Spirit Woman (Lakota Sioux)

SPIRIT WOMAN (Lakota Sioux) CAST:

A tribal storyteller

STORY:

Spirit Woman comes down to give the Sioux their tribal rules.

Storyteller In the beginning . . . my children we lived in darkness.

We knew nothing . . . sweethearts of propriety of living . . . decently.

We roamed like wildcats.

We barked like dogs.

We fished . . . my children with our . . . finger tips.

We hunted . . . darlings with our . . . naked hands.

We didn’t . . . merit I tell you to be called. . . “Indians.”

We didn’t merit . . . sweethearts to be named . . . “Sioux”.

Our campsites . . . were unsightly.

Our teepees . . . unkempt.

One morning early in the first . . . daylight we saw . . . coming approaching a light . . . rising a beam . . . streaking painting . . . the sky.

“What is it? . . . we cried “this growing . . . brightness?”

“What is it” . . . we asked

“this gleaming . . . thing?

Is it Spirit . . . we see?

Is it . . . Wakan Tonka?”

We moaned . . . my children.

We groaned.

We trembled.

We covered . . . our eyes.

We cried . . . “chee chitta-chee”.

But it grew . . . sweethearts.

It blossomed.

It spread . . . this brightness.

It covered . . . the sky.

Were the clouds . . . blazing?

Were the heavens . . . burned?

“O how could this happen?” . . . we cried.

“O how could this . . . be?”

But then . . . children then when it came.

When it dropped . . . this whiteness.

When it . . . tumbled.

When it . . . fell.

We laughed . . .sweethearts.

We cried.

For there . . . standing was a woman . . .we saw.

There . . . shining was a maid.

Her dress . . . was gleaming.

Her face . . . was bright.

And she watched us. . . children.

She smiled.

“Indians” . . . she cried.

“Dear wonderful . . . Indians.

The world . . . is a garden.

The world is a jewel.

How can you . . . wither?

How . . . can you die?”

Then we jumped . . . children.

We leaped.

Our hearts . . . pounded.

Our legs . . . flew.

And we formed . . . darlings a giant . . . circle.

A ring . . . we formed.

A flowing . . . chain.

And we turned . . .dears.

We spun.

We spun . . . like whirlwinds.

We spun . . . like tops.

Faster . . . we spun.

Faster . . . and faster.

The ground . . . it swiveled.

The sky . . .it swirled.

O . . .how we cantered!

O . . . how we pranced!

The world was our garden The world was our jewel.

There was joy . . . dears in our twirling.

There was love . . . dears in our hearts.

We were flying . . . sweethearts.

We were dancing . . . on air. ____________ O children lift up . . . your arms.

Cherish . . . the sunlight.

Savor . . . the wind.

We are “Indians” . . . children.

We are sacred. . . Sioux.

We are the people . . . of Greatness.

We are the chosen . . . of God. PAGE

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