Winner of First Place for best short story - Community College Humanities Association - 2017
Pushcart Prize Nominee - 2017
The high sun bursts bright fiery rays that hit the icy white crystals coating the large expansive field. Twenty-seven tipis topped with snow stand in a scattered oval formation next to a frosted, frozen river. Icicles hang from three half-buried, wooden wagons that are parked behind one side of the tipis. The hilly plains surrounding the settlement are covered with heavy snow.
A single small family occupies each tipi. Each family sits together in front of their tipis sharing a single meal amongst themselves. Before they are finished, a Lakota elder stands up and approaches the center of the settlement.
He forms his hands in a circle around his mouth and yells out “Hi-ye-ye! Hi-ye-ye!”
The adults of the families immediately direct their attention towards him, but the children continue picking at the food. Without saying a word, the elder raises his right arm high and points towards the south.
“Hoyay!” everyone replies in cheerful unison, expressing their agreement with the wise elder’s suggestion.
The families quickly finish their meals and clean up as the sun begins to pass below the horizon. Most return to their tipis to prepare for the arduous journey ahead of them, except for a few of the stronger, younger men, who reemerge holding ropes and tomahawks. These men trudge off into the distance, following the frozen river north through the snow. Along with the Lakota people, the sun now sleeps and the sky quickly turns dark, speckled with bright stars.
* * *
Early the next morning, the sun awakens once more, waking the Lakota along with it. Light comes back to the sky and casts luminous yellow hues on the snowy surface. The Lakota families emerge from their tipis with heavily packed baskets. The women and children work to disassemble their tipis and finish packing. The men dig out the wagons from the snow and begin packing them full.
The group of men that left the previous night are now marching proudly back towards the settlement, accompanied by three horses. When the wagons are finally filled, the men attach the horses to the wagons. The few things that didn't fit are carried in ornately beaded leather satchels or woven baskets. The only baby of the tribe is bundled in small patterned blankets before being strapped snugly to a cradleboard and carried on his mother's back.
The tribe marches off through the snowy fields, their heads full of worry but their hearts overflowing with hope. The wagons move at a slow but steady pace as they struggle to push through the snow.
* * *
After travelling for ten nights, they discover the perfect settlement area near a rapidly-flowing river in South Dakota that would suit all of their needs. The sun shines bright here, and there is no snow on the ground, only tall blades of grass that tickle their legs as they walk. Amidst the tall grass, they happen upon a large patch of fertile soil that had sprouted purple and yellow wildflowers around the edges. A long row of ponderosa pine trees towers above the plain it borders on the side opposite the river.
For the Lakota, it was as if they had discovered heaven. Immediately, the women and children begin unpacking and setting up their tipis to establish the settlement. All of the men leave to go out hunting.
* * *
The men return from their hunt with many lifeless animals. Some of them are dragging a buffalo using the ropes tied to its feet. Another group is dragging an elk in a similar fashion. A few others are carrying rabbits and squirrels. The women watch excitedly at the arrival of the hunters with all of this food. One of the Lakota hunters raises both arms with rabbits hanging from one hand and squirrels from the other and calls out, "Yuwinyeya pay-ta!” (“Prepare a fire!”)
Excited by the bounty that will provided them with plenty of surplus, they were eager to prepare the feast, an experience they have not had since before the long winter. The women rush to retrieve dry wood from one of the wagons and bring it to the center of the settlement. The hunters leave the animals in a pile near the center where the fire would be.
* * *
The bustle slows and now a large bonfire now sits in the center of the camp. The women all stand around cooking the slabs of buffalo meat that hang limp on a long branch over the fire, flipping them occasionally. The children help by rolling logs over and placing them around the perimeter of the bonfire for seating. One of them stops and looks off in the distance.
“Uzeblikblik!” screams a young child in excitement. (“Firefly!”)
This gets the attention of the other children, and they run off to chase the fireflies. Yutokeca tries to stand patiently next to her mother Eyota, but she attentively watches the other children, eager to join in the fun.
“Ina—” mumbles Yutokeca hesitantly. (“Mother”)
“Inaji. Kikta niyate ki. Oyake is woyute tka iyuhpa,” interrupts Eyota before Yutokeca could finish her question. (“Stop. Wake up your father. Tell him the food is almost finished.”) Eyota already knew what she wanted, but there was no time for that now.
Lowering her head and frowning in disappointment, Yutokeca reluctantly replies, “Ha, ina,” as she stomps off towards the tipi. (“Yes, mother.”)
Poking her head through the door flap of the tipi, Yutokeca glances around for her father. As she steps inside, she calls out, “Ahte...ahte!” (“Father…father!”)
Looking down, she sees her father Akacheta asleep on a pile of buffalo hides. She bends down next to him and shakes him awake.
“Ahte, kikta! Woyute tka iyuhpa. Slolwaye loyacin!” (“Father, wake up. The food is almost finished. I know you are hungry!”)
Akacheta rolls over and slowly opens his eyes as he smiles at Yutokeca. Trying to be pleasant with her despite the unexpected disturbance, he calmly replies, “Wau, micinca. Olepi mawatuka.” (“I’m coming, my child. The hunt tired me.”)
Yutokeca grabs Akacheta's hands and helps him up. With no time to gain his balance, he stumbles as Yutokeca playfully pulls him along behind her towards the bonfire. They approach Eyota, who prepares a plate for each of the three of them and they all sit down to eat together on a log opposite the drummers.
The musicians play their music with passion and the dancers revolve wildly around the fire as they move in sync with one another. The moon moves across the sky with bright stars surrounding it, but the darkness of the sky does not discourage the Lakota. They feed light into the air, adding wood to the fire until there is no more. As the bonfire weakens, the celebration gradually dies down. When the fire is almost completely gone, the Lakota quickly clean up. Everyone finally returns to their tipis. There is no more light in the air; it is pitch black all around them.
* * *
Akacheta rests atop a heap of buffalo hides with his arm wrapped around his sleeping wife. He faces Yutokeca, who is asleep in another pile of buffalo hides on the opposite side of the tipi. Akacheta stares at her as she sleeps and a big smile grows on his face. He brushes Eyota's hair to the side and lays his head back down. Nothing is greater than the sense of safety, security, and satisfaction Akacheta felt at that moment. Now, he thought, he could finally give his family the life they deserve.
