“I have a secret everyone in our Nation knows, but we don’t tell white people.” Diane pauses and looks at both of us for a moment.
“The Chief is my father and his wife is my mother. When I was a baby they gave me to Heather. She is my mother now. I was a gift to her, ‘Napittu—h’ is our word for present.
“My blood Mom and Dad have nine other children, my brothers and sisters. My Chief wanted Heather to have a child to help her and follow in her footsteps.
“The Chief said to Heather, ’Teach her to be the Shaman of my people.’”
Diane is moving about the beading table helping us. She looks at us out of the corner of her eye, observing our reaction to the secret.
Diane says, “They gave one of their own children away. Heather raised me from when I was a little baby. She takes care of me and I take care of her.”
Heather is watching us with her steel gray eyes, looking into my soul. She has deep wrinkles in her forehead from her many years. Her skin looks gray, like her eyes, and hair.
Heather speaks, “No one wanted this land so they gave it to us. This land is not good for much of anything. It’s just desert and sagebrush. We are on the outskirts of town, on the edge of the desert. There is nothing but a few Indians here.”
I can hear the wind howling. Sand is being picked up by gusts of wind. It sounds like hail is hitting the windows.
Heather speaks proudly, “My son and my daughter are grown now, and they have their own lives. Chester likes to hunt and fish. But his favorite thing to do is paint. He’s such a good painter. Linda is going to be a doctor. She is always away at school. I miss her so much.”
I interrupt, “I met Linda at the basketball game, she is so cool. We went to the Pow Wow with her. She danced the Shawl Dance, it was awesome.”
Jackie adds, “I liked the bead designs on her clothes. And that deerskin dress and those moccasins she had on, can I get them in my size?”
At that moment I recall Heather dancing at the Pow Wow. I can almost hear the musicians, and see the smoke hanging in the great hall. What I remember most is the moment when she disappeared right in front of my eyes.
Looking straight at her, “How did you disappear?”
“Oh that,” she replies, “that is something one Shaman passes on to another. I can’t tell anyone for fear that an Evil Devil Spirit will learn the secret.”
Chester and Dad arrive at Heather’s house. Chester knows we will be going back East soon. He looks serious as he walks over to the beading table.
Neewa greets Chester with a wagging tail and a few nudges to his palm with her cold wet nose.
Chester reaches down and scratches Neewa behind her ears and under her chin, “Neewa, how you doing girl?” He massages her head with his two strong hands and scratches her behind the ears.
I give Dad a dirty look, letting him know I’m pissed that he’s late. He knows we don’t want to be at Heather’s all by ourselves, it’s creepy. I continue beading.
Chester looks at us and says, “How you guys doing?”
I say, “I’m fine.”
Jackie says, “Good, Chester, how are you?”
Chester says, “Oh, I’m fine.”