A fictional story about the Chumash Indians. Was awarded an A+. This is 10th grade level
...ith sage and seaweed, would be a rewarding and satisfying meal for Tecumseh. Chumash Indians never take more than they need from nature. Tonight, however, Tecumseh wasn’t satisfied with the shellfish. He asked Hantas to make him oak acorn soup and get him fresh tobacco when she was finished. Hantas knew that tobacco was a healing method, and usually only smoked by the Shaman. Hantas was not inferior to Tecumseh, like many tribes would have it, so she denied both requests and pondered at Tecumseh’s odd behavior. Since when was the best they could do not enough? Tecumseh gave a few grunts and left their ap’. The ap’ was made of bent willow poles and arranged in a dome-shape, usually 20 feet in diameter. Hanging reed mats separated the rooms. Tecumseh prided himself on the building of the shelter. When he left, Tecumseh went to the center of the village where 15 Chumash men were playing a game of Shinny, wearing their usual attire of nothing except small leather belts to hold their tools. Shinny was a very popular game in this village, and it was one of the only team sports. Tecumseh made the amount of 16, so the group split off in teams of eight and prepared to get a game going. This game involved each man holding a Shinny stick, trying to get a circular disk into an opponent’s facing post goal. Since Tecumseh was physically fit, he was known to be a good Shinny player. As the game took off, there were several fights (as there usually were in Shinny games), but Tecumseh kept his distance because he didn’t want to compromise his health. At the end of the game, however, after one of his players missed two shots in a row, Tecumseh jumped the man and knocked him to the ground, blaming the loss on him even though every player was at fault. The fight was short and quick, but had both teams puzzled. Usually the fights occurred between opposing teams, never the same teams. People made mistakes, and it was forgivable. Compassion was stressed in this Chumash village. Tecumseh, even angrier at the allegations pointed at him, marched off towards the Channel of Life. Passing again the same Little Duck he saw earlier during the day, Tecumseh yelled for the duck to leave his water forever. Now this was due to his anger at the time, but the Little Duck didn’t know that and was hurt even more. The Great Raccoon was watching from his home, and noticed this odd behavior. Before, Tecumseh would have helped the Little Duck, not make it feel inferior. The Great Raccoon went back inside. For the next two weeks, Tecumseh continued his strange behavior. He felt superior to nature and all things. He would proclaim himself the best at many things, take advantage of what the Great Channel offered him, and abuse all areas of life. He would break branches off of trees if they were in his way, instead of moving them aside. He would kill more seals than he could eat. He would even treat Hantas as if he was above her. He was stripped of all modesty and compassion – left bare, almost with no Chumash values. This spiraling cycle seemed to get worse and Great Raccoon decided to do something not only for the goodness of Earth, but also out of compassion for Tecumseh. He knew what the Sun God would do to a human acting in such ways – she could make a river out of him, as she did with Thunder. Great Raccoon knew of an event coming up that involved men and women from a few neighboring villages who raced their Tomols through the Dolphins’ Cove Lake in a series of trials that resulted in one winner. This was a chance to show physical strength and endurance, and since Tomol racing was a prided event, Great Raccoon knew Tecumseh would be there. Great Raccoon’s plan was to show Tecumseh how to appreciate what he was given by the Mother Nature, and realize it was a privilege he was born with. As every Chumash should know, all credit was owed to the earth and nature for creating beauty. Tecumseh had to remember that compassion and modesty were virtues of importance in the Chumash villages; he could not go on putting himself above everything. Great Raccoon was going to show Tecumseh that winning a race was not as important as helping others and respecting all life. Great Raccoon knew he would have to invest time into it, but he was ready to put the energy flow back the way it was supposed to be. For the next few weeks while Great Raccoon prepared, Tecumseh built himself the greatest Tomol he could. He layered redwood planks, lashed them together with natural fibers, and glued them shut with tar and pine pitch. It required many devoted days to find the materials and create this mastery. In this case, the Tomol was being used for entertainment, but it really was a great source for travel and trade around the California coastline. This is how the Chumash got their food and explored. Tecumseh’s Tomol was completed right on schedule, and he boasted whenever he could to whoever would listen about how there was no doubt the victory was his with such a prized Tomol. When the day came, Tecumseh and Hantas made their way down to Dolphins’ Cove Lake and sat among the many co...