Lula Todd

Lula Todd

## Early Life and Education

Lula Kishkedee Todd was born February 14th, 1884 as one of three triplets of William Percival Todd and Tallulah Pakwa Todd at the Wapiti Reservation in north Ambarino.

As the middle child and only girl raised alongside her brothers, Elijah M. Todd and William T. Todd Junior, Lula grew up in her early years with special treatment from her father. Her father, William Todd Senior, treated her like gold and gave her everything she wanted. Because Lula was sheltered so heavily by her father she is a bit naive. Naivety, not mistaken for  stupidity. Lula wields a sharp tongue much like her mother does and holds a great deal of knowledge from her father’s teachings, but doesn’t know when to use it.

As young children, Lula and her brothers were homeschooled in a small house just outside of the town of Valentine in New Elizabeth. Lula’s mother was cautious about sending them to a proper school in fear that the school board would try to “teach the savage” out of the children. The people of New Elizabeth certainly weren’t too keen about the native population. After some convincing from Lula’s father, Tallulah finally gave in to sending the children to a boarding school in Saint Denis for a proper education as much as it pained her to watch them leave. Before school started William Todd Senior went so far as to purchase a proper mansion in Saint Denis complete with house maids to assist in cooking, cleaning, and all of the essentials in hopes it would alleviate worry from Tallulah.

Every day the triplets took the train to school and back complete with stories and tales of their days. Lula enjoyed making many new friends, however,  it started to become blatantly obvious to her that she was different from the others. She wasn’t caucasion and she wasn’t native american. She was somewhere in between. A feeling that caused her to lose track of the direction she wished to go. A seemingly obvious forked path and neither appeared to cross. A hollow emptiness despite having everything she could ever want in life. A lack of purpose.

Around the age of 10, Lula found that purpose in Valentine as a deputy in training. She spent a great deal of her time chatting with deputies on the porch and making snide comments to those who weren’t doing their jobs well enough as if she could do better. Her best friends and idols were Skip Rivers and Tiohton Okwaho from the department. She looked up to them for their hard work and dedication to keeping the town safe. Until one day Skip Rivers had been gunned down while on duty. Lula was devastated. She began to doubt all she had hoped and looked forward to in adult life. Being a deputy was a dangerous game of chance. Skip’s death made her fear becoming a deputy, but still wears her gold star badge in his honor.

   Lula’s family welcomed four orphaned children into their home. All of which were born and/or raised by close family friends to the Todds who passed away to unforeseen circumstances, Freya Rivers and Skip Rivers. The children; Anna Rivers, Todd Rivers, Ohara Rivers, and Sophia Kelly; joined the family in their mansion for safe keeping. To love and to cherish as if they were their own blood.

Around the age of 12, the Army came to the town of Valentine due to a local Comanche tribe rioting and attacking townspeople. The Todd family rushed the children to the mansion in Saint Denis to avoid conflict. Fear that the half-native children would be taken away from their family and their mother to be sent to a reservation caused everyone to be on high alert. Sophia Kelly’s parents, Apani Waya and Danali Waya, traveled all the way to Saint Denis to go into hiding with them as native peoples themselves. Once the scare was over Sophia went home with her parents and the Todd family returned home to Valentine at last.

## Family Trouble

Being born into a wealthy family was not always a positive thing. Lula’s family was targeted by enemies of the past and the danger continued to rise as the crime did within Valentine. William Todd Senior, though a loyal man, was a sharp canonical liar. He was armed with knowledge and the power of his wealth. However, that didn’t stop his past from coming to haunt him. The children’s lives were threatened by shadows of their father’s past. Valentine was no longer safe for them to be there. They would spend most of their time in Saint Denis as they grew older.

   Lula was certainly her father’s favorite child. She was showered with gifts and attention whereas her brothers were given the opposite. One day after a fight with Elijah, Lula witnessed Elijah hogtied and spanked by his father. Something that stuck with her from that day onward. She had learned very quickly to decide when she should lie and when she shouldn’t to avoid the same fate Elijah did.

   Lula, Elijah, and William Todd Junior were torn apart by an unfortunate accident which caused William’s arm to become broken. Their views were different on the matter. She believed it was an accident whereas they believed that they - those who Lula thought were friends - did it on purpose or out of foolishness or stupidity. After a long lecture from her father, Lula felt deflated and defeated. Regret, shame, and doubt. It was that day she realized that it was not wise to make friends without her family’s approval - as per her father’s request. For the longest time she avoided openly talking to anyone who wasn’t already known as accepted by her father.

   At the age of 14, the Todd family witnessed the fall of a legend. William Percival Todd had been shot down in the street by a coworker and friend. Devastated, the family went into the traditional year long grieving process of the Ojibwe religion. Every day they danced and sang through their tears and sorrows. Lula’s mother was never the same. Tallulah had become distant and silent, only speaking when it was required. Lula watched as her mother mourned the loss of a lover, a soulmate, as she raised seven children all on her own. Lula was having to step up and assist with more chores than she has ever had to do before. Daily, a family friend, Dasodaha Tessay, would visit and feed the family. It was in the Ojibwe culture that the grieving family could not go out and hunt for food in their time of mourning. Dasodaha kept them well fed and well taken care of during their time of need.

   The next year, at the age of 15, William Todd Junior moved to Saint Denis to finish his schooling in hopes of pursuing a law degree. Elijah Todd followed the action, moving out on his own and into the wilderness to get in touch with his roots and escape his past, visiting on occasion for pleasantries and holidays. Lula was left assisting her mother in raising two infants on their own. The pair rarely spoke to one another while inside the home, only speaking when it was necessary. The home was empty. It felt hollow and cold.

## Moving Forward

Now having to hunt and gather to provide for her family, Lula has become rather thick skinned. She does the chores around the home that her father or brothers normally would have done if they were still there. Her light is dulled, but she searches for ways to brighten it again. She seeks a proper job to make money for her family and hopes to find some friends along the way.