Introduction
Some we heard from our grandmothers while being tucked safely into bed. Some we heard as we sat around campfires in the darkness. Some were taught to us in church.
Some were silly or fun little tales--a way to pass the time. Some carried far more weight and taught important lessons about life, death, and the natural world in which we live.
But all have a way of snaking into our subconscious and nesting there. Whether they bring comfort or fear, they speak to some inner turmoil that is buried within us all at some level.
Why do we fear death? The simplest answer is that we fear the unknown. What lies beyond this world? Where do we go after death and what could we learn from those who have gone before us? The unanswerable questions. The unknowable truths.
People have asked these questions since the beginning of time, and indeed, almost every culture has tale of ghosts who return to the world of the living to interact with living mortals. Each culture has a different attitude toward the dead and expects visits from the beyond for different purposes. For the purposes of this project, we will focus on the stories of the Native American tribes and those stories where the dead interact with the living to teach a lesson to the living.
For this storybook, we will explore the tales of three different Native American tribes through reframing and retelling them. Our narrator for these stories will be Chitsh (Chinook word for Grandmother) Tiponi. In the Chinook tribe, as well as other Native American tribes, both men and women were elected to the council to lead the tribe, and members of both genders were respected for the wisdom they achieved as they reached old age.
BlueJay Visits the Ghosts
Image Source: Sacred Texts.
Gather ‘round, my tenas, my children, and I will tell you the story of Brown Bear and his visit to the ghostly world.
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Brown bear was a happy child. He lived with his mama and papa and his sister, Ioi, who was a year older than he. Brown bear was on the cusp of manhood and busy learning all the skills he would need to become a Chinook man. His sister, too, was growing to womanhood and her beauty had already begun to flourish. Maybe it was her great beauty that brought the ty-ee of the ghost tribe to her family’s home in search of a bride. It was in the bitter cold of winter that the ghost chief came to their home with gifts of marriage. The gifts were accepted, and the marriage was completed one bitter cold night while Brown Bear slept.
For months, Brown Bear mourned. He hadn’t said goodbye. His grief grew as the months passed and spring came. Finally, he knew what he must do, and he left home to find the camp of the dead.
continued in Story 1: Brown Bear Visits the Ghost World
A Mashpee Ghost Story
In this story from the Mashpee tribe, a ghost returned to the realm of the living to test the generosity and loyalty of a young mother. These stories teach us the virtues valued by the tribe.
Image Source: Mashpee Wampanoag Dwelling.
Come sit at my feet, tenas, and I will tell you the tale of the young mother who was visited by the departed and offered great riches. For sometimes, the spirits of the past return to test us. This young mother’s love was tested by a trickster spirit and she would have paid dearly if she had failed this test. Listen, tenas.
The spirits sometimes return to us to remind us what we must hold dear in this lifetime.
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It was a cool night near the cape, and the young mother sat in her wigwam knitting a blanket late into the night. It was hours until she would sleep for she had much work to do. She would sell the blankets to feed her children for the yarn was all she had to trade. The children’s father was lost illness two winters ago.
Her door flap was wide-open as was customary of her people, and maybe it was just the wind that made her look up, or maybe it was a different kind of chill. When she looked outside she saw a man standing there in the dark.
continuted in Story 2: A Mashpee Ghost Story
Mother and Child Frozen
The last story comes from the Wampanoag Tribe and takes a look at the idea that the souls of those who die a violent or unjust death haunt the scene of that death.
Image Source: The cliffs at Gay Head, MA.
In this story, my tenas, we see why it is so important to be kind to others. Even when people are not like us or come from far away lands, how we treat them will shape our lives in ways we can never know. We must always keep our doors and our hearts open to strangers to help them in any way we can. Or we may have to pay a dear price.
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It was the coldest winter in many years. The nights were long and dark and cold. The young mother had walked a long way. Her baby was tired and hungry. In distance, she saw a village nestled between the two ponds on Gay Head. She hoped to find shelter there for the night. She had to pray that someone would take pity on her.
continued in Story 3: Mother and Child Frozen