LEGEND OF THE CEDAR

Here is the story of how the cedar, which was once white, is now red. This is a loose interpretation of the story as it was told to me.

"Once there was a old but powerful medicine man. He was very demanding, so much so, that the people of the village came to hate him. When the warriors returned from a raid, he demanded the most beautiful of the women captives. When he performed a healing or a wedding, he demanded the best of the furs or food from the family. When the hunters returned with game, he demanded more than his share, and the best cuts of the meat.

Finally one night, the village elders called a secret meeting to discuss how to get the medicne man to be easier on them. They could find no solution, and feared that if they talked to him about it, he would become even harder on them. Finally a young brave said why not kill the old man. This was quickly discussed, and approved, and the young brave who voiced the idea was chosen to do the task, before he could have time to reconsider.

Later that night, actually in the very early morning hours, the young brave sneaked into the medicne mans' tent and stabbed him to death before the old man could awake. But, the old medicine mans' spirit was so stong, it started casting spells on the people of the village. The spring where they got their water dried up. The children became sick, the horses started dying. That morning, the elders called another meeting to discuss ways to bring the curses to an end. It was decided that the head of the old medicne man must be removed, and taken far from the village, for the scavengers to clean up, and hopefully end the curses.

The young brave who had killed the medicine man was chosen to take the head far away from the village. He traveled all day, and that evening he saw a cedar atop a hill that had been struck by lightening. Knowing this to be a good omen, he climbed the hill. When he got to the tree, he could see a single bare limb pointing skyward. Taking this to be another omen, the brave climbed the tree, with the head of the medicine man in a bag over his shoulder. When he reached the top of the tree, he removed the head from the bag, and drove it down onto the sharp spike of the dead limb. Immediately, the blood from the head started draining down into the dead white wood, down to the trees' roots. As it did, the wood started turning red.

When the brave returned to his village the next day, he found the spells and curses had come to an end, and forever after, the red cedar was a reminder to the people of the power of the Great Creator, to right wrongs, and provide for his people."

Rewritten by JOHN SUTTLES

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