The Childs Name

The cool morning air refreshed White Swan as she stepped out of the warmth of her lodge. She along with all the members of the seven sub clans that made up the Elk Clan were camped in this mountain valley by the lake for their annual autumn gathering.

The clans had met here for as long as she could remember but she had listened to the stories of another valley farther to the north where the Elk Clan had first been established. And even more stories about the clan’s ancestors coming to a new world across an ice bridge to the north.

She had loved sitting and listening to these stories about these ancestors who had left their land and traveled to a new one. They inspired her and encouraged her in her pursuit of making a difference for her clan.

White Swan had only fond memories of this long oval valley, surrounded by snow-capped mountains on both sides of a long placid kidney shaped lake where she remembered running and playing as a young girl.

It was where she flirted with the young men in the other sub-clans when she was becoming a young woman. And it was where she had met Grey Fox Running of the Elk Hide Clan. Now she was his mate.

The sun, just breaking over the distant snowcapped mountains, made it appear as if the weeping willows and the cattails on the opposite side of the lake were growing both up into the sky and down into the dark blue lake.

The few grey, pink clouds in the sky were floating above and were also down in the lake.

White Swan admired the panoramic view of the lake framed on its edge by yellowish green willows with a few remaining leaves and a few large round granite boulders all contrasted by the backdrop of the tall lodge pole, darker green pine trees with their thin dark brown flaky bark standing ram rod straight as far as the eye could see.

Suddenly the sound of her totem, a white trumpeter swan broke the morning silence as it crested the hill and flashed white up in the morning sky.

White Swan watched in silence as the brilliant white swan flew down into the valley and the length of the lake and came to a gliding, skimming smooth landing in front of where she stood. It then let out another quieter trumpet and floated over to rest near the large boulder and willow trees on the opposite side of the lake. Its black beak and bowed white head gave it a grace that White Swan had over the years tried to emulate.

White Swan took the arrival of her totem on the naming day to be something special.

Just then her sister, Quiet Pheasant, joined her.

Together they walked towards the lake to get a closer look at the swan.

They were up early this morning because it was the naming day and they each had a son that would select their names this day.

White Swan realized they had both recovered well from giving birth. She smiled at the thought.

They both had long black hair down to the middle of their backs and were slender and lithe. They were the same height and stood a good head shorter than a spear. Their smooth skin was the color of the autumn grass.

The distinguishing difference between them was the color of their eyes. Quiet Pheasant’s eyes were walnut brown almost black in color, where her own eyes were more golden like dark honey.

White Swan thought about all the mutual experiences she and Quiet Pheasant shared growing up together in the Elk Horn Clan. They were not only sisters but very close friends. They did almost everything together. This was evident when they met and mated two handsome, young ambitious and successful hunters of the Elk Hide Clan.

Their relationships had flourished at the same rate, and they had accepted the proposals of these two hunters on the same day.

White Swan thought about the wonderful and sad day when they both moved into the Elk Hide Clan with their mates but left their parents and friends behind.

They had each other and they were quickly accepted into and made friends with their new clan members.

White Swan could not believe the day she went to tell Quite Pheasant the good news and discovered they both had the same news.

They were pregnant!

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