I was just outside looking at the moon and it really is a incredible sight tonight. Many years ago a friend of mine, one of the elders of the Kootenai in the Flathead invited me to join him for a few days hike up into the high country above the Winter Range. It was really quite an honor, a very sacred place of his people. As we traveled up into mountains we spoke very little. He would stop frequently and examine animal sign we saw along the way. Occasionally he would ask me questions about what he was looking at. He say Blue Eyes (I got called that a lot on the reservation), what made these tracks? I would answer elk, deer, lion or whatever they were. I was pretty good at recognizing sign having spent years hunting game with my father. And he would smile. Towards the end of the second day we were climbing up into a saddle between two high peeks and though we had enough light left we could of easily made it to the top and down the other side. He said we will camp here tonight and ask those that have gone before us for their blessing before we cross. That night after he had said his blessings, we sat around a small fire and I listened to stories that were generations old. Of how his people would pass through here either in the fall or spring as the nomadic tribe would move either up into high country or back down into the river valley depending on the season. Again emphasizing what a special place this was and shall always be. That night the moon was very much like the moon I gazed at this evening. I remember looking down into the lowlands of the Flathead and was amazed how well the moonlight lit up all the lands we had passed through to get to that spot. And way down the mountain, the river itself looked like a sliver Christmas ribbon, sparkling in the moonlight and I was in total awe. My friend broke our silence and said Most of your people Blue Eyes do not last more then a year or two here. Oh when they arrive they are bright and cheery and speak as if they have found home, but after a winter or two they pack up and leave without a word. But you, you stay year after year. I brought you up here so that you would know you are my cousin and this place will always be a part of you and you it. We really didnt speak much after that. We watched the moonlight dance across the valley below and marveled at the night sky. I was in shock and awe in that he had called me his cousin. It was about the greatest honor he could have bestowed upon me, and I remain honored until this day.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 07:47:52 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015