Talaga - Seven fallen feathers: racism, death, and hard truths in a northern city

You see, the giant Nanabijou made a deal.

The giant spent his days lumbering around Gichigami, the colossal body of water that looked like a sea. He stomped and he stomped and he stomped. His noisy footprints created massive valleys and rock faces, cut from the granite and the slate that surrounded the water.

But he never bothered the Ojibwe, who lived with him in the gorges and forests that he left standing. They had a close existence, full of happiness and peace. On the smooth rock walls near Gichigamis shores, the Ojibwe drew pictographs, telling the stories of their lives for later generations to see.

Nanabijou had a secret only the Ojibwe knew: embedded in the rock there was a shiny metal that twinkled like the starry sky. The giant didnt want anyone to take something of such beauty away from him. So he told the Ojibwe never to tell the white man where he had hidden his silvery stash. If they kept his secret, Nanabijou promised to always protect them. If they did not, if they told the white man, who was beginning to settle in wooden houses near Gichigami, something catastrophic would happen and he would never be able to protect the Ojibwe again. The Ojibwe listened and they agreed to keep Nanabijous secret safe.

For many moons, the giant and the Ojibwe lived in peace. Then one day, the Ojibwe found a Sioux man who said he was lost and in need of help. They took him in. But the Sioux man was a secret sneak. He had heard stories of the precious glittery metal and he wanted some to take back to his people. He befriended the Ojibwe and lived with them so he could gain their trust and find out where the silver was hidden.

The Sioux man waited patiently. Then one day he overheard the Ojibwe talking about where the silver could be found. Armed with this knowledge, he snuck away in search of the loot.

He slipped into a canoe and manoeuvered down the waters and into the crevice where the silver lay. When the Sioux man saw the treasure, he could not believe his eyes or his good fortune. He filled his pockets and stole away in the canoe.

The Sioux man was not as clever as he thought. As he made his escape down the river, he ran into travelling white men who captured him and took him prisoner. He tried to barter for his freedom with a piece of the stolen silver. But the greedy white men took his loot and asked for more. The Sioux man refused to tell them where he had found it but the white men would not take no for an answer. They knew how they could get him talking. They sat by the fire and brought out the firewater. The firewater calmed his fears, made him feel happy, made his lips loose. When he was full of drink, the white men asked again where the silver was stashed and the Sioux man spilled out the secret.