ee! THE INDIAN READING SERIES:
“% Stories and Legends of the Northwest



10

Our uncle Tom would always bring us a special treat
each time he came to visit. He would always bring a treat
for Running Free, too. He would bring beef jerky that he
had dried himself. It was a long thin strip of beef dried ina
smokehouse. Running Free was just crazy about it. He
would see our uncle coming and be the first one to greet
him and get his treat.



When I was a little girl, I lived on the Shoalwater
Bay Indian Reservation in Willapa Bay which is located
on the northwest coast of Washington State. My four
brothers and three sisters and I had a pet deer. He adopted
us when he wasjust a little fawn. When we found him with
a sore foot, my Dad put some special medicine on it to
make it well. After that, he would show up at our back
door every morning, looking for something to eat. My
brothers and sisters and I would race out of bed to see who
would get to feed him first. I would always find something
first, because I always saved some of my fried bread for
him from the night before.



LEATTA ANDERSON

MACCLURG VIVIAN

14

WGPO 1982

593-665


My dad had a garden with all kinds of vegetables in
it: peas, corn, carrots, and so on. Running Free would not
bother it. He would just stand at the edge of the garden
and stare at all the good things to eat, but not touch one
thing. It was as if he knew it would be wrong to bother it.



go ntte

Icame bubbling out of the water and there was
Running Free. He was swimming around me with such an
innocent look that I just couldn’t get mad at him.



He was our very special friend, and we named him
“Running Free.” He would follow us everywhere. He
would even go swimming with us. One day, asI was stand-
ing on the bank of the river and everyone else was already
in the water playing and hollering, Running Free came up
behind me and gave me a big push. Into the water I went.
Everyone just laughed.



10.

1

Booklets available in the Level IV sequence are listed below. Numbers refer to the Planned Sequence of use
in the Teacher’s Manual. Materials developed by these tribes and others in the Northwest are included in
the Levels I, I] and III sequences.

nt

. Warm Springs Animal Stories

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon

. Snail Women at Sq*a'le

The Suquamish Tribe of the Port Madison
Reservation

. Blue Jay - Star Child/Basket Woman

Muckleshoot Tribe

. Assiniboine Woman Making Grease

Assiniboine Tribe of the Fort Peck Reservation

. Coyote

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon

How the Summer Season Came
Assiniboine Tribe of the Fort Belknap
Reservation

. Little Weasel’s Dream

Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation

. Fort Hall Stories

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall
Reservation

The Bear Tepee
Northern Cheyenne Tribe

Sioux Stories and Legends
Sioux Tribe of the Fort Peck Reservation

. Kootenai Stories

Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

Chief Mountain’s Medicine

Gros Ventre Tribe from the Fort Belknap
Reservation

Coyote the Trickster

Burns Paiute Reservation

Running Free

Shoalwater Bay

Salish Coyote Stories

Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation

Coyote and the Cowboys
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall
Reservation

Napi’s Journey

Blackfeet Tribe

Warm Springs Stories

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon

Tepee Making

Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation

Baskets and Canoes
Skokomish Tribe

Warrior People
Blackfeet Tribe


Our teacher would pretend she didn’t like Running
Free and say, “Take him home!” But most of the time, she
would just pretend he wasn’t there. Every once in awhile,
she would throw something out for him to eat.



_ The Indian Reading Series

Level IV Book 14



One day, my mother put one of her favorite plants
outside in the sunlight. She had a lot of plants that she
liked, but this one was her favorite. Running Free saw it
and he must have thought, “Wow! A treat for me!” He ate
all the little red berries off of it. My mother was so mad
that she grabbed a broom and chased Running Free all
over the yard, swinging the broom and screaming at him!
She never did hit him though. Afterwards, Running Free
was so ashamed of himself because he knew he had done
something wrong. He would go up to her and lick her
hand, as if to say, “I’m sorry, please forgive me.”



Running Free would stand under our apple tree.
With big sad eyes he looked at us, as if to say, “Please get
me an apple.” We would climb up the tree and throw down
apples for him until our mother would catch us and make
us quit. She would tell us, “Don’t feed bim so many apples
because it can make him sick.”



Running Free would try to follow us to school. We
had to walk about two miles to school. Trying to ditch him
sure was a problem. He would follow about half a block
behind us. Everytime we turned around to holler at him,
he would duck into the bushes and hide with one eye
peeking at us. So, most of the time he would end up at
school. Everyone liked him though, even the teacher.
Running Free would romp and play with all the kids. He
loved to play tag but he always won because he was so fast!
He would catch us before we could run very far.



Developed by the Pacific Northwest Indian Reading and Language Development Program
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 300 Southwest Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204

Copyright © 1981 by the Shoalwater Bay Tribe
Allrights reserved.

‘The work upon which this publication is based was performed pursuant to Contract
No. 400-80-0105 with the Educational Equity Group/Multicultural/Bilingual Division
of the National Institute of Education. It does not, however, necessarily reflect the
views of that agency.

Printed and bound in the United States of America


Dried beef and dried smelt were just like candy to us
and uncle would always have a sack full. We would nibble
on it all day long. It was so good!

il





ll) THE INDIAN READING SERIES
Stories and Legends of the Northwest

Running Free
Level IV Book 14

Developed by the members of the Shoalwater Bay Curriculum Committee

Mary Downs, Coordinator
Trene Shale, Consultant
Elizabeth Duncan
Margaret L. Rhoades
Hazel McKenney
Catherine J. Lorton
Winona M. Weber
MacClurg Vivian

As told by Elizabeth Duncan
Illustrated by Leatta Anderson

Joseph Coburn, Director
Pacific Northwest Indian Program
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory



THE INDIAN READING SERIES: Stories and Legends of the
Northwest is a collection of authentic material cooperatively devel-
oped by Indian people from twelve reservations. Development ac-
tivities are guided by a Policy Board which represents the Indian
community of the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest Indian
Reading and Language Development Program Policy Board mem-
bers are:

+ Warren Clements — Warm Springs
Chairman

+ Clement Azure — Devils Lake Sioux

+ Walter Moffett — Nez Perce

+ Emmett Oliver — Quinault

+ Bob Parsley — Chippewa

* Lloyd Smith — Warm Springs

+ Max Snow

+ Jeanne Thomas — Yakima


When we played Hide and Seek, he would always
peek and lead me to my brothers and sisters. They would
get mad and make us quit playing. We had a lot of good
times playing with Running Free.



12

Running Free got a little older. He didn’t play with
us as much. He just kind of laid around, looking at us. We
thought he was sick and pleaded with Dad, “Please make
him well.” Dad told us, “Running Free is not sick. He’s
getting old enough that he needs his own kind in order to
be completely happy. Don’t worry. He still loves you.”

One morning, Running Free wasn’t at the back door
like he usually was. We ran all over the yard hollering for
him. “Running Free! Running Free!” We looked every-
where for him but he just couldn’t be found. My heart felt
heavy and sad. I knew he was gone for good. Running Free
had gone to join his own kind.