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[2] I was fifteen years old at that time. I don’t know what I must have been doing. “Those who want to fight shouldn’t stab me,” I think. As I thought about all kinds of things there, I went over and entered. And there as they were involved with one another there on the floor, they grappled over his arm so he would release that knife. Right there I was controlling him to a certain extent, but anyway they were wounding [each other] with the knife as I was stabbed in the shoulder.

[3] And here in my arm, here too he cut me. And he stabbed me twice in the butt. He cut me in my finger. That guy cut me straight through in this tendon. Oh anyway, it’s cut through at this time. And he cut it like this. That’s how this looks here. And he didn’t cut it [this way]. That’s how that man sliced me up.

[4] Then when I returned to my home, going inside there where they lived, my mom says, “What happened to you that you’re so bloody.” “Oh,” I tell her, “When I was saving the life of that man there, another man was fighting him and was going to stab him and I had to intervene,” I tell her. Then my dad picked up his gun, wanting to go over and shoot him; and right away my mother and I had to try to take that gun away from him by force so he wouldn’t go over and shoot him.

The Indian Always Talks to the Spirit

[1] And the Indian does this when he talks to the spirit, when he wants the head spirit to think of us. That’s what they did in the medicine dance. That’s why the Indian participated in it, why he started [his life], why he lived. That’s why he was involved.

[2] And this Drum the Indian uses here today, it was placed among the Indian people there at Mille Lacs as it is called, placed there for him so that the Indian could start [his life] as it was before. That’s why that Drum started there. They all went out there toward the east; they were told this of the Drums. Today the Indian still keeps this in mind, how the spirit gave him this to start [his life]. That’s why it was given to him.

[3] And when the Indian sweats, a certain [person] was given this so that the Indian could do so. And while it will be the warm season, at that time the Indian was told to sweat. And when it’s fall already or when it’s winter, the Indian was told to sweat at that time too. When the Indian was afflicted with something, that’s when the Indian was told to do this.

[4] And that is what the Indian did long ago when he sweated and again when he fasted in his youth—boys, girls. Now long ago they fasted so the spirits would want them to be considered [for pity]. That is why they did that. And that is why the Indian came to know names there to be given to the Indian people. That is why they knew them there, knowing the animals and the birds.

[5] And every one of the animals running about here on earth, they were blessed for a reason—the bear as he is called, and also the bald eagle. And they pitied the Indian for a reason, giving him things to improve his condition, appeasing the Indian when he talked. That is why the spirit gave things to him.

[6] And the girls, they were spoken to by the old ladies and told how the Indian lived before. When they were talked to by their parents, that is how the Indian knew what to do. I hope he will come to know this by the way I lived myself, when he thinks about it.

[7] And when the Indians went hunting long ago as well, when a young man first killed an animal, whatever kind of animal was first killed, he smoked to the spirit. He offered tobacco for killing this animal first. Again tobacco was offered to the spirit when he ate that which he killed. He talked to the spirit first.

[8] And this here rice, the Indian could not eat it when he finished making it. After they offer tobacco to the spirit, at that time they ate the rice. And now already when he knocks it, at that time too he speaks to the spirit, offering him tobacco when he will take this from the waterways so that the spirit gives permission for the Indian to have a traditional diet.

[9] And this here