Our Story: Aboriginal Voices on Canada's Past Read Online Free Page A

who made me live in the forest. She was the onewho fell out of the hole in the sky-world. It is her elder brother who brightens the sky during the day. It is my twin brother who ripped his way out of my mother’s side and killed her. And it is my mother whose flesh we are resting on.”
    The man and woman were still speechless, so Shonkwaya’tíson—Tharonhyawá:kon—continued.
    â€œWhen my grandmother pushed me out of her lodge and into the forest that day, the same wind that had blown over my mother’s body—the west wind—my father—came up and swirled around me. He protected me from harm and whispered instructions that helped me find shelter in the forest. He helped me live and be strong. When I was fully grown, my father told me that I must make the earth ready for human beings—for you.
    â€œAnd so then I began my work of creation.”
    Pointing to the long-legged, antlered animals standing nearby, he said, “I went across the earth and made Ohskennón:ton and Ska’nyónhsa.” Pointing to the long-eared animals hopping nearby he said, “And I made Tehahonhtané:ken and Kwayén:’a. I made all these creatures so that their flesh will give you strength and their skins and fur will keep you warm.
    â€œBut when I had finished, my twin brother, Thawíhskaron, came along behind me and made other creatures to eat the creatures I had made.” And here Shonkwaya’tíson pointed to Okwáho and Kén:reks—large, snarling, long-tailed creatures with big teeth and long claws that crouched nearby.
    â€œI went across the land,” Shonkwaya’tíson continued, “and laid down the waters. These are the waters you will use to sustain yourselves when you are thirsty. These are the waters you will use to travel about on this earth. I made these waters flow in two directions so that it would be easy for you to make your way.
    â€œBut again,” he said, “my twin brother came along behind me and worked to undo what I had made. He spoiled some of the waters, making them undrinkable. He placed rocks in some of the waterways and made them flow in just one direction so that it will be hard and dangerous for you to travel.
    â€œI then went to the waters and made Kéntsyonk.” Pointing to the swimming creatures drifting in the river, Shonkwaya’tíson said, “I filled the waters with Kéntsyonk so that you could use their flesh to make you strong.
    â€œAnd again,” he said, “my twin brother came along after and undid what I had done. He made more creatures to eat the Kéntsyonk I made for you.
    â€œI made many more foods grow from the earth. I made small crawling and flying creatures to help them grow. And again my brother came along after and spoiled what I had made. He made more crawling creatures to eat the foods I had made. He made growing things that will sicken you if you eat them. He made growing things that sicken the foods I had made. He made crawling creatures to eat the foods I had made. And he made crawling, flying, biting creatures to sicken you and all the creatures I had made.
    â€œEverything I tried to make, he tried to spoil. Even those things I had no hand in doing, he tried to undo.” Looking up at the sun, which was now approaching the horizon, Shonkwaya’tíson said, “With some of his power he made the sun fall from the sky every day.
    â€œThawíhskaron then told me that since he had the power to move the sun, he would be the master of everything on earth. He demanded that I go to the underworld while the sun was in the sky but I refused. We argued for a long time, and finally we decided to settle it with a contest. Whoever won the contest would go to the underworld.
    â€œWe began by playing Kayentowá:nen.” The man and woman exchanged quizzical glances and Shonkwaya’tíson explained. “It is a game played with a large wooden bowl