Akacheta was peacefully drifting off once more, when he is interrupted by the sound of footsteps crunching in the grass, followed by low whispers not in their tongue, which he recognized as the voices of wasicu men. The footsteps stop and he hears the metallic click of a flintlock rifle being cocked, causing him to suddenly jump to his feet. He reaches down and grabs Eyota’s upper arms, pulling her up beside him. Still half-asleep, Eyota almost crashes back down, but Akacheta quickly throws his arms around her waist to support her.
“Tak—” Eyota mutters through a yawn. (“Wha—”)
Akacheta promptly covers her mouth with his hand to silence her.
Pulling her closer, he leans into her ear and whispers, “Wasicu, henaupi. Wicawanah-on takal. Kikta Yuto na iyayki ye. Waiwaktaye taniyohi la.” (“The white people, they are coming. I heard them outside. Wake up Yuto and flee. I will warn everybody.”)
Eyota shuts her eyes tight and shakes her head in disbelief, hoping she is still dreaming. When she couldn’t awaken herself from this nightmare, she looks Akacheta in his eyes and her eyes begin to well with tears. He removes his hand from her mouth and pulls her in for what is meant to be a comforting hug, but it only upsets her more. Her lungs heave and her eyes start to rain as she attempts to muffle her whimpers, pulling herself away from the hug. She stretches out her arms in front of her and she grips Akacheta by the shoulders. She could not look at him anymore, but she nods heavily to show she understands.
Eyota jumps down beside Yutokeca and shakes her awake. Eyota’s eyes dart around the tipi searching for anything they might need as she paces around. She reaches inside a woven basket, pulls out a small tomahawk, and hands it to Yutokeca. Seeing the concerned look growing on Yutokeca’s face, she interjects, “Lecela ehatas yacin.” (“Only if you need it.”)
Yutokeca looks down at the sharp, curved edge of the tomahawk, and back up again at Eyota. She frowns and furrows her brow in worry, but gives Eyota a single nod of comprehension. Eyota rushes to grab some arrows from inside the basket, followed by the bow and quiver that lay beside it. She fills the quiver with arrows and tosses it over her shoulder. Gripping the bow firmly in her left hand and Yutokeca's hand with her right, she leads her toward the back of the tipi and raises the flap of buffalo hide for Yutokeca to crawl through. Yutokeca gets on her hands and knees and proceeds through the opening, and stands awaiting her mother on the other side.
“Ina! Wayaka!” Yutokeca exclaims through a loud whisper as she raises her right arm and points up in the sky above the tipis. (“Mama! Look!”)
Eyota tries to see what has caught Yutokeca’s attention, but so far only her head had made its way under the flap. As she continues to pull herself through, she sees smoke rapidly filling the air. Yutokeca runs toward the smoke to investigate, disappearing between the tipis.
Yutokeca’s nose cringes at the scent of burning hides, and as she gets closer, she sees that a tipi is on fire.
Yutokeca bursts out in tears of fear and sorrow and cries out, “INAAA!” as she sobs uncontrollably. (“MAMAAA!”)
Eyota comes running through the tipis, shouting out in response, “Yuto—”
She is interrupted by the sudden presence of a strange wasicu, a pale ghost-like man who is wearing all black shoes, pants, coat, and hat, making him difficult to see at this time of night. He emerges out of nowhere and grabs Yutokeca, now carrying her horizontally against his hip. He quickly raises his pistol and aims it in Eyota's direction, then fires off his shiny silver gun. Eyota instinctively ducks behind a nearby tipi and manages to miss the bullet.
Eyota gathers herself quickly and pokes her head up from behind the tipi. After rapidly surveying the area, she comes out to look for them, but both the man and Yutokeca are gone. Eyota bursts out in tears. She is unable to move and collapses onto the ground.
“Yuto...Micinca, Yutokeca!” Eyota howls in misery. (“Yuto…my child, Yutokeca!”)
Akacheta comes running from the center of the settlement and crouches next to Eyota. Akacheta shakes her to get her attention, and tries lifting her head, but it stays firmly planted in her folded hands resting on her knees.
“Toka? Tuktel Yuto?” inquires Akacheta impatiently. (“What’s wrong? Where is Yuto?”)
Eyota raises her head slightly, revealing her reddened eyes, tears streaking down her cheeks. She attempts to gather herself, but after a second she bursts out crying even more.
“I...I...Icu...pi!” stutters Eyota as she struggles to get her words out. (“The…they…took…her!”)
Akacheta immediately jolts up and runs off to look for Yutokeca.
* * *
Yutokeca sits in the back of a wagon that appears mostly like a giant wooden box. It has benches for seating on each side, but they could not hold everyone. She is squished in between other children on the bench, and those that did not fit on the bench were forced to sit on the floor of the wagon. Their feet are tied together and their hands are bound behind their backs by thick, scratchy rope.
It was just turning to morning and the children had not slept all night. Their eyes were droopy and they struggled to stay awake. With the sun rising outside now, beams of light shone through the cracks in the wood paneling. This drew the attention of the children and everyone perked up to gather around and take a look outside. The children push through one another trying to get a closer look.
Yutokeca was fortunate as she was already sitting next to the crack. She kept her eye up against the wood except to reposition here and there to see from different angles. She saw one of the wasicu riding next to the wagon on his horse, as another wasicu man on horseback came up from behind and passed quickly to the front.
Yutokeca removes her eye from the crack and turns her head to place her ear up against it. She hears all of the wasicu talking, but it is difficult to hear over the sound of the hooves hitting the ground and the wagon shaking through pebbles.
After listening attentively for a while, Yutokeca removes her head from the side of the wagon and turns to face the other children to inform them of what she has heard.
Breaking the silence, she announces, “Slolwaye unhihunni pi sece.” (“I think we’re almost there.”)
Startled, the children all turn and stare at Yutokeca with looks of confusion on their faces. A young boy who Yutokeca recognizes as Wicaka, pokes his head up above the others.
