"Now is the time for storytelling, the elder grandmothers and grandfathers would say. When snow is falling and the earth is covered with cold, it is time to tell stories of the people and our world. It also is time to laugh at the misdeeds of the year and count the good and fruitful days of the summer.

Tell stories only when the snow covers the ground, and the cold North Wind stands guards at the door like a wolf with teeth bared, holding a stance of force and might, the elders say.

Storytelling was prohibited other times of the year for our people.When I awoke early on this January morning, I was surprised to see everything covered with white. As I stood gazing out of my second-floor bedroom window, I thought back to my childhood and our storyteller - my grandmother, Philomine Little Sioux. I have warm and wonderful memories of her. Everything seemed right with the world when we were sitting at her feet and listening to her stories, which were sprinkled with Sahnish (Arikara) words."

Get the Story:
Dorreen Yellow Bird: Blanket of snow generates warmth (The Grand Forks Herald 1/17)

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