LEGEND OF THE SHAMAN

Character names:

Bugger John	- pedophile tramp in Gold Creek, Montana, who attacked Cortez while he was swimming in the Hell Gate River
Cortez Modrables	- see Modrables, Cortez
Cowley, Reverend and Mrs.	- teachers at Lapwai Reservation
Culculshensah	- old shaman/healer of Lamtama band (Nez Perce tribe)
Dos Manos	- pinto Indian pony given by Spotted Horse to Cortez for saving his son Samuel’s life
Eagle Robe	- old, respected Lamtama warrior, killed by white farmer, Larry Ott (Salmon River Valley), father of Shore Crossing, owner of the first Silu Silu (pony injured in horse race and cured by Cortez)
El Oso	- see Modrables, El Oso
Father Dolores	- Catholic priest traveling on the Jupiter; threw Dr. Modrables’s medicinal herbs into the river; very prejudiced against Jews and most anyone not a Roman Catholic
Joseph	- (young) Joseph (Miats Taweet Tuekakas in Sahaptin), son of Old Joseph (Tuekakas in Sahaptin), Chief of Wallowa Wallamwatkin band (Nez Perce tribe)
La Mar, Phillip	- Captain, sternwheeler, Jupiter, traveling the Missouri River from St. Louis, Missouri, to Fort Benton, Montana Territory, in mid-19th century
Modrables, Cortez	- Jewish-Spanish immigrant to U.S. (at age 13) with his parents, Dr. Arturo & Mrs. Rosa Modrables (who died during voyage to Fort Benton on the Jupiter in 1865)
Modrables, El Oso	- aging grizzly bear befriended and named by Cortez on the plain above the Missouri River Breaks; soon became Cortez’s wyakin (first encounter in Prologue, with John and Steve Thompson)
Monteith, John	- Indian Agent at Lapwai Reservation
Rachel	- Alpowai band (Nez Perce tribe), Sahaptin name Imeleht-Tiqe (Ravens Circling Overhead); Lapwai Reservation school teacher; married Cortez Modrables; killed in U.S. Army attack against the non-treaty bands at Izhkumzizlakik Pah
Samuel	- member of Lamtama band (Nez Perce tribe), Sahaptin name Sapsis Hilesece (‘Moccasin Tops That Make Noise’), son of Spotted Horse and Rahab, adoptive brother of Cortez
Shore Crossing	- son of Eagle Robe, one of young Lamtama warriors who attacked white farmers in Salmon River Valley, starting the war with the U.S. Army
Silu Silu (II)	- sired by the first Silu Silu (meaning eyeglasses, because of black markings around his eyes), given to Simahichen Tim in gratitude for the apprentice shaman’s rescue and cure of the first Silu Silu
Simahichen Tim	- Sahaptin name (‘Talks with Grizzly Bears’) given to Cortez Modrables by his Ni-mi-pu stepbrother Samuel
Smowhala	- shaman/tiwet, leader of Wanapum band in P’na, on Columbia (Chiawana) River; Dreamer/prophet of Smokeller or tiweti-timt-tiwet (Dreamer religion)
Spaulding, Reverend Henry	- religious and educational leader of Lapwai Reservation
Spotted Horse	- leader, Lamtama hunting band (Nez Perce tribe), father of Samuel, adoptive father of Cortez
Stuart brothers	- James and Granville, trading post owners in Gold Creek and Alder Gulch, Montana Territory, friends of Captain La Mar. James held letter from the captain for Cortez—watershed moment in Cortez’s life
Toohoolhoolzote	- Chief, Pikunan band (Nez Perce tribe)
Welweyas	- man/woman (berdache) lodge-keeper for Simahichen Tim until after the Bear Paw Battle, when Welweyas adopted two small children who had been orphaned and followed Chief Joseph, whose Wallowa band surrendered to the Army
Wepcuk Laymiwt	- Sahaptin name (‘Little Wise One’) given by Simahichen Tim to Wanapum boy he befriended in P’na
White Bird	- Chief, Lamtama band (Nez Perce tribe), living in Lahmotta Valley, where Lahmotta Creek flows into Salmon River, Idaho Territory
Willow Woman	- wife of shaman/healer Culculshensah, and a shaman/healer herself, Lamtama band (New Perce tribe)

