

Native American Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983., Virginia Driving Hawk.

High Elk's Treasure. Lincoln: Bison Books, 1972; re-released 1993., Virginia Driving Hawk. Jimmy Yellow Hawk. New York: Holiday House, 1972., Virginia Driving Hawk 'The Medicine Bag,' in Millett, Nancy C. And Raymond J. Rodrigues, Eds. Explorations in Literature: America Reads (Classic Edition).

Glenville, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1991, 374-382., Virginia Driving Hawk When Thunders Spoke. Lincoln: Bison Books, 1974; re-released 1993. ' Voices from the Gap: Women Writers of Color. Karen Irene Thal, ed., March 1998,. Jim Charles is a professor of English Education at the University of South Carolina Spartanburg. Reference Citation: Charles, Jim. (2001) ' Interrelated Themes in the Young Adolescent Novels of Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve The ALAN Review, Volume 28, Number 2, p.

My kid sister Cheryl and I always bragged about our Sioux grandpa, Joe Iron Shell. Our friends, who had always lived in the city and knew about Indians only from movies and TV, were impressed by our stories. Maybe we exaggerated and made Grandpa and the reservation sound glamorous, but when we’d return home to Iowa after our yearly summer visit to Grandpa, we always had some exciting tale to tell.

We always had some authentic Sioux article to show our listeners. One year Cheryl had new moccasins that Grandpa had made. On another visit he gave me a small, round, flat rawhide drum that was decorated with a painting of a warrior riding a horse. He taught me a real Sioux chant to sing while I beat the drum with a leather-covered stick that had a feather on the end. Man, that really made an impression.

We never showed our friends Grandpa’s picture. Not that we were ashamed of him, but because we knew that the glamorous tales we told didn’t go with the real thing. Our friends would have laughed at the picture because Grandpa wasn’t tall and like TV Indians. His hair wasn’t in braids but hung in stringy gray strands on his neck, and he was old.

He was our great-grandfather, and he didn’t live in a tepee but all by himself in a part log, part tar-paper shack on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. So when Grandpa came to visit us, I was so ashamed and embarrassed I could’ve died. Vocabulary from the Selection Guided Reading Question 1 What does the narrator think when Grandpa comes to visit? There are a lot of yippy poodles and other fancy little dogs in our neighborhood, but they usually barked singly at the mailman from the safety of their own yards. Now it sounded as if a whole pack of mutts were barking together in one place. I got up and walked to the curb to see what the commotion was.

About a blockaway I saw a crowd of little kids yelling, with the dogs yipping and growlingaround someone who was walking down the middle of the street. I watched the group as it slowly came closer and saw that in the center of thestrange procession was a man wearing a tall black hat. He’d pause now andthen to peer at something in his hand and then at the houses on either side ofthe street. I felt cold and hot at the same time as I recognized the man. “Oh,no!” I whispered.

“It’s Grandpa!”. I stood on the curb, unable to move, even though I wanted to run and hide. ThenI got mad when I saw how the yippy dogs were growling and nipping at the oldman’s baggy pant legs and how wearily he poked them away with his cane. “Stupidmutts,” I said as I ran to rescue Grandpa. When I kicked and hollered at the dogs to get away, they put their tails between their legs and scattered. The kids ran to the curb where they watched me and the old man.

“Grandpa,” I said and felt pretty dumb when my voice cracked. I reached for his beat-up old tin suitcase, which was tied shut with a rope. But he set it down right in the street and shook my hand. “ Hau, Takoza, Grandchild,” he greeted me formally in Sioux. All I could do was stand there with the whole neighborhood watching and shake the hand of the leather-brown old man.

I saw how his gray hair straggled from under his big black hat, which had a drooping feather in its crown. His rumpled black suit hung like a sack over his stooped frame. As he shook my hand, his coat fell open to expose a bright red satin shirt with a beaded under the collar. His get-up wasn’t out of place on the reservation, but it sure was here, and I wanted to sink right through the pavement.

“Hi,” I muttered with my head down. I tried to pull my hand away when I felt his bony hand trembling and looked up to see in his face. I felt like crying. I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I picked up Grandpa’s suitcase, took his arm, and guided him up the driveway to our house. Mom was standing on the steps.

