Guest Author - Phyllis Doyle Burns
This article was written by our previous editor, Phyllis Doyle Burns, and all rights are reserved. For inquiries and comments, please contact the current editor, Jane Winkler.
I love to sit out on my patio with a cup of coffee and my journal to write in. Quite often I will see something in Nature that inspires me to write a story or make me think of a cherished memory. One morning I saw several Black Back Woodpeckers I had been keeping track of since the male first appeared. He had found a mate late in winter and they had several little ones. That morning they were all sitting in a tree near me. Right in the center of them was a little Sparrow.
This reminded me of my great nephew's family gathering when he graduated from college several years ago. My niece had married a man who is part Cherokee. Him and his son are big men with dark hair, broad-shouldered, and strong. My nephew-in-law's family and our side of the family were all invited to the celebration. I was surprised that the Cherokee side of the family was so large in number, as well as in stature.
We all ate outside at tables in my niece's lovely yard and it was a beautiful day. When it came time for family pictures, my grandson, who was six at the time, was in just about every picture. When my niece wanted a picture of just her husband's family, they all gathered in a group with my nephew's Grandfather in the middle of the front row.
Just as we all raised our cameras to take pictures my sister laughed out loud and pointed at my grandson. There he was, blond, blue-eyed, and little - standing right in front of Grandfather and looking very proud, indeed. It was a comical site because all the Cherokee family members were so large and dark-haired. He looked like the little Sparrow among the group of larger birds.
When my daughter called to her son to come away from the group, Grandfather put his hands on grandson's shoulders and said, "He can stay! If he wants to be part of my family, I adopt him." My grandson's smile was as bright as the sun and the pictures we took are a cherished memory.
My little Sparrow has grown so much since then, both physically and spiritually. He is always asking me about Native American ways, culture and history. One of his favorite book reports he did for his English class was on a Comanche Chief. He is learning more each day about Native Americans and has great interest in their culture. He and I talked about totems several months ago and he wondered what his totem was. I had told him that some day he would know in his heart which animal was his totem.
When I began learning how to bead, my first serious project was a Buffalo I had drawn. I did the entire work in applique' stitch and it turned out surprisingly well for my first attempt. It took me several weeks to complete. I would sit at the dining room table while beading the Buffalo. Quite often my grandson would come by and check on my progress. He would touch the beads with his fingers to feel the smoothness of them and marvel at the shiny colors. He kept track of how Buffalo was "growing".
I had started the Buffalo for another project I had in mind, but, as is often the case with me, I realized one day as I was working on it that it belonged to not me, but, another. I finished the Buffalo a few days before my grandson's birthday. I then went shopping for a special frame, sewed Buffalo on to some suede cloth, matted, and framed it. I wrapped it carefully in gift wrap and put a birthday card on it for my grandson. When he opened the gift, tears came to his eyes. With delighted surprise, he said, "My Buffalo!"
A few days later, my grandson told me, "I know in my heart that Buffalo walks with me."
Sparrow had found his Totem.
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For information on Native American Totems, check out the following books:
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