He came and was willing to help me. We set up a sacred tepee at the center as before. I had to use six elks and four virgins. Running Elk chose two of the elks, and I, who stood between the Power of the World and the nation's hoop, chose the four others, for my page 161 duty was to the life of the hoop on earth. The six elk men wore complete elk hides on their backs and over their heads.
Seeds sprout in the darkness of the ground before they know the summer and the day.
In the night of the womb the spirit quickens into flesh. The faces of the virgins were painted yellow, the color of the south, the source of life. One had a daybreak star in red upon her forehead. One had a crescent moon in blue, for the power of woman grows with the moon and comes and goes with it. On the back of each of the elk men was painted the nation's hoop, for upon the backs of men the nation is carried, and in the center of each hoop hung a single eagle feather for the people.