I don’t know how long she’d been watching, but her hand was over her mouth, and she looked as if she couldn’t believe what she saw. Then she ran to us. “Grandpa,” she gasped. “How in the world did you get here?” Guided Reading Question 2 How does the narrator react to seeing Grandpa surrounded by dogs? She checked her move to embrace Grandpa, and I remembered that such a display of affection is to the Sioux and would embarrass him.

The Medicine Bag By Virginia Driving Hawk

“ Hau, Marie,” he said as he shook Mom’s hand. She smiled and took his other arm. As we supported him up the steps, the door banged open and Cheryl came bursting out of the house.

She was all smiles and was so obviously glad to see Grandpa that I was ashamed of how I felt. “Grandpa!” She yelled happily. “You came to see us!” Grandpa smiled, and Mom and I let go of him as he stretched out his arms to my ten-year-old sister, who was still young enough to be hugged. Guided Reading Question 3 What does Grandpa think about displays of affection?

Guided Reading Question 4 How does Cheryl greet Grandpa? I reluctantly moved to the bed. I knew Grandpa wouldn’t want to have Mom undress him, but I didn’t want to, either. He was so skinny and frail that his coat slipped off easily.

When I loosened his tie and opened his shirt collar, I felt a small leather pouch that hung from a around his neck. I left it alone and moved to remove his boots. The scuffed old cowboy boots were tight, and he moaned as I put pressure on his legs to jerk them off. I put the boots on the floor and saw why they fit so tight.

Each one was stuffed with money. I looked at the bills that lined the boots and started to ask about them, but Grandpa’s eyes were closed again. Mom came back with a basin of water. “The doctor thinks Grandpa is suffering from heat exhaustion,” she explained as she bathed Grandpa’s face. Mom gave a big sigh, “ Oh, hinh, Martin.

How do you suppose he got here?” We found out after the doctor’s visit. Grandpa was angrily sitting up in bed while Mom tried to feed him some soup. “Tonight you let Marie feed you, Grandpa,” spoke my dad, who had gotten home from work just as the doctor was leaving. “You’re not really sick,” he said as he gently pushed Grandpa back against the pillows.

The Medicine Bag By Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

“The doctor said you just got too tired and hot after your long trip.” Guided Reading Question 5 What does the narrator notice around Grandpa’s neck? Grandpa relaxed, and between sips of soup, he told us of his journey. Soon after our visit to him, Grandpa decided that he would like to see where his only living descendants lived and what our home was like. Besides, he admitted, he was lonesome after we left. I knew that everybody felt as guilty as I did—especially Mom. Mom was all Grandpa had left.

So even after she married my dad, who’s a white man and teaches in the college in our city, and after Cheryl and I were born, Mom made sure that every summer we spent a week with Grandpa. I never thought that Grandpa would be lonely after our visits, and none of us noticed how old and weak he had become. But Grandpa knew, and so he came to us. He had ridden on buses for two and a half days. When he arrived in the city, tired and stiff from sitting so long, he set out, walking, to find us. He had stopped to rest on the steps of some building downtown, and a policeman found him. The cop, according to Grandpa, was a good man who took him to the bus stop and waited until the bus came and told the driver to let Grandpa out at Bell View Drive.

After Grandpa got off the bus, he started walking again. But he couldn’t see the house numbers on the other side when he walked on the sidewalk, so he walked in the middle of the street. That’s when all the little kids and dogs followed him. I knew everybody felt as bad as I did. Yet I was so proud of this eighty-six-year-old man who had never been away from the reservation, having the courage to travel so far alone.

“You found the money in my boots?” he asked Mom. “Martin did,” she answered, and herself to scold. “Grandpa,you shouldn’t have carried so much money. What if someone had stolen itfrom you?” Grandpa laughed. “I would’ve known if anyone had tried to take theboots off my feet. The money is what I’ve saved for a long time—ahundred dollars—for my funeral.

But you take it now to buy groceries sothat I won’t be a burden to you while I am here.” “That won’t be necessary, Grandpa,” Dad said. “We arehonored to have you with us, and you will never be a burden. I am only sorrythat we never thought to bring you home with us this summer and spare you thediscomfort of a long trip.” Guided Reading Question 6 Why did Grandpa decide to visit Martin’s family? Grandpa was pleased. “Thank you,” he answered. “But do notfeel bad that you didn’t bring me with you, for I would not have come then.It was not time.” He said this in such a way that no one could argue withhim.

