Chapter 52

"That woman is impossible," Forest Shadow declared.

"Which woman?" William asked looking up from the journal in which his paper had appeared. In the week that she had been there, Forest Shadow had said that about Lisa, Lucy, Jan, Natalie, and Nicole. He didn't think there was another woman in the house about whom she could complain.

"Jan. Can you imagine that she started in on me again about how I treat Lucy? White people just like her were the ones that raped our culture. Why should I say please and thank you? I'm sure that Jan would love to see us lose the reservations and become homeless," Forest Shadow declared expecting William to agree with her.

"I seriously doubt that Jan would want anyone to be homeless," William answered finding the assertion to be rather insulting to Jan. He liked Jan and thought that the relationship between Lucy and Jan was healthy.

"Why not?"

"She was homeless for more than ten years," William answered knowing the effect that his words would have. He hoped that Forest Shadow wouldn't use that knowledge in an attempt to hurt Jan. Of course, Jan didn't have pretensions about her past.

The statement confirmed her opinion of Jan. The woman was a loser and was there because they felt sorry for her. She said, "That doesn't surprise me."

He closed his journal and turned to face Forest Shadow directly. In a stern voice, he said, "You are a guest in this house. You should learn to act like one."

"I don't like whites," Forest Shadow said looking at William with a challenging expression on her face. She said, "We were a strong people with pride. We were a peaceful people who lived at one with nature until the white man showed up. They destroyed a rich culture using bioterrorism, murder, and theft. You should be just as angry as I am."

In a sharp tone of voice, William said, "Don't give me that Noble Savage bullshit. It is just as much of a myth as the Ignorant Savage. If you want to take offense over events that happened in the past, then at least make sure that you have an accurate picture of the past."

Surprised at his reaction, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Do you think our ancestors were casually wandering around eating berries and hunting animals without a care in the world? No, they weren't. They were fighting for their survival with a near subsistence standard of living. There were wars between tribes that were quite brutal when populations grew larger than their individual territories could support," William answered.

"But that is just a little of our heritage," she objected.

"That is where you are wrong," William said. He leaned forward and said, "You have to understand both the good and the bad of our heritage before you go around acting superior to others. What happened between the True People and the Whites was a war of survival. It was a war of survival for individuals, tribes, and cultures. It wasn't a new war. Different tribes had already been fighting that war with each other.

"A lot of very horrible acts were committed during that war. There were brutal massacres, rapes of women, and tortures. Both sides had individuals that wanted to totally eliminate the other side. I'm talking genocide, not a negotiated treaty or getting sent to a reservation. We lost the war, but we survived.

"Some of the worst things that happened after the years of war were the result of well meaning people trying to help out those they saw as inferior. They tried to stop us from speaking our languages and practicing our rituals. They forced our people to convert to Christianity at the point of a sword.

"Don't forget that they were trying to save the souls of our ancestors from an eternity in hell. As far as they were concerned, our souls were damned because we believed in the Great Spirit and we didn't believe in Jesus Christ. Each time we danced, they thought we were bargaining with the devil. Each time we went into a sweat lodge, they thought we were recreating the outer limits of hell," William said.

Forest Shadow was surprised to hear William take the side of the Whites. She said, "You've turned against your own people."

Shaking his head, William said, "No, I haven't. I'm trying to teach you something. Don't whitewash the truth because there are some facts that you don't like. Don't ignore facts because they disagree with your politics. Don't condemn the Whites for actions that were not meant to harm. Try to understand the full truth and not just one side of the story. When you do that, you'll find nobility in our people; a nobility that far exceeds that limited view that you take of them."

"What? Our people were miserable until you lifted that curse," Forest Shadow said defensively.

William looked at Forest Shadow for a full minute without saying a word. He was beginning to wonder if she could be salvaged. Such uncompromising hate of a group for actions in the past was not healthy. Ultimately, that attitude would prevent her from helping her tribe find its way in the future. The eternal victim became just that; a victim for all of eternity. Finally, he said, "Come out on the patio with me."

She stood to follow him out, but he stopped at his desk and picked up a pack of cigarettes. Surprised that he smoked, she followed him to the patio eyeing the pack of cigarettes. The significance of smoking while telling a story was not lost on her. He sat down and removed a cigarette before handing the pack to her. She looked at it and said, "I don't smoke."

Without making a comment, William took the pack back and lit his cigarette. After he exhaled to the sky, he started to tell Forest Shadow about how his Great Grandfather came to have his name. He told the story in a manner that emphasized the titanic struggle between a poor Indian boy and a highly respected man of the cloth. His words touched Forest Shadow and it was only when William revealed the name of the young man at the very end that she realized he was talking about William Redman.

Surprised by the ending, she sat back in her chair and said, "Your Great Grandfather won in the end."

"Yes, he did."

Impressed by his skill in relating the story, she said, "You are a great story teller."

"Not really," William said having heard some of the best story tellers. He put out his cigarette in the ever present ashtray and said, "Let us talk about respect."

"Okay," Forest Shadow said wondering if she was about to get another lecture or a story. The story was much easier on her ego to hear.

William lit another cigarette and sat back in his chair. He said, "Once there was a young woman of pale skin who was accepted into a tribe of the True People. She knew nothing of their ways or their history, but recognized the honor that was being given her. It was a real honor and one that she did not request.

"Not wanting to cause insult by an act performed in ignorance, the young woman went to a wise woman of the tribe. She asked if it was possible for her to learn of the ways and history of the tribe so that she would know how to be polite. The wise woman saw the wisdom of the request and arranged for someone to teach her all that she would need to know.

"The young woman thanked the wise woman and went home to wait for her teacher to arrive. She set aside a room for the teacher and sought guidance from others of the tribe on how to welcome her. The time for the teacher to arrive came and went, but there was no sign of the teacher.

"Afraid that something bad might have happened to the teacher, the young woman called the wise woman. After explaining the absence of the teacher, the young woman accepted the word of the wise woman that within a moon the teacher would arrive. The time came and passed, but the teacher did not show.

"Thinking that she might be at fault, she called the wise woman and asked if she had caused insult to the teacher. The wise woman assured her that she had done nothing wrong. Once again, the wise woman assured her that within a moon the teacher would arrive.

"Many moons passed and the teacher never arrived. Embarrassed at having to report that the teacher had not arrived, the young woman called the wise woman. The wise woman was embarrassed that her word, given in good faith, had proved false.

"Finally, the teacher arrived without warning. On arrival, the teacher berated the young woman for not greeting her in a proper manner. The teacher announced her displeasure at having to be there. The teacher criticized the room that had been set aside for her," William said.

Uncomfortable with the direction in which the story was headed, Forest Shadow shifted in her chair. This was the kind of story that was told to children on how not to act. The idea that this story could be told and retold to kids through the ages was a very unsettling thought.

Continuing his story, he said, "Lucy was respectful of the tribe, the wise woman, and the teacher. She wanted to learn the ways of the tribe so that she could honor them. She went to the wise woman for advice as all young members of the tribe should do. She prepared for the visit of the teacher in accordance to the advice of the wise woman.

"Talks with Truth was respectful of the tribe, the student, and the teacher. She sought to train the young woman so that the tribe would be better served. She was respectful of the young woman by listening to her problem and giving advice. She was respectful of the teacher by praising the depth of knowledge possessed by her and recommending her for the task.

"Forest Shadow was not respectful of the tribe, the wise woman, and the young woman. She thought it a waste of time to teach a member of the tribe the ways of the tribe. She made the wise woman look like a fool. She was abusive to the young woman."