16

Little Sister was secretly being watched by her
seven brothers. When they saw that Little Sister was
alone, they stepped out of the woods to greet her. When
Little Sister saw her seven brothers, she cried even
more because she was happy. She told her brothers
about Bear Woman and they helped her pick turnips
and catch a rabbit.

The oldest brother has the gift of Bow and Arrow
power. He instructed Little Sister, “As soon as Bear
Woman is fast asleep tonight, pound sharp sticks
around her on the ground. If Bear Woman awakens,
she will step on the sharp sticks and be delayed.”


10

As Mother began to clean the wound, In-
dian Maiden left the tepee, smiling to herself.
All at once, Little Sister began to weep, “That’s
not what happened. Indian Maiden was lured
into the thick bushes by an evil bear. He
turned Indian Maiden into a bear for his com-
panion. When I followed her, she caught me
and mauled me with her great hand. She said
not to tell about this or she will eat us all.”

Mother tried to comfort Little Sister say-
ing, “Do not be afraid of the evil bear or your
big sister’s warning. I will tell your seven
brothers about this incident. They will save
us. Besides, your oldest brother has stronger
medicine than the evil bear. It is good that you
told me these things.”


20

Shooting his arrows one at a time, the family
would disappear and then reappear at the place where
the arrow landed. In this way, they reached their des-
tination, which was a great tall rock. The oldest
brother shot the last arrow towards the top of this
great rock.


A long, long time ago, the Northern
Cheyenne were camped near the Bear
Tepee. The Indian Maiden and her Little
Sister suddenly decided to go off to play
by themselves.


17


23


As they looked back, Bear Woman had grown to
be a giant bear, and was coming after them. The giant
bear chased them and almost caught them, when the
oldest brother used his powers.

19


14

For many days Mother and Little Sister
were watched carefully by Bear Woman. They
were not even allowed to leave the tepee. After
awhile, Bear Woman grew lazy and said to Lit-
tle Sister, “Today, you go after the water and
bring me some good food to eat.” Little Sister
did this, so the next day Bear Woman laughed
and said, “I am hungry for soup. Little Sister,
go and pick me a basket full of wild turnips
and catch me a fat rabbit. If you do not bring
me these things for my next meal, I will eat
you both.” Little Sister left quickly because
she knew it was almost time for Bear Woman’s
next meal. She ran here and there pulling tur-
nips as fast as she could, crying, “Oh, how am I
going to gather all these turnips and catch a
rabbit too?”


Indian Maiden, now in the form of a bear,
snapped, “I warned you not to follow me here!”
With this, she leaped at Little Sister and
mauled her on the shoulder.


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





Indian Maiden whispered to Little Sister, “Let’s
go play near those thick bushes. Everyone is busy and
we won’t be missed. Besides, our seven brothers are on
scouting and hunting trips far from the camp!” Indian
Maiden suddenly had an urge to go into the thick
bushes. She thought, “Those berries look so tempting.
Tll go and pick some to eat.” Then Indian Maiden re-
membered her mother’s warning, “Don’t go near the
thick bushes alone because it’s dangerous. That is one
of Bear’s favorite hideouts. Bears are known to cap-
ture humans and are dangerous! Bear has special
powers and does unexpected things to human beings.
Bear might try and lure you to his hideout, and turn
you into a bear or other animal form.”


15


So, Little Sister went into the thick
bushes looking for her big sister. As she came
into a small clearing and saw two bears, she
screamed, “Oh, oh!”


Reappearing on top of the great rock, the family
knew they would be safe from Bear Woman.

From the top of the great rock, the family looked
down and saw the giant Bear Woman trying to leap
towards the top.

21


The Bear

The Indian
Reading Series



When the sisters reached home, mother
saw the frightened look of Little Sister and
asked, “Why do you look sick? Is there some-
thing wrong? Come here, let me look at you.”
Too afraid to say anything, Little Sister moved
closer to her mother. Mother found the big
wound on her shoulder and cried, “How did
you get mauled? How did you get away?” Little
Sister gave a quick glance at her sister and re-
plied, “I was walking near some bushes when a
bear reached out and grabbed me. I fell to the
ground and got up to run. The bear must have
gotten tangled in the bushes because it did not
follow me.”


Indian Maiden warned, “Do not tell
mother about this incident or I will eat all of
you. Now, I will turn myself back into a human
being, and follow you home.”


Sister, “Wait for me at a safe dis-
tance from the thick bushes while I
go pick some berries.”

Indian Maiden ignored her sha
mother’s warning. She told Little a

ao \ va

Later, Indian Maiden sneaked over to
the thick bushes with Little Sister several
times and picked berries. Again, she would
tell Little Sister, “Wait for me here.” Little Sis-
ter watched Indian Maiden go into the thick
bushes to pick berries. She thought, “Indian
Maiden has been acting very strange recently,
especially when she returns from the thick
bushes.”


18

Little Sister followed the instructions. She was
able to get away with her mother to the place where
her seven brothers were waiting for them.




This work has not as yet been published and is afforded all
protections under the U.S. Copyright Law (PL. 94-553) effective
January 1, 1978.

Copyright in the published edition will be held by and in the name of the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transcribed, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written
permission of the author agency identified below.

The project presented or reported herein was performed
pursuant to a grant from the National Institute of Education,
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. However, the
opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the
position or policy of the National Institute of Education,

and no official endorsement by the National Institute of
Education should be inferred.

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
710 S.W. Second Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204


11


13


THE INDIAN READING SERIES
Stories and Legends of the Northwest

The Bear Tepee
Series IV

By members of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe

Leroy Pine, Coordinator
Julia Pine, Consultant

Tom Gardner, Sr.

Tim Lame Woman

Mabel Small

Lucille White Crow

Donna Livingston, I/lustrator

Told by Julia Pine
Illustrated by Donna Livingston

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



22

Several times she tried, but failed. Bear
Woman gave up and said to them, “You have
won. From this day, the medicine men shall
call this tower the Bear Tepee.”

The Bear Tepee is best known today as
Devil’s Tower, in Wyoming. Even today, the
claw marks of Bear Woman can be seen all
around the great tower.


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


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




12

As mother and Little Sister waited for
the brothers to return, the call from the camp
crier came, “It is time to move your tepees.
Hurry, or you will be left behind.” The brothers
did not return and the camp moved on, leaving
mother and Little Sister alone.

They watched the long line of the camp
move until it was out of sight. The evil bear
and Indian Maiden came out of the thick
bushes. Indian Maiden, now called Bear
Woman, said “Come with us to our tepee where
I can keep an eye on you.”