Place names:

Bitterroot Mountains	- Rocky Mountains range separating Idaho and Montana; named after the bitterroot plant (litan in Sahaptin); roots used for food
Chiawana	- ‘Big Water’, Wanapum name for Columbia River
Clearwater River Valley	- area in Idaho where Lapwai Reservation is located
Gold Creek	- town in Montana Territory along Hell Gate River, where James Stuart owned a trading post
Hell Gate River	- river in Montana Territory, along which Lamtama band camped in Gold Creek
Lahmotta	- valley home of Lamtama band (Nez Perce tribe), where Lahmotta Creek joins the Salmon River in Idaho Territory; site of initial battle between non-treaty Nez Perce and U.S. Army
Lapwai	- Nez Perce reservation (‘place of the butterflies’ in Sahaptin) in Idaho Territory, established by U.S. government, named after Lapwai Creek, which flows through the reservation
Lolo Trail	- trail over the Bitterroot Mountains
Missouri River Breaks	- canyon carved out by Missouri River in Montana Territory; site of Quarantine Camp, where Cortez Modrables was left alone after the death of his parents
Musselshell River Valley	- site of Lamtama hunting band camp in Montana Territory
Salmon River Valley	- encompasses Lahmotta, home of the Lamtama band (Nez Perce tribe), in Idaho Territory

Tribes/Bands:

Blackfoot	- Indian tribe in the Northwest; history of enmity against the Nez Perce bands
Crow	- Indian tribe whose homeland is located in Montana Territory; generally known as peaceful and friendly with white pioneers
Dreamers	- English name for members of Washan cult, thought to communicate with ancestor spirits in the Other World
Lamtama	- Nez Perce band of which Cortez becomes a member and eventually the shaman—led by Chief White Bird
Nez Perce	- indigenous tribe of the Northwest, encompassing many bands, including the Lamtama (name from French for pierced nose to hold ornament); called themselves Ni-mi-pu
Ni-mi-pu	- Sahaptin for the Real People, as the Nez Perce called themselves
non-treaty bands	- Nez Perce bands that refused to sign and obey treaty to move onto reservations (for most of these bands, Lapwai Reservation)
Wallowa Wallamwatkin	- Nez Perce band led by Chief Joseph
Wanapum	- tribe near Columbia River, led by shaman/tiwet/Dreamer Smowhala

Sahaptin (Ni-mi-pu/Nez Perce language) words:

[proper nouns and words adopted into English not italicized]

camas	- edible roots, staple food of Indians
Nami Piep	- Ni-mi-pu name of Great Spirit or Creator
nasau	- salmon (from Wanapum language)
Ni-mi-pu	- the Real People, or We the People, Nez Perce (from French)
parfleche	- a rawhide bag or box, often decorated, used by indigenous peoples to carry many things, primarily personal belongings (word of French/French Canadian origin)
qocqoc	- meadow lark (Qocqoc as name of animal spirit)
shaman	- medicine man/spiritual leader and healer
somesh	- advice or guiding words from a wyakin
soyapo	- white person (meaning ‘crowned ones’, because of their hats)
tiwet	- also shaman/tiwet, shaman who is also a Dreamer (one who communes with spirits of deceased members of tribe or band)
travois	- drag sled made of wooden poles pulled by people, horses, or dogs, to carry supplies/belongings/people (word borrowed from French Canadians)
upsuch	- greedy people (from Wanapum)
Washan	- Dreamer cult, whose believers communicate with ancestor spirits in Other World
Washani	- members of Dreamer cult
Washat	- dance of Dreamers, to stimulate communication with spirits in Other World
wyakin	- animal spirit/guide/protector of a person
yamish	- deer (Yamish as name of animal spirit; name of Culculshensah’s wyakin)
yehe’l	- bad spirits