Little Red Bird's Story

Little Red Bird's Story

by John Baptiste

John Baptiste

Original Texts: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

(1) A Hōcąk of the Bear Clan, "Little Redbird" as they called him, when he had reached middle age, traveled around the world. As he traveled inland, he encountered different Indian languages, that is what happened. He joined the circus, and eventually, he crossed the ocean. He tried to die. His relatives had died because while he was crossing the ocean, the wind came over frightfully. Little Red Bird was frightened when he began to think of doing it. God knew. There he prayed to God. When he went to the other side of the ocean, there was an island, and a city there, in the world it was the only truly big one there. There they were doing the circus. Eventually, the chief came and saw him. He was an Indian chief, (2) so Little Red Bird used to say when he told of this when he got back to his own land. On the other side of the ocean there are no Thunderbirds. When it rained, it only drizzled, no lightning was made, and indeed, never was there a crack of lightning. When he came acress the ocean and when coming back, when it rained, this one thundered, and there was always thunder and lightning. So he was glad. Then it was like seeing his own relative, and so he offered up tobacco.

Then travelling off and on, as he did, there, eventually, he came upon a band of Indians who were eating medicine. Where he was, and whatever they were doing, he joined in. And so he did, and always joined, and so he always joined in the eating of medicine. Whatever was done, he did it without knowledge, but he did it just the same. Finally, he began to think about what wrong he had done, remembering it all. Again he finally did it, he prayed to God. "Maybe I'm the only one doing this," he thought. (3) He watched the others, and they also made prayers to God.

Then eventually he came home, and he took up the eating of medicine once he had gotten back, and he put some in a bundle. Since he had returned, he knew that it was a holy thing, and sometimes he would usually eat medicine. He offered tobacco to the medicine, and he kept on doing it as he knew that it had cured him of his sickness. And so he himself tried to get his relatives to do it. The more they began to know about it, they began to learn that it is something very good. Finally, they began to know more about the medicine eating movement and they began to learn. While they were practicing the rite, they knew of that through the preaching. And so they preached. They themselves came to know God again. (4) Finally, again that one he usually knew something.

Over time, while they had been doing the rite before, they did not know that sort of thing. And so they threw out the practices of the old ways. The feasts, the Medince Dance, making things for the clans, mainly for this reason, they did not eat the medicine, and in reality they were doing it out of hatred. Their brothers, their own children, they hated them. It was all because they had quit some of those things that were holy.

Royale Photographie

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Italy, 1890

Commentary. "Bear Clan" — it is odd that someone with an avian name (other than that of a corvid) would be a member of the Bear Clan. It seems rather more likely that he was a member of the Thunderbird Clan. After all, he refers to the Thunderbirds later on as "his relatives."

"Little Redbird" — Wā́nįkšūcxūnū́nįka, which can also be translated as, "Young Red Bird." While wā́nįkšūc means literally "red bird," the expression is used to denote the male cardinal.¹ So the name could also be translated as "Little Cardinal," or "Young Cardinal." It seems very likely that this is not a Bear Clan name, but as suggested above, a Thunderbird name, perhaps proven by the fact that the Thunders are referred to as "his relatives." If this is correct, the name may instead reference the red lightning of the Thunders.

"circus" — this is really the Wild West Show.

"God" — the Christian god is here identified, as he is generally, with the chief god of the old religion's pantheon, Earthmaker, whose name Ma’una has been adopted to denote God.

Notes to the Commentary

¹ Hōcąk Hoit’e Ra, The HoChunk Language, Vol. 1. Hocak Renaissance, The Official Program of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (2021), s. v..

Links: Thunderbirds, Earthmaker.

Stories: about the Native American Church: John Rave's Account of the Peyote Cult and of His Conversion, Little Red Bird's Story, White Shirt, The Death of Henry Harris’ Daughter, A Peyote Vision, A Peyote Story, Peyote as an Evil Spirit, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts; mentioning Earthmaker: The Creation of the World, The Creation of Man, The Commandments of Earthmaker, The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Lost Blanket, Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), The First Snakes, Tobacco Origin Myth, The Creation Council, The Gray Wolf Origin Myth, The Journey to Spiritland, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Seven Maidens, The Descent of the Drum, Thunder Cloud Marries Again, The Spider's Eyes, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Hawk Clan Origin Myth, Fourth Universe, Šųgepaga, The Fatal House, The Twin Sisters, Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Elk Clan Origin Myth, Deer Clan Origin Myth, Bear Clan Origin Myth, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, The Masaxe War, The Two Children, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Gift of Shooting, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Stone Heart, The Wild Rose, Earthmaker Sends Rušewe to the Twins, The Lame Friend, How the Hills and Valleys were Formed, The Hocąk Migration Myth, The Necessity for Death, Hocąk Clans Origin Myth, The War among the Animals, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, Blue Mounds, Lost Lake, The Hocągara Migrate South, The Spirit of Gambling, Turtle and the Giant, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, Ghost Dance Origin Myth II, Bird Origin Myth, Black and White Moons, Redhorn's Sons, Holy Song, The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, Death Enters the World, Man and His Three Dogs, Trickster Concludes His Mission, Story of the Thunder Names, The Origins of the Milky Way, Trickster and the Dancers, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, The Creation of Evil, The Blessing of Kerexųsaka, Song to Earthmaker, The Blessing of the Bow, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, The Origin of the Cliff Swallow; mentioning Thunderbirds: The Thunderbird, Waruǧábᵉra, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Traveler and the Thunderbird War, The Boulders of Devil's Lake, Thunderbird and White Horse, Bluehorn's Nephews, How the Hills and Valleys were Formed (vv. 1, 2), The Man who was a Reincarnated Thunderbird, The Thunder Charm, The Lost Blanket, The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Story of the Thunder Names, The Hawk Clan Origin Myth, Eagle Clan Origin Myth, Pigeon Clan Origins, Bird Clan Origin Myth, Adventures of Redhorn's Sons, Brave Man, Ocean Duck, Turtle's Warparty, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Quail Hunter, Heną́ga and Star Girl, The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, Redhorn's Sons, The Dipper, The Stone that Became a Frog, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, The Warbundle of the Eight Generations, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Origin of the Hocąk Chief, The Spirit of Gambling, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Black Otter's Warpath, Aracgéga's Blessings, Kunu's Warpath, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, Black Otter’s Sacrifice to a Thunder, The Glory of the Morning, The Nightspirits Bless Ciwoit’éhiga, The Green Waterspirit of the Wisconsin Dells, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Big Stone, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, The War of Indian Tribes against White Soldiers, Song to Earthmaker, The Origins of the Milky Way.

Source

Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebook (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, n.d.) Notebook 71, part 2: 1-4.