To Grandpa and the Sioux, he once told me, a thing would be done when itwas the right time to do it, and that’s the way it was. “Also,” Grandpa went on, looking at me. “I have come because it is soon time for Martin to have the medicine bag.” We all knew what that meant. Grandpa thought he was going to die, and he had to follow the tradition of his family to pass the medicine bag, along with its history, to the oldest male child. “Even though the boy,” he said, still looking at me, “bears a white man’s name, the medicine bag will be his.” Guided Reading Question 7 Why didn’t Grandpa come to visit earlier? I didn’t know what to say. I had the same hot and cold feeling that I had when I first saw Grandpa in the street.

The medicine bag was the dirty leather pouch I had found around his neck. “I could never wear such a thing,” I almost said aloud.

I thought of having my friends see it in gym class or at the swimming pool and could imagine the smart things they would say. But I just swallowed hard and took a step toward the bed. I knew I would have to take it. But Grandpa was tired. “Not now, Martin,” he said, waving his hand in dismissal. “It is not time.

Now I will sleep.” So that’s how Grandpa came to be with us for two months. My friends kept asking to come see the old man, but I put them off.

I told myself that I didn’t want them laughing at Grandpa. But even as I made excuses, I knew it wasn’t Grandpa that I was afraid they’d laugh. Nothing bothered Cheryl about bringing her friends to see Grandpa.

Every day after school started, there’d be a crew of giggling little girls or round-eyed little boys crowded around the old man on the patio, where he’d gotten in the habit of sitting every afternoon. Guided Reading Question 8 What does Martin think about wearing the medicine bag? Grandpa would smile in his gentle way and patiently answer their questions, or he’d tell them stories of brave warriors, ghosts, and animals; and the kids listened in awed silence. Those little guys thought Grandpa was great.

Finally, one day after school, my friends came home with me because nothing I said stopped them. “We’re going to see the great Indian of Bell View Drive,” said Hank, who was supposed to be my best friend. “My brother has seen him three times, so he oughta be well enough to see us.” Guided Reading Question 9 What do Cheryl’s friends think of Grandpa? When we got to my house, Grandpa was sitting on the patio. He had on his red shirt, but today he also wore a fringed leather vest that was decorated with beads.

Instead of his usual cowboy boots, he had solidly beaded moccasins on his feet that stuck out of his black trousers. Of course, he had his old black hat on—he was seldom without it. But it had been brushed, and the feather in the beaded headband was proudly erect, its tip a brighter white. His hair lay in silver strands over the red shirt collar. I stared just as my friends did, and I heard one of them murmur, “Wow!” Grandpa looked up, and when his eyes met mine, they twinkled as if he were laughing inside. He nodded to me, and my face got all hot. I could tell that he had known all along I was afraid he’d embarrass me in front of my friends.

Guided Reading Question 10 What changes had Grandpa made to his appearance for the boys’ visit? Guided Reading Question 11 What does Martin realize that Grandpa knew? “ Hau, hoksilas, boys,” he greeted and held out his hand. My buddies passed in a single file and shook his hand as I introduced them. They were so polite I almost laughed. “How, there, Grandpa,” and even a “How-do-you-do, sir.” “You look fine, Grandpa,” I said as the guys sat on the lawn chairs or on the patio floor.

“ Hanh, yes,” he agreed. “When I woke up this morning, it seemed the right time to dress in the good clothes. I knew that my grandson would be bringing his friends.” “You guys want some lemonade or something?” I offered. No one answered. They were listening to Grandpa as he started telling how he’d killed the deer from which his vest was made. Grandpa did most of the talking while my friends were there.

I was so proud of him and amazed at how respectfully quiet my buddies were. Mom had to chase them home at supper time. As they left, they shook Grandpa’s hand again and said to me, “Martin, he’s really great!”. Don’t blame you for keeping him to yourself.” “Can we come back?” But after they left, Mom said, “No more visitors for a while, Martin. Grandpa won’t admit it, but his strength hasn’t returned. He likes having company, but it tires him.” That evening Grandpa called me to his room before he went to sleep. “Tomorrow,” he said, “when you come home, it will be time to give you the medicine bag.” I felt a hard squeeze from where my heart is supposed to be and was scared, but I answered, “OK, Grandpa.” Guided Reading Question 12 How do Martin’s friends react to Grandpa?

