The Wolf's Trail by Thomas D. Peacock

Author:Thomas D. Peacock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holy Cow! Press
Published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

“So obviously, while Ma’iingan was half dog, he identified mostly with the wolf in him, though it’s not that he denied his dog side. He deeply cared for his multiple human owners, especially the elderly grandparents and the boy, and having that faith and loyalty in one’s human owners was definitely part of his dog side. That sense extended out to the greater village as well because; all of the village’s ‘pets,’ as they were sometimes referred, whether they were dog or wolf, cared for the wellbeing of their owners. And like many ‘pets,’ what they sensed in their Ojibwe owners was that they were going through a difficult and troubling time, that they were experiencing a period of great uncertainty and transition in the community, and that it was not just one thing that could explain why they seemed out of balance, because the troubles the Ojibwe were having just seemed to be multiplying and feeding on one another all at the same time. Mostly what he sensed was almost a frenzy of despair, of grieving, of a village under siege with itself. And he sensed the reasons for this could all be tied to the coming of the new humans. And while it may be unfair to link all of their troubles to one thing, in this case it seemed to be true.

“While once the forests and lakes had forever provided for them, now there was not enough meat, not enough deer or rabbit, or even mice to harvest for nourishment. The circle of the hunts had grown much larger. Humans and wolves worked twice as hard for a single kill, if they were so fortunate. The animals whose furs were most prized by the French, and later the Americans, were scarce, so the balance of things had tipped. His Ojibwe relatives, who once harvested the animals prized for their furs, were suffering. And at the same time the new humans’ government had confined the Ojibwe into small areas upon which they were to live and make a livelihood, on bog and wetland or clay and rock with weak soils that didn’t sufficiently support their gardens. On land far removed from the wild rice lakes, which had been their primary source of food. They were quickly trading their hide and bark round lodges for the square, wooden dwellings of the new humans, their hide clothing for cloth, their moccasins for boots made from the hides of cattle. And now especially in this village, more so than others, it seems they had even traded the manner in which they worshiped the Creator, as the people had divided themselves into camps of those who worshiped the old way and those who had adopted the way of the new humans. And each said theirs was the only way and insisted the other was wrong, and this had divided families and the community in a way it had never been before, an intolerance so far removed, so opposite and contradictory from the love and grace exemplified by the same Creator in whom they both worshiped.

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