The Roar of the Falls: My Journey with Kaya

Though my mind is screaming at me to run, I stay still. Kaya tells me not to look at him. I stare at the ground, my body frozen. I feel small and unprotected. A drop of sweat runs down my cheek, but I don’t move to wipe it off. I can smell the bear’s thick, musky odor of fur and mud. He snuffles the ground, grunting. He shuffles off the path, stopping to sniff a bush. He gives us one last stare, and waddles off.

I let go of the breath I was holding. My knees are wobbling. Kaya looks much calmer than I do. I realize this isn’t the first time she’s encountered a bear. She says he just wanted berries, and we happened to be on his path.

We hurry off to find the juniper. As we go, Kaya explains they see bears often. They’re usually hungry and searching for food.

We find the juniper through a jumble of grasses and plants. I see sagebrush, dry grass, tangles of wild rosebushes, and poison ivy! I point it out to Kaya before she brushes up against it. She thanks me for pointing it out; she exclaims I have a good eye for plants.

After we grab several small branches, we hurry back to camp. When we get there, Little Branch is still lying in Rushing Brook’s arms. When Kaya gives me credit for finding it, Bear Blanket says she’s grateful. I blush. Kautsa drops hot stones into a basket of water and Bear Blanket adds the juniper, stirring until the water is a light green. Bear Blanket fills a small horn cup, and we wait while she blows on the tea to cool it for several long minutes. She tips the tea into the baby’s mouth. Soon, the baby’s body relaxes.

No one can move from the baby’s side. We have to know if the medicine worked.

We wait quietly. We hear footsteps and murmuring outside. The camp is mostly empty. Finally, Bear Blanket announces that the fever is falling. Kaya and I volunteer to stay with the baby so that Rushing Brook can rest. Kautsa and Bear Blanket leave the tepee so Kaya prepares a sleeping mat for Rushing Brook.

When Kaya asks if I’m sad to be missing the festivities that night, I tell her that I am. But Nimíipuu look out for one another. As the evening progresses, the baby sleeps and stirs, then sleeps again. Then, she wakes with a little cry. Kaya says she is still a bit warm, and probably wet, too. Kaya unwraps the baby’s blanket, and I see her legs and feet are wrapped in buckskin. Kaya undoes the laces and pulls it away. There is no diaper underneath. Instead, her bottom is cushioned with a fluffy, shredded plant. Kaya says it is cattail. Kaya wipes Little Branch’s bottom, plucks dry fluff from a nearby bag, and wraps her again. It’s definitely not like any diaper I’ve ever seen, but it seems to do the job.

A while later, Rushing Brook wakes up and comes over to feel her baby’s forehead. It’s damp and cool. Rushing Brook urges us to go on to the festivities. She’ll stay home with Little Branch. We jump up and kiss Little Branch’s forehead goodbye. It’s time to join the others at the feast.