Anishinaabe Syndicated : A View from the Rez

11. So Sioux Me - 1999

177 11. So Sioux Me 8 1999 Fond du Lac Follies motored to Madison, Wisconsin. It was part businessbutmostlyfun .Ihadfunavoidingthegauntletofcasinosonmy road trip. The first one I evaded was Black Bear, then Fond-du-Luth. I waved as I drove by the Majestic Pines and Ho-Chunk casinos. I arrived in Madison with my frog skins intact and met David Young at Edgewood College. When he was giving me the fifty-cent tour of the campus, he pointed out an earthen mound shaped like a bird.Iwonderedaboutthoseold-timeskinswhobuiltthat,wondered what they would say if they knew a college had grown up around their work. David put me to work, and I visited his class that was studying short stories. I told them a couple of long stories. Shagg and Sandy White Hawk came into the room some ten minutes after the beginning. Do I dare say anything about Indian time? They just had to sit in the front row, too. It was good to see old friends among so many strangers. The next day in Mad City I met some skin students from the University of Wisconsin. We talked and ate together. I didn’t know any of them, but we recognized each other as being skins. I think we will remember each other’s faces the next time our trails cross. Later that evening, we ate some of Shagg’s deer-meat stew. I wish I could say I avoided the casinos on the way home. I won a whole chunk of money at Ho-Chunk Casino, only to give it back at Majestic Pines. The rest of the trip was uneventful—except for that Wisconsin state trooper who followed me for about twenty miles. He was right on my bumper, so I know he was looking at the license plate. It says REZ CAR. Apparently I passed his visual inspection because he didn’t stop me for a further check. I knew I wasn’t break- 178 Anishinaabe Syndicated ing any laws, but just having a police car filling the rearview mirrors caused me to tense up. I relieved the tension by stopping at the Black Bear Casino, where they were very kind to me. MycousinChuckGreenskyandIweresittinghereinthislittleHUDhouse -not-on-the-prairie when two bald eagles flew by the window. Both eagles had white heads and tails. The smaller one was in the lead as they arrived. The larger one had his mouth open as he dove toward the other one. I don’t know if that eagle scream was foreplay or anger, but it looked like they were getting along while they sat in the pine tree close to the house. Patricia and I went out on the porch to get a closer look. The eagles stayed for a while, then left the same way they came, still together, the smaller one leading. All three of us humans said, “Miigwech.” Thank you. Fond du Lac Follies motored to Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet. At the bookstore, I saw they had car incense for sale. It was made to look like an eagle feather. What will that white man think of next? In Sawyer, the quiet little village on the rez, two of my granddaughters came to visit, Raina and Noonah. Raina, the eight-month-old, arrived to spend a week. I hadn’t seen her since she was a newborn and now all of a sudden she was in a walker, driving her little car around the living room and kitchen. We decided to call her Bineshiikwe after we got to know her. She once fell asleep on my chest. We breathed together for as long as her nap lasted. How can we account for the millions of dollars spent investigating and then trying to impeach the president? The huge government monster seems to be consuming itself. Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, andwhoknowshowmanyotherswillfallbeforethebeastissatisfied. I get it, though. Bill Clinton is this year’s O. J. Simpson. I think that fine line between gossip and news has been crossed too many times. As grandparents we knew why we were here. We were here to take care of this amazing gift from the Creator. That little girl held her arms up to be held whenever anyone came into view. Her spar- 179 So Sioux Me kling eyes drew people to her. We took turns passing her from lap to lap, each of us making our silly baby...