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Wayaka
An Ancient Story of Survival
Kim E. Ramseyer
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Price: $12.95
Paperback | 144 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9761008-0-5
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Summary
“Buffaloes closed in all around him. He could feel their heat and the rubbing of their great sides on his legs. Dust filled the air until he could see only the huge shapes close by him. The thunder of hooves roared through his ears, broken with the click and clatter of clashing horns and bursts of mad bellowing.
As if a tiny leaf caught in a raging river, Wayaka clung to the horse with all the strength in his body. His quiver and bow lay over his back, unreachable and useless. Even if he could use them there was no shot; the heads and manes loomed as his only targets and he knew they were impenetrable.”
Following buffaloes across the Plains in 1760, Lakota Sioux bands enjoy a harmonious life in balance with the land and other animals.
But there is nothing harmonious going on inside Wayaka. Stuck as the son of outcast parents, he wants more out of life than to just survive. Honored warriors and skilled hunters all have good horses though, and an outcast has no means to get one. Through the cycle of a year, Wayaka challenges friendship, authority, nature and himself to become the person he never thought he’d be.
Without the sadness typical of American Indian stories, here finally is a celebration of the life, culture and wisdom of people who roamed North America for thousands of years. Their simple belief that “We are all relatives” with all living things allows them equality and respect for other species. What Wayaka learns from this belief could be the answer to our own children’s future.
About the Author
What began with a fascination about wild foods became a passion for all of nature. A published writer and journalist, Kim researched the historical lifestyles of California indigenous people, but something clicked when she happened upon what the Plains Indians could do with a buffalo.
Her journey took her back to translations by James Walker in the 1800’s, when Lakota Sioux elders finally spoke to a white man to record the old ways. Pieces of history from over forty books, a trip through South Dakota, and a sweat lodge experience are blended throughout Wayaka’s story.
Originally finished in 1997, the release of Wayaka in 2008 is prompted by the blossoming awareness that Man’s position atop the food chain comes with some responsibility. She hopes schools will adopt Earth Stewardship as required curriculum, where books such as Wayaka can help open doors to let the outside in. |
