It was the wind that gave them life. It is the wind that
comes out of our mouths now that gives us life. When
this ceases to blow we die. In the skin at the tips of
our fingers we see the train of the wind, it shows us
where the wind blew when our ancestors were c r e a t e d.

IT WAS THE WIND,
NAVAJO, 19th CENTURY

The Creation of the People
Dine (Navajo), Southwest United States

Late in the autumn the people heard the distant sound of a great
voice calling from the east. They listened and waited, and soon
heard the voice nearer and louder than before. Once more they
listened and heard it louder still, very near. A moment later four
mysterious beings appeared. These were White Body, Blue Body, Yellow
Body and Black Body.

The gods told the people that they would come back in twelve days.
On the morning of the Twelfth Day the people washed themselves well.
Then the women dried their skin with yellow cornmeal, the men with
white cornmeal. Soon they heard the distant call, shouted four
times, of the approaching gods. When the gods appeared, Blue Body
and Black Body each carried sacred buckskin. White Body carried two
ears of corn, one yellow and one white.

The gods laid one buckskin on the ground with the head to the west,
and on this they placed the two ears of corn with their tips to the
east. Over the corn they spread the other buckskin with its head to
the east. Under the white ear they put the feather of a white eagle;
under the yellow ear the feather of a yellow eagle. Then they told
the people to stand back and allow the wind to enter. Between the
skins the white wind blew from the east and the yellow wind from the
west. While the wind was blowing, eight gods called the Mirage
People came and walked around the objects on the ground four times.
As they walked, the eagle feathers, whose tips stuck out from the
buckskins, were seen to move. When the Mirage People finished their
walk, the upper buckskin was lifted. The ears of corn had
disappeared; a man and a woman lay in their place.

The white ear of corn had become the man, the yellow ear had become
a woman: First Man and First Woman. It was the wind that gave them
life, and it is the wind that comes out of our mouths now that gives
us life. When this ceases to blow, we die.”

Fire was an important tool widely used by Native
Americans. It was part of their everyday life. Fire had many uses: reducing the
undergrowth thereby opening up the area for more food plants such as berries;
clearing the land for crops; and hunting-driving game in an open woods was
quieter and easier to move through when hunting. For a long time it was
believed that the Native Americans had little impact on the land they
inhabited, taking only what was needed and moving on. However this version of
history is not true.
Native Americans and in fact all people have changed the
landscape they live on to meet their needs for survival and growth. Fires were
purposely set by Native Americans for many reasons all critical for their
survival: providing food, places to live, safety, and in warfare.

Of
course naturally caused fires such as those started by lightening or volcanoes
did happen but the fires set by Native Americans were different in three ways:

1. Time of the year. Native Americans set their fires at certain
   times of the year depending on what the purpose of that fire was. For example
   fires set to clear land for growing crops and stimulating berry growth were set
   in the early spring in the northern part of North America just as the new
   growth was starting.
2. Timing. Fires were set at regular intervals, often as
   frequently as every 5 years. This was more often than naturally occurring
   fires.

We also know fire was an important part of Native
American culture because it is part of their mythology.

According to
Williams (2000) Native Americans used fire for the following reasons:
Teaching Activity

1. Hunting. Fire was used to drive large game such as
   deer, elk, and bison into areas that made hunting easier. Sometimes animals
   were driven by fire over cliffs or into narrow canyons, rivers or lakes where
   they could be more easily killed. Torches were set to find deer and attract
   fish. Smoke was a useful tool in forcing raccoons and bears from their tree
   dens.
2. Growing Food. Fire was used to clear areas for growing
   food; prevent fields from growing back to shrubs and trees while they were
   fallow; increase the yield of berries such as strawberries, raspberries,
   huckleberries; and clear areas under oak trees to make the gathering of acorns
   easier.
3. Insect Collection. Fire was used to collect and roast
   crickets and grasshoppers. Smoke was used to drive bees from nests aiding in
   honey collection.
4. Pest Management. Fire helped to keep the population
   levels of pests such as rodents, poisonous snakes, flies, and mosquitoes
   down.
5. Range Management. Fire stimulated the growth of new
   grasses for grazing animals and kept the area from growing back to shrubs and
   trees.
6. Fireproofing. Native Americans knew how to fight fire
   with fire. Fires were deliberately set near settlements and other special
   areas. If a fire moved through the area it might go out when reaching the
   already burned area because there was no fuel.
7. Warfare and Signaling. Fires were purposely set in
   fighting enemies. A cleared area was hard to hide in. Fires were used to
   destroy enemy property. Fires were set during an escape to camouflage movement.
   Large fires were also set to notify others of enemy movements and gather forces
   for fighting.
8. Economic Extortion. Some tribes burned large areas to
   prevent settlers and traders from finding game. They would then trade with them
   for dried meats.
9. Clearing Areas for Travel. Keeping trails open and
   free from brush was important for travel, and safety.
10. Tree Felling. Trees were important for building
    structures and canoes. Before axes were available through trade, Native
    Americans used fire to kill trees. One method was to drill two intersecting
    holes in a trunk, put charcoal in one hole and let the smoke escape in the
    other. The other method involved encircling a tree with fire at the base,
    “girdling” it, and eventually killing it.
11. Clear Riparian Areas. A riparian area is land near
    water. Clearing brush made hunting for beaver, muskrats, moose, and waterfowl
    easier.

References:

William, G.W. 2000. Introduction to
Aboriginal Fire Use in North America. Fire Management Today. 60(3):8-12.

As Given Us by Our Old Ones and StoryTellers, the Historians

It´s kept the Spirit of the People long after all others have lost sight of
where it all began. Whenever possible the men maintained the fire and the
women cared for the family and children. Whenever the men were scarce the women
were the ones to carry the fire.

To Native peoples, Fire is life. It is representative of the womb of the Earth mother and in our warm mother’s womb, renewal, purification, light, a keeper of warmth. It is the life force and central to all our ceremonies. It is present in nearly every significant event from pow wow to birth, and even death.

It is a guide, and yet fire can mean different things to different clans,
communities, and so on. Although we share commonalities -still- each direction
of the medicine wheel can carry different symbols according to the traditional
teachings of certain native clans. For my clan, fire resides in the south
direction, the road of the ancestors and reminds us of our family relationship
to the sun. A little light by day and the sun’s family…a little light by night.
These are our Grandparents that give us wisdom and knowledge.

The sacred fire burns deep within all us of in the form of our spirit. It
blazes brightly and may ebb at times but never goes out. In many of our
ceremonies, the sacred fire is used to help in our healing and carries many
teachings to help us humans in our personal growth while we walk on Mother
Earth.

*Three Feathers*

As long as there
are Earth and Water
there will be stories.
For this is where the Ancestors came from
a place where our stories began…
woven with time.

As long as there
is Air
there will be stories.
For the Air gives breath to the Storyteller
who gives life to these stories…
to be told through time.

As long as there
is Fire
there will be stories.
For the Fire will bring the people together;
it will dance these stories…
keeping them alive with the passing of time.

These are the
four Sacred Elements -
gifts from the Creator.
They weave us into the tapestry of the Universe.

Muin’iskw