“Ahpe...yaslolye he?” Wicaka questions assertively. (“Wait…how do you know?”)
Avoiding the question, Yutokeca admits her uncertainty, “Slolwaye sni ehatas he hecetu. Oh tehi ya wicawanah-on.” (“I don’t know if it’s true. It’s hard for me to hear them.”)
“Yaslolye iyapi sica wasicu he?” barks Wicaka, as he glares at her with a scrutinizing gaze. (“How do you know the evil language of the white people?”)
All of the children straighten up and watch Yutokeca with wide eyes, anticipating an answer that will justify her knowledge. She anxiously looks around at everyone and hesitates to respond, as she is fearful of how they will react to her answer.
When she finally mustered up enough courage, she replied, “Sni hani, ahte ma'aya tohuntu keyas is glusniyaya kici iwatokiyasni. Watohanl wicataku kicic u, cona la wasicu…Wicawanaho woglake, hoheo wa'iyukca ospewakiye.” ("Before, papa took me along for business. Sometimes he would trade with white people…I would hear them talking, so I decided to learn.")
Some of the children continued to sit in silence, a few let out a small gasp. They all look at her with shock.
This wasn’t enough for Wicaka, so he inquired further, “Ya'awayake slolye wasicu iyape he?” ("Why did you care to know the language of the white people?")
Yutokeca lowers her head in embarrassment, but does not say anything. She turns back to the side of the wagon and presses her eye back against the crack in the wood. Tears fall from her eyes, dripping down her cheek and soaking into the porous wood.
Everyone remains quiet and still for the rest of the ride.
Yutokeca continues to look out the crack, and suddenly she sees all of the wasicu on horses come to a stop. At that moment, the wagon jerks to a halt as well, and all of the children went sliding out of position, bumping into one another.
The children struggle to get back up due to the ties on their hands and feet, but eventually they reposition and Yutokeca is finally able to slide her ear back against the crack. She hears a high-pitched metal squeak, and then suddenly everything jerks back into motion, now much slower than before.
Moments later they come to a stop again. Yutokeca hears the metal squeak once more followed by a loud clang of the metal. She hears the men jump down from their horses. She quickly switches to look outside and sees them approaching the rear door of the wagon.
They unlatch the door, letting in the bright beams of the sun the wagon had once concealed from the children. They all squint at the bright light, and raise their arms in front of their eyes to block it. After a moment of adjusting to the light, their vision clears to reveal six wasicu standing outside the door.
The men pull out the children one by one and place them in two straight lines, one of boys and the other of girls. Once everyone was in their lines, they faced the wasicu as they spoke. Looks of confusion spread on their faces, but Yutokeca understands what they are saying and listens attentively.
As he paces back and forth along the lines of children, the speaking wasicu informs the children of what is going on, “I know you are all wondering why you are here...You are all here to learn of the proper ways of our society...We will rid you of your current barbaric ways and mold you to become normal, productive American citizens. You will follow the true American way of life.”
The children all look around at one another and whisper about what he could be saying. Yutokeca ignores them and continues facing forward with a firm look as a tear falls from her eye. She quickly wipes it away.
All of the wasicu motion with their hands for the Lakota children to follow them. For the first time, the children see the large, five-story, red brick building that stood behind them. The wasicu lead them through the white double doors, guiding the children to keep them in line.
* * *
Once inside, the boys and girls are lead in separate directions, each to a small room containing nothing more than a chair and a rectangular wood table with a large trunk underneath. They all wait in the same line formation, anticipating the occurrence of the unknown.
Visibly upset, the girls are crying uncontrollably, clinging to each other for support. They are interrupted by the arrival of a wasicu woman wearing a full white apron over her black dress. She carries with her a bowl of water, which he sets down on the table.
She approaches Yutokeca, who stands at the front of the line and crouches down to be level with her. A wide, sly grin grows on the woman's face peers into Yutokeca’s eyes.
“Looks like you're first, little girl.”
The woman grips Yutokeca’s wrist and pulls her along behind her towards the table.
While the woman prepares herself, she says, “That reminds me, we're going to need to name you something. Hmm…”
Yutokeca recognized the word “name” as one she had heard many times before while her father was doing business with new wasicu, prompting her response, “Yutokeca.”
Immediately, Yutokeca could tell the wasicu woman was surprised, but that quickly turned to anger.
“What was that you said?!”
Yutokeca struggled to come up with a response. She could understand the wasicu language, but she had not spoken it herself.
“Nnn...nehh...name…Yutokeca.”
“Well aren’t you ahead of the game here,” the wasicu woman declared as she plants her hands against her hips and approaches Yutokeca, then shouts directly in her face, “But that's not how this works, little girl. I make the rules, not you! “
The wasicu woman straightens up and paces around, tapping her index finger on her chin as she thought, until she finally decided, “Rebecca. That's what your name is now. Rebecca.”
She grabs Yutokeca's arm and forces her to sit in the chair. She wets Yutokeca's hair, causing her to jump. The woman pushes down on both of Yutokeca's shoulders to get her to sit still. She removes a comb and a pair of scissors from her pocket, and then starts chopping away at Yutokeca's long and straight jet-black hair. Yutokeca watches as it falls to the floor.
When she finishes, the woman takes a step back and examines Yutokeca's hair from behind. She smiles to herself, proud of her own work. The smile quickly fades and she pushes Yutokeca out of the chair. Then, she reaches under the table to pull out the trunk.
After digging through, the woman picks out a blue dress and pair of black buckled flats similar in style to her own. The woman grabs Yutokeca's beaded buffalo hide dress and yanks it off of her by pulling it over her head. Standing there naked, Yutokeca begins to cry. The other girls watch what is happening with wide, glossy, fearful eyes.
Unfolding the blue dress, the woman grips it in the proper position and slings it over Yutokeca's head. Yutokeca struggles to adjust it herself, but the woman forcefully fixes it. Next, the woman kneels down and slides off Yutokeca's matching moccasins, then replaces them with the flats.
Finished with Yutokeca, the woman demands, “Now go wait in the corner over there while I tend to the others. Yutokeca reaches for her dress and moccasins, but the woman jerks them away and tosses them towards the opposite corner of the room.
