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nêhiyawak · Cree

The marks on the birch

A pale tree hides him from thunder, and gratitude becomes a mark people can read.

Close view of paper-birch bark with dark horizontal marks under breaking storm light.

In many nations these are winter stories — aadizookaanan — told when the snow is down and the thunder beings are resting. If that is your protocol, wait. This page will still be here.

had made the Thunderbirds angry. The tellings differ about how. What they agree on is the sky coming after him, and his cleverness running out before his legs did.

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An English narrator turns the pages with you. Names are an approximation. Trust the spelling on the page.

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