Little Painted Eagle and The Teaching Rocks: A Journey of Self-Discovery

"Little Painted Eagle and The Teaching Rocks: A Journey of Self-Discovery" is a free-verse poem about a young mixed-blood (European and Indigenous) male who, during a solo canoe trip, discovers hundreds of petroglyphs and pictographs. By accident, he incites the petroglyphs to dance. He commits a grave error by making a rubbing and taking it home. It won't dance. He returns to the native community of his youth and asks his elders for help. He returns to the petroglyph site to make amends and almost dies in the process. With the aid of his grandmother's spirit, he communicates with many powerful petroglyph and pictograph spirits. His native spirit is rekindled as each imparts their particular wisdom. The spirits lead him to previously unknown historical sites around the Great Lakes as he unravels his band's history of culture and war. This story will attract the attention of native and non-native readers. It will generate interest into native petroglyphs and pictographs at home and around the world. The story will enhance, and rekindle interest and education into native spiritual beliefs.