Yutokeca did not argue, she already felt defeated. She turns to face the corner, but stumbles in her new, heeled shoes, causing her to trip. Standing back up, she tries to adjust to the shoes. She manages to stumble her way over to the corner without another fall. After successfully reaching her destination, Yutokeca stands with her back against the wall and watches the other girls endure the same procedure, with the pile of clothes and shoes growing as they go. When she could no longer recognize any one of her friends, the wasicu woman leads them out of the room and up the stairs to a room at the end of the hallway.
The door opens to a large rectangular room with small beds lining each side. There were already a few other girls asleep in the room that Yutokeca did not know. The wasicu woman points towards the empty beds and pushes the girls toward them. They continue into the room on their own as the wasicu woman shuts the door and leaves.
As the other girls arrange to be close to their friends and search for groups of beds they could occupy, Yutokeca ignores them and walks straight toward the far end of the room. At the very end is a large window that reveals the back of the property and lets in the luminescent glow of the moon and stars against the dark sky. Enamored by the beauty of the sky, Yutokeca takes the bed nearest the window.
* * *
Seven years pass, and now the Lakota children had grown, and they all are now considered civilized members of American society. They all know English fluently. They were taught not only to speak it, but also to read and write it. They went to church, and they had even read the bible so many times that they could quote the passages. They learned about science and mathematics, which included some lessons on how to label the passage of time. Otherwise, Rebecca wouldn’t have known it had been seven years, and that she was now sixteen years old.
After all the other girls were already fast asleep, Rebecca begins to prepare herself for bed, but the stars distract her. Although so much was different, over the years the stars had stayed the same. When her gaze shifts to focus on the moon, she notices it is a full moon, an occurrence that marks an important celebration for the Lakota. She thinks back on their previous celebrations, how fun they were, how they made everyone happy. She imagines her parents celebrating tonight’s full moon, if they are even still alive.
She backs away from the window and hesitates for a moment before she begins dancing as well as she could remember from the celebrations. She moves slowly and stays on her toes so no one would hear her.
The door creaks open but she does not hear it; she is lost in a trance. As she spins slowly around, the woman called Emily appears suddenly in front of her, standing in the doorway. She didn’t look pleased.
* * *
Early the next morning, the sunlight awakens Rebecca while the others are still sleeping. She hadn’t slept much and she felt very sore. Emily had punished her for a long time last night. She would hit her with the large, black book with gold-edged pages and a gold cross on the cover, which Rebecca immediately recognized as the Bible. After hitting her, Emily would then read to the verses to her, and then go back to hitting her. It went on like this for hours. It was miserable, but she didn’t want to think about it anymore.
Rebecca slowly lifts herself out of bed as she struggles to handle the pain. As she stretches, she stumbles toward the window. She rubs her eyes and glances outside, immediately stunned by what she sees. She rubs her eyes more, unsure that what she is seeing is real. It wouldn’t go away, it was real. She couldn’t believe it.
Beyond the tall metal gate, Rebecca could see a few tipis standing. Her mother, Eyota, had her back turned as she started a small fire. Rebecca pressed her face up against the window to get a better look, but there was no doubt about it. Right past the gate, her parents were waiting for her.
For the first time, Rebecca drew the curtains shut. She didn’t want anyone to know. She wouldn’t let them ruin this. While getting ready for the day, she plots her escape.
* * *
During dinner, Rebecca excuses herself to use the new indoor toilet. Instead, she makes her way out the front door, and after confirming that no one was around, she darts toward the gate, her dress flapping in the wind.
She unlatches the gate and pushes it open slowly to avoid the loud screeching sound it was known to make. When it is just wide enough, she squeezes herself through, not bothering to shut it behind her.
She was free. No longer was she trapped in hell, but she still needed to make it home. Rebecca runs along the perimeter of the gate until she reaches the rear of the property. Making her way through the tipis, she interrupts her parents and the other Lakota as they are eating dinner. Eyota immediately drops her food and runs over to hug her daughter, closely followed by Akacheta. The others quickly gather around in fascination, wondering if their children would be appearing soon too.
“Yuto…” her mother said softly as she embraced her in a tight hug.
Rebecca had forgotten that was her name before, but it didn’t feel like it now. Everyone was speaking to her, most were asking questions, but she could not understand them. It had been such a long time that she forgotten her own language. Unsure of what to say, or how to say it, she nodded repeatedly as she smiled, hoping they would soon back off.
Her arrival called for a celebration. Just as when she was little, they started a large bonfire, cooked some food, and played music as they danced around together. Rebecca watched the celebration from a distance as she sat with her family. They had continued trying to talk to her, but she gave up on trying to understand them.
Rebecca tried to eat her food, but she found it extremely unappetizing. There was no sauce for the meat! And what kind of meat was it anyway? She set her food down and instead examined the dancers. They are dressed in odd patterns and bright colors, which is against the fashion. How could they not know? The music being played was not music at all, only noise. Had they not heard of classical music? Even Sousa’s newest march “El Capitan” was nicer than this—
Her parents interrupted her train of thought by holding up a colorfully beaded buffalo hide dress in front of her. A look of disgust spread on Rebecca’s face and she shook her head. Despite her reaction, they held it out for her to take.
Rebecca didn’t feel comfortable. She no longer felt connected to her own culture, to her own tribe, to her family. She didn’t even remember the language. How on earth would this work? This wasn’t the life she had planned for herself, and it also wasn’t the reunion she had been hoping for all these years. Things would never be the same.
Rebecca looked around her once more, at her old family, flashing back to her old life, trying to appreciate them like she did when she was little. This was not her life, not anymore. She had no identity, not fully Lakota nor fully wasicu. She doubted she could change her lifestyle once again. As much as she hated it, the wasicu had already instilled their values in her. She needed a chance at her own life, to feel like she fit in somewhere, and she could not feel that trapped with the wasicu reigning over her, nor could she feel it with her estranged family. Overwhelmed with her future passing in front of her eyes, she instantaneously decided to flee. Off she ran through the tall grass that tickled her legs as she passed through it. The wasicu had taught her the world was her oyster. She would find her place in the world some day, and maybe even find home.
