Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative

The eight families’ journey to their new home began with two days’ travel on canoes. Oona asked her mother if they would ever return to their previous home and was told that “the old place will always be ours” (28), as it contains the bones of the Ojibway’s dead—but they will not go back. The families stopped at night to rest but did not set up lodges. They lit fires, and the men took turns watching for strangers. On the third and fourth days of travel, the families walked, carrying their canoes and other possessions. On the fifth day, they were back on their canoes. On the fifth night, a council decided that a group of three men would hike into the forest to search for a new home while the others remained at their campsite.

Oona was worried that the forest would take her father and grandfather, two of the three explorers charged with scouting. Oona’s mother assured her that the forests “have never failed the Ojibway” (32), encouraging her to look at the trees and recognize their Animal Brothers and shelter as gifts. The three explorers returned after two days and announced that they found a fairly hidden place surrounded by marshes. In the morning, the families covered their tracks and set out for this new home. While the journey took its toll, especially on the older family members, the group helped each other and made it in one piece.

Upon arriving at their new home, the group had much work to do. They first “sprinkled an offering of kin-nik-a-nik” (39), a sacred substance (red willow tobacco). Their lodges were arranged in a horseshoe facing the rising sun in the east. Oona’s grandfather’s lodge was the farthest east (marking him as the group’s leader), and the elderly storyteller A-wa-sa-si’s was alone in accordance with her request (40). While the Ojibway had previously traveled to summer, winter, and harvesting places, Oona’s mother explained that they would do so less to avoid contact with the white strangers. At most, they would build a sugar lodge.

Soon, the Ojibway were happy in their self-named “rainy country.” They respected their Animal Brothers in the forest, avoiding hunting ones carrying young and using the ones hunted to the greatest benefit. Oona’s grandmother made robes from animal fur, while Oona learned to cut deer hides, gather plants for healing, and trap rabbits. She loved to visit her cousin E-quay who had a baby brother, as she herself was an only child. Oona visited her grandparents in the evenings, and they urged her to ask everyday if she did enough to earn the right to live the next day. The oldest of the village, A-wa-sa-si, “told the legends and the history of the people to the children” (46). Oona observed jobs such as that of her uncle, who made bows, fish traps, snowshoes, and other necessary items. She also assisted with the planting and harvesting of rice and other foods. After the annual harvest, a feast of thanksgiving was held. The village’s first two years in River Country faithfully saw to Ojibway traditions.

Dreams were important to the Ojibway, it being customary to learn which girls would be Dreamers or Medicine People. Oona herself was a Dreamer and once dreamed of a man standing on a log with many blurred white faces behind him. She reported this recurring dream to her grandparents.

With her time coming to an end, A-wa-sa-si asked for her lodge to be moved farther away from the village. At a council meeting, it was decided that Oona’s uncle would leave the village to search for A-wa-sa-si’s younger son, who lived in the country of Dakota. Meanwhile, A-wa-sa-si passed on her knowledge of tribal history and traditions. She highlighted the usefulness of dreams and the forest in guiding the lives of the Ojibway: The Animal Brothers lend “their name and power to each family root” (54); while members of the various clans are scattered, they always welcome their own. The Ojibway believed in a Great Spirit called Gitchi Manito (55) and honored the cycles of the earth, appreciating the gifts of each season. The circle of life, a oneness with animals and the land, was key—with all returning to its beginning. The children of the Ojibway, the future, were treasured. A-wa-sa-si’s younger son arrived in time to see her, as did her older son.

When Oona’s uncle found A-wa-sa-si’s older son, he was standing on a log with blurred white faces behind him—those of settlers. Oona’s dream had predicted this very image. A-wa-sa-si’s death was followed by a one-year mourning period, after which the “people would hold a remembering feast” (59), with the deceased’s possessions given away and a lock of her hair burned.

A-wa-sa-si’s sons spoke of the white strangers and how they had consigned them to a restricted portion of land. The villagers knew that the strangers would be coming soon. While the air was uneasy, the east-facing lodges kept the villagers safe for the time being.

A-wa-sa-si’s older son came with a stranger to tell Oona’s village that they must leave the rainy country and go to a Native Area, where they could stay forever apart from the settlers claiming the forest. After several days of traveling, they reached the Ojibway’s Lake of Nettles. While the group was greeted warmly, the camp was crowded and a settler told them to proceed to another Native Area called White Earth. Oona’s father led the group to White Earth, and upon arrival, Oona was struck by how “mixed-up” (66) the place was with its different types of lodges. Many of the Ojibway wore the clothes of settlers, but they were kind to the newcomers. The group was directed to mark a paper in the presence of an agent before they could receive clothing and food.

Oona’s father encouraged the group to distance themselves from the main village and make their home in the forest. They did so and were able to maintain their way of life and avoid the coughing sickness. True to one of Oona’s dreams, an Ojibway man dressed like the settlers came to the forest and said that the group’s children must go to school in the village in accordance with a treaty. The group decided to send one child—E-Quay’s brother—to the village school while the rest stayed in the forest for the winter.

Feeling that the “strangers and their ways” (69) were overtaking the Ojibway, Oona’s mother conceded to wearing their clothes. She recognized that the Ojibway must change and that her daughter and E-quay must attend the village school. Oona’s father began working at a logging camp and was heartbroken at the desecration of the forest. Ultimately, the group decided to leave the forest for the village—otherwise, they would be sending their children away with no chance to educate them themselves.