The Dream
ANOKÌ
The dream started out as it always did: Nukumi, the Mi’kmaq Grandmother, had the children and wounded gather around her. She told everyone not to worry, that her son, Crazy Crow, and her guardian, Glooscap, would save everyone and that help would appear.
The sounds of battle drifted to our hiding place. Then, like magic, Uncle Mitigomij’s big cat, Makadewà Waban (ma-ka-de-wan wah-bun: Black Dawn), and my father’s wolf, Ishkodewan (Blaze), appeared among us. The panther had a young girl gripped in his jaws, carrying her like a dog would hold a newborn puppy. The wolf’s muzzle was reddened by someone’s blood. Nukumi took the girl, and the two animals disappeared back into the dim light of the forest.
Handing the girl to me, Nukumi said, “Anokì, this is your sister. Protect her.”
While I clutched my sister, a crow swooshed through the air over our heads, then, out of the forest, a silent column of painted men emerged — Wolastoqiyik (whoa-la-stow-key-ick: Maliseet) warriors! There were over forty on my count, and once they passed through, five of them remained to watch over our small group.
In a short time the noise of the battle increased with the war cries of the Maliseet and then I heard the distinct war whistles of my father’s friend, Pangì Shìshìb (pung-gee she-sheeb: Little Duck), an Omàmiwinini chief. Soon my ears picked up the whoops of his warriors.
Nukumi turned to everyone. “The battle has started to turn. We’ll be safe now.”
Two bodies crashed through the forest, startling us and our companions. They were Haudenosaunee trying to escape. Unluckily for them, they ran into the Wolastoqiyik warriors guarding us and met their fate quickly.
The din of the battle continued through most of the day. As the evening sun started to glow, the warriors of the Wolastoqiyik tribe returned to our site. They brought their wounded to our small camp, and Nukumi and the other women tried to do what they could for them. Of the thirty-five warriors who entered the conflict, seven never came back and ten were wounded.
Soon after, my father’s people entered the camp. Mitigomij brought a woman to me and said, “This is your mother, Wàbananang.”
My mother took me and held me close. “Anokì, your father, Mahingan, and Uncle Kàg (ka-hg: Porcupine) have perished. They died with honour. We were able to save their bodies from Ò:nenhste Erhar and his men and have given them a warrior’s burial.”
Tears appeared in my eyes: of joy for seeing my mother and of sadness for the loss of my father.
My mother told me that the Mi’kmaq warrior E’s (s: Clam) had, with the help of the wolf and the panther, saved her life. Pangì Shìshìb came in behind Ò:nenhste Erhar and his men and drove them off before they could mutilate the bodies of Mahingan and Kàg.
When Uncle Mitigomij arrived in the camp, he told us the warrior the Mi’kmaq called Glooscap fought the wizard Winpe for a long time. They scarred each other but neither came under the axe of death.
Then, out of the forest burst the bellowing and blood-covered warrior Crazy Crow, rapidly gaining the attention of the camp group. “Today was a great battle. I feel like my body has received a boost from the Great Spirit, and that skirmish between the big one, Glooscap, and the so-called wizard Winpe was one for the ages. When Winpe left with his warriors, he turned to Glooscap and said, ‘Watch over Nukumi and Apistanéwj, your little friend. I will be back for them!’ That Winpe doesn’t know when to quit!”
I will never forget the entrance Crazy Crow made, his one good eye glistening, his imposing stature, chiselled body, and bellowing voice. He was something to behold. Then I spotted my twin cousins coming into camp, bloody and in mourning for their father. Uncle Mònz (moans: Moose) walked beside them with his head hung down. Of the four brothers, Mahingan, Kàg, Wàgosh (wa-gosh: Fox), and Mitigomij, only Mitigomij was still alive.
Suddenly, my dream ended as I was shaken awake. Opening my eyes, I gazed up into the bright morning sun at two dark shapes between me and the early fireball. Rising from my sleeping spot, I soon realized they were my cousins, Kàg’s twin sons, Makwa (muck-wa: Black Bear) and Wàbek (Bear).
“Come, Anokì, the Attawandaron (Neutral) and Tionontati (tea-anon-ta-tay: Tobacco) Nations have sent emissaries to the Ouendat with a mikisesimik (wampum belt). They need help. The Onöndowága (oh-n’own-dough-wahgah: Seneca) and their allies are preparing to invade the lands of our friends. An ally of the Attawandaron, a Wenrohronon warrior who lives near the Great Falls, brought the terrifying news. He said his people had captured an Onöndowága warrior during a skirmish as they were passing through their territory. Before he died in the fires at the stake, he said they were on their way to raid the Attawandaron and Tionontati villages for captives and tobacco. We must hurry and gather our forces to help them in this time of peril. The Attawandaron are a peace-loving people who depend on their allies for protection. They’re no match for the powerful Onöndowága!”