The high sun bursts bright fiery rays that hit the icy white crystals coating the large expansive field. Twenty-seven tipis topped with snow stand in a scattered oval formation next to a frosted, frozen river. Icicles hang from three half-buried, wooden wagons that are parked behind one side of the tipis. The hilly plains surrounding the settlement are covered with heavy snow.
A single small family occupies each tipi. Each family sits together in front of their tipis sharing a single meal amongst themselves. Before they are finished, a Lakota elder stands up and approaches the center of the settlement.
He forms his hands in a circle around his mouth and yells out “Hi-ye-ye! Hi-ye-ye!”
The adults of the families immediately direct their attention towards him, but the children continue picking at the food. Without saying a word, the elder raises his right arm high and points towards the south.
“Hoyay!” everyone replies in cheerful unison, expressing their agreement with the wise elder’s suggestion.
The families quickly finish their meals and clean up as the sun begins to pass below the horizon. Most return to their tipis to prepare for the arduous journey ahead of them, except for a few of the stronger, younger men, who reemerge holding ropes and tomahawks. These men trudge off into the distance, following the frozen river north through the snow. Along with the Lakota people, the sun now sleeps and the sky quickly turns dark, speckled with bright stars.
* * *
Early the next morning, the sun awakens once more, waking the Lakota along with it. Light comes back to the sky and casts luminous yellow hues on the snowy surface. The Lakota families emerge from their tipis with heavily packed baskets. The women and children work to disassemble their tipis and finish packing. The men dig out the wagons from the snow and begin packing them full.
The group of men that left the previous night are now marching proudly back towards the settlement, accompanied by three horses. When the wagons are finally filled, the men attach the horses to the wagons. The few things that didn't fit are carried in ornately beaded leather satchels or woven baskets. The only baby of the tribe is bundled in small patterned blankets before being strapped snugly to a cradleboard and carried on his mother's back.
The tribe marches off through the snowy fields, their heads full of worry but their hearts overflowing with hope. The wagons move at a slow but steady pace as they struggle to push through the snow.
* * *
After travelling for ten nights, they discover the perfect settlement area near a rapidly-flowing river in South Dakota that would suit all of their needs. The sun shines bright here, and there is no snow on the ground, only tall blades of grass that tickle their legs as they walk. Amidst the tall grass, they happen upon a large patch of fertile soil that had sprouted purple and yellow wildflowers around the edges. A long row of ponderosa pine trees towers above the plain it borders on the side opposite the river.
For the Lakota, it was as if they had discovered heaven. Immediately, the women and children begin unpacking and setting up their tipis to establish the settlement. All of the men leave to go out hunting.
* * *
The men return from their hunt with many lifeless animals. Some of them are dragging a buffalo using the ropes tied to its feet. Another group is dragging an elk in a similar fashion. A few others are carrying rabbits and squirrels. The women watch excitedly at the arrival of the hunters with all of this food. One of the Lakota hunters raises both arms with rabbits hanging from one hand and squirrels from the other and calls out, "Yuwinyeya pay-ta!” (“Prepare a fire!”)
Excited by the bounty that will provided them with plenty of surplus, they were eager to prepare the feast, an experience they have not had since before the long winter. The women rush to retrieve dry wood from one of the wagons and bring it to the center of the settlement. The hunters leave the animals in a pile near the center where the fire would be.
* * *
The bustle slows and now a large bonfire now sits in the center of the camp. The women all stand around cooking the slabs of buffalo meat that hang limp on a long branch over the fire, flipping them occasionally. The children help by rolling logs over and placing them around the perimeter of the bonfire for seating. One of them stops and looks off in the distance.
“Uzeblikblik!” screams a young child in excitement. (“Firefly!”)
This gets the attention of the other children, and they run off to chase the fireflies. Yutokeca tries to stand patiently next to her mother Eyota, but she attentively watches the other children, eager to join in the fun.
“Ina—” mumbles Yutokeca hesitantly. (“Mother”)
“Inaji. Kikta niyate ki. Oyake is woyute tka iyuhpa,” interrupts Eyota before Yutokeca could finish her question. (“Stop. Wake up your father. Tell him the food is almost finished.”) Eyota already knew what she wanted, but there was no time for that now.
Lowering her head and frowning in disappointment, Yutokeca reluctantly replies, “Ha, ina,” as she stomps off towards the tipi. (“Yes, mother.”)
Poking her head through the door flap of the tipi, Yutokeca glances around for her father. As she steps inside, she calls out, “Ahte...ahte!” (“Father…father!”)
Looking down, she sees her father Akacheta asleep on a pile of buffalo hides. She bends down next to him and shakes him awake.
“Ahte, kikta! Woyute tka iyuhpa. Slolwaye loyacin!” (“Father, wake up. The food is almost finished. I know you are hungry!”)
Akacheta rolls over and slowly opens his eyes as he smiles at Yutokeca. Trying to be pleasant with her despite the unexpected disturbance, he calmly replies, “Wau, micinca. Olepi mawatuka.” (“I’m coming, my child. The hunt tired me.”)
Yutokeca grabs Akacheta's hands and helps him up. With no time to gain his balance, he stumbles as Yutokeca playfully pulls him along behind her towards the bonfire. They approach Eyota, who prepares a plate for each of the three of them and they all sit down to eat together on a log opposite the drummers.
The musicians play their music with passion and the dancers revolve wildly around the fire as they move in sync with one another. The moon moves across the sky with bright stars surrounding it, but the darkness of the sky does not discourage the Lakota. They feed light into the air, adding wood to the fire until there is no more. As the bonfire weakens, the celebration gradually dies down. When the fire is almost completely gone, the Lakota quickly clean up. Everyone finally returns to their tipis. There is no more light in the air; it is pitch black all around them.
* * *
Akacheta rests atop a heap of buffalo hides with his arm wrapped around his sleeping wife. He faces Yutokeca, who is asleep in another pile of buffalo hides on the opposite side of the tipi. Akacheta stares at her as she sleeps and a big smile grows on his face. He brushes Eyota's hair to the side and lays his head back down. Nothing is greater than the sense of safety, security, and satisfaction Akacheta felt at that moment. Now, he thought, he could finally give his family the life they deserve.