All night I had weird dreams about thunder and lightning on a high hill. From a distance I heard the slow beat of a drum. When I woke up in the morning, I felt as if I hadn’t slept at all. At school it seemed as if the day would never end, and when it finally did, I ran home.

Grandpa was in his room, sitting on the bed. The shades were down, and the place was dim and cool. I sat on the floor in front of Grandpa, but he didn’t even look at me. After what seemed a long time, he spoke. “I sent your mother and sister away. What you will hear today is only for a man’s ears. What you will receive is only for a man’s hands.” He fell silent, and I felt shivers down my back.

Guided Reading Question 13 What does Martin dream about? “My father in his early manhood,” Grandpa began, “made a to find a spirit guide for his life. You cannot understand how it was in that time when the great Teton Sioux were first made to stay on the reservation. There was a strong need for guidance from Wakantanka, the Great Spirit. But too many of the young men were filled with despair and hatred. They thought it was hopeless to search for a vision when the glorious life was gone and only the hated of a reservation lay ahead.

But my father held to the old ways. Guided Reading Question 14 How did Grandpa’s father find his spirit guide? “He carefully prepared for his quest with a sweat bath, and then he went alone to a high top to fast and pray.

After three days he received his sacred dream—in which he found, after long searching, the white man’s iron. He did not understand his vision of finding something belonging to the white people, for in that time they were the enemy.

When he came down from the butte to cleanse himself at the stream below, he found the remains of a campfire and the broken shell of an iron kettle. This was a sign that his dream.

He took a piece of the iron for his medicine bag, which he had made of elk skin years before, to prepare for his quest. “He returned to his village, where he told his dream to the wise old men of the tribe. They gave him the name Iron Shell, but neither did they understand the meaning of the dream. The first Iron Shell kept the piece of iron with him at all times and believed it gave him protection from the evils of those unhappy days. Guided Reading Question 15 What did Grandpa’s father find in his sacred dream? “Then a terrible thing happened to Iron Shell. He and several other young men were taken from their homes by the soldiers and sent far away to a white man’s boarding school.

He was angry and lonesome for his parents and the young girl he had wed before he was taken away. At first Iron Shell resisted the teacher’s attempts to change him, and he did not try to learn.

One day it was his turn to work in the school’s blacksmith shop. As he walked into the place, he knew that his medicine had brought him there to learn and work with the white man’s iron. “Iron Shell became a blacksmith and worked at the trade when he returned to the reservation.

All of his life he treasured the medicine bag. When he was old and I was a man, he gave it to me, for no one made the vision quest any more.” Grandpa quit talking, and I stared in disbelief as he covered his face with his hands. His shoulders were shaking with quiet sobs, and I looked away until he began to speak again. “I kept the bag until my son, your mother’s father, was a man and had to leave us to fight in the war across the ocean. I gave him the bag, for I believed it would protect him in battle, but he did not take it with him. He was afraid that he would lose it. He died in a faraway place.” Again Grandpa was still, and I felt his grief around me.

“My son,” he went on after clearing his throat, “had only a daughter, and it is not proper for her to know of these things.” He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled out the leather pouch, and lifted it over his head. He held it in his hand, turning it over and over as if memorizing how it looked. Guided Reading Question 16 What did Grandpa’s father discover about his medicine?

“In the bag,” he said as he opened it and removed two objects, “is the broken shell of the iron kettle, a pebble from the butte, and a piece of the sacred He held the pouch upside down and dust drifted down. “After the bag is yours, you must put a piece of prairie sage within and never open it again until you pass it on to your son.” He replaced the pebble and the piece of iron and tied the bag. I stood up, somehow knowing I should. Grandpa slowly rose from the bed and stood upright in front of me holding the bag before my face. I closed my eyes and waited for him to slip it over my head. But he spoke. “No, you need not wear it.” He placed the soft leather bag in my right hand and closed my other hand over it.

“It would not be right to wear it in this time and place where no one will understand. Put it safely away until you are again on the reservation. Wear it then, when you replace the sacred sage.” Grandpa turned and sat again on the bed. Wearily he leaned his head against the pillow. “Go,” he said.

“I will sleep now.” “Thank you, Grandpa,” I said softly, and left with the bag in my hands. Guided Reading Question 17 What is in the medicine bag?