BEAR TALES

Metamorphe--under construction.

Every First Nation has bear legends and probably a majority have a Bear Clan too. Little wonder, as Bears were once common in the woodlands of North America. More than that, to the first people who walked onto and then across this continent carrying only spears and slings, the bear would have been a formidable animas. 

Of course, these first people were accustomed to dealing with megafauna, because this was the time of giant sloths, saber-toothed cats and mammoths, but I have a feeling that the bears were pretty darn big too. In Europe, humans probably were a major contributor to the demise of the enormous Cave Bears, in what must have been perceived like gangs of cruel, merciless home invaders to the original ursine owners.

After the time of Pleistocene giants had passed, (probably because of the invasion of humans, with their weapons and organized methods of attack) the last remaining predators of any size were the bears that we have in North America today, the Brown Bear and the Black Bear. Today's Black Bear is the junior American member, weighing in between 200 and 600 pounds and standing upright from 5'-6' feet tall, while the Brown Bear, or Grizzly, can stand as tall as eight feet and weigh between 400 and a 1000 pounds. 

They are temperamentally different too. Black Bears are omnivores, and perhaps because of this, less aggressive. They are likely to be as interested in getting away from you as you are in getting away from them. Grizzly Bears are another matter. They are carnivores, more territorial and more likely to see you as lunch. Any bear, however, will become dangerous if you mess with it's cubs, so if you spot a baby, you make a slow retreat. There is a saying regarding human/bear confrontations: "If it's Black, fight back; if it's Brown, lie down; if it's White, say good-night." 

Ancient people, the world over, had great respect for bears. Observing them and their behavior, they saw bears as kin of a sort, perhaps from the fact that they could stand on their hind legs. A bear will keep fighting even if wounded, dangerous until the end. This was a kind of bravery humans recognized. 

Bears seemed to be able to heal their wounds too, and so it was believed that bears had the power to bestow healing and resilience. If you were in fight, a bear fighting in your corner would demonstrably be a good thing, so they were also invoked as protectors, for their courage was well known. They had admirable qualities such as fiercely protecting their young, and they could be seen to teach and nurture their cubs. Little wonder people would want to emulate them. 

Among the Huron/Wendake, bears were revered. They possessed good medicine. The bear commanded authority; they were self-healers, courageous, and immensely strong, and so, ideally, were members of Bear Clan. Warriors carried bear claws in their medicine pouches for strength, courage and protection. 

I would be remiss not to mention the famous Ponca Chief, Standing Bear, a brave and honorable man who won a civil rights case against the United States in 1879, after his people had their reservation taken from them. Although they at first complied, moving to the unsuitable and inhospitable land they had been allocated, the government didn't bother to follow through on the other promises that had been made, that there would be adequate supplies to help them get through their first winter, or that a mill would be built.

Standing Bear lost a son and a daughter that first starvation winter. In desperation, he and 30 others attempted to return to their ancient home along the Niobrara River. They were imprisoned at a fort, but when a journalist heard their story of how they had been treated, he published it and attracted the attention of lawyers who ended by arguing the case of the Ponca in U.S. District Court in 1879 in Omaha. 

When Chief Ponca spoke, he said that although his hand was a different color from that of the judge, his blood was red, just like that any other American. He insisted that he was "a person and a citizen" with rights. In the end, the Judge, Elmer Dundy, agreed that Native Americans were "persons within the meaning of the law, have the right of habeas corpus," thereby becoming "the first Native Americans judicially granted civil rights under American law."

 

This remains a landmark civil rights case. I noticed that in several popular t.v. series, the most honorable and courageous 1st Nation's character are given the name: "Standing Bear."

John Wisdomkeeper and his Guardian

~~Juliet Waldron

Kobo

Smashwords

Amazon

Barnes & Noble