Akacheta was peacefully drifting off once more, when he is interrupted by the sound of footsteps crunching in the grass, followed by low whispers not in their tongue, which he recognized as the voices of wasicu men. The footsteps stop and he hears the metallic click of a flintlock rifle being cocked, causing him to suddenly jump to his feet. He reaches down and grabs Eyota’s upper arms, pulling her up beside him. Still half-asleep, Eyota almost crashes back down, but Akacheta quickly throws his arms around her waist to support her.
“Tak—” Eyota mutters through a yawn. (“Wha—”)
Akacheta promptly covers her mouth with his hand to silence her.
Pulling her closer, he leans into her ear and whispers, “Wasicu, henaupi. Wicawanah-on takal. Kikta Yuto na iyayki ye. Waiwaktaye taniyohi la.” (“The white people, they are coming. I heard them outside. Wake up Yuto and flee. I will warn everybody.”)
Eyota shuts her eyes tight and shakes her head in disbelief, hoping she is still dreaming. When she couldn’t awaken herself from this nightmare, she looks Akacheta in his eyes and her eyes begin to well with tears. He removes his hand from her mouth and pulls her in for what is meant to be a comforting hug, but it only upsets her more. Her lungs heave and her eyes start to rain as she attempts to muffle her whimpers, pulling herself away from the hug. She stretches out her arms in front of her and she grips Akacheta by the shoulders. She could not look at him anymore, but she nods heavily to show she understands.
Eyota jumps down beside Yutokeca and shakes her awake. Eyota’s eyes dart around the tipi searching for anything they might need as she paces around. She reaches inside a woven basket, pulls out a small tomahawk, and hands it to Yutokeca. Seeing the concerned look growing on Yutokeca’s face, she interjects, “Lecela ehatas yacin.” (“Only if you need it.”)
Yutokeca looks down at the sharp, curved edge of the tomahawk, and back up again at Eyota. She frowns and furrows her brow in worry, but gives Eyota a single nod of comprehension. Eyota rushes to grab some arrows from inside the basket, followed by the bow and quiver that lay beside it. She fills the quiver with arrows and tosses it over her shoulder. Gripping the bow firmly in her left hand and Yutokeca's hand with her right, she leads her toward the back of the tipi and raises the flap of buffalo hide for Yutokeca to crawl through. Yutokeca gets on her hands and knees and proceeds through the opening, and stands awaiting her mother on the other side.
“Ina! Wayaka!” Yutokeca exclaims through a loud whisper as she raises her right arm and points up in the sky above the tipis. (“Mama! Look!”)
Eyota tries to see what has caught Yutokeca’s attention, but so far only her head had made its way under the flap. As she continues to pull herself through, she sees smoke rapidly filling the air. Yutokeca runs toward the smoke to investigate, disappearing between the tipis.
Yutokeca’s nose cringes at the scent of burning hides, and as she gets closer, she sees that a tipi is on fire.
Yutokeca bursts out in tears of fear and sorrow and cries out, “INAAA!” as she sobs uncontrollably. (“MAMAAA!”)
Eyota comes running through the tipis, shouting out in response, “Yuto—”
She is interrupted by the sudden presence of a strange wasicu, a pale ghost-like man who is wearing all black shoes, pants, coat, and hat, making him difficult to see at this time of night. He emerges out of nowhere and grabs Yutokeca, now carrying her horizontally against his hip. He quickly raises his pistol and aims it in Eyota's direction, then fires off his shiny silver gun. Eyota instinctively ducks behind a nearby tipi and manages to miss the bullet.
Eyota gathers herself quickly and pokes her head up from behind the tipi. After rapidly surveying the area, she comes out to look for them, but both the man and Yutokeca are gone. Eyota bursts out in tears. She is unable to move and collapses onto the ground.
“Yuto...Micinca, Yutokeca!” Eyota howls in misery. (“Yuto…my child, Yutokeca!”)
Akacheta comes running from the center of the settlement and crouches next to Eyota. Akacheta shakes her to get her attention, and tries lifting her head, but it stays firmly planted in her folded hands resting on her knees.
“Toka? Tuktel Yuto?” inquires Akacheta impatiently. (“What’s wrong? Where is Yuto?”)
Eyota raises her head slightly, revealing her reddened eyes, tears streaking down her cheeks. She attempts to gather herself, but after a second she bursts out crying even more.
“I...I...Icu...pi!” stutters Eyota as she struggles to get her words out. (“The…they…took…her!”)
Akacheta immediately jolts up and runs off to look for Yutokeca.
* * *
Yutokeca sits in the back of a wagon that appears mostly like a giant wooden box. It has benches for seating on each side, but they could not hold everyone. She is squished in between other children on the bench, and those that did not fit on the bench were forced to sit on the floor of the wagon. Their feet are tied together and their hands are bound behind their backs by thick, scratchy rope.
It was just turning to morning and the children had not slept all night. Their eyes were droopy and they struggled to stay awake. With the sun rising outside now, beams of light shone through the cracks in the wood paneling. This drew the attention of the children and everyone perked up to gather around and take a look outside. The children push through one another trying to get a closer look.
Yutokeca was fortunate as she was already sitting next to the crack. She kept her eye up against the wood except to reposition here and there to see from different angles. She saw one of the wasicu riding next to the wagon on his horse, as another wasicu man on horseback came up from behind and passed quickly to the front.
Yutokeca removes her eye from the crack and turns her head to place her ear up against it. She hears all of the wasicu talking, but it is difficult to hear over the sound of the hooves hitting the ground and the wagon shaking through pebbles.
After listening attentively for a while, Yutokeca removes her head from the side of the wagon and turns to face the other children to inform them of what she has heard.
Breaking the silence, she announces, “Slolwaye unhihunni pi sece.” (“I think we’re almost there.”)
Startled, the children all turn and stare at Yutokeca with looks of confusion on their faces. A young boy who Yutokeca recognizes as Wicaka, pokes his head up above the others.
“Ahpe...yaslolye he?” Wicaka questions assertively. (“Wait…how do you know?”)
