Thump. The arrow made a satisfying sound as it found it’s mark on the old tree. I reached back and quickly had another arrow nocked, letting it fly at the same spot. I went to draw another arrow, but before I could do this, my Unci stepped out of our tipi. “Cetan” she called at me. I pulled out my knife and slashed at an imaginary man before throwing it at a tree to my left. My grandmother began again, the loud crack still resonating through the woods as she spoke. “A group of wasicun have been spotted a while down the road. Our men our gathering to set out after them. Please, for the sake of your mother, don’t go.”

“I’m sorry unci, but I must go and honor my ancestors, and nothing you can say will stop me.” At that I retrieved my arrows and knife, and set off to find Chief Iyan.


My father had been the greatest warrior our tribe of lakota had ever known, and over the years he had amassed an amazing collection of scalps.Then, when he seemed to be at the top of his game, his life was ended by a single white man with a lit stick of dynamite. The moment I learned of his death, I vowed to my ancestors that I would kill every white man that fell upon my eyes until I received the same fate as my father, and so far, I have kept that promise. I have been on every raid since then, and have gathered a pretty impressive collection of scalps myself. So when I got the chance to go on this raid, I knew I would have to go.


I arrived at the chief’s tipi just as the party was about to leave. “Glad to have you along, Cetan” said Chief Iyan. We departed into the woods and continued until we could hear our targets. I, being the smallest and lightest of the assembled, was assigned scouting, so I naturally continued beyond my tribesmen, as I had done so many times before. I came upon a group of five tents arranged in a circle. But something was wrong. The tents were all lit up like giant bonfires. “Someone beat us to them” I thought. Then I heard the sobs.They were loud, and blood curdling, and the source was coming from the center of the circle.There was a small boy kneeling on the ground, next to a large white man. The boy was bloodied badly, and was screaming wildly at the sky. I nocked an arrow, and drew my bow, aiming at the boy.Then destiny happened. I heard an ear splitting roar from behind me. I flipped myself around and saw an enormous brown bear, my father’s spirit animal, reared back on two legs. It stared straight into my eyes, then vanished in a blur of light. I turned back to the boy who was just as mesmerized as me. Then he seemed to snap out of his daze, and he grabbed a bloody knife from the ground. He looked at the blade in his hand, then into my eyes. I saw the pain and sorrow in his eyes as he began to cry violently, the knife clattered to the ground, and he collapsed to his knees.


I paced up to him. I knew what he was going through. I had lost an important person in my life also, and I had felt the pain that he was now feeling.I could barely understand him as he told me to end his life. I responded in very broken english that I would not, and he had to get out of here soon. My own father had stopped me from killing this wasicun, and now that I had spared the boy, I understood my father’s reasoning.


“I keep you alive. Follow me” I told him, and started to back away. He didn’t move though, but just stared directly behind me. I slowly turned around to see Chief Iyan, bow drawn, looking the situation over.

“What happened here Cetan?” he said. “Why have you not killed him already?”

“Because it must be this way” I said. I stepped in front of the boy. “Run!” I said in english, not even looking back to see if he obeyed. But I knew that he had when Chief Iyan bellowed

“You let him get him away you fool!” I started sobbing,and did the only thing I could think of. I turned around and ran. I ran, and I didn’t stop running until I couldn’t run anymore. I was a disgrace to my people and my fathers. I broke my vow, and would never be welcomed by my ancestors. I was never going to return to my village. I was looking for shelter when I heard a crack from behind me. I turned around to see an enormous brown bear, close enough to touch, and at that moment I knew I had made the right decision. I touched my hand to my lips and placed it on the bears head, then set off to find my village.