Kalle Benallie
ICT
Winter is a special season for Indigenous peoples across the country and world.
For the Diné, or Navajo, people there are the typical winter traditions like snow baths, winter ceremonies, a Navajo shoe game called Késhjéé, and string games as Denise Yazzie Jensen described. Jensen teaches Navajo history and government, foundations of Diné, and Navajo culture at Navajo Preparatory School in New Mexico.
Navajo children often grow up hearing coyote stories at school or from families during the cold season as well as creation stories.
“Our creation stories are told only during winter. You can go into more detail with the creation stories during the winter months because a lot of those animals who are talked about in those stories are in hibernation,” she said.
But other ceremonies and knowledge are not done or shared during the winter like the N’daa, the Enemy Way Ceremony. Then depending on where it’s done, the way to do ceremonies vary.
“There’s families that do it in different ways and there’s teachings that are implemented in different ways, from either one family to another, one clan family to another clan, even from one side of the reservation to the other side of the reservation,” Jenson said. “I think you see a lot of variations in the way people conduct certain ceremonies like that. And there’s different teachings that come out of that.”
She added that it’s important for those who are participating in a cultural activity or ceremony to know the purpose of it.
“My students are carrying around strings. They’re learning string games now on our campus,” she said. “For me, I would want them to also know, not just how to make the shapes, but what does that mean? What does that shape mean? Where did that come from? What’s the history behind that?”
Although sometimes the weather can impact if people can participate in activities.
Victor “Rocky” Makes Room For Them, a professor in Lakota studies at the Sinte Gleska University, said this winter has produced warm weather with no snow.
“…There is no ice fishing, or children sliding, or riding snowmobiles. Basket Ball is always a favorite pass time in Rosebud communities,” he said in an email.
But what they can do is tell the Creation story because all the Lakota constellations are in view. Every night for 30 days they storytell.
“Hand games are played more, and many are harvesting red willow to make ceremonial tobacco like mix- for the ceremonies to come after winter. New moon ceremonies are always still held at new moon time, even in the winter,” Makes Room for Them said. “ Pow wow people will be beading new regalia in the long evenings into the night. Most people across Rosebud lands will participate in these activities.”
The sharing of knowledge about ceremonies is also different for Ojibwe people.
Anton Troyer, a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, said there is some information in Ojibwe culture that’s not shared publicly like how to do a ceremony, the prayers themselves and legends because they are sacred.
However, other information like how to snare a rabbit or tap a maple tree is shared openly.
Who to share the knowledge with and when is carefully considered.
Ojibwe winter traditions that have some rules around them like they’re only told when there’s snow on the ground, bears are sleeping and birds have migrated out.
“So most of our elders have said, I can’t trust everyone else to behave themselves and only use these in the winter. So bring the tobacco, turn off the recorder. I’ll tell you some stories,” Troyer said. “There have been some people who’ve said, eh, I’ll trust people to use responsibly, just make sure they know it’s a winter legend and only to use it then.”
Troyer said that there are typical winter legends, like other tribes, about a legendary figure who’s half human and half Native, and has all the failings of human character, but also some extra power, like a spirit.
Some other winter traditions are children making snow snakes out of wood to use in a race, ceremonial drums are used for each season and winter dances, and monthly harvests where in the winter fishing is done through ice.
Troyer has nine children and five grandkids. He said some of these traditions can be a lesson for children to learn.
He and his grandchildren will snare rabbits and have a ceremony on them becoming a first time harvester.
He said it’s a good way to coach the kids on what it means to be an adult.
It goes back to ancient customs when the people in a Wigwam Village would be invited to eat a moose or deer that someone hunted. A prayer is done and cooked meat is offered to the hunter multiple times but the hunter denies every chance to eat because they are thinking of children who can’t eat, elders who can’t hunt, thinking of their family and community that are there supporting them.
“Then we offer a fourth time and they can eat and then we’ll just tell the kid this is kind of what it means to be an adult,” Troyer said. “It kind of fills them with a little sense of purpose and how they can contribute to other people … I mean, having nine kids and getting to do a lot of experimenting, this kind of winter harvest activity is one that gives them some tools to identify: here’s what healthy adulting can look like.”