Avoiding the question, Yutokeca admits her uncertainty, “Slolwaye sni ehatas he hecetu. Oh tehi ya wicawanah-on.” (“I don’t know if it’s true. It’s hard for me to hear them.”)
“Yaslolye iyapi sica wasicu he?” barks Wicaka, as he glares at her with a scrutinizing gaze. (“How do you know the evil language of the white people?”)
All of the children straighten up and watch Yutokeca with wide eyes, anticipating an answer that will justify her knowledge. She anxiously looks around at everyone and hesitates to respond, as she is fearful of how they will react to her answer.
When she finally mustered up enough courage, she replied, “Sni hani, ahte ma'aya tohuntu keyas is glusniyaya kici iwatokiyasni. Watohanl wicataku kicic u, cona la wasicu…Wicawanaho woglake, hoheo wa'iyukca ospewakiye.” ("Before, papa took me along for business. Sometimes he would trade with white people…I would hear them talking, so I decided to learn.")
Some of the children continued to sit in silence, a few let out a small gasp. They all look at her with shock.
This wasn’t enough for Wicaka, so he inquired further, “Ya'awayake slolye wasicu iyape he?” ("Why did you care to know the language of the white people?")
Yutokeca lowers her head in embarrassment, but does not say anything. She turns back to the side of the wagon and presses her eye back against the crack in the wood. Tears fall from her eyes, dripping down her cheek and soaking into the porous wood.
Everyone remains quiet and still for the rest of the ride.
Yutokeca continues to look out the crack, and suddenly she sees all of the wasicu on horses come to a stop. At that moment, the wagon jerks to a halt as well, and all of the children went sliding out of position, bumping into one another.
The children struggle to get back up due to the ties on their hands and feet, but eventually they reposition and Yutokeca is finally able to slide her ear back against the crack. She hears a high-pitched metal squeak, and then suddenly everything jerks back into motion, now much slower than before.
Moments later they come to a stop again. Yutokeca hears the metal squeak once more followed by a loud clang of the metal. She hears the men jump down from their horses. She quickly switches to look outside and sees them approaching the rear door of the wagon.
They unlatch the door, letting in the bright beams of the sun the wagon had once concealed from the children. They all squint at the bright light, and raise their arms in front of their eyes to block it. After a moment of adjusting to the light, their vision clears to reveal six wasicu standing outside the door.
The men pull out the children one by one and place them in two straight lines, one of boys and the other of girls. Once everyone was in their lines, they faced the wasicu as they spoke. Looks of confusion spread on their faces, but Yutokeca understands what they are saying and listens attentively.
As he paces back and forth along the lines of children, the speaking wasicu informs the children of what is going on, “I know you are all wondering why you are here...You are all here to learn of the proper ways of our society...We will rid you of your current barbaric ways and mold you to become normal, productive American citizens. You will follow the true American way of life.”
The children all look around at one another and whisper about what he could be saying. Yutokeca ignores them and continues facing forward with a firm look as a tear falls from her eye. She quickly wipes it away.
All of the wasicu motion with their hands for the Lakota children to follow them. For the first time, the children see the large, five-story, red brick building that stood behind them. The wasicu lead them through the white double doors, guiding the children to keep them in line.
* * *
Once inside, the boys and girls are lead in separate directions, each to a small room containing nothing more than a chair and a rectangular wood table with a large trunk underneath. They all wait in the same line formation, anticipating the occurrence of the unknown.
Visibly upset, the girls are crying uncontrollably, clinging to each other for support. They are interrupted by the arrival of a wasicu woman wearing a full white apron over her black dress. She carries with her a bowl of water, which he sets down on the table.
She approaches Yutokeca, who stands at the front of the line and crouches down to be level with her. A wide, sly grin grows on the woman's face peers into Yutokeca’s eyes.
“Looks like you're first, little girl.”
The woman grips Yutokeca’s wrist and pulls her along behind her towards the table.
While the woman prepares herself, she says, “That reminds me, we're going to need to name you something. Hmm…”
Yutokeca recognized the word “name” as one she had heard many times before while her father was doing business with new wasicu, prompting her response, “Yutokeca.”
Immediately, Yutokeca could tell the wasicu woman was surprised, but that quickly turned to anger.
“What was that you said?!”
Yutokeca struggled to come up with a response. She could understand the wasicu language, but she had not spoken it herself.
“Nnn...nehh...name…Yutokeca.”
“Well aren’t you ahead of the game here,” the wasicu woman declared as she plants her hands against her hips and approaches Yutokeca, then shouts directly in her face, “But that's not how this works, little girl. I make the rules, not you! “
The wasicu woman straightens up and paces around, tapping her index finger on her chin as she thought, until she finally decided, “Rebecca. That's what your name is now. Rebecca.”
She grabs Yutokeca's arm and forces her to sit in the chair. She wets Yutokeca's hair, causing her to jump. The woman pushes down on both of Yutokeca's shoulders to get her to sit still. She removes a comb and a pair of scissors from her pocket, and then starts chopping away at Yutokeca's long and straight jet-black hair. Yutokeca watches as it falls to the floor.
When she finishes, the woman takes a step back and examines Yutokeca's hair from behind. She smiles to herself, proud of her own work. The smile quickly fades and she pushes Yutokeca out of the chair. Then, she reaches under the table to pull out the trunk.
After digging through, the woman picks out a blue dress and pair of black buckled flats similar in style to her own. The woman grabs Yutokeca's beaded buffalo hide dress and yanks it off of her by pulling it over her head. Standing there naked, Yutokeca begins to cry. The other girls watch what is happening with wide, glossy, fearful eyes.
Unfolding the blue dress, the woman grips it in the proper position and slings it over Yutokeca's head. Yutokeca struggles to adjust it herself, but the woman forcefully fixes it. Next, the woman kneels down and slides off Yutokeca's matching moccasins, then replaces them with the flats.
Finished with Yutokeca, the woman demands, “Now go wait in the corner over there while I tend to the others. Yutokeca reaches for her dress and moccasins, but the woman jerks them away and tosses them towards the opposite corner of the room.
