Fox Fire Magic

Fox Fire's Magic and Nez Perce Prophesy
written and illustrated by Jean Adair

Fox Fire daughter walked among the leaves on the ground, silently in the Gonondagan Eastern forest. Even with dry crusty leaves under foot, not a crackle was heard. A raven flew into a nearby tree and called to her, its throaty cowl was heard in the fog near the oak tree bared of its leaves.

She bent down and brushed away a circle of leaves and and found a green sprout of ikwe . Yes, this would do, this would heal her grandmother. She had fallen ill in the winter and did not get up with the spring warming. Some tea of the ikwe would make her well, she knew it would, she knew her grandmother's ailment was anemia. The white man doctors had come to see her and shaken their heads, said she was fine and a crazy head.

She was silently back to the longhouse and around the fire sat her clan. In a silent vertical drop, she sat cross legged among them and waited until her mother came to retrieve the herb. A lone drum beat was heard as the mother brewed the herb. As she took it in a cup to the grandmother, a fox lept from behind the flames. All turned to Fox Fire, who sat in a gaze, bound by the fire, her dark eyes at one with it. The fox danced into the woods.

"The girl has shaman powers, " said Dark Horse, " she draws the power of the fox. She is light, burns with a strong, cunning and knows what to bring to end sorrows. She also has the jaw of a bear, I have seen her get angry and she is a strong as a brave."

Ice Fish smiled, "Yes, she will do well with her power and must find her pack, since a fox is not a lone hunter. She is not a lone wolf, Dark horse, but a fox, she will not stay here much longer, she will run to join the hunts in the desert."

Dark Horse seemed surprised. "She will run? And is that not crazy, old man? Where will she run, to? The white man will surely want her beauty and lust her until she is old and discard her. The other tribes have no food in the winter and must beg white man's Christian breads, we have the maize, she must stay here. We need her powers here, without her the maize may fail."

"No, she will join the Nez Perce. She is a desert fox. They still have power against the white man and need her works. The mighty Chief Joseph, a mighty shaman who has made the white man fall in the desert many times.

"The white man fears him because he is of the wolf. He has powers and has cursed the white man, openly cursed them, that the white man shall never own this land, never, he is only on borrowed time with this land. The whoite man will someday pay us all back in gold, in land and we will regain government authority, someday, yes we will. He is a whirlwind of earth powers, none to be taunted, he has crushed many white man snake tongues. His power also will remain hundreds of years after his death, in his mighty words. "

"He will teach her the ways of the desert foxes. She may even go live among them, I have heard they do that in a sweat lodge. She will live a day with wild foxes and come out in fire, not by a door of the lodge, but she will emerge from flames."

"Of course, you mean, spirit foxes?"

"Of course."







Note: Today the Nez Perce gains in wealth and has held fast to its religion and culture

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