The Roar of the Falls: My Journey with Kaya

I can’t rest for long. I don’t know if it’s the medicine or the rest, but I feel a renewed sense of energy. Kaya cleans the dried herbs from my scrapes and helps me up.

Outside the tepee, the two boys are awake and playing with their miniature bows and arrows, their laughter carrying across the camp. I see they are twins. Their names are Wing Feather and Sparrow.

Two girls also come up. They’re carrying bundles of branches on their backs, the wood clattering as they set it down. The older one is Brown Deer, and the younger girl is Speaking Rain. I see her eyes are cloudy, and I realize she is blind.

The girls settle themselves on the ground and pick up piles of dyed grasses. Kaya runs inside to pick up a mortar and pestle and begins to mash salmon, filling the air with its smoky smell. Large pieces of fish fly out from under her pestle as she works. I ask to help, and Kautsa brings out another mortar and pestle for me to use. Kaya adds several pieces of fish to my basket. I grind the fish into a mush, my arm already aching from the effort, and Kautsa adds oil to the bowl. I watch Kaya mush it together with her hands, working the oil in until it disappears. Kaya explains the pemmican will be a good food to eat during travel. The food will feed the people for seasons to come.

Next, we go sit with Speaking Rain by the piles of dyed grass, the colors bright even against the dusty ground. We make piles, sorting the shades of dark and light brown, green, and red. We can hear children playing, along with the barking of dogs. Kaya says girls are gathering to play shinny. Rabbit has the ball, and they’ve brought their sticks. Shinny must be a sport. I see the girls dividing themselves into teams, while holding long sticks, laughing as they call out to one another.

Then, a tall man strides into the camp, his shadow falling long across the ground. Kaya introduces him as her father, Toe-ta. He says they’ve brought in a new group of horses that need training. He says Kaya can help him. Kaya turns to me and asks what I want to do. I’d love to learn what Speaking Rain is going to do with the grasses. It also seems like Kaya may want to play shinny. But I’ve also never been on a horse before. This would be my chance to try it.