Yutokeca did not argue, she already felt defeated. She turns to face the corner, but stumbles in her new, heeled shoes, causing her to trip. Standing back up, she tries to adjust to the shoes. She manages to stumble her way over to the corner without another fall. After successfully reaching her destination, Yutokeca stands with her back against the wall and watches the other girls endure the same procedure, with the pile of clothes and shoes growing as they go. When she could no longer recognize any one of her friends, the wasicu woman leads them out of the room and up the stairs to a room at the end of the hallway.
The door opens to a large rectangular room with small beds lining each side. There were already a few other girls asleep in the room that Yutokeca did not know. The wasicu woman points towards the empty beds and pushes the girls toward them. They continue into the room on their own as the wasicu woman shuts the door and leaves.
As the other girls arrange to be close to their friends and search for groups of beds they could occupy, Yutokeca ignores them and walks straight toward the far end of the room. At the very end is a large window that reveals the back of the property and lets in the luminescent glow of the moon and stars against the dark sky. Enamored by the beauty of the sky, Yutokeca takes the bed nearest the window.
* * *
Seven years pass, and now the Lakota children had grown, and they all are now considered civilized members of American society. They all know English fluently. They were taught not only to speak it, but also to read and write it. They went to church, and they had even read the bible so many times that they could quote the passages. They learned about science and mathematics, which included some lessons on how to label the passage of time. Otherwise, Rebecca wouldn’t have known it had been seven years, and that she was now sixteen years old.
After all the other girls were already fast asleep, Rebecca begins to prepare herself for bed, but the stars distract her. Although so much was different, over the years the stars had stayed the same. When her gaze shifts to focus on the moon, she notices it is a full moon, an occurrence that marks an important celebration for the Lakota. She thinks back on their previous celebrations, how fun they were, how they made everyone happy. She imagines her parents celebrating tonight’s full moon, if they are even still alive.
She backs away from the window and hesitates for a moment before she begins dancing as well as she could remember from the celebrations. She moves slowly and stays on her toes so no one would hear her.
The door creaks open but she does not hear it; she is lost in a trance. As she spins slowly around, the woman called Emily appears suddenly in front of her, standing in the doorway. She didn’t look pleased.
* * *
Early the next morning, the sunlight awakens Rebecca while the others are still sleeping. She hadn’t slept much and she felt very sore. Emily had punished her for a long time last night. She would hit her with the large, black book with gold-edged pages and a gold cross on the cover, which Rebecca immediately recognized as the Bible. After hitting her, Emily would then read to the verses to her, and then go back to hitting her. It went on like this for hours. It was miserable, but she didn’t want to think about it anymore.
Rebecca slowly lifts herself out of bed as she struggles to handle the pain. As she stretches, she stumbles toward the window. She rubs her eyes and glances outside, immediately stunned by what she sees. She rubs her eyes more, unsure that what she is seeing is real. It wouldn’t go away, it was real. She couldn’t believe it.
Beyond the tall metal gate, Rebecca could see a few tipis standing. Her mother, Eyota, had her back turned as she started a small fire. Rebecca pressed her face up against the window to get a better look, but there was no doubt about it. Right past the gate, her parents were waiting for her.
For the first time, Rebecca drew the curtains shut. She didn’t want anyone to know. She wouldn’t let them ruin this. While getting ready for the day, she plots her escape.
* * *
During dinner, Rebecca excuses herself to use the new indoor toilet. Instead, she makes her way out the front door, and after confirming that no one was around, she darts toward the gate, her dress flapping in the wind.
She unlatches the gate and pushes it open slowly to avoid the loud screeching sound it was known to make. When it is just wide enough, she squeezes herself through, not bothering to shut it behind her.
She was free. No longer was she trapped in hell, but she still needed to make it home. Rebecca runs along the perimeter of the gate until she reaches the rear of the property. Making her way through the tipis, she interrupts her parents and the other Lakota as they are eating dinner. Eyota immediately drops her food and runs over to hug her daughter, closely followed by Akacheta. The others quickly gather around in fascination, wondering if their children would be appearing soon too.
“Yuto…” her mother said softly as she embraced her in a tight hug.
Rebecca had forgotten that was her name before, but it didn’t feel like it now. Everyone was speaking to her, most were asking questions, but she could not understand them. It had been such a long time that she forgotten her own language. Unsure of what to say, or how to say it, she nodded repeatedly as she smiled, hoping they would soon back off.
Her arrival called for a celebration. Just as when she was little, they started a large bonfire, cooked some food, and played music as they danced around together. Rebecca watched the celebration from a distance as she sat with her family. They had continued trying to talk to her, but she gave up on trying to understand them.
Rebecca tried to eat her food, but she found it extremely unappetizing. There was no sauce for the meat! And what kind of meat was it anyway? She set her food down and instead examined the dancers. They are dressed in odd patterns and bright colors, which is against the fashion. How could they not know? The music being played was not music at all, only noise. Had they not heard of classical music? Even Sousa’s newest march “El Capitan” was nicer than this—
Her parents interrupted her train of thought by holding up a colorfully beaded buffalo hide dress in front of her. A look of disgust spread on Rebecca’s face and she shook her head. Despite her reaction, they held it out for her to take.
Rebecca didn’t feel comfortable. She no longer felt connected to her own culture, to her own tribe, to her family. She didn’t even remember the language. How on earth would this work? This wasn’t the life she had planned for herself, and it also wasn’t the reunion she had been hoping for all these years. Things would never be the same.
Rebecca looked around her once more, at her old family, flashing back to her old life, trying to appreciate them like she did when she was little. This was not her life, not anymore. She had no identity, not fully Lakota nor fully wasicu. She doubted she could change her lifestyle once again. As much as she hated it, the wasicu had already instilled their values in her. She needed a chance at her own life, to feel like she fit in somewhere, and she could not feel that trapped with the wasicu reigning over her, nor could she feel it with her estranged family. Overwhelmed with her future passing in front of her eyes, she instantaneously decided to flee. Off she ran through the tall grass that tickled her legs as she passed through it. The wasicu had taught her the world was her oyster. She would find her place in the world some day, and maybe even find home.
