The Valley of the Sun Bear
written by: David L Painter
Up North,, there are two beautiful mountain peaks we call Three Sisters and Going To The Sky. They are situated at the end of a valley we call Sun Bear. This is where I and my people, the Iroquois live. The sun is now rising between the two peaks giving the appearance of being cradled by two large hands. This is the harbinger of the coming of the warming season. This is the time of the warrior.
I had lived through sixteen winters. That is when a boy becomes of age. He is given a task to prove himself. If successful, the task can make him into a great warrior and a man of respect. This is my time.
The day before my task my Father Chief Red Wolf took me aside explaining what was about to happen. “Tomorrow evening as the last rays of the sun strike the earth the elders will gather in the long hut with you. There will be a sweat to purify your body and spirit. You will be given a knife, and ax, plus your long bow and arrows. You will also be given a small amount of food, as you must learn to live off the land and become one with the earth and many different animal spirits. There will be prayers offered up for you and your task ahead as both are scared and worthy. This must be done to ensure your journey through this life as well as through the next.”
Evening came. My father was correct about all these things. The night before my trek was long. I had not slept and was disoriented. As morning came I was told to gather my items as it was time.
I emerged from the long hut. My Mother, Sister as well as most of the Tribe were waiting for me. This was a great honor and it meant that with my success our tribe would continue to flourish. I was taken to the forest at the end of the valley and stood in the fields before Three Sisters Mountain where we grew many crops. The elders decided that I should go up in the mountains and kill a bear. I was ready. Prayers were offered for each of us. This was no small thing. This was my way of becoming a warrior and man of respect.
As I started up the mountain the hard crust of the last snow crunched under the weight of my moccasins. I was tired but fought off the urge to stop and rest. Further up the steep slope, there was a warming breeze. It chased the cold wind of the dead period back to its cave in the great heavens. This was the time of the Great Awakening. I walked for two hours before stopping. Once I took the time to rest I realized that I was alone and this was real. I asked the Great Spirit of all things for help to drive the shivering fear from my body. Then I leaned back against a tall outcropping of rock and I slept.
It was dusk when I awoke. The sun was low casting long shadows and a chill was settling in the air. This night was going to be cold. At the end of the rock outcropping, I found a shallow hollowed cave. I took shelter there, made a small fire, and ate a little. Cutting some pine boughs down from the trees I spread them out for my bed. They would keep me off the cold ground. As I lay there looking out I watched the full moon and twinkling stars. Down below a fog was creeping up the mountain. I closed my eyes. What I needed most was rest and was soon asleep.
Being so high up dawn comes earlier than down in the valley. It starts kind of a gray then a light pink darts across the sky. Soon the whole mountain comes alive as the sun clears the tops of trees and bursts open in all its glory. I had traveled for three days without seeing any signs of a bear. I remembered what my father had taught me, “Look for trails that deer and other animals have made, as they have a set path that they follow”.
I had walked perhaps a half day following the deer tracks through the mountains. That’s when I stumbled across a dead deer. By the looks of the large paw prints surrounding it, I surmised a bear had killed it. Being half-eaten I knew that he would be back. The hour was late and the sun started hiding its face. Quickly from the thicket of pines just below on the next hill, I heard a low growl.
Suddenly he was standing upright in the gathering twilight. He looked larger than life! Time slowed as the long moments played out in my mind. My heart was pounding as I nocked the arrow. He dropped to all fours and charged through the creek below and up the hill. I waited and waited before the first arrow struck him. He didn’t slow! Three more pierced his body before he was standing in front of me. Knife in hand I drove it deep into his body as a huge paw knocked me to the ground and his teeth sunk into my lower leg! Without thinking and with two bloody hands I drove the knife into his exposed skull.
When it was over I was not badly injured, but the bear lay dead. I took a bite of his liver so that his memory would live on in me. Then I took one of his paws to prove my task was completed.
So it was that day I became a warrior and a man of great respect in the Valley of the Sun Bear; when the last snow fell before the coming of the warm season and the sun was being cradled as if by two large hands.
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