THE LEGEND OF THE SLEEPING BEAR
Long ago, in the land that is today Wisconsin, Mother Bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The cubs swam strongly but the distance and the water proved too much for them. They fell further and further behind and ultimately slipped beneath the waves. When Mother Bear reached the Michigan shore, she climbed to the top of a bluff and peered back across the water, searching in vain for her cubs. For many days she sat, her sadness growing until the Great Spirit saw her and took pity on her plight. He raised North and South Manitou Islands to mark the place where her cubs had vanished and laid a slumber upon Mother Bear. She sleeps there still.
- Ojibwa Indian Legend
There were many native peoples who made Michigan their home, among them the Huron, the Miami, the Sioux and even the great Iroquois nation ventured there at one period in time. It is the Anicinàpe peoples however that have the oldest and most consistent claim. Of those far ranging peoples there were three principal tribes that inhabited Michigan from the time when the French first made contact in the 1600's to the present. They are the Ojibwa, the Odawa and the Bode'wadmi (known to the white man as the Chippewa, the Ottawa, and the Potawatomi). The latter two are thought to have split off from the Ojibwa but their customs are similar and their language is essentially the same. These tribes refer to themselves as the Anishnabek (pronounced neshnabe'k)
There is an obscure Anishnabek legend that is connected with the Ojibwa tale of the great sleeping bear. It is largely unknown because it refers briefly to the “Good Red Road” and the “Good Blue Road”, which are terms used in the “sweet medicine” teachings and therefore indicative of story told by tribal shaman.
Unlike other shared legends, there is little or no variation in the content of this tale from tribe to tribe.
“WINSI TE'TE'PE' KWEGUIN” - E'MBAT MKO YABWE'
(“White Caps” - The Sleeping Bear’s Dream)
It is said that when the Great Spirit first laid the sleep on Mother bear after her cubs had perished, he had only intended that she do so until her grief had left her. As she lay deep within her powerful slumber near the shores of the great waters, she knew peace and began to dream.
She dreamed of a wheel of stars that spun in the night sky. As she watched the slowly turning stars, glowing like white embers in the blackness, Mother Bear began to hear a pounding sound almost like the waves on the shore where she lay sleeping. The sound grew louder until she saw that the wheel was the outline a huge drum that beat slowly like the rhythm a great heart. This rhythm was strong and seemed to call to her so Mother Bear stood up within her dream and began to walk towards the drum, her great head swinging from side to side as if she were in a dance. Soon, each beat of the rhythm became a footstep on her journey and as she traveled closer and closer, she could see that the drum was really an island in the darkness. As she climbed up onto the shore and stood upon the pure white sand, Mother Bear looked down upon her great paws and became awake within her dream.
In this place she was safe from fire and knew no fear. Here she could not feel the loss of her cubs and knew no grief. In this place she found her center and knew her own power. Because this power was so great and because her slumber had come from the Great Spirit, the sleeping bear’s dream opened like a flower in the morning sun and became a place in the world. Because it was also a dream it was different from all other places. Many things seen only in dreams could be seen there. Many things only done in dreams could be done there and because it was Mother Bear’s special place of power, the medicine was always strong and good.
The Great Spirit saw this new place and Mother Bear moving through it and went to ask her what had happened. “What is this place, Mother bear?” he asked “-and what are you doing here?” Mother bear replied, “This is my place, Grandfather. I have always been here.” Great Spirit only smiled for he understood what had happened and knew that if he told Mother Bear that she was asleep and dreaming she would surely awaken, this new and beautiful place would fade like smoke from a dying fire and she would return to her grief and pain. He knew also that a place this powerful could set many dark beings loose upon the world and would need to be protected, so he sent Rabbit to tell all of the other animals to gather in the center of the new place.
When all the animals had gathered together, Great Spirit told them to do a special medicine dance. He showed them the sacred "two step" and taught them a special song and when all of the animals were dancing together and singing with one voice, the Great Spirit went to the shores of the sweet waters. There he took the froth from the tips of the waves and returned to the circle. When he knew the medicine was at it's strongest, he poured the froth over the circle, which raised a thick mist higher than the tallest tree and hid the place of the sleeping bear’s dream from the rest of the world. The Great Spirit looked down upon the animals with pride and said "Grandchildren, you have done well. For your reward you may all return to this place and be safe. You may come here and make your own medicine whenever you have need."
“Grandfather?” asked the animals. “We have hidden this dream so well, how will we find our way back?” The Great Spirit thought for a moment and told them "I will make two roads. One will be red like river clay and the other will be blue like the deep, sweet waters. These roads will only cross each other here in this place so this too shall be hidden. As long as you stay on one road or the other, you can always find you way back. When you smell the mists of the great waters but you are far from the shore, then you will know you are near. The place of the sleeping bear’s dream is called WInsi Te'te'pe' kweguin which means, “white caps” like the ones Great spirit used to make the mists that hide it.
To ensure that WInsi Te’te’pe' kweguin would remain in existence the great spirit decreed that Mother bear would sleep forever. Eventually the sands covered her slumbering body and became great dunes on the northern shores of Lake Michigan. To this day it is still a sacred place of power and Mother Bear's spirit can always be felt there. It is said she stirred in her sleep when the white man first came here. A wise man knows to walk lightly at Sleeping Bear dunes.
There are many legends from many nations concerning WInsi Te’te’pe' kweguin. Some say that this is how "Spirit Animals came into being. Some say that “White Buffalo Woman” was born in WInsi Te'te'pe' kweguin and took the first “Medicine Pipe” from the hand of the Great Spirit in the center of the sacred circle there. Some say it was the pattern for the first “Medicine shield.” Many say it can only be seen in visions and the only way to travel there is by the “Sundance” or the “Sacred Sweat.” Others say that this place is real but the way is hidden, that it lies at the end of the “Trickster” medicine path and that only a "contrary" could survive the journey.
All say only a wise man or a cunning warrior can find it and that few have done so.
There are several points of interest concerning this tale (as told to the author by a Potawatomi Shaman), most notably that in the sweet medicine teachings the good red road and the good blue road cannot meet because they both run north to south in parallel (Some even claim that they are the same road). Further research into the teachings reveals very little save for a somewhat obscure parable concerning the good red road, which makes some subtle reference to the treacherous and unpredictable “Trickster Medicine path” (the way of the “Contrary”). It is as follows:
“A traveler who believes that the good red road runs only north and south will not see this road when it runs east to west. Only a Contrary can walk a crooked road."
Also of note is a recent translation of the Algonquin language by Dr. Rita “Standing Otter” Jameson of the Harvard Linguistics department. The Algonquin are part of the Anicinàpe peoples and their language is similar to Ojibwa. The Term WInsi Te'te'pe' kweguin which was thought to mean literally “White from the tops of waves” hence “White Caps” is actually closer to the meaning of “mist that floats on the churning water” which is more in keeping with the tale as it is told. Ergo, instead of “White Caps” a better term might be “Spindrift.”
