pet connection

About fifteen years ago our family began researching our family roots. Although one of my uncles was the primary researcher, he got many of us started and we began digging, too. We found some great stuff. I’m related in an unbroken line to some freedom fighters in Ireland and Scotland — hmmm, so that’s where that temperament comes from. Two spinster sisters in one side of my family were also active in the underground railroad in the mid-1800s – getting slaves to freedom in the north.

There was also a horse thief who was hung in the village square in Connecticut. The court records and notes in the family Bible don’t say what his motivation was.

During this research we also rediscovered our Native American ancestry, both with the Lakota people in the plains and the Algonquin people in New England, which I found fascinating.

In doing the research, I of course also looked into the relationship that these Native Americans had with dogs. The relationships varied, of course, as it does with us today. But I was especially intrigued by the stories that were told about dogs, coyotes and wolves by these people.

Historical stories are generally divided into three kinds. Myths are treasured stories from the past. They may explain the “unexplainable,” like stories of creation or the meaning of life. Myths are often the earliest forms of religion, history and philosophy.

Folktales are fiction, although that fiction might be based in reality. They are stories explaining ways people (or animals) cope with the world around them.

Legends are stories that have roots in reality. Legends tend to be based on true people, animals, or events — although of course with telling, things can become distorted.

Because for the most part, Native Americans did not write down their histories and stories, telling these stories became a huge part of life. Information was passed from generation to generation by telling stories. Hmmm….wonder if that’s why I so enjoy telling (through writing and teaching) stories?

In my research I found many stories that were fascinating to me. This is one of my favorites. A Lakota myth tells the story of the first Lakota dog:

The First Dog was tiny and barely awake when she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck and shoved roughly into a greasy skin bag. She had been asleep with her brothers and sisters under the roots of a large spruce tree. Normally this was a safe place but First Dog’s mother and father were away from the den hunting and a young uncle got distracted, allowing the strangers access to the puppies.

First Dog and her brother were bounced around in the bag as the strangers went back to their home. Suddenly the First Dog and her brother were rudely dumped on the ground. A small two legged one grabbed Brother. Brother yelped loudly in fear as the small two legged one said, “This is my pup. My grandmother has given him to me as a present.”

Grandmother replied, “Yes. And if you care for him as well as you would your own brother, he will be your trusted companion for all of his days.”

Grandmother then picked up First Dog and said, “I am most pleased to see you, little one. You are a great gift to me. From now on, I have someone to help me and a friend to keep me company.”

And so it was that the First Dog was taken from her family as a captive and prisoner, and forced to live in a village of two legged ones for the rest of her life. But the wise grandmother was kind to her, praised her, and acknowledged her hard work. So when First Dog had a family of her own, she became a relative by choice, and all her children and grandchildren did, too.

If readers are interested, in future posts I’ll share some additional stories that I’ve discovered. Let me know.